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Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11
Complete Jewish Bible

Parashah 45: Va’etchanan (I pleaded) 3:23–7:11

23 “Then I pleaded with Adonai, 24 ‘Adonai Elohim, you have begun to reveal your greatness to your servant, and your strong hand — for what other god is there in heaven or on earth that can do the works and mighty deeds that you do? 25 Please! Let me go across and see the good land on the other side of the Yarden, that wonderful hill-country and the L’vanon!’ 26 But Adonai was angry with me on account of you, and he didn’t listen to me. Adonai said to me, ‘Enough from you! Don’t say another word to me about this matter! 27 Climb up to the top of Pisgah and look out to the west, north, south and east. Look with your eyes — but you will not go across this Yarden. 28 However, commission Y’hoshua, encourage him and strengthen him; for he will lead this people across and enable them to inherit the land that you will see.’ 29 So we stayed in the valley across from Beit-P‘or.

4 “Now, Isra’el, listen to the laws and rulings I am teaching you, in order to follow them, so that you will live; then you will go in and take possession of the land that Adonai, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 In order to obey the mitzvot of Adonai your God which I am giving you, do not add to what I am saying, and do not subtract from it. 3 You saw with your own eyes what Adonai did at Ba‘al-P‘or, that Adonai destroyed from among you all the men who followed Ba‘al-P‘or; 4 but you who stuck with Adonai your God are still alive today, every one of you. (ii) 5 Look, I have taught you laws and rulings, just as Adonai my God ordered me, so that you can behave accordingly in the land where you are going in order to take possession of it. 6 Therefore, observe them; and follow them; for then all peoples will see you as having wisdom and understanding. When they hear of all these laws, they will say, ‘This great nation is surely a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For what great nation is there that has God as close to them as Adonai our God is, whenever we call on him? 8 What great nation is there that has laws and rulings as just as this entire Torah which I am setting before you today? 9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves diligently as long as you live, so that you won’t forget what you saw with your own eyes, so that these things won’t vanish from your hearts. Rather, make them known to your children and grandchildren — 10 the day you stood before Adonai your God at Horev, when Adonai said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, and I will make them hear my very words, so that they will learn to hold me in awe as long as they live on earth, and so that they will teach their children.’ 11 You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain; and the mountain blazed with fire to the heart of heaven, with darkness, clouds and thick mist. 12 Then Adonai spoke to you out of the fire! You heard the sound of words but saw no shape, there was only a voice. 13 He proclaimed his covenant to you, which he ordered you to obey, the Ten Words; and he wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 At that time Adonai ordered me to teach you laws and rulings, so that you would live by them in the land you are entering in order to take possession of it.

15 “Therefore, watch out for yourselves! Since you did not see a shape of any kind on the day Adonai spoke to you in Horev from the fire, 16 do not become corrupt and make yourselves a carved image having the shape of any figure — not a representation of a human being, male or female, 17 or a representation of any animal on earth, or a representation of any bird that flies in the air, 18 or a representation of anything that creeps along on the ground, or a representation of any fish in the water below the shoreline. 19 For the same reason, do not look up at the sky, at the sun, moon, stars and everything in the sky, and be drawn away to worship and serve them; Adonai your God has allotted these to all the peoples under the entire sky. 20 No, you Adonai has taken and brought out of the smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of inheritance for him, as you are today.

21 “But Adonai was angry with me on account of you and swore that I would not cross the Yarden and go into that good land, which Adonai your God is giving you to inherit. 22 Rather, I must die in this land and not cross the Yarden; but you are to cross and take possession of that good land. 23 Watch out for yourselves, so that you won’t forget the covenant of Adonai your God, which he made with you, and make yourself a carved image, a representation of anything forbidden to you by Adonai your God. 24 For Adonai your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

25 “When you have had children and grandchildren, lived a long time in the land, become corrupt and made a carved image, a representation of something, and thus done what is evil in the sight of Adonai your God and provoked him; 26 I call on the sky and the earth to witness against you today that you will quickly disappear from the land that you are crossing the Yarden to possess. You will not prolong your days there but will be completely destroyed. 27 Adonai will scatter you among the peoples; and among the nations to which Adonai will lead you away, you will be left few in number. 28 There you will serve gods which are the product of human hands, made of wood and stone, which can’t see, hear, eat or smell. 29 However, from there you will seek Adonai your God; and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and being. 30 In your distress, when all these things have come upon you, in the acharit-hayamim, you will return to Adonai your God and listen to what he says; 31 for Adonai your God is a merciful God. He will not fail you, destroy you, or forget the covenant with your ancestors which he swore to them.

32 “Indeed, inquire about the past, before you were born: since the day God created human beings on the earth, from one end of heaven to the other, has there ever been anything as wonderful as this? Has anyone heard anything like it? 33 Did any other people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of a fire, as you have heard, and stay alive? 34 Or has God ever tried to go and take for himself a nation from the very bowels of another nation, by means of ordeals, signs, wonders, war, a mighty hand, an outstretched arm and great terrors — like all that Adonai your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? 35 This was shown to you, so that you would know that Adonai is God, and there is no other beside him. 36 From heaven he caused you to hear his voice, in order to instruct you; and on earth he caused you to see his great fire; and you heard his very words coming out from the fire. 37 Because he loved your ancestors, chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt with his presence and great power, 38 in order to drive out ahead of you nations greater and stronger than you, so that he could bring you in and give you their land as an inheritance, as is the case today; 39 know today, and establish it in your heart, that Adonai is God in heaven above and on earth below — there is no other. 40 Therefore, you are to keep his laws and mitzvot which I am giving you today, so that it will go well with you and with your children after you, and so that you will prolong your days in the land Adonai your God is giving you forever.”

(A: iii) 41 Then Moshe separated three cities on the east side of the Yarden, toward the sunrise, 42 to which a killer might flee, that is, someone who kills by mistake a person whom he did not previously hate, and upon fleeing to one of these cities might live there. 43 The cities were Betzer in the desert, in the flatland, for the Re’uveni; Ramot in Gil‘ad for the Gadi; and Golan in Bashan for the M’nashi.

44 This is the Torah which Moshe placed before the people of Isra’el — 45 these are the instructions, laws and rulings which Moshe presented to the people of Isra’el after they had come out of Egypt — 46 beyond the Yarden River, in the valley across from Beit-P‘or, in the land of Sichon king of the Emori, who lived at Heshbon, whom Moshe and the people of Isra’el defeated when they came out of Egypt; 47 and they took possession of his land and the land of ‘Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Emori, who were beyond the Yarden toward the sunrise; 48 from ‘Aro‘er on the edge of the Arnon Valley to Mount Si’on,” that is, Mount Hermon, 49 “with all the ‘Aravah beyond the Yarden eastward, all the way to the Dead Sea at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah.

5 (A: iv, S: iii) Then Moshe called to all Isra’el and said to them, “Listen, Isra’el, to the laws and rulings which I am announcing in your hearing today, so that you will learn them and take care to obey them. 2 Adonai our God made a covenant with us at Horev. 3 Adonai did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us — with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4 Adonai spoke with you face to face from the fire on the mountain. 5 At that time I stood between Adonai and you in order to tell you what Adonai was saying; because, on account of the fire, you were afraid and wouldn’t go up onto the mountain. He said,

א 6 “‘I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves.

ב 7 “‘You are to have no other gods before me. 8 You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline — 9 you are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents, also the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot.

ג 11 “‘You are not to misuse the name of Adonai your God, because Adonai will not leave unpunished someone who misuses his name.

ד 12 “‘Observe the day of Shabbat, to set it apart as holy, as Adonai your God ordered you to do. 13 You have six days to labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Shabbat for Adonai your God. On it you are not to do any kind of work — not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your ox, your donkey or any of your other livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property — so that your male and female servants can rest just as you do. 15 You are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Adonai your God brought you out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore Adonai your God has ordered you to keep the day of Shabbat.

ה 16 “‘Honor your father and mother, as Adonai your God ordered you to do, so that you will live long and have things go well with you in the land Adonai your God is giving you.

ו 17 “‘Do not murder.

