Deuteronomy 4
Legacy Standard Bible
Keep the Commandments of Yahweh
4 “So now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which (A)I am teaching you to do, so that (B)you may live and go in and take possession of the land which Yahweh, 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, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I am commanding you. 3 (E)Your eyes have seen what Yahweh has done in the case of Baal-peor, for all the men who walked after Baal-peor, Yahweh your God has destroyed [a]them from among you. 4 But you who clung to Yahweh your God are alive today, every one of you.
5 “See, I have taught you statutes and judgments (F)just as Yahweh my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. 6 You shall 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 Yahweh 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)keep yourself and keep your soul very carefully, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your heart (M)all the days of your life. But (N)make them known to your sons and to your grandsons. 10 Remember the day you stood before Yahweh your God at Horeb, when Yahweh said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may cause them to hear My words (O)so they may learn to [b]fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may (P)teach their children.’ 11 And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, (Q)and the mountain burned with fire to the very heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud, and dense gloom. 12 Then Yahweh spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—only a voice. 13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to do, that is, (R)the Ten [c]Commandments; and (S)He wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And Yahweh commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it.
15 “So (T)keep your souls very carefully, since you did not see any (U)form on the day Yahweh spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, 16 lest you (V)act corruptly and (W)make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of (X)any winged bird that flies in the sky, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth, 19 and lest you lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, (Y)all the host of heaven, (Z)and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which Yahweh your God has apportioned for all the peoples under the whole heaven. 20 But Yahweh has taken you and brought you out of (AA)the iron furnace, from Egypt, to (AB)be a people for His own inheritance, as today.
21 “(AC)Now Yahweh was angry with me on your account and swore that I would not cross the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance. 22 For (AD)I will die in this land, I shall not cross the Jordan, but you shall cross and take possession of this (AE)good land. 23 So keep yourselves, (AF)lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God which He cut with you and (AG)make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which Yahweh your God has commanded you. 24 For Yahweh your God is a (AH)consuming fire, a (AI)jealous God.
25 “When you [d]become the father of children and children’s children and remain long in the land and (AJ)act corruptly and (AK)make [e]a graven image in the form of anything and (AL)do that which is evil in the sight of Yahweh your God so as to provoke Him to anger, 26 I (AM)call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will (AN)surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not prolong your days on it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 And Yahweh will (AO)scatter you among the peoples, and you will remain few in number among the nations where Yahweh drives you. 28 (AP)And there you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, (AQ)wood and stone, (AR)which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. 29 (AS)But from there you will seek Yahweh your God, and you will find Him, for you will search for Him (AT)with all your heart and all your soul. 30 When you (AU)are in distress and all these things have come upon you, (AV)in the last days (AW)you will return to Yahweh your God and listen to His voice. 31 For Yahweh your God is a (AX)compassionate God; (AY)He will not fail you nor (AZ)destroy you nor (BA)forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.
32 “Indeed, (BB)ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the (BC)day that God created [f]man 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 lived? 34 (BG)Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation (BH)with trials, with signs and wonders and with war and (BI)with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terrors, [g]as Yahweh your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown that you might know that Yahweh, He is God; (BJ)there is no other besides Him. 36 (BK)Out of the heavens He caused you to hear His voice (BL)to discipline you; and on earth He caused you to see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire. 37 [h](BM)Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their seed after them. And He [i](BN)personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, 38 dispossessing before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and (BO)to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today. 39 Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that (BP)Yahweh, 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 commanding you today, that (BR)it may go well with you and with your children after you, and (BS)that you may prolong your days on the land which Yahweh your God is giving you for all the days.”
