New Living Translation

New King James Version

Moses Urges Israel to Obey

“And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.

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Moses Commands Obedience

“Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and [a]possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you.

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Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you.

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You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

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“You saw for yourself what the LORD did to you at Baal-peor. There the LORD your God destroyed everyone who had worshiped Baal, the god of Peor.

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Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal Peor; for the Lord your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor.

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But all of you who were faithful to the LORD your God are still alive today — every one of you.

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But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you.

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“Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy.

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“Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess.

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Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’

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Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

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For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD our God is near to us whenever we call on him?

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“For what great nation is there that has God[b] so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?

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And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?

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And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?

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“But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.

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Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,

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Never forget the day when you stood before the LORD your God at Mount Sinai,a where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.’

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especially concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’

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“You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while flames from the mountain shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness.

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“Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.

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And the LORD spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words but didn’t see his form; there was only a voice.

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And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no [c]form; you only heard a voice.

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He proclaimed his covenant — the Ten Commandmentsb — which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets.

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So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.

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It was at that time that the LORD commanded me to teach you his decrees and regulations so you would obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy.

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And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might [d]observe them in the land which you cross over to possess.

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A Warning against Idolatry

“But be very careful! You did not see the LORD’s form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai.

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Beware of Idolatry

“Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire,

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So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form — whether of a man or a woman,

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lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the [e]form of any figure: the likeness of male or female,

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an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky,

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the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air,

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a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea.

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the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth.

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And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars — all the forces of heaven — don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The LORD your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth.

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And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has [f]given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.

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Remember that the LORD rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today.

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But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people, an inheritance, as you are this day.

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“But the LORD was angry with me because of you. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan River into the good land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession.

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Furthermore the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I would not cross over the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

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You will cross the Jordan to occupy the land, but I will not. Instead, I will die here on the east side of the river.

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But I must die in this land, I must not cross over the Jordan; but you shall cross over and [g]possess that good land.

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So be careful not to break the covenant the LORD your God has made with you. Do not make idols of any shape or form, for the LORD your God has forbidden this.

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Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you.

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The LORD your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God.

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

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“In the future, when you have children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time, do not corrupt yourselves by making idols of any kind. This is evil in the sight of the LORD your God and will arouse his anger.

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“When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and do evil in the sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him to anger,

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“Today I call on heaven and earth as witnesses against you. If you break my covenant, you will quickly disappear from the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. You will live there only a short time; then you will be utterly destroyed.

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I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not [h]prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed.

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For the LORD will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive.

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And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you.

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There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone — gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

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And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

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But from there you will search again for the LORD your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.

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

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“In the distant future, when you are suffering all these things, you will finally return to the LORD your God and listen to what he tells you.

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When you are in [i]distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice

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For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.

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(for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.

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There Is Only One God

“Now search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now, and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this ever been seen or heard before?

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“For ask now concerning the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether any great thing like this has happened, or anything like it has been heard.

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Has any nation ever heard the voice of Godc speaking from fire — as you did — and survived?

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Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?

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Has any other god dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes.

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Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great [j]terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

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“He showed you these things so you would know that the LORD is God and there is no other.

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To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.

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He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct you. He let you see his great fire here on earth so he could speak to you from it.

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Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire.

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Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power.

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And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their [k]descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power,

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He drove out nations far greater than you, so he could bring you in and give you their land as your special possession, as it is today.

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driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day.

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“So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The LORD is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other.

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Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.

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If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children. I am giving you these instructions so you will enjoy a long life in the land the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

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You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that [l]it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may [m]prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

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Eastern Cities of Refuge

Then Moses set apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River.

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Cities of Refuge East of the Jordan

Then Moses set apart three cities on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun,

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Anyone who killed another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, could flee there to live in safety.

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that the manslayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without having hated him in time past, and that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live:

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These were the cities: Bezer on the wilderness plateau for the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead for the tribe of Gad; Golan in Bashan for the tribe of Manasseh.

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Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

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Introduction to Moses’ Second Address

This is the body of instruction that Moses presented to the Israelites.

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Introduction to God’s Law

Now this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel.

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These are the laws, decrees, and regulations that Moses gave to the people of Israel when they left Egypt,

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These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which Moses spoke to the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt,

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and as they camped in the valley near Beth-peor east of the Jordan River. (This land was formerly occupied by the Amorites under King Sihon, who ruled from Heshbon. But Moses and the Israelites destroyed him and his people when they came up from Egypt.

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on this side of the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel defeated[n] after they came out of Egypt.

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Israel took possession of his land and that of King Og of Bashan — the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan.

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And they took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, who were on this side of the Jordan, toward the [o]rising of the sun,

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So Israel conquered the entire area from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge all the way to Mount Sirion,d also called Mount Hermon.

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from Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, even to Mount [p]Sion (that is, Hermon),

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And they conquered the eastern bank of the Jordan River as far south as the Dead Sea,e below the slopes of Pisgah.)

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

Parallel

New Living Translation

New King James Version

Deuteronomy 4

Deuteronomy 4