ז (18) “‘Do not commit adultery.

ח (19) “‘Do not steal.

ט (20) “‘Do not give false evidence against your neighbor.

י 18 (21) “‘Do not covet your neighbor’s wife; do not covet your neighbor’s house, his field, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’

(A: v, S: iv) 19 (22) “These words Adonai spoke to your entire gathering at the mountain from fire, cloud and thick mist, in a loud voice; then it ceased. But he wrote them on two stone tablets, which he gave to me. 20 (23) When you heard the voice coming out of the darkness, as the mountain blazed with fire, you came to me, all the heads of your tribes and your leaders, 21 (24) and said, ‘Here, Adonai our God has shown us his glory and his greatness! We have heard his voice coming from the fire, and we have seen today that God does speak with human beings, and they stay alive. 22 (25) But why should we keep risking death? This great fire will consume us! If we hear the voice of Adonai our God any more, we will die! 23 (26) For who is there of all humanity that has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the fire, as we have, and stayed alive? 24 (27) You, go near; and hear everything Adonai our God says. Then you will tell us everything Adonai our God says to you; and we will listen to it and do it.’

25 (28) “Adonai heard what you were saying when you spoke to me, and Adonai said to me, ‘I have heard what this people has said when speaking to you, and everything they have said is good. 26 (29) Oh, how I wish their hearts would stay like this always, that they would fear me and obey all my mitzvot; so that it would go well with them and their children forever. 27 (30) Go, tell them to return to their tents. 28 (31) But you, stand here by me; and I will tell you all the mitzvot, laws and rulings which you are to teach them, so that they can obey them in the land I am giving them as their possession.’

29 (32) “Therefore you are to be careful to do as Adonai your God has ordered you; you are not to deviate either to the right or the left. 30 (33) You are to follow the entire way which Adonai your God has ordered you; so that you will live, things will go well with you, and you will live long in the land you are about to possess.

6 “Now this is the mitzvah, the laws and rulings which Adonai your God ordered me to teach you for you to obey in the land you are crossing over to possess, 2 so that you will fear Adonai your God and observe all his regulations and mitzvot that I am giving you — you, your child and your grandchild — as long as you live, and so that you will have long life. 3 Therefore listen, Isra’el, and take care to obey, so that things will go well with you, and so that you will increase greatly, as Adonai, the God of your ancestors, promised you by giving you a land flowing with milk and honey.

(A:vi, S: v) 4 “Sh’ma, Yisra’el! Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, Isra’el! Adonai our God, Adonai is one]; 5 and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources. 6 These words, which I am ordering you today, are to be on your heart; 7 and you are to teach them carefully to your children. You are to talk about them when you sit at home, when you are traveling on the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them on your hand as a sign, put them at the front of a headband around your forehead, 9 and write them on the door-frames of your house and on your gates.

(S: vi) 10 “When Adonai your God has brought you into the land he swore to your ancestors Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov that he would give you — cities great and prosperous, which you didn’t build; 11 houses full of all sorts of good things, which you didn’t fill; water cisterns dug out, which you didn’t dig; vineyards and olive trees, which you didn’t plant — and you have eaten your fill; 12 then be careful not to forget Adonai, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves. 13 You are to fear Adonai your God, serve him and swear by his name. 14 You are not to follow other gods, chosen from the gods of the peoples around you; 15 because Adonai, your God, who is here with you, is a jealous God. If you do, the anger of Adonai your God will flare up against you and he will destroy you from the face of the earth. 16 Do not put Adonai your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah [testing]. 17 Observe diligently the mitzvot of Adonai your God, and his instructions and laws which he has given you. 18 You are to do what is right and good in the sight of Adonai, so that things will go well with you, and you will enter and possess the good land Adonai swore to your ancestors, 19 expelling all your enemies ahead of you, as Adonai said.

20 “Some day your child will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of the instructions, laws and rulings which Adonai our God has laid down for you?’ 21 Then you will tell your child, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and Adonai brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand. 22 Adonai worked great and terrible signs and wonders against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household, before our very eyes. 23 He brought us out from there in order to bring us to the land he had sworn to our ancestors that he would give us. 24 Adonai ordered us to observe all these laws, to fear Adonai our God, always for our own good, so that he might keep us alive, as we are today. 25 It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to obey all these mitzvot before Adonai our God, just as he ordered us to do.’”

