Deuteronomy 4 - Prayer Tents

Moses Urges Israel to Obey

4"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.H8085H3478H2706H4941H3925H6213H2421H935H3423H776H3068H430H1H5414 2Do 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.H3254H1697H6680H1639H8104H4687H3068H430H6680 3"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.H5869H7200H3068H6213H1187H376H310H1980H1187H3068H430H8045H7130 4But all of you who were faithful to the LORD your God are still alive today—every one of you.H1695H3068H430H2416H3117 5"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.H7200H3925H2706H4941H834H3068H430H6680H6213H7130H776H935H3423 6Obey 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!'H8104H6213H2451H998H5869H5971H8085H2706H559H1419H1471H2450H995H5971 7For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD our God is near to us whenever we call on him?H1471H1419H430H7138H3068H430H7121 8And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?H1471H1419H2706H4941H6662H8451H5414H6440H3117 9"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.H8104H8104H5315H3966H7911H1697H5869H7200H5493H3824H3117H2416H3045H1121H1121H1121 10Never forget the day when you stood before the LORD your God at Mount Sinai, 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.'H3117H5975H6440H3068H430H2722H3068H559H6950H5971H6950H8085H1697H3925H3372H3117H2416H127H3925H1121 11"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.H7126H5975H2022H2022H1197H784H3820H8064H6205H6051H2822 12And 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.H3068H1696H8432H784H8085H6963H1697H7200H8544H2108H6963 13He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets.H5046H1285H6680H6213H6235H1697H3789H8147H3871H68 14It 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.H3068H6680H6256H3925H2706H4941H6213H776H5674H3423

A Warning against Idolatry

15"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.H3966H8104H5315H7200H8544H3117H3068H1696H2722H8432H784 16So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman,H7843H6213H6459H8544H5566H8403H2145H5347 17an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky,H8403H929H776H8403H3671H6833H5774H8064 18a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea.H8403H7430H127H8403H1710H4325H8478H776 19And 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.H5375H5869H8064H7200H8121H3394H3556H6635H8064H5080H7812H5647H3068H430H2505H5971H8064 20Remember 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.H3068H3947H3318H1270H3564H4714H5971H5159H3117 21"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.H3068H599H1697H7650H5674H3383H935H2896H776H3068H430H5414H5159 22You will cross the Jordan to occupy the land, but I will not. Instead, I will die here on the east side of the river.H4191H776H5674H3383H5674H3423H2896H776 23So 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.H8104H7911H1285H3068H430H3772H6213H6459H8544H3605H3068H430H6680 24The LORD your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God.H3068H430H398H784H7067H410 25"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.H3205H1121H1121H1121H3462H776H7843H6213H6459H8544H6213H7451H5869H3068H430H3707 26"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.H5749H8064H776H5749H3117H4118H6H6H776H5674H3383H3423H748H3117H8045H8045 27For the LORD will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive.H3068H6327H5971H7604H4962H4557H1471H3068H5090 28There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.H5647H430H4639H120H3027H6086H68H7200H8085H398H7306 29But 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.H1245H3068H430H4672H1875H3824H5315 30"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.H6862H1697H4672H319H3117H7725H3068H430H8085H6963 31For 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.H3068H430H7349H410H7503H7843H7911H1285H1H7650

There Is Only One God

32"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?H7592H3117H7223H1961H6440H3117H430H1254H120H776H7097H8064H1419H1697H8085 33Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire—as you did—and survived?H5971H8085H6963H430H1696H8432H784H8085H2421 34Has 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.H430H5254H935H3947H1471H7130H1471H4531H226H4159H4421H2389H3027H5186H2220H1419H4172H3068H430H6213H4714H5869 35"He showed you these things so you would know that the LORD is God and there is no other.H7200H3045H3068H430H5750H905 36He 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.H8064H8085H6963H3256H776H7200H1419H784H8085H1697H8432H784 37Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power.H157H1H977H2233H310H3318H6440H1419H3581H4714 38He 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.H3423H1471H6440H1419H6099H935H5414H776H5159H3117 39"So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The LORD is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other.H3045H3117H7725H3824H3068H430H8064H4605H776 40If 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."H8104H2706H4687H6680H3117H3190H1121H310H748H3117H127H3068H430H5414

Eastern Cities of Refuge

41Then Moses set apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River.H4872H914H7969H5892H5676H3383H8121H4217 42Anyone who killed another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, could flee there to live in safety.H7523H5127H7523H7453H1097H1847H8130H8543H8032H5127H259H411H5892H2425 43These 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.H1221H4057H4334H776H7206H7216H1568H1425H1474H1316H4520

Introduction to Moses’ Second Address

44This is the body of instruction that Moses presented to the Israelites.H8451H4872H7760H6440H1121H3478 45These are the laws, decrees, and regulations that Moses gave to the people of Israel when they left Egypt,H5713H2706H4941H4872H1696H1121H3478H3318H4714 46and 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.H5676H3383H1516H4136H1047H776H5511H4428H567H3427H2809H4872H1121H3478H5221H3318H4714 47Israel took possession of his land and that of King Og of Bashan—the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan.H3423H776H776H5747H4428H1316H8147H4428H567H5676H3383H4217H8121 48So Israel conquered the entire area from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge all the way to Mount Sirion, also called Mount Hermon.H6177H8193H5158H769H2022H7865H2768 49And they conquered the eastern bank of the Jordan River as far south as the Dead Sea, below the slopes of Pisgah.)H6160H5676H3383H4217H3220H6160H794H6449