Deuteronomy 4

1 “Now, you Israeli people, obey all the rules and regulations [DOU] that I will teach you. If you do that, you will remain alive and you will enter and occupy/capture the land that Yahweh, the God whom your ancestors [worshiped], is giving to you.

And now, Israel, hear the ordinances and judgments, 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.

2 Do not add anything to what I command you, and do not take anything away from what I tell you. Obey all the commands of Yahweh our God that I am giving to you.

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.

3 “You have seen what Yahweh did at Baal-Peor [Mountain]. He got rid of all the people who worshiped [the god] Baal there,

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 among you.

4 but you who faithfully [continued to worship] Yahweh our God are still alive today.

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

5 “Note that I have taught you all the rules and regulations, just like Yahweh our God told me to do. He wants you to obey them [when you are living] in the land that you are about to enter and occupy.

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

6 Obey them faithfully because, [if you do that], you will show the people of other nations that you are very wise. When they hear about all these laws, they will say, ‘The people of this great nation [of Israel] are certainly very wise [DOU]!’

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.

7 Even if other nations are great, there is none [RHQ] of them that has a god who is as near to them as Yahweh our God is to us! Whenever we call out to him [to help us, he answers/helps us]

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?

8 And there is no [RHQ] other nation, even if it is a great nation, that has laws that are as just/fair as the laws that I am telling to you today.

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

9 “But be very careful! [DOU, IDM] Do not forget what you [SYN] have seen [God do]. Remember those things as long as you are alive. Tell them to your children and your grandchildren.

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,

10 Tell them about the day that your ancestors stood in the presence of Yahweh our God at Sinai [Mountain], when he said to me, ‘Gather the people together, in order that they can hear what I say. I want them to learn to have an awesome respect for me as long as they are alive, and I want them to teach their children to do that also.’

[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.

11 [Tell them that] your ancestors came near the bottom of the mountain, while the mountain burned with a fire that went up to the sky, and the mountain was covered with dark clouds and black [smoke].

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

12 Then Yahweh spoke to your ancestors out of the middle of the fire. Your ancestors heard him speak, but they did not see him. They only heard his voice.

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.

13 And he declared to them his agreement. That agreement contained the Ten Commandments that he wants you to obey. He wrote those on two stone tablets.

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.

14 Yahweh commanded me to teach all the rules and regulations to you, in order that you would obey them in the land that you are about to enter and occupy.”

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

15 “On the day that Yahweh spoke to your ancestors at Sinai [Mountain], he was invisible. So, be careful

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:

16 that you do not sin by making for yourselves any idol [of something that can be seen!] not make an idol that resembles any person, either a man or a woman,

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

17 or that resembles any animal or any bird

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

18 or any (reptile/creature that scurries across the ground) or any fish in the deep ocean.

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;

19 And be careful to not look up toward the sky and be tempted to worship anything that you see there—the sun or the moon or the stars. Yahweh our God has given those to [be a blessing to] all people everywhere, [but you must not worship them].

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.

20 Yahweh has brought your ancestors out of Egypt, where [they were suffering as though] they were in a blazing furnace, in order that they would be people who belong to him, which is what you are today.

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.

21 “But Yahweh was angry with me because of [what] your ancestors [made me do]. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan [River] to enter the good/fertile land that he is giving to you.

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.

22 He said that I must die here in this land and never cross the Jordan [River]. But you will go across it, and you will occupy that land.

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.

23 Be sure that you do not forget the agreement that Yahweh our God made with you. He commanded you to not make any kind of idol, because he has forbidden that.

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.

24 [You must not do that] because Yahweh your God will destroy [anyone who worships idols, ] like [MET] a fire completely destroys things. He [wants people to worship only him, he] (cannot accept/will punish) people who worship anyone or anything else.

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

25 “When you have been in the land [of Canaan] for a long time and you have children and grandchildren, do not sin by making an idol that represents anything at all, because Yahweh says that is evil, and if you do that, you will cause him to become angry with you [and punish you].

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;

26 Today I am requesting everyone who is in heaven and everyone who is on the earth [MTY] to watch what you are doing. [If you disobey what I am telling you], you will soon all die in the land that you will be crossing the Jordan [River] to occupy. You will not live very long there; Yahweh will completely get rid of many [HYP] of you.