7 (vii) “Adonai your God is going to bring you into the land you will enter in order to take possession of it, and he will expel many nations ahead of you — the Hitti, Girgashi, Emori, Kena‘ani, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi, seven nations bigger and stronger than you. 2 When he does this, when Adonai your God hands them over ahead of you, and you defeat them, you are to destroy them completely! Do not make any covenant with them. Show them no mercy. 3 Don’t intermarry with them — don’t give your daughter to his son, and don’t take his daughter for your son. 4 For he will turn your children away from following me in order to serve other gods. If this happens, the anger of Adonai will flare up against you, and he will quickly destroy you. 5 No, treat them this way: break down their altars, smash their standing-stones to pieces, cut down their sacred poles and burn up their carved images completely. 6 For you are a people set apart as holy for Adonai your God. Adonai your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his own unique treasure. 7 Adonai didn’t set his heart on you or choose you because you numbered more than any other people — on the contrary, you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 Rather, it was because Adonai loved you, and because he wanted to keep the oath which he had sworn to your ancestors, that Adonai brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from a life of slavery under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Maftir) 9 From this you can know that Adonai your God is indeed God, the faithful God, who keeps his covenant and extends grace to those who love him and observe his mitzvot, to a thousand generations. 10 But he repays those who hate him to their face and destroys them. He will not be slow to deal with someone who hates him; he will repay him to his face. 11 Therefore, you are to keep the mitzvot, laws and rulings which I am giving you today, and obey them.

Haftarah Va’etchanan: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 40:1–26

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Va’etchanan: Mattityahu (Matthew) 4:1–11; 22:33–40; Mark 12:28–34; Luke 4:1–13; 10:25–37; Acts 13:13–43; Romans 3:27–31; 1 Timothy 2:4–6; Ya‘akov (James) 2:14–26; and all the readings for Parashah 17

Listen to Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11
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Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11
New International Version

23 At that time I pleaded(A) with the Lord: 24 “Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness(B) and your strong hand. For what god(C) is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works(D) you do?(E) 25 Let me go over and see the good land(F) beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.(G)”

26 But because of you the Lord was angry(H) with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the Lord said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah(I) and look west and north and south and east.(J) Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross(K) this Jordan.(L) 28 But commission(M) Joshua, and encourage(N) and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across(O) and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” 29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.(P)

Obedience Commanded

4 Now, Israel, hear the decrees(Q) and laws I am about to teach(R) you. Follow them so that you may live(S) and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 Do not add(T) to what I command you and do not subtract(U) from it, but keep(V) the commands(W) of the Lord your God that I give you.

3 You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor.(X) The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, 4 but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.

5 See, I have taught(Y) you decrees and laws(Z) as the Lord my God commanded(AA) me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering(AB) to take possession of it. 6 Observe(AC) them carefully, for this will show your wisdom(AD) and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”(AE) 7 What other nation is so great(AF) as to have their gods near(AG) them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws(AH) as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

9 Only be careful,(AI) and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach(AJ) them to your children(AK) and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb,(AL) when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn(AM) to revere(AN) me as long as they live in the land(AO) and may teach(AP) them to their children.” 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain(AQ) while it blazed with fire(AR) to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.(AS) 12 Then the Lord spoke(AT) to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form;(AU) there was only a voice.(AV) 13 He declared to you his covenant,(AW) the Ten Commandments,(AX) which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws(AY) you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

15 You saw no form(AZ) of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb(BA) out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully,(BB) 16 so that you do not become corrupt(BC) and make for yourselves an idol,(BD) an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air,(BE) 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun,(BF) the moon and the stars(BG)—all the heavenly array(BH)—do not be enticed(BI) into bowing down to them and worshiping(BJ) things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. 20 But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace,(BK) out of Egypt,(BL) to be the people of his inheritance,(BM) as you now are.

