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Deuteronomy 4
English Standard Version

Moses Commands Obedience

4 “And now, O Israel, listen to (A)the statutes and the rules[a] that I am teaching you, and do them, (B)that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 (C)You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you. 3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did (D)at Baal-peor, for the Lord your God destroyed from among you all the men who followed the Baal of Peor. 4 But you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today. 5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6 (E)Keep them and do them, for (F)that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For (G)what great nation is there that has (H)a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so (I)righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

9 (J)“Only take care, and (K)keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. (L)Make them known to your children and your children's children— 10 how on (M)the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, (N)‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, (O)so that they may learn to fear (P)me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ 11 And (Q)you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while (R)the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. 12 Then (S)the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, (T)but saw no form; (U)there was only a voice. 13 (V)And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, (W)the Ten Commandments,[b] (X)and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And (Y)the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

15 (Z)“Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since (AA)you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 beware (AB)lest you act corruptly (AC)by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, (AD)the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see (AE)the sun and the moon and the stars, (AF)all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. 20 But the Lord has taken you and (AG)brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, (AH)to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. 21 Furthermore, (AI)the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan, and that I should not enter the good land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. 22 For I must die in this land; (AJ)I must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of (AK)that good land. 23 (AL)Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and (AM)make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24 For (AN)the Lord your God is a consuming fire, (AO)a jealous God.

25 “When you father children and children's children, and have grown old in the land, (AP)if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and (AQ)by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger, 26 I (AR)call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 And the Lord (AS)will scatter you among the peoples, (AT)and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. 28 And (AU)there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, (AV)that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 (AW)But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you (AX)in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. 31 For the Lord your God is (AY)a merciful God. (AZ)He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

The Lord Alone Is God

32 “For (BA)ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. 33 (BB)Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? 34 Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, (BC)by signs, by wonders, and (BD)by war, (BE)by a mighty hand and (BF)an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown, (BG)that you might know that the Lord is God; (BH)there is no other besides him. 36 (BI)Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and (BJ)you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because (BK)he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them[c] and brought you out of Egypt (BL)with his own presence, by his great power, 38 (BM)driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, 39 know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that (BN)the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; (BO)there is no other. 40 (BP)Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, (BQ)that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

Cities of Refuge

41 Then Moses (BR)set apart three cities in the east beyond the Jordan, 42 that (BS)the manslayer might flee there, anyone who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without being at enmity with him in time past; he may flee to one of these cities and save his life: 43 (BT)Bezer in the wilderness on the (BU)tableland for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

44 This is the law that Moses set before the people of Israel. 45 These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the rules, which Moses spoke to the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt, 46 beyond the Jordan (BV)in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, (BW)whom Moses and the people of Israel defeated when they came out of Egypt. 47 And they took possession of his land and the land (BX)of Og, the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who lived to the east beyond the Jordan; 48 (BY)from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, as far as Mount (BZ)Sirion[d] (that is, (CA)Hermon), 49 together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as (CB)the Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 4:1 Or just decrees; also verses 5, 8, 14, 45
  2. Deuteronomy 4:13 Hebrew the ten words
  3. Deuteronomy 4:37 Hebrew his offspring after him
  4. Deuteronomy 4:48 Syriac; Hebrew Sion
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Deuteronomy 4
International Standard Version

Moses Presents the Privileges of the Covenant

4 “Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and the ordinances that I’m teaching you to observe so you may live and go in to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is about to give you. 2 Do not add or subtract a thing to what I’m commanding you. Observe the commands of the Lord your God.[a] 3 You saw with your own eyes what he did in Baal Peor. The Lord your God exterminated from among you every man who followed Baal of Peor. 4 But all of you who are clinging to the Lord your God are alive today. 5 See! I taught you the statutes and the ordinances, just as the Lord God commanded. Therefore, observe them[b] when you enter the land you are about to possess. 6 Observe them carefully, because this will show your wisdom and discernment in the eyes of people who’ll listen to all these decrees. Then they’ll say: ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people.’ 7 For what great nation has a god so near like the Lord our God whenever we call on him? 8 And what great nation has all the decrees and righteous ordinances like all this teaching that I’m giving you today? 9 Only guard yourselves carefully so you won’t forget the things that you saw and let them slip from your mind for the rest of your life. Tell them to your children and to your grandchildren. 10 The day you stood in the presence of the Lord your God in Horeb, the Lord told me, ‘Gather the people before me so they may hear my words, learn to revere me the whole time that they live in the land, and teach them[c] to their children.’”

Moses Warns against Idolatry

11 “When you approached and stood at the foot of the mountain—a mountain that was blazing with fire at its core[d] while the sky was covered with thick, dark clouds— 12 the Lord your God spoke from the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but you saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 He declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to observe—the Ten Commandments that he wrote on two stone tablets. 14 The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you to observe the statutes and ordinances in the land after you cross over to take possession of it.

15 “Therefore, for your own sake, be very careful, since you did not see any form on the day that the Lord your God spoke to you in Horeb from the midst of the fire. 16 Be careful![e] Otherwise, you will be destroyed when you make carved images for yourself—all sorts of images in the form of man, woman, 17 any animal on earth, any winged bird that flies in the sky, 18 any creeping thing on the ground, or any fish in the sea.[f] 19 Do not gaze toward the heavens and observe the sun, the moon, the stars—the entire array of the sky—with the intent[g] to worship and serve what the Lord your God gave every nation.[h] 20 For the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace—out of Egypt—to be the people of his inheritance, as you are today.

