Deuteronomy 4:9-14
New English Translation
Reminder of the Horeb Covenant
9 Again, however, pay very careful attention,[a] lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren. 10 You[b] stood before the Lord your God at Horeb and he[c] said to me, “Assemble the people before me so that I can tell them my commands.[d] Then they will learn to revere me all the days they live in the land, and they will instruct their children.” 11 You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain, a mountain ablaze to the sky above it[e] and yet dark with a thick cloud.[f] 12 Then the Lord spoke to you from the middle of the fire; you heard speech but you could not see anything—only a voice was heard.[g] 13 And he revealed to you the covenant[h] he has commanded you to keep, the Ten Commandments,[i] writing them on two stone tablets. 14 Moreover, at that same time the Lord commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to keep in the land that you are about to enter and possess.[j]
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- Deuteronomy 4:9 tn Heb “watch yourself and watch your soul carefully.”
- Deuteronomy 4:10 tn The text begins with “(the) day (in) which.” In the Hebrew text v. 10 is subordinate to v. 11, but for stylistic reasons the translation treats v. 10 as an independent clause, necessitating the omission of the subordinating temporal phrase at the beginning of the verse.
- Deuteronomy 4:10 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 4:3.
- Deuteronomy 4:10 tn Heb “my words.” See v. 13; in Hebrew the “ten commandments” are the “ten words.”
- Deuteronomy 4:11 tn Heb “a mountain burning with fire as far as the heart of the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
- Deuteronomy 4:11 tn Heb “darkness, cloud, and heavy cloud.”
- Deuteronomy 4:12 tn The words “was heard” are supplied in the translation to avoid the impression that the voice was seen.
- Deuteronomy 4:13 sn This is the first occurrence of the word בְּרִית (berit, “covenant”) in the Book of Deuteronomy but it appears commonly hereafter (4:23, 31; 5:2, 3; 7:9, 12; 8:18; 9:9, 10, 11, 15; 10:2, 4, 5, 8; 17:2; 29:1, 9, 12, 14, 15, 18, 21, 25; 31:9, 16, 20, 25, 26; 33:9). Etymologically, it derives from the notion of linking or yoking together. See M. Weinfeld, TDOT 2:255.
- Deuteronomy 4:13 tn Heb “the ten words.”
- Deuteronomy 4:14 tn Heb “to which you are crossing over to possess it.”
Deuteronomy 4:9-14
Common English Bible
9 But be on guard and watch yourselves closely so that you don’t forget the things your eyes saw and so they never leave your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren. 10 Remember that[a] day when you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord said to me: “Gather the people to me. I will declare my words to them so that they will learn to fear me every day of their lives on the fertile land, and teach their children to do the same.” 11 Then you all came close and stood at the foot of the mountain. The mountain was blazing with fire up to the sky, with darkness, cloud, and thick smoke! 12 The Lord spoke to you out of the very fire itself. You heard the sound of words, but you didn’t see any form. There was only a voice. 13 The Lord declared his covenant to you, which he commanded you to do—the Ten Commandments[b]—and wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 At that time, the Lord commanded me to teach you all the regulations and the case laws that you must keep in the land that you are entering to possess.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Deuteronomy 4:10 Heb lacks remember that.
- Deuteronomy 4:13 Or the ten words
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