21 The Lord was angry with me(BN) because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance. 22 I will die in this land;(BO) I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land.(BP) 23 Be careful not to forget the covenant(BQ) of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol(BR) in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire,(BS) a jealous God.(BT)

25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt(BU) and make any kind of idol,(BV) doing evil(BW) in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses(BX) against you(BY) this day that you will quickly perish(BZ) from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter(CA) you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive(CB) among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods(CC) of wood and stone,(CD) which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.(CE) 29 But if from there you seek(CF) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart(CG) and with all your soul.(CH) 30 When you are in distress(CI) and all these things have happened to you, then in later days(CJ) you will return(CK) to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful(CL) God; he will not abandon(CM) or destroy(CN) you or forget(CO) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

The Lord Is God

32 Ask(CP) now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth;(CQ) ask from one end of the heavens to the other.(CR) Has anything so great(CS) as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God[a] speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?(CT) 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation,(CU) by testings,(CV) by signs(CW) and wonders,(CX) by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,(CY) or by great and awesome deeds,(CZ) like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.(DA) 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice(DB) to discipline(DC) you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. 37 Because he loved(DD) your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength,(DE) 38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance,(DF) as it is today.

39 Acknowledge(DG) and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.(DH) 40 Keep(DI) his decrees and commands,(DJ) which I am giving you today, so that it may go well(DK) with you and your children after you and that you may live long(DL) in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.

Cities of Refuge(DM)

41 Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan, 42 to which anyone who had killed a person could flee if they had unintentionally(DN) killed a neighbor without malice aforethought. They could flee into one of these cities and save their life. 43 The cities were these: Bezer in the wilderness plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth(DO) in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

44 This is the law Moses set before the Israelites. 45 These are the stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt 46 and were in the valley near Beth Peor east of the Jordan, in the land of Sihon(DP) king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt. 47 They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. 48 This land extended from Aroer(DQ) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Sirion[b](DR) (that is, Hermon(DS)), 49 and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Dead Sea,[c] below the slopes of Pisgah.

The Ten Commandments(DT)

5 Moses summoned all Israel and said:

Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws(DU) I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant(DV) with us at Horeb.(DW) 3 It was not with our ancestors[d] that the Lord made this covenant, but with us,(DX) with all of us who are alive here today.(DY) 4 The Lord spoke(DZ) to you face to face(EA) out of the fire(EB) on the mountain. 5 (At that time I stood between(EC) the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid(ED) of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:

6 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt,(EE) out of the land of slavery.(EF)

7 “You shall have no other gods before[e] me.

8 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.(EG) 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents(EH) to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,(EI) 10 but showing love to a thousand(EJ) generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.(EK)

11 “You shall not misuse the name(EL) of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.(EM)

12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,(EN) as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day(EO) is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant,(EP) nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do.(EQ) 15 Remember that you were slaves(ER) in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand(ES) and an outstretched arm.(ET) Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

16 “Honor your father(EU) and your mother,(EV) as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long(EW) and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

17 “You shall not murder.(EX)

18 “You shall not commit adultery.(EY)

19 “You shall not steal.(EZ)

20 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.(FA)

21 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”(FB)

22 These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness;(FC) and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets(FD) and gave them to me.

23 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leaders of your tribes and your elders(FE) came to me. 24 And you said, “The Lord our God has shown us(FF) his glory and his majesty,(FG) and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them.(FH) 25 But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer.(FI) 26 For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?(FJ) 27 Go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says.(FK) Then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”(FL)

28 The Lord heard you when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, “I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good.(FM) 29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me(FN) and keep all my commands(FO) always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!(FP)

30 “Go, tell them to return to their tents. 31 But you stay here(FQ) with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess.”

32 So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you;(FR) do not turn aside to the right or to the left.(FS) 33 Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you,(FT) so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days(FU) in the land that you will possess.

Love the Lord Your God

6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear(FV) the Lord your God as long as you live(FW) by keeping all his decrees and commands(FX) that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.(FY) 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey(FZ) so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly(GA) in a land flowing with milk and honey,(GB) just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised(GC) you.