41 (BT)Then Moses set apart three cities across the Jordan to the east toward the sunrise, 42 that a manslayer might flee there, who slew his neighbor [j]without premeditation, [k]not hating him previously; so he shall flee to one of these cities that he might live: 43 (BU)Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, and 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 judgments which Moses spoke to the sons of Israel when they came out from Egypt, 46 across the Jordan, in the valley (BV)opposite Beth-peor, in the land of (BW)Sihon king of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel struck down when they came out from 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 east toward the sunrise, 48 from (BY)Aroer, which is on the edge of the [l]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, [m]at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 4:3 Lit him
- Deuteronomy 4:10 Or reverence
- Deuteronomy 4:13 Lit Words
- Deuteronomy 4:25 Lit beget
- Deuteronomy 4:25 Or an idol
- Deuteronomy 4:32 Or Adam
- Deuteronomy 4:34 Lit according to all that
- Deuteronomy 4:37 Lit And instead, because
- Deuteronomy 4:37 Lit with His presence
- Deuteronomy 4:42 Lit without knowledge
- Deuteronomy 4:42 Lit and he was not hating him previously
- Deuteronomy 4:48 Or wadi
- Deuteronomy 4:49 Lit under
Deuteronomy 4
New King James Version
Moses Commands Obedience
4 “Now, O Israel, listen to (A)the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and [a]possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you. 2 (B)You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. 3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at (C)Baal Peor; for the Lord your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor. 4 But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you.
5 “Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. 6 Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is (D)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 (E)what great nation is there that has (F)God[b] so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? 8 And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? 9 Only take heed to yourself, and diligently (G)keep yourself, lest you (H)forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And (I)teach them to your children and your grandchildren, 10 especially concerning (J)the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’
11 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 12 (K)And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no [c]form; (L)you only heard a voice. 13 (M)So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, (N)the Ten Commandments; and (O)He wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And (P)the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might [d]observe them in the land which you cross over to possess.
Beware of Idolatry
15 (Q)“Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no (R)form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 lest you (S)act corruptly and (T)make for yourselves a carved image in the [e]form of any figure: (U)the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth. 19 And take heed, lest you (V)lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, (W)all the host of heaven, you feel driven to (X)worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has [f]given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage. 20 But the Lord has taken you and (Y)brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be (Z)His people, an inheritance, as you are this day. 21 Furthermore (AA)the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that (AB)I would not cross over the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. 22 But (AC)I must die in this land, (AD)I must not cross over the Jordan; but you shall cross over and [g]possess (AE)that good land. 23 Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, (AF)and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24 For (AG)the Lord your God is a consuming fire, (AH)a jealous God.
25 “When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and (AI)do evil in the sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him to anger, 26 (AJ)I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not [h]prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 And the Lord (AK)will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. 28 And (AL)there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, (AM)which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. 29 (AN)But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in [i]distress, and all these things come upon you in the (AO)latter days, when you (AP)turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice 31 (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor (AQ)destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.
32 “For (AR)ask now concerning the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask (AS)from one end of heaven to the other, whether any great thing like this has happened, or anything like it has been heard. 33 (AT)Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? 34 Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, (AU)by trials, (AV)by signs, by wonders, by war, (AW)by a mighty hand and (AX)an outstretched arm, (AY)and by great [j]terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; (AZ)there is none other besides Him. 36 (BA)Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because (BB)He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their [k]descendants after them; and (BC)He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, 38 (BD)driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. 39 Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that (BE)the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. 40 (BF)You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that [l]it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may [m]prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”
Cities of Refuge East of the Jordan
41 Then Moses (BG)set apart three cities on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun, 42 (BH)that the manslayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without having hated him in time past, and that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live: 43 (BI)Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.
Introduction to God’s Law
44 Now this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel. 45 These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which Moses spoke to the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt, 46 on this side of the Jordan, (BJ)in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel (BK)defeated[n] after they came out of Egypt. 47 And they took possession of his land and the land (BL)of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, who were on this side of the Jordan, toward the [o]rising of the sun, 48 (BM)from Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, even to Mount [p]Sion (that is, (BN)Hermon), 49 and all the plain on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the (BO)slopes of Pisgah.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 4:1 take possession of
- Deuteronomy 4:7 Or a god
- Deuteronomy 4:12 similitude
- Deuteronomy 4:14 do or perform
- Deuteronomy 4:16 similitude
- Deuteronomy 4:19 divided
- Deuteronomy 4:22 take possession of
- Deuteronomy 4:26 live long on it
- Deuteronomy 4:30 tribulation
- Deuteronomy 4:34 calamities
- Deuteronomy 4:37 Lit. seed
- Deuteronomy 4:40 you may prosper
- Deuteronomy 4:40 live long
- Deuteronomy 4:46 struck
- Deuteronomy 4:47 east
- Deuteronomy 4:48 Syr. Sirion
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
