4 Israel's people, listen to the rules and laws that I will now teach you. If you obey them, you will live. You will go into the land that the Lord , the God of your ancestors, is giving to you. The land will belong to you, for you to live in. 2 Do not add anything to these rules. Do not remove anything from them. You must obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving to you.
3 You saw for yourselves what the Lord your God did at Baal-Peor. He killed every person among you who worshipped Baal there. [ a ] 4 But each of you who continued to trust the Lord your God is still alive today.
5 Look! I have taught you rules and laws, as the Lord my God told me to do. Now you must obey them when you go into the land where you will live. 6 Obey them carefully. That will show people of other nations that you are wise. They will hear about all your laws. Then they will say, ‘The people of this great nation are very wise and clever!’
7 No other nation has a god who is near to them like the Lord our God. Even great nations have no god like that. But when we pray to the Lord our God, he listens! 8 And no other great nation has rules and laws that are as fair as ours. That is God's Law that I am giving to you today.
9 But be very careful! Never forget the things that you yourselves have seen. Remember these things for as long as you live. Tell your children and your grandchildren about all the things that God has done.
10 Remember when you stood in front of the Lord your God at Sinai. He said to me, ‘Bring all the people here to me so that I can tell them my commands. Then they will learn to respect me and obey me. They will do this for as long as they live and they will teach my commands to their children.’ 11 At that time, you came and you stood at the edge of the mountain. You saw that the fire on the mountain reached up to the sky. But the sky was full of black clouds and it was dark. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you from the middle of the fire. You heard him as he spoke, but you did not see him. You only heard a voice. 13 He told you about his covenant and the ten commands that he wrote on two flat pieces of stone. He commanded you to obey them. 14 At that time, the Lord commanded me to teach you his rules and his laws. You must obey them in the land that you will now go in to live there.
15 Remember when the Lord spoke to you at Mount Horeb from the middle of the fire. You did not see him in any shape. So be very careful about everything that you do. 16 Do not make any image to be your god. That would be a sin. Do not make an image in any shape as your idol. Do not copy the shape of a man or a woman, 17 or the shape of any animal or bird. 18 Do not copy the shape of anything that moves along the ground, or any fish that swims in the deep water. 19 When you look up at the sky, you see the sun, the moon and the stars. They all shine up in the sky. But do not bend down low to them or worship them. They are there because the Lord your God has made them. He has given them to people everywhere in the world.
20 But you belong to the Lord . He brought you out of Egypt, which was like a hot oven where you had much pain. He rescued you, to be his own special people, as you are today.
21 The Lord your God became angry with me, because of you. He told me very strongly that I would not go across the Jordan River. He said that I would not go into the good land that he is now giving to you. 22 So I will die here. I will not cross the Jordan River. But you will soon cross over. That good land will belong to you as your home. 23 Be careful! Do not forget the covenant that the Lord your God has made with you. Do not make for yourselves any kind of image as your idol. That is the command that he has given to you. 24 That is because the Lord your God wants you to belong to him alone. He is like a fire that destroys all bad things.
25 One day, you will have lived in the land for a long time. You will have children and grandchildren. Remember that you still must not make any kind of image as your idol. That would be a sin. Do not do any evil things that will cause the Lord your God to become angry. 26 I am warning you today, as everyone on earth and everyone in heaven hears what I say. If you do not obey this command, you will soon die. You will not live long in the land that is your home on the other side of the Jordan River. You will die very soon. 27 The Lord will send you out of that land to live among other nations. Only a few of you will continue to be alive. 28 Among those nations, you will worship gods that men have made from wood and stone. Those gods cannot see or hear or eat or smell anything.
29 But even in those places, if you look for the Lord your God, you will find him. If you want to serve him with everything that you think and with everything that you do, you will find him. 30 When trouble happens to you in the future, you will turn back to him. When all these bad things happen to you, you will obey God again. 31 That is because the Lord your God is very kind. So he will not leave you alone. He will never destroy you. He will never forget the covenant that he made with your ancestors. That was a serious promise that he made to them.
