Deuteronomy 4
New Living Translation
Moses Urges Israel to Obey
4 “And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you.
3 “You saw for yourself what the Lord did to you at Baal-peor. There the Lord your God destroyed everyone who had worshiped Baal, the god of Peor. 4 But all of you who were faithful to the Lord your God are still alive today—every one of you.
5 “Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy. 6 Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’ 7 For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? 8 And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?
9 “But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. 10 Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai,[a] where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.’
11 “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while flames from the mountain shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness. 12 And the Lord spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words but didn’t see his form; there was only a voice. 13 He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments[b]—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets. 14 It was at that time that the Lord commanded me to teach you his decrees and regulations so you would obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy.
A Warning against Idolatry
15 “But be very careful! You did not see the Lord’s form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai. 16 So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman, 17 an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky, 18 a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea. 19 And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The Lord your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth. 20 Remember that the Lord rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today.
21 “But the Lord was angry with me because of you. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan River into the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession. 22 You will cross the Jordan to occupy the land, but I will not. Instead, I will die here on the east side of the river. 23 So be careful not to break the covenant the Lord your God has made with you. Do not make idols of any shape or form, for the Lord your God has forbidden this. 24 The Lord your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God.
25 “In the future, when you have children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time, do not corrupt yourselves by making idols of any kind. This is evil in the sight of the Lord your God and will arouse his anger.
26 “Today I call on heaven and earth as witnesses against you. If you break my covenant, you will quickly disappear from the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. You will live there only a short time; then you will be utterly destroyed. 27 For the Lord will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive. 28 There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. 29 But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.
30 “In the distant future, when you are suffering all these things, you will finally return to the Lord your God and listen to what he tells you. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.
There Is Only One God
32 “Now search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now, and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this ever been seen or heard before? 33 Has any nation ever heard the voice of God[c] speaking from fire—as you did—and survived? 34 Has any other god dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes.
35 “He showed you these things so you would know that the Lord is God and there is no other. 36 He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct you. He let you see his great fire here on earth so he could speak to you from it. 37 Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power. 38 He drove out nations far greater than you, so he could bring you in and give you their land as your special possession, as it is today.
39 “So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other. 40 If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children. I am giving you these instructions so you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”
Eastern Cities of Refuge
41 Then Moses set apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River. 42 Anyone who killed another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, could flee there to live in safety. 43 These were the cities: Bezer on the wilderness plateau for the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead for the tribe of Gad; Golan in Bashan for the tribe of Manasseh.
Introduction to Moses’ Second Address
44 This is the body of instruction that Moses presented to the Israelites. 45 These are the laws, decrees, and regulations that Moses gave to the people of Israel when they left Egypt, 46 and as they camped in the valley near Beth-peor east of the Jordan River. (This land was formerly occupied by the Amorites under King Sihon, who ruled from Heshbon. But Moses and the Israelites destroyed him and his people when they came up from Egypt. 47 Israel took possession of his land and that of King Og of Bashan—the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. 48 So Israel conquered the entire area from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge all the way to Mount Sirion,[d] also called Mount Hermon. 49 And they conquered the eastern bank of the Jordan River as far south as the Dead Sea,[e] below the slopes of Pisgah.)
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
- Deuteronomy 4:3 Lit him
- Deuteronomy 4:10 Or revere
- Deuteronomy 4:13 Lit Words
- Deuteronomy 4:15 Or for your own lives
- Deuteronomy 4:19 Lit host
- Deuteronomy 4:23 Or for yourselves
- Deuteronomy 4:25 Lit children’s children
- Deuteronomy 4:25 Or a carved image
- Deuteronomy 4:26 Lit prolong your days
- Deuteronomy 4:32 Lit before you
- Deuteronomy 4:32 Or Adam
- Deuteronomy 4:34 Lit according to all that
- Deuteronomy 4:37 Lit his seed
- Deuteronomy 4:37 Lit with His presence
- Deuteronomy 4:40 Lit commanding
- Deuteronomy 4:40 Lit prolong your days
- Deuteronomy 4:41 Lit sunrise
- Deuteronomy 4:42 Lit one who committed manslaughter
- Deuteronomy 4:46 Lit struck
- Deuteronomy 4:47 Lit sunrise
- Deuteronomy 4:48 Or wadi
- Deuteronomy 4:49 Lit under
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
