Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close EXB

Deuteronomy 4
Expanded Bible

Moses Tells Israel to Obey

4 Now, Israel, listen to the ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and commands I will teach you. Obey them so that you will live and so that you will go over and ·take [possess] the land the Lord, the God of your ·ancestors [fathers], is giving to you. 2 Don’t add to ·these commands [L the word], and don’t leave anything out, but obey the commands of the Lord your God that I ·give [command] you.

3 ·You [L Your eyes] have seen for yourselves what the Lord did at Baal Peor, how the Lord your God destroyed everyone among you who ·followed [L walked after] Baal in Peor [Num. 25:1–18]. 4 But all of you who ·continued following [clung to] the Lord your God are still alive today.

5 Look, I have taught you the ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and rules the Lord my God commanded me. Now you can obey the laws in the land you are entering, in the land you will ·take [possess]. 6 ·Obey these laws carefully [Keep/Guard and do/obey], in order to show the other nations that you have wisdom and ·understanding [discernment]. When they hear about these laws, they will say, “This great nation of Israel is wise and ·understanding [discerning].” 7 ·No [L What…?] other nation is as great as we are. Their gods do not come near them, but the Lord our God comes near when we pray to him. 8 ·And no [L What…?] other nation has such good ·teachings [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and commands as those I am giving to you today.

9 But be ·careful [on guard]! Watch out and don’t forget the things ·you [L your eyes] have seen. Don’t ·forget them [L let them turn aside/slip from your heart/mind] ·as long as you live [L all the days of your life], but ·teach them [make them known] to your children and grandchildren. 10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at ·Mount Sinai [L Horeb; C another name for Sinai]. He said to me, “·Bring the people together [Assemble the people] so I can ·tell them [L let them hear] what I have to say. Then they will ·respect [fear] me ·as long as [L all the days] they live in the land, and they will teach these things to their children.” 11 When you ·came [approached] and stood at the bottom of the mountain, it blazed with fire that reached to the sky, and black clouds made it very dark [Ex. 19:16–20]. 12 The Lord spoke to you from the fire. You heard the sound of words, but you did not see ·him [L a form]; there was only a voice. 13 The Lord told you about his ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty], the Ten ·Commandments [L Words]. He told you to obey them, and he wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 Then at that time the Lord commanded me to teach you the ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and rules that you must obey in the land you will ·take [possess] when you cross ·the Jordan River [L there].

Laws About Idols

15 Since the Lord spoke to you from the fire at ·Mount Sinai [L Horeb; 4:10], but you did not see ·him [L any form], watch yourselves carefully! 16 Don’t ·sin [ruin/destroy/spoil/corrupt yourselves] by making idols of any kind, and don’t make statues—of men or women, 17 of animals on earth or birds that fly in the air, 18 of anything that ·crawls [swarms] on the ground, or of fish in the water below. 19 When you ·look up at [L lift your eyes to] the ·sky [heavens], you see the sun, moon, and stars, and ·everything in the sky [all the host of heaven]. But don’t bow down and worship them [5:8–9; Ex. 20:4–5], because the Lord your God has ·made these things [apportioned them] for all people everywhere [32:8]. 20 But the Lord brought you out of Egypt, ·which tested you like a furnace for melting iron [L the iron-smelter; 1 Kin. 8:51; Jer. 11:4], and he made you his ·very own people [L inheritance], as ·you are now [L this day].

21 The Lord was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I would not cross the Jordan River to go into the good land the Lord your God is giving you as ·your own [L an inheritance]. 22 I will die here in this land and not cross the Jordan [34:1–8], but you will soon go across and take that good land. 23 Be careful. Don’t forget the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] of the Lord your God that he made with you, and don’t make any idols for yourselves, as the Lord your God has commanded you not to do. 24 The Lord your God is a jealous God [5:9; 6:15; Ex. 20:5; 34:14; Josh. 24:19; Nah. 1:2], ·like a fire that burns things up [a consuming fire].

25 Even after you have ·lived [grown old; or become complacent] in the land a long time and have had children and grandchildren, don’t ·do evil things [ruin/destroy/spoil/corrupt yourselves]. Don’t make any kind of idol, and don’t do what ·the Lord your God says is evil [L what is evil/wrong in the eyes of the Lord your God], because that will make him angry. 26 If you do, I ask heaven and earth to ·speak [witness] against you this day that you will quickly be removed from this land that you are crossing the Jordan River to ·take [possess]. You will not live there long after that, but you will be completely destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter you among the other nations. Only a few of you will be left alive, and those few will be in other nations where the Lord will ·send [lead] you. 28 There you will ·worship [serve] gods made by ·people [L human hands], gods made of wood and stone, that cannot see, hear, eat, or smell. 29 But even there you can look for the Lord your God, and you will find him if you look for him with ·your whole being [L all your heart/mind and all your inner being]. 30 It will be ·hard [distressful] when all these things happen to you. But after that you will come back to the Lord your God and ·obey [hear] him, 31 because the Lord your God is a merciful God [Ex. 34:6; 2 Chr. 30:9; Neh. 9:31; Ps. 111:4; Joel 2:3]. He will not ·leave [fail] you or ·destroy [ruin; spoil] you. He will not forget the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] with your ·ancestors [fathers], which he ·swore [promised] to them.