21 “But the Lord was angry with me because of you. So he swore that I’ll never cross the Jordan River to enter the good land that the Lord your God is about to give you as an inheritance. 22 I’m going to die in this land and I won’t cross the Jordan River, but you’re about to cross over to possess that good land. 23 Be careful! Otherwise, you will forget the covenant of the Lord your God, who established that covenant with you. Don’t make carved images of any likeness in violation of everything that you were commanded by the Lord your God. 24 Indeed, the Lord your God is a consuming[i] fire. He is a jealous God.”

Warnings against Angering God

25 “After you’ve borne children and grandchildren, have been there for a long time in the land, have become so corrupted that you make images of any form, and have done evil in the eyes of the Lord your God, you will provoke him to anger. 26 Heaven and earth will testify against what has occurred[j] today: you’ll surely and swiftly be destroyed from the land that you are about to possess by crossing the Jordan River. You won’t live long in it, because you’ll certainly be exterminated. 27 Moreover, the Lord will scatter you among the nations, and you’ll be fewer in number in the nations where the Lord your God will drive you. 28 There you’ll serve gods made by human hands, serving[k] trees and stones that cannot see, hear, eat, nor smell. 29 If from there you will seek the Lord your God, then you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and soul. 30 In your distress, when all these things happen to you in days to come and you return to the Lord your God, then you will hear his voice. 31 For God is compassionate. The Lord your God won’t fail you. He won’t destroy you or forget the covenant that he confirmed with your ancestors.”

Who is Like the Lord?

32 “Indeed, ask from one end of the heavens to the other about days of old, before your time, when God created mankind on the earth. Did we ever have anything as great as this, or ever hear of anything like it? 33 Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the middle of a fire just as you did,[l] and survived it? 34 Or has any god ever taken for himself one nation out from another nation with testings, signs, wonders, wars, awesome power,[m] and magnificent, terrifying deeds[n] as the Lord your God did in Egypt before your eyes?

35 “You have been shown this in order to know that ‘the Lord is God’ and there is no one like him. 36 You have been made to hear his voice from heaven so you may be instructed.[o] And he showed you his great fire here on earth, and you heard his voice from the middle of that fire. 37 Moreover, he loved your ancestors, chose their descendants after them, and brought you out of Egypt, accompanied by his presence and great power, 38 in order to drive out nations that are stronger and more powerful than you, to bring you into this land,[p] and to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is today.

39 “May you acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in the heavens above and over the earth below—there is no other God.[q] 40 May you observe his statutes and keep his commands that I’m giving you today, so that life may go well for you and for your descendants after you. That way, you’ll live a long life in the land that the Lord your God is about to give you permanently.”[r]

Cities of Refuge

41 Then Moses designated three cities on the east side of the Jordan, 42 where a person who accidentally killed someone could flee, if he killed his neighbor without having enmity toward him in the past. He may flee to one of these cities and live: 43 Bezer in the desert plain for the descendants of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead for the descendants of Gad, and Golan in Bashan for the descendants of Manasseh.

Moses Reviews the Law

44 This is the Law that Moses reviewed in the presence of the Israelis. 45 These are the instructions, decrees, and ordinances that Moses declared to the Israelis when they came out of Egypt. 46 He did this[s] east of the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and whom Moses and the Israelis defeated after leaving Egypt. 47 So they took possession of his land, as well as the land of King Og of Bashan. Both Amorite kings lived east of the Jordan— 48 from Aroer on the edge of the Wadi[t] Arnon as far as Mount Sirion,[u] which is also called Hermon, 49 and all the Arabah east of the Jordan as far as the Dead Sea[v] below the slopes of Pisgah.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 4:2 Lit. God that I’m commanding you
  2. Deuteronomy 4:5 The Heb. lacks them
  3. Deuteronomy 4:10 The Heb. lacks them
  4. Deuteronomy 4:11 Lit. heart
  5. Deuteronomy 4:16 The Heb. lacks be careful
  6. Deuteronomy 4:18 Lit. in the waters below ground
  7. Deuteronomy 4:19 The Heb. lacks with the intent
  8. Deuteronomy 4:19 I.e. as lights in the night sky; cf. Gen 1:14-18
  9. Deuteronomy 4:24 So MT; LXX reads is an all-consuming
  10. Deuteronomy 4:26 Lit. I invoke heaven and earth against you
  11. Deuteronomy 4:28 The Heb. lacks serving
  12. Deuteronomy 4:33 Lit. heard
  13. Deuteronomy 4:34 Lit. wars, a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,
  14. Deuteronomy 4:34 The Heb. lacks deeds
  15. Deuteronomy 4:36 Or disciplined
  16. Deuteronomy 4:38 The Heb. lacks this land
  17. Deuteronomy 4:39 The Heb. lacks God
  18. Deuteronomy 4:40 Lit. all the days
  19. Deuteronomy 4:46 The Heb. lacks He did this
  20. Deuteronomy 4:48 I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times
  21. Deuteronomy 4:48 MT reads Sion; cf. Deut 3:9
  22. Deuteronomy 4:49 Lit. the Sea of the Arabah
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Deuteronomy 3
Deuteronomy 5
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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