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.

27 And [the rest of you], Yahweh will force you to go and live among the people of many other nations. Only a few of you will (survive/remain alive) there.

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

28 When you are in those nations, you will worship gods that are made of wood and stone, gods made by humans, gods that cannot see anything or hear anything or eat anything or smell anything.

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.

29 But while you are there, if you will try to know Yahweh your God, and if you try with your entire inner being to know him, he will (answer/reveal himself to) you.

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.

30 In the future, after you have been mistreated there and all those bad things happen to you, you will again worship only Yahweh and obey him.

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.

31 Yahweh is a God who acts mercifully. [If you continue to obey him], he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the agreement that he solemnly made with your ancestors.”

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.

32 “Now think about the past, about the time before you were born, about all the time since God first created people here on the earth. You could search everywhere, in heaven and on the earth. (Has anything like this ever happened that is as great as [what Yahweh did for the Israeli people]?/Certainly nothing has ever happened that is as great [as what Yahweh did for the Israeli people].) [RHQ] (Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?/Certainly no one has ever heard of anything like this.) [RHQ]

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:

33 (Has any group ever remained alive after they heard a god speak to them from the middle of a fire, like we did?/Certainly no group has ever remained alive after they heard a god speak to them from the middle of a fire, like we did.) [RHQ]

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;

34 Certainly no other god has ever tried to take a [huge] group of people from one nation [to another location], like he did for us when he brought us out of Egypt. We saw Yahweh our God use great power [MTY, DOU] when he performed many kinds of [DOU] miracles, and sent plagues, and did many other very terrifying things in Egypt for us, [and rescued us when the army of Egypt tried to fight against us].

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.

35 “Yahweh showed all these things to you, in order that you would know that only he is truly God, and that there is no other God.

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

36 He allowed your ancestors to hear him speak from heaven in order that he could discipline them. Here on the earth he allowed them to see his great fire [on Sinai Mountain], and he spoke to them from the middle of the fire.

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.

37 Because he loved our ancestors, he chose you Israelis who are their descendants, and by his great power he brought your ancestors out of Egypt.

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,

38 [As they advanced], he expelled the people of nations that were greater and more powerful than they were, in order that he could allow them to capture their land and cause it to become yours, which is [what is happening] now.

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.

39 “So today you should (meditate on/think about) the fact that Yahweh is God, that he is/rules in heaven and also on the earth, and that there is no other god.

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.

40 Obey all the rules and regulations that I am giving to you today, in order that things will go well for you and for your descendants, and that you will live a long time in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, [to belong to you] forever.”

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.

41 Then Moses/I set apart three cities that are on the east side of the Jordan [River].

Then Moses separated three cities beyond Jordan on the east,

42 If someone accidentally killed another person, a person who had not been his enemy previously, he could escape to one of those cities. He would be safe/protected in one of those cities [because the people there would protect him].

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

43 For the tribe of Reuben, Moses/I set apart Bezer [city] in the (plateau/high level) area. For the tribe of Gad, Moses/I set apart Ramoth [city] in the Gilead [area]. For the tribe of Manasseh, Moses/I set apart Golan [city] in the Bashan [region].

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

44 Moses/I gave [God’s] laws to the Israeli people.

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

45 They included all the rules and instructions and commands that Moses/I gave to them, after they/we had come out of Egypt,

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

46 when they/we were in the valley east of the Jordan [River]. They/We were across from Beth-Peor [town], in the land that [previously] was ruled by Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who lived in Heshbon [city]. Moses/I and the other Israelis had defeated his [army] when they/we came out of Egypt.

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.

47 They/We captured Sihon’s land and the land that Og, the king of the Bashan [region], ruled. They were the two kings who ruled the Amor people-group [in the area] east of the Jordan [River].

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

48 Their land extended from Aroer [town in the south] along the Arnon [River], as far [north] as Sirion Mountain, which [most people] call Hermon Mountain.

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

49 It also included all the area east of the Jordan [River] Valley, all the way south to the Dead Sea and east to the slopes of Pisgah [Mountain].

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