13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, (A)the Ten [a]Commandments; and (B)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 (C)be very careful [b]yourselves, since you did not see any (D)form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, 16 so that you do not (E)act corruptly and (F)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 (G)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, (H)all the heavenly [c]lights, (I)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 (J)the iron furnace, from Egypt, to (K)be a people of His own possession, as today.

21 (L)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 (M)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 (N)good land. 23 So be careful [d]yourselves, (O)that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and (P)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 (Q)consuming fire, a (R)jealous God.

25 “When you father children and have [e]grandchildren, and you grow old in the land, and you (S)act corruptly, and (T)make [f]an idol in the form of anything, and (U)do what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him to anger, 26 I (V)call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that you will (W)certainly perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to take possession of it. You will not [g]live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 The Lord will (X)scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you. 28 (Y)There you will serve gods, the work of human hands, (Z)wood and stone, (AA)which neither see nor hear, nor eat nor smell anything. 29 (AB)But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him (AC)with all your heart and all your soul. 30 When you (AD)are in distress and all these things happen to you, (AE)in the latter days (AF)you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice. 31 For the Lord your God is a (AG)compassionate God; (AH)He will not abandon you nor (AI)destroy you, nor (AJ)forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.

32 “Indeed, (AK)ask now about the earlier days that were [h]before your time, since the (AL)day that God created [i]mankind on the earth, and inquire (AM)from one end of the heavens to the other. (AN)Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it? 33 (AO)Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived? 34 (AP)Or has a god ventured to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation (AQ)by trials, by signs and wonders, by war, (AR)by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, [j]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; (AS)there is no other besides Him. 36 (AT)Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice (AU)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 (AV)Because He loved your fathers, He chose [k]their descendants after them. And He [l](AW)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 (AX)to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is today. 39 Therefore know today, and take it to your heart, that (AY)the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. 40 (AZ)So you shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am [m]giving you today, so that (BA)it may go well for you and for your children after you, and (BB)that you may [n]live long on the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

41 (BC)Then Moses set apart three cities across the Jordan to the [o]east, 42 for [p]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 (BD)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 (BE)opposite Beth-peor, in the land of (BF)Sihon king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel [q]defeated when they came out of Egypt. 47 And they took possession of his land and the land of (BG)Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were across the Jordan to the [r]east, 48 from (BH)Aroer, which is on the edge of the [s]Valley of Arnon, even as far as (BI)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, [t]at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 4:13 Lit Words
  2. Deuteronomy 4:15 Or for your own lives
  3. Deuteronomy 4:19 Lit host
  4. Deuteronomy 4:23 Or for yourselves
  5. Deuteronomy 4:25 Lit children’s children
  6. Deuteronomy 4:25 Or a carved image
  7. Deuteronomy 4:26 Lit prolong your days
  8. Deuteronomy 4:32 Lit before you
  9. Deuteronomy 4:32 Or Adam
  10. Deuteronomy 4:34 Lit according to all that
  11. Deuteronomy 4:37 Lit his seed
  12. Deuteronomy 4:37 Lit with His presence
  13. Deuteronomy 4:40 Lit commanding
  14. Deuteronomy 4:40 Lit prolong your days
  15. Deuteronomy 4:41 Lit sunrise
  16. Deuteronomy 4:42 Lit one who committed manslaughter
  17. Deuteronomy 4:46 Lit struck
  18. Deuteronomy 4:47 Lit sunrise
  19. Deuteronomy 4:48 Or wadi
  20. Deuteronomy 4:49 Lit under

13 He declared to you his covenant,(A) the Ten Commandments,(B) 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(C) you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

15 You saw no form(D) of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb(E) out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully,(F) 16 so that you do not become corrupt(G) and make for yourselves an idol,(H) 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,(I) 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,(J) the moon and the stars(K)—all the heavenly array(L)—do not be enticed(M) into bowing down to them and worshiping(N) 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,(O) out of Egypt,(P) to be the people of his inheritance,(Q) as you now are.

21 The Lord was angry with me(R) 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;(S) I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land.(T) 23 Be careful not to forget the covenant(U) of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol(V) in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire,(W) a jealous God.(X)

25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt(Y) and make any kind of idol,(Z) doing evil(AA) in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses(AB) against you(AC) this day that you will quickly perish(AD) 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(AE) you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive(AF) among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods(AG) of wood and stone,(AH) which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.(AI) 29 But if from there you seek(AJ) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart(AK) and with all your soul.(AL) 30 When you are in distress(AM) and all these things have happened to you, then in later days(AN) you will return(AO) to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful(AP) God; he will not abandon(AQ) or destroy(AR) you or forget(AS) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

The Lord Is God

32 Ask(AT) now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth;(AU) ask from one end of the heavens to the other.(AV) Has anything so great(AW) 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?(AX) 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation,(AY) by testings,(AZ) by signs(BA) and wonders,(BB) by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,(BC) or by great and awesome deeds,(BD) 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.(BE) 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice(BF) to discipline(BG) you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. 37 Because he loved(BH) your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength,(BI) 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,(BJ) as it is today.

39 Acknowledge(BK) and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.(BL) 40 Keep(BM) his decrees and commands,(BN) which I am giving you today, so that it may go well(BO) with you and your children after you and that you may live long(BP) in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.

Cities of Refuge(BQ)

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(BR) 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(BS) in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

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(BT) 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(BU) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Sirion[b](BV) (that is, Hermon(BW)), 49 and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Dead Sea,[c] below the slopes of Pisgah.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 4:33 Or of a god
  2. Deuteronomy 4:48 Syriac (see also 3:9); Hebrew Siyon
  3. Deuteronomy 4:49 Hebrew the Sea of the Arabah

19 He (A)declares His words to Jacob,
His (B)statutes and His judgments to Israel.

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19 He has revealed his word(A) to Jacob,(B)
    his laws and decrees(C) to Israel.

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