Deuteronomy 4

1 And now, O Israel, hearken unto the statutes and unto the ordinances, which I teach you, to do them; that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which Jehovah, the God of your fathers, giveth you.2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of Jehovah your God which I command you.3 Your eyes have seen what Jehovah did because of Baal-peor; for all the men that followed Baal-peor, Jehovah thy God hath destroyed them from the midst of thee.4 But ye that did cleave unto Jehovah your God are alive every one of you this day.5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as Jehovah my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the midst of the land whither ye go in to possess it.6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, that shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.7 For what great nation is there, that hath a god so nigh unto them, as Jehovah our God is whensoever we call upon him?8 And what great nation is there, that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but make them known unto thy children and thy children’s children;10 the day that thou stoodest before Jehovah thy God in Horeb, when Jehovah said unto me, Assemble me the people, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.12 And Jehovah spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of words, but ye saw no form; only ye heard a voice.13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.14 And Jehovah commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.

15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of form on the day that Jehovah spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire.16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,17 the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flieth in the heavens,18 the likeness of anything that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth;19 and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, thou be drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Jehovah thy God hath allotted unto all the peoples under the whole heaven.20 But Jehovah hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as at this day.21 Furthermore Jehovah was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance:22 but I must die in this land, I must not go over the Jordan; but ye shall go over, and possess that good land.23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image in the form of anything which Jehovah thy God hath forbidden thee.24 For Jehovah thy God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.

25 When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have been long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image in the form of anything, and shall do that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah thy God, to provoke him to anger;26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.27 And Jehovah will scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left few in number among the nations, whither Jehovah shall lead you away.28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.29 But from thence ye shall seek Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt find him, when thou searchest after him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, in the latter days thou shalt return to Jehovah thy God, and hearken unto his voice:31 for Jehovah thy God is a merciful God; he will not fail thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

32 For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?33 Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Jehovah your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?35 Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that Jehovah he is God; there is none else besides him.36 Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he made thee to see his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out with his presence, with his great power, out of Egypt;38 to drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as at this day.39 Know therefore this day, and lay it to thy heart, that Jehovah he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else.40 And thou shalt keep his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days in the land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, for ever.

41 Then Moses set apart three cities beyond the Jordan toward the sunrising;42 that the manslayer might flee thither, that slayeth his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:43 namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.

44 And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:45 these are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, when they came forth out of Egypt,46 beyond the Jordan, in the valley over against Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, when they came forth out of Egypt.47 And they took his land in possession, and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan toward the sunrising;48 from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, even unto mount Sion (the same is Hermon),49 and all the Arabah beyond the Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.

Deuteronomy 4

The Privileges of the Covenant

1 Now, Israel, pay attention to the statutes and ordinancest I am about to teach you, so that you might live and go on to enter and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors,t is giving you.2 Do not add a thing to what I command you nor subtract from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I am delivering tot you.3 You have witnessed what the Lord did at Baal Peor,s how het eradicated from your midst everyone who followed Baal Peor.t4 But you who remained faithful to the Lord your God are still alive to this very day, every one of you.5 Look! I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the Lord my God told me to do, so that you might carry them out int the land you are about to enter and possess.6 So be sure to do them, because this will testify of your wise understandingt to the people who will learn of all these statutes and say, “Indeed, this great nation is a very wiset people.”7 In fact, what other great nation has a god so near to them like the Lord our God whenever we call on him?

8 And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as justt as this whole lawt that I am about to share witht you today?

Reminder of the Horeb Covenant

9 Again, however, pay very careful attention,t 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 Yout stood before the Lord your God at Horeb and het said to me, “Assemble the people before me so that I can tell them my commands.t 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 itt and yet dark with a thick cloud.t12 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.t13 And he revealed to you the covenants he has commanded you to keep, the ten commandments,t 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 which you are about to enter and possess.t

The Nature of Israel’s God

15 Be very careful,t then, because you saw no form at the time the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the middle of the fire.16 I say thist so you will not corrupt yourselves by making an image in the form of any kind of figure. This includes the likeness of a human male or female,17 any kind of land animal, any bird that flies in the sky,18 anything that crawlst on the ground, or any fish in the deep waters of the earth.t19 When you look upt to the skyt and see the sun, moon, and stars – the whole heavenly creationt – you must not be seduced to worship and serve them,t for the Lord your God has assignedt them to all the peoplet of the world.ts20 You, however, the Lord has selected and brought from Egypt, that iron-smelting furnace,t to be his special peoplet as you are today.21 But the Lord became angry with me because of you and vowed that I would never cross the Jordan nor enter the good land that het is about to give you.t22 So I must die here in this land; I will not cross the Jordan. But you are going over and will possess thatt good land.23 Be on guard so that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he has made with you, and that you do not make an image of any kind, just as het has forbiddent you.

24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire; he is a jealous God.t

Threat and Blessing following Covenant Disobedience

25 After you have produced children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time,t if you become corrupt and make an image of any kindt and do other evil things before the Lord your God that enrage him,t26 I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against yous today that you will surely and swiftly be removedt from the very land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not last long there because you will surely bet annihilated.27 Then the Lord will scatter you among the peoples and there will be very few of yout among the nations where the Lord will drive you.28 There you will worship gods made by human hands – wood and stone that can neither see, hear, eat, nor smell.29 But if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find him, if, indeed, you seek him with all your heart and soul.t30 In your distress when all these things happen to you in the latter days,s if you return to the Lord your God and obey himt

31 (for het is a merciful God), he will not let you downt or destroy you, for he cannott forget the covenant with your ancestors that he confirmed by oath to them.

The Uniqueness of Israel’s God

32 Indeed, ask about the distant past, starting from the day God created humankindt on the earth, and askt from one end of heaven to the other, whether there has ever been such a great thing as this, or even a rumor of it.33 Have a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the middle of fire, as you yourselves have, and lived to tell about it?34 Or has Godt ever before tried to delivert a nation from the middle of another nation, accompanied by judgments,t signs, wonders, war, strength, power,t and other very terrifying things like the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?35 You have been taught that the Lord alone is God – there is no other besides him.36 From heaven he spoke to you in order to teach you, and on earth he showed you his great fire from which you also heard his words.t37 Moreover, because he lovedt your ancestors, he chose theirs descendants who followed them and personally brought you out of Egypt with his great power38 to dispossess nations greater and stronger than you and brought you here this day to give you their land as your property.t39 Today realize and carefully consider that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below – there is no other!

40 Keep his statutes and commandments that I am setting fortht today so that it may go well with you and your descendants and that you may enjoy longevity in the land that the Lord your God is about to give you as a permanent possession.

The Narrative Concerning Cities of Refuge

41 Then Moses selected three cities in the Transjordan, toward the east.42 Anyone who accidentally killed someonet without hating him at the time of the accidentt could flee to one of those cities and be safe.

43 These cities are Bezer, in the desert plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for the Manassehites.

The Setting and Introduction of the Covenant

44 This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites.t45 These are the stipulations, statutes, and ordinances that Moses spoke to the Israelites after he had brought them out of Egypt,46 in the Transjordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. (It is he whom Moses and the Israelites attacked after they came out of Egypt.47 They possessed his land and that of King Og of Bashan – both of whom were Amorite kings in the Transjordan, to the east.48 Their territory extendedt from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon valley as far as Mount Siyons – that is, Hermon –

49 including all the Arabah of the Transjordan in the east to the sea of the Arabah,s beneath the watershedt of Pisgah.)