Deuteronomy 4

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.H8085H3478H2706H4941H3925H6213H2421H935H3423H776H3068H430H1H54142Do 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.H3254H1697H6680H1639H8104H4687H3068H430H66803"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.H5869H7200H3068H6213H1187H376H310H1980H1187H3068H430H8045H71304But all of you who were faithful to the LORD your God are still alive today—every one of you.H1695H3068H430H2416H31175"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.H7200H3925H2706H4941H834H3068H430H6680H6213H7130H776H935H34236Obey 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!'H8104H6213H2451H998H5869H5971H8085H2706H559H1419H1471H2450H995H59717For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD our God is near to us whenever we call on him?H1471H1419H430H7138H3068H430H71218And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?H1471H1419H2706H4941H6662H8451H5414H6440H31179"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.H8104H8104H5315H3966H7911H1697H5869H7200H5493H3824H3117H2416H3045H1121H1121H112110Never 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.'H3117H5975H6440H3068H430H2722H3068H559H6950H5971H6950H8085H1697H3925H3372H3117H2416H127H3925H112111"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.H7126H5975H2022H2022H1197H784H3820H8064H6205H6051H282212And 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.H3068H1696H8432H784H8085H6963H1697H7200H8544H2108H696313He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments

—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets.H5046H1285H6680H6213H6235H1697H3789H8147H3871H6814It 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.H3966H8104H5315H7200H8544H3117H3068H1696H2722H8432H78416So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman,H7843H6213H6459H8544H5566H8403H2145H534717an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky,H8403H929H776H8403H3671H6833H5774H806418a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea.H8403H7430H127H8403H1710H4325H8478H77619And 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.H5375H5869H8064H7200H8121H3394H3556H6635H8064H5080H7812H5647H3068H430H2505H5971H806420Remember 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.H3068H3947H3318H1270H3564H4714H5971H5159H311721"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.H3068H599H1697H7650H5674H3383H935H2896H776H3068H430H5414H515922You will cross the Jordan to occupy the land, but I will not. Instead, I will die here on the east side of the river.H4191H776H5674H3383H5674H3423H2896H77623So 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.H8104H7911H1285H3068H430H3772H6213H6459H8544H3605H3068H430H668024The LORD your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God.H3068H430H398H784H7067H41025"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.H3205H1121H1121H1121H3462H776H7843H6213H6459H8544H6213H7451H5869H3068H430H370726"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.H5749H8064H776H5749H3117H4118H6H6H776H5674H3383H3423H748H3117H8045H804527For the LORD will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive.H3068H6327H5971H7604H4962H4557H1471H3068H509028There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.H5647H430H4639H120H3027H6086H68H7200H8085H398H730629But 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.H1245H3068H430H4672H1875H3824H531530"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.H6862H1697H4672H319H3117H7725H3068H430H8085H696331For 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?H7592H3117H7223H1961H6440H3117H430H1254H120H776H7097H8064H1419H1697H808533Has any nation ever heard the voice of God

speaking from fire—as you did—and survived?H5971H8085H6963H430H1696H8432H784H8085H242134Has 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.H430H5254H935H3947H1471H7130H1471H4531H226H4159H4421H2389H3027H5186H2220H1419H4172H3068H430H6213H4714H586935"He showed you these things so you would know that the LORD is God and there is no other.H7200H3045H3068H430H5750H90536He 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.H8064H8085H6963H3256H776H7200H1419H784H8085H1697H8432H78437Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power.H157H1H977H2233H310H3318H6440H1419H3581H471438He 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.H3423H1471H6440H1419H6099H935H5414H776H5159H311739"So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The LORD is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other.H3045H3117H7725H3824H3068H430H8064H4605H77640If 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.H4872H914H7969H5892H5676H3383H8121H421742Anyone who killed another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, could flee there to live in safety.H7523H5127H7523H7453H1097H1847H8130H8543H8032H5127H259H411H5892H242543These 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.H8451H4872H7760H6440H1121H347845These are the laws, decrees, and regulations that Moses gave to the people of Israel when they left Egypt,H5713H2706H4941H4872H1696H1121H3478H3318H471446and 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.H5676H3383H1516H4136H1047H776H5511H4428H567H3427H2809H4872H1121H3478H5221H3318H471447Israel took possession of his land and that of King Og of Bashan—the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan.H3423H776H776H5747H4428H1316H8147H4428H567H5676H3383H4217H812148So Israel conquered the entire area from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge all the way to Mount Sirion

, also called Mount Hermon.H6177H8193H5158H769H2022H7865H276849And they conquered the eastern bank of the Jordan River as far south as the Dead Sea

, below the slopes of Pisgah.)H6160H5676H3383H4217H3220H6160H794H6449