Deuteronomy 4:1-43

New International Version

Obedience Commanded

4 Now, Israel, hear the decrees^(A) and laws I am about to teach^(B) you. Follow them so that you may live^(C) and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. ² Do not add^(D) to what I command you and do not subtract^(E) from it, but keep^(F) the commands^(G) of the Lord your God that I give you.

³ You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor.^(H) The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, ⁴ but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.

⁵ See, I have taught^(I) you decrees and laws^(J) as the Lord my God commanded^(K) me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering^(L) to take possession of it. ⁶ Observe^(M) them carefully, for this will show your wisdom^(N) and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”^{(O) 7} What other nation is so great^(P) as to have their gods near^(Q) them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? ⁸ And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws^(R) as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

⁹ Only be careful,^(S) and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach^(T) them to your children^(U) and to their children after them. ¹⁰ Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb,^(V) when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn^(W) to revere^(X) me as long as they live in the land^(Y) and may teach^(Z) them to their children.” ¹¹ You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain^(AA) while it blazed with fire^(AB) to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.^{(AC) 12} Then the Lord spoke^(AD) to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form;^(AE) there was only a voice.^{(AF) 13} He declared to you his covenant,^(AG) the Ten Commandments,^(AH) which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. ¹⁴ And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws^(AI) you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

¹⁵ You saw no form^(AJ) of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb^(AK) out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully,^{(AL) 16} so that you do not become corrupt^(AM) and make for yourselves an idol,^(AN) an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, ¹⁷ or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air,^{(AO) 18} or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. ¹⁹ And when you look up to the sky and see the sun,^(AP) the moon and the stars^(AQ)—all the heavenly array^(AR)—do not be enticed^(AS) into bowing down to them and worshiping^(AT) things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. ²⁰ But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace,^(AU) out of Egypt,^(AV) to be the people of his inheritance,^(AW) as you now are.

²¹ The Lord was angry with me^(AX) 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. ²² I will die in this land;^(AY) I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land.^{(AZ) 23} Be careful not to forget the covenant^(BA) of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol^(BB) in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. ²⁴ For the Lord your God is a consuming fire,^(BC) a jealous God.^(BD)

²⁵ After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt^(BE) and make any kind of idol,^(BF) doing evil^(BG) in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, ²⁶ I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses^(BH) against you^(BI) this day that you will quickly perish^(BJ) from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. ²⁷ The Lord will scatter^(BK) you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive^(BL) among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. ²⁸ There you will worship man-made gods^(BM) of wood and stone,^(BN) which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.^{(BO) 29} But if from there you seek^(BP) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart^(BQ) and with all your soul.^{(BR) 30} When you are in distress^(BS) and all these things have happened to you, then in later days^(BT) you will return^(BU) to the Lord your God and obey him. ³¹ For the Lord your God is a merciful^(BV) God; he will not abandon^(BW) or destroy^(BX) you or forget^(BY) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

The Lord Is God

³² Ask^(BZ) now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth;^(CA) ask from one end of the heavens to the other.^(CB) Has anything so great^(CC) as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? ³³ Has any other people heard the voice of God^[a] speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?^{(CD) 34} Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation,^(CE) by testings,^(CF) by signs^(CG) and wonders,^(CH) by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,^(CI) or by great and awesome deeds,^(CJ) like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

³⁵ You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.^{(CK) 36} From heaven he made you hear his voice^(CL) to discipline^(CM) you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. ³⁷ Because he loved^(CN) your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength,^{(CO) 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,^(CP) as it is today.

³⁹ Acknowledge^(CQ) and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.^{(CR) 40} Keep^(CS) his decrees and commands,^(CT) which I am giving you today, so that it may go well^(CU) with you and your children after you and that you may live long^(CV) in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.

Cities of Refuge^(CW)

⁴¹ Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan, ⁴² to which anyone who had killed a person could flee if they had unintentionally^(CX) killed a neighbor without malice aforethought. They could flee into one of these cities and save their life. ⁴³ The cities were these: Bezer in the wilderness plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth^(CY) in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.