Deuteronomy 4

1 And now, Israel, hear the ordinances and judgements, all that I teach you this day to do: that you may live, and be multiplied, and that you may go in and inherit the land, which the Lord God of your fathers gives you.

People of Israel, pay attention to the rules and regulations I'm teaching you to observe. That way you can stay alive, and go in and take over the country the Lord, the God of your forefathers, is giving you.

2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, and you shall not take from it: keep the commandments of the Lord our God, all that I command you this day.

You are not to add to or take away from what I'm telling you, so that you can keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I'm ordering you to follow.

3 Your eyes have seen all that the Lord our God did in [the case of] Beel-phegor; for every man that went after Beel-phegor, the Lord your God has utterly destroyed him from amongst you.

You've seen for yourselves what the Lord did at Baal-peor where the Lord your God killed everyone among you who worshiped Baal of Peor.

4 But you that kept close to the Lord your God are all alive today.

Those of you who were faithful to the Lord your God are still alive today, every one of you.

5 Behold, I have shown you ordinances and judgements as the Lord commanded me, that you should do so in the land into which you go to inherit it.

Listen, I have taught you the rules and regulations just as the Lord my God ordered me to do, so you can follow them in the country that you are about to enter and take over.

6 And you shall keep and do them: for this is your wisdom and understanding before all nations, as many as shall hear all these ordinances; and they shall say, Behold, this great nation [is] a wise and understanding people.

Be careful to observe them, because this will demonstrate your wisdom and insight to the other people living there who are watching. They will find out about all these rules and say, “The people of this great nation are very wise and have good insight.”

7 For what manner of nation [is so] great, which has God so near to them as the Lord our God [is] in all things in whatever we may call upon him?

What nation is as great as us, having a god so close to them as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call on him?

8 And what manner of nation [is so] great, which has righteous ordinances and judgements according to all this law, which I set before you this day?

What nation is as great as us, having such good rules and regulations like all these laws that I'm placing before you today?

9 Take heed to yourself, and keep your heart diligently: forget not any of the things, which your eyes have seen, and let them not depart from your heart all the days of your life; and you shall teach your sons and your sons' sons,

Just make sure to be very careful, and really watch what you do, so you don't forget the things you've have seen. Keep them in mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.

10 [even the things that happened in] the day in which you stood before the Lord our God in Choreb in the day of the assembly; for the Lord said to me, Gather the people to me, and let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days which they live upon the earth, and they shall teach their sons.

That day when you stood in the presence of the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord told me, “Have the people come to me and to hear what I have to say, so they may learn to have respect for me throughout their lives here on earth, and so they may teach this to their children.”

11 And you drew near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burnt with fire up to heaven: [there was] darkness, blackness, [and] tempest.

You gathered and stood at the foot of the mountain. The mountain was on fire, shooting out flames into the sky and producing thick dark clouds.

12 And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire a voice of words, which you heard: and you saw no likeness, only [you heard] a voice.

The Lord spoke to you from the fire. You heard the words, but you didn't see the form of anyone speaking—there was just a voice.

13 And he announced to you his covenant, which he commanded you to keep, even the ten commandments; and he wrote them on two tables of stone.

He explained to you his agreement, the Ten Commandments, which he ordered you to follow. He wrote them down on two tablets of stone.

14 And the Lord commanded me at that time, to teach you ordinances and judgements, that you should do them on the land, into which you go to inherit it.

This was the time that the Lord ordered me to teach you the rules and regulations that you are to follow when you arrive in the country you're going to own once you've crossed the Jordan.

15 And take good heed to your hearts, for you saw no similitude in the day in which the Lord spoke to you in Choreb in the mountain out of the midst of the fire:

You didn't see any form when the Lord spoke to you from the fire at Horeb, so be very careful

16 lest you transgress, and make to yourselves a carved image, any kind of figure, the likeness of male or female,

that you don't spoil your relationship with the Lord by making an idol for yourselves in any shape or form, whether it looks like a male or female,

17 the likeness of any beast of those that are on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird which flies under heaven,

or any land animal or bird that flies,

18 the likeness of any reptile which creeps on the earth, the likeness of any fish of those which are in the waters under the earth;

or of any animal that crawls on the ground or any fish in the deep sea.

19 and lest having looked up to the sky, and having seen the sun and the moon and the stars, and all the heavenly bodies, you should go astray and worship them, and serve them, which the Lord your God has distributed to all the nations under heaven.

When you look up at the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the heavenly bodies—don't be tempted to bow down to them. Don't worship them like all the other nations on earth in the way that the Lord has allowed.

20 But God took you, and led you forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as at this day.

Remember that the Lord took you and led you out of the iron furnace which was Egypt to be his own people, just as you are today.

21 And the Lord God was angry with me for the things said by you, and sware that I should not go over this Jordan, and that I should not enter into the land, which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance.

But the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he vowed that I wouldn't cross the Jordan to enter the good land that the Lord your God is giving you to own.

22 For I am to die in this land, and shall not pass over this Jordan; but you are to pass over, and shall inherit this good land.

So I will not be crossing the Jordan, because I have to die here in this land. But you will cross over and occupy that good land.

23 Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord our God, which he made with you, and you transgress, and make to yourselves a graven image of any of the things concerning which the Lord your God commanded you.

However, be careful not to forget the agreement of the Lord your God that he made with you. Don't make an idol for yourselves in the form of anything, because he has forbidden you to do this.

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

For the Lord your God is a fire that burns everything up. He is an exclusive God.