32 Find out what happened many years ago. Think about everything that has happened since God created people to live on the earth. Go to anyone in the world and ask them. You will realize that nothing as great as this has ever happened before. People have never heard of anything like this. 33 Only you, the nation of Israel, have heard the voice of God that spoke to you from the middle of the fire. Only you have heard God speak and you still live! 34 No other god has tried to rescue a nation from the power of another nation. The Lord your God did this for you when you were in Egypt. You saw how he used his great authority and strength to punish the Egyptians. He did powerful miracles. He brought war and disease that made them very afraid.
35 The Lord has shown you all these things. So you know that he is the only true God. There is no other God. 36 God spoke to you from heaven so that he could teach you. Here on earth he let you see his great fire. He spoke from that fire and you heard him. 37 He chose you as his special people because he loved your ancestors. You are their descendants so he rescued you out of Egypt. He himself showed you his great power. 38 Now he is chasing out other nations so that you can take their land to live in. They are greater and stronger nations than you are, but he has given their land to you.
39 Remember today that the Lord is God. He rules in heaven above and on the earth below. Think about that! There is no other God. 40 Obey his commands and his rules that I am giving you today. If you do that, everything will be well for you and for your descendants. You will continue to live for a long time in the land that the Lord your God is giving to you. It will belong to you for ever.
41 Then Moses chose three special cities on the east side of the Jordan River. 42 If someone killed another person when he did not mean to do it, he could hide there safely. If he had not hated the other person as his enemy, he could run to one of these cities. Then he would be safe. 43 Moses chose these cities: For Reuben's tribe, he chose Bezer, in the high land of the desert. For Gad's tribe, he chose Ramoth, in Gilead. For Manasseh's tribe, he chose Golan, in Bashan.
44 This is God's Law that Moses explained to the Israelites. 45 These are the rules, the teaching and the commands that Moses taught the Israelites after they had left Egypt. 46 At that time they were in the valley near to Beth-Peor, on the east side of the Jordan River. That was in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon. Moses and the Israelites had attacked him after they came out of Egypt. 47 They took power over his land, as well as the land of Og, king of Bashan. These two Amorite kings ruled on the east side of the Jordan River. 48 Their land went from Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon valley, as far as Mount Sirion (that is Mount Hermon). 49 This land included all the Jordan Valley on the east side of the river, as far south as the Salt Sea, near Mount Pisgah. [ b ]
4 “Now, Israel, listen to the laws and to the commands that I teach you. Obey them and you will live. Then you can go in and take the land that the Lord , the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 You must not add to what I command you. And you must not take anything away. You must obey the commands of the Lord your God that I have given you.
3 “You have seen what the Lord did at Baal Peor. The Lord your God destroyed all your people who followed the false god Baal at that place. 4 But all of you who stayed with the Lord your God are alive today.
5 “I taught you the laws and rules that the Lord my God commanded me. I did this so you could obey them in the land you are ready to enter and take for your own. 6 Obey these laws carefully. This will show the people of the other nations that you are wise and sensible. They will hear about these laws and say, ‘Truly, the people of this great nation are wise and sensible.’
7 “The Lord our God is near when we ask him to help us. No other nation has a god like that! 8 And no other nation is great enough to have laws and rules as good as the teachings I give you today. 9 But you must be careful! Be sure that as long as you live you never forget what you have seen. You must teach these things to your children and grandchildren. 10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Horeb. The Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people together to listen to what I have to say. Then they will learn to respect me as long as they live on earth. And they will teach these things to their children.’ 11 You came near and stood at the bottom of the mountain. The mountain burned with fire that reached up to the sky. There were thick black clouds and darkness. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you from the fire. You heard the sound of someone speaking, but you did not see any form. There was only a voice. 13 The Lord told you about his agreement, which he commanded you to obey. He told you about the Ten Commandments, which he wrote on two stone tablets. 14 At that time the Lord also commanded me to teach you the other laws and rules that you must follow in the land you are going to take and live in.
15 “On the day the Lord spoke to you from the fire at Mount Horeb, you did not see him—there was no shape for God. 16 So be careful! Don’t sin and destroy yourselves by making false gods or statues in the shape of any living thing. Don’t make an idol that looks like a man or a woman, 17 or like an animal on the earth, or like a bird that flies in the sky. 18 And don’t make an idol that looks like anything that crawls on the ground or like a fish in the sea. 19 And be careful when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon, and the stars—all the many things in the sky. Be careful that you are not tempted to worship and serve them. The Lord your God lets the other people in the world do this. 20 But the Lord brought you out of Egypt to make you his own special people. He saved you from Egypt. It was as if he pulled you from a hot furnace. [ a ] And now you are his people.
