Deuteronomy 4

1 Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.

2 You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.

3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all who followed Baal of Peor.

4 But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive to this day, every one of you.

5 See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land that you are about to enter and possess.

6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

7 For what nation is great enough to have a god as near to them as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call on Him?

8 And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?

9 Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.

10 The day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, “Gather the people before Me to hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach them to their children.”

11 You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.

12 And the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of the words but saw no form; there was only a voice.

13 He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to follow—the Ten Commandments that He wrote on two tablets of stone.

14 At that time the LORD commanded me to teach you the statutes and ordinances you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

15 So since you saw no form of any kind on the day the LORD spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb, be careful

16 that you do not act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves of any form or shape, whether in the likeness of a male or female,

17 of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air,

18 or of any creature that crawls on the ground or fish that is in the waters below.

19 When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

20 Yet the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of His inheritance, as you are today.

21 The LORD, however, was angry with me on account of you, and He swore that I would not cross the Jordan to enter the good land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

22 For I will not be crossing the Jordan, because I must die in this land. But you shall cross over and take possession of that good land.

23 Be careful that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God that He made with you; do not make an idol for yourselves in the form of anything He has forbidden you.

24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

25 After you have children and grandchildren and you have been in the land a long time, if you then act corruptly and make an idol of any form—doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God and provoking Him to anger—

26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.

27 Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.

28 And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

29 But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.

31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers, which He swore to them by oath.

32 Indeed, ask now from one end of the heavens to the other about the days that long preceded you, from the day that God created man on earth: Has anything as great as this ever happened or been reported?

33 Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, as you have, and lived?

34 Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation—by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors—as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes?

35 You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.

36 He let you hear His voice from heaven to discipline you, and on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the fire.

37 Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by His presence and great power,

38 to drive out before you nations greater and mightier than you, and to bring you into their land and give it to you for your inheritance, as it is this day.

39 Know therefore this day and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.

40 Keep His statutes and commandments, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.

41 Then Moses set aside three cities across the Jordan to the east

42 to which a manslayer could flee after killing his neighbor unintentionally without prior malice. To save one’s own life, he could flee to one of these cities:

43 Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau belonging to the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the Gadites, or Golan in Bashan belonging to the Manassites.

44 This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites.

45 These are the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances that Moses proclaimed to them after they had come out of Egypt,

46 while they were in the valley across the Jordan facing Beth-peor in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt.

47 They took possession of the land belonging to Sihon and to Og king of Bashan—the two Amorite kings across the Jordan to the east—

48 extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),

49 including all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan and as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the slopes of Pisgah.

1 ¶ 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.

1 And now hear, O Israel, the commandments and the statutes which I teach you to do them, that ye may live, and come in and possess the land which the LORD your fathers' God giveth you.

2 Ye shall not add unto the things which I command you, neither shall ye take away from them, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you.

3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD hath done against Baal-peor: for all they that followed Baal-peor have destroyed the LORD your God from among you.

4 But ye that cleave unto the LORD your God, live all ye this day.

5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye are come to possess it.

6 Keep it therefore, and do it. For this shall be your wisdom and understanding among all nations, when they shall hear all these commandments, that they shall say, Yea, what wise and understanding men are these, and a glorious people!

7 For where is there so glorious a people, to whom gods draw nigh, as the LORD our God, as often as we call upon him?

8 And where is there such a glorious people, having such righteous customs and commandments, as all this law which I set before you this day?

9 Take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul well, that thou forget not the things which thine eyes have seen, and that they come not out of thine heart all thy days. And thou shalt make known unto thy children, and unto thy children's children.

10 The day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in mount Horeb, when the LORD said unto thee, Gather me the people together, that they may hear my words, and learn to fear me all the days of their life upon the earth, and teach their children.

11 And ye came near, and sat down by the mountain: and the mountain burned even to the midst of heaven; and there was darkness, and cloud, and gloom.

12 And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire. The voice of his words ye heard; but ye saw no likeness without the voice.

13 And he told you his covenant, which he commanded you to do, even the ten words, and wrote them upon two tables of stone.

14 And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, and to do them in the land whither ye go to possess it.

15 Take heed therefore unto your souls: for ye saw no likeness of the day that the LORD spake unto you out of the fire of mount Horeb,

16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make unto yourselves any graven image, like unto a man, or like unto a woman

17 or cattle on ends, or bird below the sky,

18 or worms on the land, or fish in the water under the end.

19 Lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, and fall down, and worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath ordained for all nations under the whole heaven.

20 And the LORD received you, and brought you out of the iron furnace, that is, out of Egypt, to be his people of inheritance, as it is in this day.

21 And the LORD was so wroth with me because of your doings, that he sware that I should not pass over Jordan, neither come into the good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance,

22 But I shall die in this land, and shall not pass over Jordan. But ye shall pass over, and possess such good land.

23 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye forget not the covenant of the LORD your God, which he hath made with you, and that ye make not images of divers likenesses, as the LORD thy God hath commanded.

24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, and a fierce God.

25 When ye therefore beget children, and children's children, and dwell in the land, and corrupt yourselves, and make you images of divers likenesses, then ye do evil in the sight of the LORD your God, and provoke him to anger,

26 I call heaven and the end to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon perish from off the land whither ye go up Jordan to possess it: ye shall not long abide therein, but shall be destroyed.

27 And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left a small multitude among the heathen, whither the LORD shall drive you.

28 There shalt thou serve gods which are the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

29 But if thou shalt seek the LORD thy God there, thou shalt find him where thou shalt seek him with all thine heart and with all thy soul.

30 When thou shalt be troubled, and all these things shall befall thee in the last days, then shalt thou turn unto the LORD thy God, and obey his voice.

31 For the LORD thy God is a merciful God: he will not leave thee, nor destroy thee, nor forget the covenant which he sware unto thy fathers.

32 Then inquire of the former times that were before thee, from the day that God created man upon the earth, from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing hath ever been done, or the like thereof ever heard,

33 That a people have heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, as thou hast heard, and yet live?

34 Or whether God tempted to go in and take a people from the midst of a people by temptation, by signs, by wonders, by strife, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by very terrible deeds, as all these things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

35 Thou hast seen, that thou mayest know that the LORD alone is GOD, and none more.

36 From heaven he hath made thee to hear his voice, to chasten thee; and upon earth he hath shewed thee his great fire, and his words thou hast heard out of the fire,

37 Because he loved thy fathers, and their seed after them, and brought thee out of Egypt with his great power,

38 To drive out from before thee great nations, and stronger than thou, and to bring thee in, to give thee the land for an inheritance, as it is this day.

39 Know therefore this day, and take it to thine heart, that the LORD is one God in heaven above, and in earth beneath, and none more;

40 To keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee this day: and it shall be well with thee, and with thy children after thee, that thy days may be long in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for ever.

41 And Moses separated three cities on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun,

42 And he that killeth his neighbour unawares, and hath not been his enemy before, shall flee thither, and live in the cities:

43 Bezer in the wilderness of the plain among the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead among the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan among the Manassites.

44 This is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel.

45 This is the testimony, and the commandment, and the statutes, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt,

46 On the other side Jordan, in the valley over against the house of Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who sat in Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote when they came out of Egypt,

47 And they took his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, of the two kings of the Amorites, which were on the other side Jordan toward the sunrising,

48 From Aroer, which is on the bank of the river by Arnon, unto mount Sion, which is Hermon,

49 And all the plain beyond Jordan, toward the rising of the sun, unto the sea in the plain, under mount Pisgah.