4:1 Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
4:2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.
4:3 You saw with your own eyes what the LORD did at Baal Peor. The LORD your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,
4:4 but all of you who held fast to the LORD your God are still alive today.
4:5 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it.
4:6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
4:7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him?
4:8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
4:9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
4:10 Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.”
4:11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.
4:12 Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice.
4:13 He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets.
4:14 And the LORD directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.
4:15 You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully,
4:16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman,
4:17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air,
4:18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below.
4:19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars–all the heavenly array–do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
4:20 But as for you, the LORD took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are.
4:21 The LORD was angry with me 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.
4:22 I will die in this land; I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land.
4:23 Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden.
4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
4:25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time–if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God and provoking him to anger,
4:26 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 there long but will certainly be destroyed.
4:27 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.
4:28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.
4:29 But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.
4:30 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 obey him.
4:31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.
4:32 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of?
4:33 Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?
4:34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
4:35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other.
4:36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire.
4:37 Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength,
4:38 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, as it is today.
4:39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.
4:40 Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.
4:41 Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan,
4:42 to which anyone who had killed a person could flee if he had unintentionally killed his neighbor without malice aforethought. He could flee into one of these cities and save his life.
4:43 The cities were these: Bezer in the desert plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.
4:44 This is the law Moses set before the Israelites.
4:45 These are the stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt
4:46 and were in the valley near Beth Peor east of the Jordan, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt.
4:47 They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan.
4:48 This land extended from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),
4:49 and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the slopes of Pisgah.
4:1 And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the ordinances which I am teaching you to do, in order that you may live and go in and possess the land which Jehovah, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
4:2 You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor shall you take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of Jehovah your God, which I am commanding you.
4:3 Yours are the eyes that have seen that which Jehovah has done in Baal-peor; for all the men who went after Baal-peor, Jehovah your God has destroyed from your midst.
4:4 But you who joined yourselves to Jehovah your God are alive, all of you, today.
4:5 See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, as Jehovah my God commanded me, so that you would do them within the land which you are going in to possess.
4:6 Keep and do them therefore; for this will be your wisdom and prudence in the sight of the peoples who hear all these statutes and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and prudent people.
4:7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as Jehovah our God is whenever we call upon Him?
4:8 And what great nation is there that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I am setting before you today?
4:9 But be careful and guard your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; rather, make them known to your children and to your grandchildren.
4:10 Especially do not forget the day when you stood before Jehovah your God at Horeb, when Jehovah said to me, Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they live upon the earth and may teach their children as much.
4:11 And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain; and the mountain was burning with fire up into the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and deep darkness there.
4:12 And Jehovah spoke to you from the midst of the fire. The sound of words could you hear, but no form could you see; there was only a voice.
4:13 And He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to do, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them upon two tablets of stone.
4:14 And Jehovah commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to do in the land which you are about to cross over into to possess.
4:15 So take careful heed to your souls, for you did not see any form at all on the day when Jehovah spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire,
4:16 So that you do not spoil yourselves and make for yourselves an idol, a form of any image, a figure of male or female,
4:17 A figure of any animal which is on the earth, a figure of any winged bird which flies in the sky,
4:18 A figure of anything that crawls on the ground, a figure of any fish that is in the water under the earth;
4:19 And take heed that, when you lift up your eyes to the sky and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you are not drawn away in worship to them and that you do not serve them, which Jehovah your God has assigned to all the peoples under all heaven.
4:20 But Jehovah has taken you and brought you forth from the iron furnace, from Egypt, that you would be to Him a people for His inheritance, as you are this day.
4:21 But Jehovah was angry with me on your account and swore that I would not cross over the Jordan and that I would not enter the good land which Jehovah your God is giving you as an inheritance.
4:22 For I am to die in this land; I am not to cross over the Jordan. But you are crossing over and you will possess this good land.
4:23 Take heed to yourselves that you do not forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which He has made with you, and make for yourselves an idol, the form of anything, which Jehovah your God has forbidden you to make.
4:24 For Jehovah your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
4:25 When you have brought forth children and grandchildren and have languished in the land, and you have spoiled yourselves by making an idol, the form of anything, and have done that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah your God so as to anger Him;
4:26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that surely you will soon perish from off the land into which you are crossing over the Jordan to possess; you will not extend your days upon it, but you will be utterly destroyed.
4:27 And Jehovah will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations to which Jehovah will drive you.
4:28 And there you will serve gods which are the work of human hands, mere wood and stone, which do not see nor hear nor eat nor smell.
4:29 And from there you will seek Jehovah your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
4:30 When you are in distress and all these things happen to you, when you are in the last days, you will return to Jehovah your God and listen to His voice.
4:31 For Jehovah your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor let you perish nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.
4:32 For ask now regarding the former days, which were before you, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, Has anything as great as this ever happened, or has anything like this ever been heard of?
4:33 Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and lived?
4:34 Has God ever ventured to go and take to Himself a nation from the midst of another nation by trials, by signs and wonders, and by war and a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, like all that Jehovah your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
4:35 You were shown these things that you might know that it is Jehovah who is God; there is no other besides Him.
4:36 From heaven He let you hear His voice that He might discipline you, and upon the earth He showed you His great fire, and His words you heard from the midst of the fire.
4:37 And because He loved your fathers, He chose their seed after them and brought you out by His presence, by His great power, from Egypt,
4:38 Driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and give you their land as an inheritance, as it is today.
4:39 Know therefore today and bring it to heart that Jehovah is God in heaven above and upon the earth below; there is no other.
4:40 Therefore keep His statutes and His commandments, which I am commanding you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, so that you may extend your days upon the land which Jehovah your God is giving you forever.
4:41 Then Moses set apart three cities across the Jordan toward the rising of the sun,
4:42 That the manslayer might flee there, who slays his neighbor without intent and did not hate him previously, and in fleeing to one of these cities he might live:
4:43 Bezer in the wilderness, in the land of the Plateau, belonging to the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, belonging to the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, belonging to the Manassites.
4:44 And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel;
4:45 These are the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances which Moses spoke to the children of Israel when they had gone out from Egypt,
4:46 Across the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel slew when they had gone out from Egypt.
4:47 And they possessed his land and the land of Og the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were across the Jordan toward the rising of the sun,
4:48 From Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, even unto Mount Sirion, that is, Hermon,
4:49 And all the Arabah across the Jordan on the east even to the sea of the Arabah at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah.