Deuteronomy 4
1 And now, O Israel, hearken unto the statutes and unto the ordinances which I teach you to do; in order that ye may live, and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, giveth unto 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 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, nor shall ye diminish aught from it; that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
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 own eyes have seen that which the Lord hath done because of Baal-peor; for every man that followed Baal-peor, him the Lord thy God hath destroyed from the midst of thee.
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 ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God, are alive, every one of you, this day.
Those of you who were faithful to the Lord your God are still alive today, every one of you.
5 See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, just as the Lord my God commanded me; that ye may do so in the midst of the land whither ye go to take possession of 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 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding before the eyes of the nations, that shall hear all these statutes, and they will say, Nothing but a wise and understanding people is this great nation.
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 great nation is there that hath gods so nigh unto it, as is the Lord our God at all times that we 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 great nation is there that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous as is all this law, which I lay 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 Only take heed to thyself, and guard thy soul diligently, that thou do not forget the things which thy eyes have seen, and that they depart not from thy heart all the days of thy life; but thou shalt make them known unto thy sons, and unto thy 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 The day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God at Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Assemble for me the people, and I will cause them to hear my words, which they shall learn, to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and which they shall teach their children.
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 ye came near and stood at the foot of the mount; and the mount was burning with fire unto the midst of the heaven, [from amidst] darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
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 unto you out of the midst of the fire; the sound of words ye heard, but any similitude ye saw not: there was nothing but a sound.
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 told unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, the ten commandments; and he wrote them upon 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 me the Lord commanded at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess 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 Take ye therefore good heed of your souls; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spoke unto you at Horeb 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 That ye become not corrupt, and make yourselves a graven image, the similitude of any idol-figure, the likeness of a male or of a 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 that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air of heaven,
or any land animal or bird that flies,
18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth;
or of any animal that crawls on the ground or any fish in the deep sea.
19 And that thou lift not up thy eyes unto the heavens, and thou see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be misled to bow down to them, and to serve them, those which the Lord thy God hath assigned unto all nations under the whole 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 you did the Lord take, and he brought you forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be unto you a people of inheritance, as ye are 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 Farthermore the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and he swore that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the Lord thy God giveth unto thee 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 must die in this land; I shall not go over the Jordan; but ye will go over and take possession of 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 unto yourselves, that ye do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he hath made with you, and make yourselves a graven image, the likeness of any thing, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee.
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 thy God is a consuming fire; yea, a watchful God.
For the Lord your God is a fire that burns everything up. He is an exclusive God.
25 When thou begettest children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and ye become corrupt, and make a graven image, the likeness of any thing, and do the evil in the eyes of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger:
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 this day the heavens and the earth to witness against you, that ye shall soon perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not remain many days upon it, but ye shall surely be destroyed.
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 will scatter you among the nations, and ye will be left few in number among the nations, whither the Lord will lead 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 ye will serve there gods, the work of man's hands, wood and stone, which neither can see, nor 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 But thou wilt seek from there the Lord thy God, and wilt find him, if thou apply to him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
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 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things have overtaken thee, in the latter end of days: then wilt thou return to the Lord thy God, and be obedient unto 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 For a merciful God is the Lord thy God; he will not forsake thee, nor destroy thee; and he will not forget the covenant of thy fathers which he hath sworn unto 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 For do but ask of former days, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of the heavens unto the other end of the heavens, whether there hath been the like of this great thing, or whether the like of it hath 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 Hath ever a people heard the voice of a god, speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and remained alive?
Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, like you have, and survived?
34 Or hath a god essayed to go to take himself a nation from the midst of a nation, by proofs, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, like all that which the Lord your God hath done for you in Egypt before thy eyes.
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 Unto thee it was shown, that thou mightest know, that the Eternal is the God: there is none else besides him.
You were shown all this so you could be certain that the Lord is God and there is no one like him.
36 Out of the heavens he caused thee to hear his voice, to correct thee: and upon the earth he caused thee to see his great fire; and his words didst thou hear 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 And therefore, because he loved thy fathers, he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his presence with his mighty power 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 drive out nations greater and mightier than thou art, from before thee, to bring thee in, to give unto thee their land for an inheritance, as it is 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 Know therefore this day, and reflect in thy heart, that the Eternal is the God in the heavens above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
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 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 live many days upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for all times.
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 set aside three cities on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun;
Then Moses assigned three sanctuary towns to the east of the Jordan
42 That thither might flee the manslayer, who should kill his neighbor unawares, when he had not been an enemy to him in times past; and that he should flee unto 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 Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gil'ad for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for the Menassites.
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 And 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 statutes, and the ordinances, which Moses spoke unto the children of Israel, when they came forth out of Egypt,
These are the laws, rules, and regulations Moses gave them after they had come out of Egypt.
46 On this side of the Jordan, in the valley opposite to Beth-peor, in the land of Sichon the king of the Emorites, who dwelt at Cheshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out 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 took possession of his land, and of the land of 'Og the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Emorites, who were on this side of the Jordan toward the rising of the sun;
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 'Aro'er, which is on the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which is Chermon,
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 And all the plain on this side of the Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the declivities of Pisgah.
and included all the Arabah to the east of the Jordan down as far as the Dead Sea beside the slopes of Mount Pisgah.