The Lord Is Great

32 ·Nothing like this has ever happened before! Look at the past [L Ask about the former days], long before ·you were even born [L you]. Go all the way back to when God ·made [created] humans on the earth [Gen. 1:26–27], and look from one end of heaven to the other. ·Nothing like this has ever [L Has anything as great as this…?] been heard of! 33 ·No [L What…?] other people have ever heard God speak from a fire and have still lived. But you have. 34 ·No [L What…?] other god has ever taken for himself one nation out of another. But the Lord your God did this for you in Egypt, right before your own eyes. He did it with tests, signs, miracles, war, and great sights, by his ·great power [L strong hand] and ·strength [L outstretched arm].

35 He ·showed you [revealed] things so you would know that the Lord is God, and there is no other God besides him. 36 He spoke to you from heaven to ·teach [instruct; or discipline] you. He ·showed [revealed to] you his great fire on earth, and you heard him speak from the fire. 37 Because the Lord loved your ·ancestors [fathers; Gen. 12:1–3], he chose you, their ·descendants [L seed], and he brought you out of Egypt himself by his great strength. 38 He ·forced [dispossessed] nations out of their land ahead of you, nations that were bigger and stronger than you were. The Lord did this so he could bring you into their land and give it to you as your ·own [L inheritance], ·and this land is yours today [L as it is this day].

39 Know and ·believe [take to heart; bear in mind] today that the Lord is God. He is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other god! 40 Obey his ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and commands that I am giving you today so that things will go well for you and your children. Then you will live a long time in the land that the Lord your God is giving to you forever.

Cities of Safety

41 Moses ·chose [set apart] three cities east ·of [beyond] the Jordan River, 42 where a person who ·accidentally [unintentionally] killed someone could go [Num. 35:9–34]. If the person was not killed because of hatred, the murderer’s life could be saved by running to one of these cities. 43 These were the cities: Bezer in the ·desert [wilderness] high plain was for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead was for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan was for the Manassites.

The Laws Moses Gave

44 These are the ·teachings [laws; instructions] Moses gave to the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel. 45 They are the rules, ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements], and laws he gave ·them [L the sons/T children of Israel] when they came out of Egypt. 46 They were in the ·valley [glen] near Beth Peor, ·east of [beyond] the Jordan River, in the land of Sihon. Sihon king of the Amorites ruled in Heshbon and was ·defeated [L struck] by Moses and the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] as they came out of Egypt [Num. 21:21–32]. 47 ·The Israelites [L They] took his land and the land of Og king of Bashan [Num. 21:33–35], the two Amorite kings east ·of [beyond] the Jordan River. 48 This land went from Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon ·Ravine [Wadi], to Mount Hermon. 49 It included all the ·Jordan Valley [L Arabah] ·east of [beyond] the Jordan River, and it went as far as the ·Dead [L Salt] Sea below Mount Pisgah.

Listen to Deuteronomy 4
Close NASB

Deuteronomy 4
New American Standard Bible

Israel Urged to Obey God’s Law

4 “Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which (A)I am teaching you to perform, so that (B)you will live and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 (C)You shall not add to the word which (D)I am commanding you, nor take away from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I am commanding you. 3 (E)Your eyes have seen what the Lord has done in the case of Baal-peor, for all the men who followed Baal-peor, the Lord your God has destroyed [a]them from among you. 4 But you who clung to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you.

5 “See, I have taught you statutes and judgments (F)just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you are to do these things in the land where you are entering to take possession of it. 6 So keep and do them, (G)for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For (H)what great nation is there that has a god (I)so near to it as is the Lord our God (J)whenever we call on Him? 8 Or what great nation is there that has (K)statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole Law which I am setting before you today?

9 “Only (L)be careful for yourself and watch over your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart (M)all the days of your life; but (N)make them known to your sons and your grandsons. 10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may have them hear My words (O)so that they may learn to [b]fear Me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may (P)teach their children.’ 11 You came forward and stood at the foot of the mountain, (Q)and the mountain was burning with fire to the heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud, and thick gloom. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—there was only a voice. 13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, (R)the Ten [c]Commandments; and (S)He wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, so that you would perform them in the land where you are going over to take possession of it.