25 And when you shall have begotten sons, and shall have sons' sons, and you shall have lived a long time on the land, and shall have transgressed, and made a graven image of any thing, and shall have done wickedly before the Lord your God to provoke him;

After you have been living in the country for a long time and have had children and grandchildren, if you then spoil the relationship you have with the Lord and make an idol in any form. The Lord your God sees this as evil makes him angry.

26 I call heaven and earth this day to witness against you, that you shall surely perish from off the land, into which you go across Jordan to inherit it there; you shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall be utterly cut off.

If you do this, I call on heaven and earth to be witnesses against you today that you will be completely wiped out from the country that you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. You will not live long there—you will be totally destroyed.

27 And the Lord shall scatter you amongst all nations, and you shall be left few in number amongst all the nations, amongst which the Lord shall bring you.

The Lord will scatter you among the other nations, and not many of you will survive in the countries where the Lord has exiled you.

28 And you shall there serve other gods, the works of the hands of men, wood and stones, which can’t see, nor can they hear, nor eat, nor smell.

There you will worship gods of wood and stone made by human beings. These idols can't see or hear or eat or smell.

29 And there you shall seek the Lord your God, and you shall find him whenever you shall seek him with all your heart, and with all your soul in your affliction.

However, if while you're there you decide to come to the Lord your God, you will find him if you come to him whole-heartedly, with complete commitment.

30 And all these things shall come upon you in the last days, and you shall turn to the Lord your God, and shall listen to his voice.

When you are in trouble, after you've experienced all these things, then eventually you will return to the Lord your God and do what he says.

31 Because the Lord your God [is] a God of pity: he will not forsake you, nor destroy you; he will not forget the covenant of your fathers, which the Lord sware to them.

The Lord your God is a merciful God. He won't abandon you or destroy you or forget the agreement he made with your forefathers, confirmed by a solemn promise.

32 Ask of the former days which were before you, from the day when God created man upon the earth, and [beginning] at the [one] end of heaven to the other end of heaven, if there has happened any thing like to this great event, if such a thing has been heard:

Think about it! Examine the whole of history from the beginning of time, long before you existed, when God made human beings, right up until now. Ask this question anywhere, from one end of the earth to the other: Has anything as amazing as this ever happened before; has anyone ever heard anything like this?

33 if a nation have heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard and have lived;

Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, like you have, and survived?

34 if God has assayed to go and take to himself a nation out of the midst of [another] nation with trial, and with signs, and with wonders, and with war, and with a mighty hand, and with a high arm, and with great sights, according to all the things which the Lord our God did in Egypt in your sight.

Has any god tried to take a nation out of another nation and make them his own, using tests and signs and miracles and war—with his great power and incredible strength and terrifying actions—like the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes?

35 So that you should know that the Lord your God he is God, and there is none beside him.

You were shown all this so you could be certain that the Lord is God and there is no one like him.

36 His voice was made audible from heaven to instruct you, and he showed you upon the earth his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire.

He made you hear his voice from heaven so you would obey him. On earth he revealed himself though blazing fire, and you heard him speak to you from the fire.

37 Because he loved your fathers, he also chose you their seed after them, and he brought you himself with his great strength out of Egypt,

Because he loved your forefathers, he chose you, their descendants. He himself led you out of Egypt by his great power,

38 to destroy nations great and stronger than you before your face, to bring you in, to give you their land to inherit, as you have it this day.

driving out ahead of you nations that were greater and stronger than you, in order to lead you to their land and give it to you as yours to own, just as you do today.

39 An you shall know this day, and shall consider in your heart, that the Lord your God he [is] God in heaven above, and on the earth beneath, and there is none else but he.

So today be sure about this and never forget: the Lord is the only God in heaven above and on the earth below.

40 And keep you his commandments, and his ordinances, all that I command you this day; that it may be well with you, and with your sons after you, that you may be long-lived upon the earth, which the Lord your God gives you for ever.

Observe his rules and regulations that I'm giving you right now, so that you and your children will do well, and that you may have long lives in the country that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.

41 Then Moses separated three cities beyond Jordan on the east,

Then Moses assigned three sanctuary towns to the east of the Jordan

42 that the slayer might flee there, who should have slain his neighbour unintentionally, and should not have hated him in times past, and he shall flee to one of these cities and live:

where a person could run to after accidentally killing someone without deliberate hatred. To save their life they could run to one of these towns:

43 Bosor in the wilderness, in the plain country of Ruben, and Ramoth in Galaad [belonging to] Gad, and Gaulon in Basan [belonging to] Manasse.

Bezer in the desert plain belonging to the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the tribe of Gad, or Golan in Bashan belonging to the tribe of Manasseh.

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

This is the law that Moses placed before the Israelites.

45 These [are] the testimonies, and the ordinances, and the judgements, which Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt:

These are the laws, rules, and regulations Moses gave them after they had come out of Egypt.

46 on the other side of Jordan, in the valley near the house of Phogor, in the land of Seon king of the Amorites, who lived in Esebon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel struck when they came out of the land of Egypt.

This was when they were in the valley to the east of the Jordan near Beth-peor in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites. He had ruled from Heshbon and had been defeated by Moses and the Israelites after they had left Egypt.

47 And they inherited his land, and the land of Og king of Basan, two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond Jordan eastward.

They took over his country and the country of Og king of Bashan. (They were the two kings of the Amorites who previously ruled on the east side of the Jordan.)

48 From Aroer, which is on the border of the brook Arnon, even to the mount of Seon, which is Aermon.

The territory went from the town of Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley all the way to Mount Sirion, otherwise known as Mount Hermon,

49 All Araba beyond Jordan eastward under Asedoth hewn in the rock.

and included all the Arabah to the east of the Jordan down as far as the Dead Sea beside the slopes of Mount Pisgah.