21 “The Lord was angry with me because of you. He swore that I could not go across the Jordan River into the good land that the Lord your God is giving you. 22 So I must die here in this land. I cannot go across the Jordan River, but you will soon go across it and take that good land and live there. 23 You must be careful not to forget the agreement that the Lord your God made with you. You must obey the Lord ’s command. Don’t make any idols in any form, 24 because the Lord your God hates for his people to worship other gods. And he can be like a fire that destroys!
25 “You will live in the country a long time. You will have children and grandchildren there. After all that time, be sure that you do not then ruin your lives by making any kind of idol! That is something the Lord your God considers evil, and it would make him very angry! 26 So I am warning you now. Heaven and earth are my witnesses! If you do such an evil thing, you will quickly be destroyed! You are crossing the Jordan River now to take that land. But if you make any idols, you will not live there very long. No, you will be destroyed completely! 27 The Lord will scatter you among the nations. And only a few of you will be left alive to go to the countries where the Lord will send you. 28 There you will serve gods made by men—things made of wood and stone that cannot see or hear or eat or smell! 29 But there in these other lands you will look for the Lord your God. And if you look for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him. 30 When you are in trouble—when all these things happen to you—then you will come back to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 The Lord your God is a merciful God! He will not leave you there or destroy you completely. He will not forget the agreement that he made with your ancestors.
32 “Has anything this great ever happened before? Never! Look at the past. Think about everything that happened before you were born. Go all the way back to the time when God made people on the earth. Look at everything that has happened anywhere in the world. Has anyone ever heard about anything as great as this? No! 33 You people heard God speaking to you from a fire, and you are still alive. Has that ever happened to anyone else? No! 34 Has any other god ever tried to go and take a people for himself from inside another nation? No! But you yourselves have seen everything that the Lord your God did for you. He showed you his power and strength. You saw the troubles that tested the people. You saw miracles and wonders. You saw war and the terrible things that happened. 35 The Lord showed you all this so that you would know that he is God. There is no other god like him. 36 He let you hear his voice from heaven so that he could teach you a lesson. On earth he let you see his great fire, and he spoke to you from it.
37 “He loved your ancestors. That is why he chose you, their descendants. And that is why he brought you out of Egypt. He was with you and brought you out with his great power. 38 When you moved forward, he forced out nations that were greater and more powerful than you. And he led you into their land. He gave you their land to live in, as he is still doing today.
39 “So today you must remember and accept that the Lord is God. He is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other god! 40 And you must obey his laws and commands that I give you today. Then everything will go well with you and your children who live after you. And you will live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving you—it will be yours forever.”
41 Then Moses chose three cities on the east side of the Jordan River. 42 Any person who killed someone by accident and not out of hate could run away to one of these three cities and not be put to death. 43 The three cities that Moses chose were Bezer in the high plains for the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead for the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan for the tribe of Manasseh.
44 Moses gave God’s law to the Israelites. 45 Moses gave these teachings, laws, and rules to the people after they came out of Egypt. 46 He gave them these laws while they were on the east side of the Jordan River, in the valley across from Beth Peor. They were in the land of Sihon, the Amorite king who lived at Heshbon. Moses and the Israelites had defeated Sihon when they came out of Egypt. 47 They took Sihon’s land to keep. They also took the land of King Og of Bashan. These two Amorite kings lived on the east side of the Jordan River. 48 This land goes from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley all the way to Mount Sirion, [ b ] that is, Mount Hermon. 49 This land also included the whole Jordan Valley on the east side of the Jordan River. To the south, this land reached to the Dead Sea. [ c ] To the east, it reached to the foot of Mount Pisgah.
4 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you.
2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you.
4 But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.
5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments 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 have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;
10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall 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 midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
12 And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.
13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
14 And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, 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 similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude 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 fowl that flieth in the air,
18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath 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, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
20 But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.
21 Furthermore the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance:
22 But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land.
23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee.
24 For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
25 When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord 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 Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
27 And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you.
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 if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake 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 ask from the one side 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 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 temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
35 Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.