15 “So (T)be very careful [d]yourselves, since you did not see any (U)form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, 16 so that you do not (V)act corruptly and (W)make a carved image for yourselves in the form of any figure, a representation of male or female, 17 a representation of any animal that is on the earth, a representation of (X)any winged bird that flies in the sky, 18 a representation of anything that crawls on the ground, or a representation of any fish that is in the water below the earth. 19 And be careful not to raise your eyes to heaven and look at the sun, the moon, and the stars, (Y)all the heavenly [e]lights, (Z)and allow yourself to be drawn away and worship them and serve them, things which the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. 20 But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of (AA)the iron furnace, from Egypt, to (AB)be a people of His own possession, as today.

21 “(AC)Now the Lord was angry with me on your account, and He swore that I would not cross the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. 22 For (AD)I am going to die in this land; I am not crossing the Jordan, but you are going to cross, and you will take possession of this (AE)good land. 23 So be careful [f]yourselves, (AF)that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and (AG)make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything against which the Lord your God has commanded you. 24 For the Lord your God is a (AH)consuming fire, a (AI)jealous God.

25 “When you father children and have [g]grandchildren, and you grow old in the land, and you (AJ)act corruptly, and (AK)make [h]an idol in the form of anything, and (AL)do what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him to anger, 26 I (AM)call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that you will (AN)certainly perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to take possession of it. You will not [i]live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 The Lord will (AO)scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you. 28 (AP)There you will serve gods, the work of human hands, (AQ)wood and stone, (AR)which neither see nor hear, nor eat nor smell anything. 29 (AS)But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him (AT)with all your heart and all your soul. 30 When you (AU)are in distress and all these things happen to you, (AV)in the latter days (AW)you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice. 31 For the Lord your God is a (AX)compassionate God; (AY)He will not abandon you nor (AZ)destroy you, nor (BA)forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.

32 “Indeed, (BB)ask now about the earlier days that were [j]before your time, since the (BC)day that God created [k]mankind on the earth, and inquire (BD)from one end of the heavens to the other. (BE)Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it? 33 (BF)Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived? 34 (BG)Or has a god ventured to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation (BH)by trials, by signs and wonders, by war, (BI)by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, [l]just as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord, He is God; (BJ)there is no other besides Him. 36 (BK)Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice (BL)to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire. 37 (BM)Because He loved your fathers, He chose [m]their descendants after them. And He [n](BN)personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, 38 driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and (BO)to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is today. 39 Therefore know today, and take it to your heart, that (BP)the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. 40 (BQ)So you shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am [o]giving you today, so that (BR)it may go well for you and for your children after you, and (BS)that you may [p]live long on the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

41 (BT)Then Moses set apart three cities across the Jordan to the [q]east, 42 for [r]one to flee there who unintentionally killed his neighbor, without having hatred for him in time past; and by fleeing to one of these cities he might live: 43 (BU)Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

44 Now this is the Law which Moses set before the sons of Israel; 45 these are the testimonies and the statutes, and the ordinances which Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt, 46 across the Jordan, in the valley (BV)opposite Beth-peor, in the land of (BW)Sihon king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel [s]defeated when they came out of Egypt. 47 And they took possession of his land and the land of (BX)Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were across the Jordan to the [t]east, 48 from (BY)Aroer, which is on the edge of the [u]Valley of Arnon, even as far as (BZ)Mount Sion (that is, Hermon), 49 with all the Arabah across the Jordan to the east, even as far as the sea of the Arabah, [v]at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 4:3 Lit him
  2. Deuteronomy 4:10 Or revere
  3. Deuteronomy 4:13 Lit Words
  4. Deuteronomy 4:15 Or for your own lives
  5. Deuteronomy 4:19 Lit host
  6. Deuteronomy 4:23 Or for yourselves
  7. Deuteronomy 4:25 Lit children’s children
  8. Deuteronomy 4:25 Or a carved image
  9. Deuteronomy 4:26 Lit prolong your days
  10. Deuteronomy 4:32 Lit before you
  11. Deuteronomy 4:32 Or Adam
  12. Deuteronomy 4:34 Lit according to all that
  13. Deuteronomy 4:37 Lit his seed
  14. Deuteronomy 4:37 Lit with His presence
  15. Deuteronomy 4:40 Lit commanding
  16. Deuteronomy 4:40 Lit prolong your days
  17. Deuteronomy 4:41 Lit sunrise
  18. Deuteronomy 4:42 Lit one who committed manslaughter
  19. Deuteronomy 4:46 Lit struck
  20. Deuteronomy 4:47 Lit sunrise
  21. Deuteronomy 4:48 Or wadi
  22. Deuteronomy 4:49 Lit under
Next
Deuteronomy 3
Deuteronomy 5
Next
dropdown
Expanded Bible (EXB)

The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible is made available by The Lockman Foundation