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[f](GD) 5 Love(GE) the Lord your God with all your heart(GF) and with all your soul and with all your strength.(GG) 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.(GH) 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.(GI) 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.(GJ) 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.(GK)

10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build,(GL) 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig,(GM) and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied,(GN) 12 be careful that you do not forget(GO) the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

13 Fear the Lord(GP) your God, serve him only(GQ) and take your oaths(GR) in his name.(GS) 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the Lord your God(GT), who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test(GU) as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep(GV) the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you.(GW) 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight,(GX) so that it may go well(GY) with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, 19 thrusting out all your enemies(GZ) before you, as the Lord said.

20 In the future, when your son asks you,(HA) “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” 21 tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.(HB) 22 Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God,(HC) so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.(HD) 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law(HE) before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.(HF)”

Driving Out the Nations

7 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess(HG) and drives out before you many nations(HH)—the Hittites,(HI) Girgashites,(HJ) Amorites,(HK) Canaanites, Perizzites,(HL) Hivites(HM) and Jebusites,(HN) seven nations larger and stronger than you— 2 and when the Lord your God has delivered(HO) them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy(HP) them totally.[g](HQ) Make no treaty(HR) with them, and show them no mercy.(HS) 3 Do not intermarry with them.(HT) Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods,(HU) and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy(HV) you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles[h](HW) and burn their idols in the fire.(HX) 6 For you are a people holy(HY) to the Lord your God.(HZ) The Lord your God has chosen(IA) you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.(IB)

7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous(IC) than other peoples, for you were the fewest(ID) of all peoples.(IE) 8 But it was because the Lord loved(IF) you and kept the oath he swore(IG) to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand(IH) and redeemed(II) you from the land of slavery,(IJ) from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God;(IK) he is the faithful God,(IL) keeping his covenant of love(IM) to a thousand generations(IN) of those who love him and keep his commandments.(IO) 10 But

those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;
    he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.(IP)

11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 4:33 Or of a god
  2. Deuteronomy 4:48 Syriac (see also 3:9); Hebrew Siyon
  3. Deuteronomy 4:49 Hebrew the Sea of the Arabah
  4. Deuteronomy 5:3 Or not only with our parents
  5. Deuteronomy 5:7 Or besides
  6. Deuteronomy 6:4 Or The Lord our God is one Lord; or The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone
  7. Deuteronomy 7:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 26.
  8. Deuteronomy 7:5 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in Deuteronomy
Listen to Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11
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Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11
King James Version

23 And I besought the Lord at that time, saying,

24 O Lord God, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?

25 I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.

26 But the Lord was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the Lord said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter.

27 Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

28 But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.

29 So we abode in the valley over against Bethpeor.

4 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you.

2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you.

4 But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.

5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.

6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;

10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.

11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.

12 And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.

13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

14 And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.

15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:

16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,

18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:

19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.

20 But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.

21 Furthermore the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance:

22 But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land.

23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee.

24 For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

25 When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger:

26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.

27 And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you.

28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;

31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

32 For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?

33 Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?

34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

35 Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.

36 Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.

37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;

38 To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.

39 Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.

40 Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever.

41 Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;

42 That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:

43 Namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites.

44 And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:

45 These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt.

46 On this side Jordan, in the valley over against Bethpeor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt:

47 And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, which were on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;

48 From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which is Hermon,

49 And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.

5 And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.

2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.

3 The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

4 The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,

5 (I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to shew you the word of the Lord: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,

6 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me.

8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:

9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,

10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

11 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee.

13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:

14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

17 Thou shalt not kill.

18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery.

19 Neither shalt thou steal.

20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.

21 Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's.

22 These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.

23 And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;

24 And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

25 Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die.

26 For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?

27 Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.

28 And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.

29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

30 Go say to them, Get you into your tents again.

31 But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.

32 Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

6 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:

2 That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

10 And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,

11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;

12 Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

13 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

15 (For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

16 Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

17 Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.

18 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers.

19 To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the Lord hath spoken.

20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?

21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:

22 And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:

23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.

24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.

25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.

7 When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;

2 And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

6 For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

7 The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:

8 But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.

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