36 Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee 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 in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;
38 To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.
39 Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
40 Thou shalt keep therefore 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 upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever.
41 Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;
42 That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:
43 Namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of 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 judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt.
46 On this side Jordan, in the valley over against Bethpeor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt:
47 And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, which were on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;
48 From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which is Hermon,
49 And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.
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.
4 Now, Israel, hear the decrees ( A ) and laws I am about to teach ( B ) you. Follow them so that you may live ( C ) and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord , the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 Do not add ( D ) to what I command you and do not subtract ( E ) from it, but keep ( F ) the commands ( G ) of the Lord your God that I give you.
3 You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor. ( H ) The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, 4 but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.
5 See, I have taught ( I ) you decrees and laws ( J ) as the Lord my God commanded ( K ) me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering ( L ) to take possession of it. 6 Observe ( M ) them carefully, for this will show your wisdom ( N ) and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” ( O ) 7 What other nation is so great ( P ) as to have their gods near ( Q ) them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws ( R ) as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
9 Only be careful, ( S ) and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach ( T ) them to your children ( U ) and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, ( V ) when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn ( W ) to revere ( X ) me as long as they live in the land ( Y ) and may teach ( Z ) them to their children.” 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain ( AA ) while it blazed with fire ( AB ) to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. ( AC ) 12 Then the Lord spoke ( AD ) to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; ( AE ) there was only a voice. ( AF ) 13 He declared to you his covenant, ( AG ) the Ten Commandments, ( AH ) which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws ( AI ) you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.
15 You saw no form ( AJ ) of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb ( AK ) out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, ( AL ) 16 so that you do not become corrupt ( AM ) and make for yourselves an idol, ( AN ) an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, ( AO ) 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, ( AP ) the moon and the stars ( AQ ) —all the heavenly array ( AR ) —do not be enticed ( AS ) into bowing down to them and worshiping ( AT ) things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. 20 But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, ( AU ) out of Egypt, ( AV ) to be the people of his inheritance, ( AW ) as you now are.
21 The Lord was angry with me ( AX ) because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance. 22 I will die in this land; ( AY ) I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land. ( AZ ) 23 Be careful not to forget the covenant ( BA ) of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol ( BB ) in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, ( BC ) a jealous God. ( BD )
25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt ( BE ) and make any kind of idol, ( BF ) doing evil ( BG ) in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses ( BH ) against you ( BI ) this day that you will quickly perish ( BJ ) from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter ( BK ) you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive ( BL ) among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods ( BM ) of wood and stone, ( BN ) which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. ( BO ) 29 But if from there you seek ( BP ) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart ( BQ ) and with all your soul. ( BR ) 30 When you are in distress ( BS ) and all these things have happened to you, then in later days ( BT ) you will return ( BU ) to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful ( BV ) God; he will not abandon ( BW ) or destroy ( BX ) you or forget ( BY ) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.
32 Ask ( BZ ) now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ( CA ) ask from one end of the heavens to the other. ( CB ) Has anything so great ( CC ) as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God [ a ] speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? ( CD ) 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, ( CE ) by testings, ( CF ) by signs ( CG ) and wonders, ( CH ) by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, ( CI ) or by great and awesome deeds, ( CJ ) like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other. ( CK ) 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice ( CL ) to discipline ( CM ) you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. 37 Because he loved ( CN ) your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, ( CO ) 38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, ( CP ) as it is today.
39 Acknowledge ( CQ ) and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. ( CR ) 40 Keep ( CS ) his decrees and commands, ( CT ) which I am giving you today, so that it may go well ( CU ) with you and your children after you and that you may live long ( CV ) in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.
41 Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan, 42 to which anyone who had killed a person could flee if they had unintentionally ( CX ) killed a neighbor without malice aforethought. They could flee into one of these cities and save their life. 43 The cities were these: Bezer in the wilderness plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth ( CY ) in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.
44 This is the law Moses set before the Israelites. 45 These are the stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt 46 and were in the valley near Beth Peor east of the Jordan, in the land of Sihon ( CZ ) king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt. 47 They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. 48 This land extended from Aroer ( DA ) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Sirion [ b ] ( DB ) (that is, Hermon ( DC ) ), 49 and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Dead Sea, [ c ] below the slopes of Pisgah.
