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Deuteronomy 4:30-32
New English Translation
Deuteronomy 4:30-32
New English Translation
30 In your distress when all these things happen to you in future days, if you return to the Lord your God and obey him[a] 31 (for he[b] is a merciful God), he will not let you down[c] or destroy you, for he cannot[d] forget the covenant with your ancestors that he confirmed by oath to them.
The Uniqueness of Israel’s God
32 Indeed, ask about the distant past, starting from the day God created humankind[e] on the earth, and ask[f] from one end of heaven to the other, whether there has ever been such a great thing as this, or even a rumor of it.
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- Deuteronomy 4:30 tn Heb “hear his voice.” The expression is an idiom meaning “obey,” occurring in Deut 8:20; 9:23; 13:18; 21:18, 20; 26:14, 17; 27:10; 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62; 30:2, 8, 10, 20.
- Deuteronomy 4:31 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 4:3.
- Deuteronomy 4:31 tn Heb “he will not drop you,” i.e., “will not abandon you” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
- Deuteronomy 4:31 tn Or “will not.” The translation understands the imperfect verbal form to have an added nuance of capability here.
- Deuteronomy 4:32 tn The Hebrew term אָדָם (ʾadam) may refer either to Adam or, more likely, to “man” in the sense of the human race (“mankind,” “humankind”). The idea here seems more universal in scope than reference to Adam alone would suggest.
- Deuteronomy 4:32 tn The verb is not present in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarification. The challenge has both temporal and geographical dimensions. The people are challenged to (1) inquire about the entire scope of past history and (2) conduct their investigation on a worldwide scale.
New English Translation (NET)
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