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32 “Yes, ask, please, about former days that preceded you[a] from the day that God created humankind on the earth; ask even from one end of the heaven up to the other end of heaven whether anything ever happened[b] like this great thing or whether anything like it was ever heard.[c] 33 Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, just as you heard it, and lived? 34 Or has a god ever attempted to go to take for himself[d] a nation from the midst of a nation, using trials and signs and wonders and war, with an outstretched arm and with great and awesome deeds, like all that Yahweh your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 You yourselves[e] were shown this wonder in order for you to acknowledge that Yahweh is the God;[f] there is no other God besides him.[g] 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to teach you, and on the earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from the midst of the fire. 37 And because he loved your ancestors[h] he chose their descendants[i] after them. And he brought you forth from Egypt with his own presence,[j] by his great strength, 38 to drive out nations greater and more numerous than you from before you,[k] to bring you and to give to you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. 39 So you shall acknowledge today,[l] and you must call to mind[m] that Yahweh is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. There is no other God. 40 And you shall keep his rules and his commandments that I am commanding you today,[n] so that it may go well[o] for you and for your children[p] after you, and so that you may remain a long time[q] on the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you during all of those days.”

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 4:32 Literally “that they were to the face of you”
  2. Deuteronomy 4:32 Literally “was it ever
  3. Deuteronomy 4:32 Literally “was it ever heard as it”
  4. Deuteronomy 4:34 Hebrew “for him”
  5. Deuteronomy 4:35 Emphatic use of pronoun; plural meaning implied
  6. Deuteronomy 4:35 The definite article indicates that Israel’s God is alone the true God and the one who revealed himself to them
  7. Deuteronomy 4:35 Literally “except him” or “to him alone”
  8. Deuteronomy 4:37 Or “fathers”
  9. Deuteronomy 4:37 Literally “seed”
  10. Deuteronomy 4:37 Literally “with his faces”
  11. Deuteronomy 4:38 Literally “from your face”
  12. Deuteronomy 4:39 Literally “the day”
  13. Deuteronomy 4:39 Literally “you shall bring back to your heart”
  14. Deuteronomy 4:40 Literally “the day”
  15. Deuteronomy 4:40 Literally “he/it is good”
  16. Deuteronomy 4:40 Or “descendants”
  17. Deuteronomy 4:40 Literally “you may make long/prolong days”

32 Now look into it: into days long past, before your time—all the way back to the day God first created human beings on earth, from one end of heaven to the other. Has anything this amazing ever happened? Has anything like it ever been heard of before? 33 Has any people ever listened to a god’s voice speaking out of fire, as each of you have, and survived? 34 Or has any god ever tried to take one nation out of another nation using tests, miracles, wonders, war, a strong hand and outstretched arm, or awesome power like all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt while you watched? 35 You were shown these things so that you would know this: The Lord is the only God. There’s no other god except him. 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice in order to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire. You heard his words from that very fire. 37 And because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, God brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his own great power, 38 in order to remove larger and stronger nations from before you and bring you into their land, giving it to you as an inheritance. That’s where things stand right now. 39 Know then today and keep in mind that the Lord is the only God in heaven above or on earth below. There is no other. 40 Keep the Lord’s regulations and his commandments. I’m commanding them to you today for your well-being and for the well-being of your children after you, so that you may extend your time on the fertile land that the Lord your God is giving you forever.

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