| Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1"Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live, enter, and take possession of the land the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. | 1“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. |
| 2You must not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it, so that you may keep the commands of the LORD your God I am giving you. | 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. |
| 3Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed every one of you who followed Baal of Peor. | 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. |
| 4But you who have remained faithful to the LORD your God are all alive today. | 4But all of you who were faithful to the LORD your God are still alive today—every one of you. |
| 5Look, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to possess. | 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. |
| 6Carefully follow them, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples. When they hear about all these statutes, they will say, 'This great nation is indeed a wise and understanding people.' | 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!’ |
| 7For what great nation is there that has a god near to it as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call to him? | 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? |
| 8And what great nation has righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today? | 8And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today? |
| 9"Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don't forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don't slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren. | 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. |
| 10The day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, 'Assemble the people before me, and I will let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days they live on the earth and may instruct their children.' | 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.’ |
| 11You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire into the heavens and enveloped in a totally black cloud. | 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. |
| 12Then the LORD spoke to you from the fire. You kept hearing the sound of the words, but didn't see a form; there was only a voice. | 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. |
| 13He declared his covenant to you. He commanded you to follow the Ten Commandments, which he wrote on two stone tablets. | 13He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments —which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets. |
| 14At that time the LORD commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to follow in the land you are about to cross into and possess. | 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. A Warning against Idolatry |
| 15"Diligently watch yourselves--because you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb-- | 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. |
| 16so you don't act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves in the shape of any figure: a male or female form, | 16So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman, |
| 17or the form of any animal on the earth, any winged creature that flies in the sky, | 17an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky, |
| 18any creature that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the waters under the earth. | 18a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea. |
| 19When you look to the heavens and see the sun, moon, and stars--all the stars in the sky--do not be led astray to bow in worship to them and serve them. The LORD your God has provided them for all people everywhere under heaven. | 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. |
| 20But the LORD selected you and brought you out of Egypt's iron furnace to be a people for his inheritance, as you are today. | 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. |
| 21"The LORD was angry with me on your account. He swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. | 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. |
| 22I won't be crossing the Jordan because I am going to die in this land. But you are about to cross over and take possession of this good land. | 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. |
| 23Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you, and make an idol for yourselves in the shape of anything he has forbidden you. | 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. |
| 24For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. | 24The LORD your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God. |
| 25"When you have children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, and if you act corruptly, make an idol in the form of anything, and do what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, angering him, | 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. |
| 26I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will quickly perish from the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not live long there, but you will certainly be destroyed. | 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. |
| 27The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be reduced to a few survivors among the nations where the LORD your God will drive you. | 27For the LORD will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive. |
| 28There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see, hear, eat, or smell. | 28There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. |
| 29But from there, you will search for the LORD your God, and you will find him when you seek him with all your heart and all your soul. | 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. |
| 30When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, in the future you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. | 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. |
| 31He will not leave you, destroy you, or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them by oath, because the LORD your God is a compassionate God. | 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. There Is Only One God |
| 32"Indeed, ask about the earlier days that preceded you, from the day God created mankind on the earth and from one end of the heavens to the other: Has anything like this great event ever happened, or has anything like it been heard of? | 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? |
| 33Has a people heard God's voice speaking from the fire as you have, and lived? | 33Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire—as you did—and survived? |
| 34Or has a god attempted to go and take a nation as his own out of another nation, by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, by great terrors, as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? | 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. |
| 35You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him. | 35“He showed you these things so you would know that the LORD is God and there is no other. |
| 36He let you hear his voice from heaven to instruct you. He showed you his great fire on earth, and you heard his words from the fire. | 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. |
| 37Because he loved your fathers, he chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by his presence and great power, | 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. |
| 38to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you in and give you their land as an inheritance, as is now taking place. | 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. |
| 39Today, recognize and keep in mind that the LORD is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other. | 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. |
| 40Keep his statutes and commands, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper and so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you for all time." | 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.” Eastern Cities of Refuge |
| 41Then Moses set apart three cities across the Jordan to the east. | 41Then Moses set apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River. |
| 42Someone could flee there who committed manslaughter, killing his neighbor accidentally without previously hating him. He could flee to one of these cities and stay alive: | 42Anyone who killed another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, could flee there to live in safety. |
| 43Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau land, belonging to the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead, belonging to the Gadites; or Golan in Bashan, belonging to the Manassites. | 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. Introduction to Moses’ Second Address |
| 44This is the law Moses gave the Israelites. | 44This is the body of instruction that Moses presented to the Israelites. |
| 45These are the decrees, statutes, and ordinances Moses proclaimed to them after they came out of Egypt, | 45These are the laws, decrees, and regulations that Moses gave to the people of Israel when they left Egypt, |
| 46across the Jordan in the valley facing Beth-peor in the land of King Sihon of the Amorites. He lived in Heshbon, and Moses and the Israelites defeated him after they came out of Egypt. | 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. |
| 47They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings who were across the Jordan to the east, | 47Israel took possession of his land and that of King Og of Bashan—the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. |
| 48from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Sion (that is, Hermon) | 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. |
| 49and all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Dead Sea below the slopes of Pisgah. | 49And they conquered the eastern bank of the Jordan River as far south as the Dead Sea, below the slopes of Pisgah.) |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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