1 ARST Now, you Israelite people, obey all the rules and regulations that I will teach you. If you do that, you will remain alive. You will be able to enter and occupy the land that Yahweh, the God whom your ancestors worshiped, is giving to you. BSB BSB: Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
2 ARST Do not change the words of my commands to you. Obey all the commands of Yahweh our God that I am giving to you. BSB BSB: You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.
3 ARST You have seen what Yahweh did at Baal Peor, for example, when he destroyed all the people who worshiped{ the god} Baal there. BSB BSB: Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all who followed Baal of Peor.
4 ARST However, all of you who faithfully continued to worship Yahweh our God are still alive today. BSB BSB: But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive to this day, every one of you.
5 ARST Never forget that I have taught you all the rules and regulations, just as Yahweh our God told me to do. He wants you to obey them{ when you are living} in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. BSB BSB: See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land that you are about to enter and possess.
6 ARST Obey them faithfully because, if you do that, you will show the people of other nations that you are very wise. When they hear about all these rules, they will say,‘The people of this great nation of Israel are certainly very wise!’ BSB BSB: Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
7 ARST Even if other nations are great, there is none of them that has a god who cares for them as Yahweh our God cares for us! BSB BSB: For what nation is great enough to have a god as near to them as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call on Him?
8 ARST And there is no other nation, even if it is a great nation, which has laws that are as just as the laws that I am speaking to you today. BSB BSB: And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?
9 ARST But be very careful! Do not forget what you have seen God do. Remember those things as long as you are alive. Tell them to your children and your grandchildren. BSB BSB: Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.
10 ARST Tell them about the day that your parents stood in the presence of Yahweh our God at Mount Sinai, when he said to me,‘Gather the people together in order that they can hear what I say. I want them to learn to respect me and honor me as long as they are alive. I want them to teach their children to do the same.’ BSB BSB: The day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, “Gather the people before Me to hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach them to their children.”
11 ARST Tell your children that your parents came near to the foot of the mountain while the mountain burned with a fire that went up to the sky, and the mountain was covered with darkness, clouds, and smoke. BSB BSB: You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.
12 ARST Then Yahweh spoke to your parents out of the middle of the fire. Your parents only heard him speak, but they did not see him. BSB BSB: And the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of the words but saw no form; there was only a voice.
13 ARST And he declared to them his covenant that he wants you also to obey. He gave them the Ten Commandments. He wrote those on two stone tablets. BSB BSB: He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to follow—the Ten Commandments that He wrote on two tablets of stone.
14 ARST Yahweh told me to teach all the rules and regulations to you in order that you would obey them. He wants you to obey them in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. BSB BSB: At that time the LORD commanded me to teach you the statutes and ordinances you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.
15 ARST On the day that Yahweh spoke to your parents at Mount Sinai, they did not see him. So be very careful! BSB BSB: So since you saw no form of any kind on the day the LORD spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb, be careful
16 ARST Do not sin by making for yourselves any carved figure! Do not make anything that resembles the likeness of anything: man, woman, BSB BSB: that you do not act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves of any form or shape, whether in the likeness of a male or female,
17 ARST any animal, any bird, BSB BSB: of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air,
18 ARST any reptile, or any fish. BSB BSB: or of any creature that crawls on the ground or fish that is in the waters below.
19 ARST Do not look up toward the sky and be tempted to worship anything that you see there— the sun or the moon or the stars. Yahweh our God has given those to{ help} all people everywhere. BSB BSB: When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
20 ARST Yahweh has brought your families out of Egypt, where they were suffering as though they were in a blazing furnace. That is so that they would be people who belong to him, which is what you are today. BSB BSB: Yet the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of His inheritance, as you are today.
21 ARST But Yahweh was angry with me because of what your parents did. He declared that I would never enter the land that he is giving to you. BSB BSB: The LORD, however, was angry with me on account of you, and He swore that I would not cross the Jordan to enter the good land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
22 ARST He swore that I would die here in this land and never cross the Jordan River. But you will go across it, and you will occupy that land. BSB BSB: For I will not be crossing the Jordan, because I must die in this land. But you shall cross over and take possession of that good land.
23 ARST Be sure that you do not forget the covenant that Yahweh our God made with you, and do not make a carved figure in the likeness of anything about which he has forbidden you. BSB BSB: Be careful that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God that He made with you; do not make an idol for yourselves in the form of anything He has forbidden you.
24 ARST This is because Yahweh your God wants everyone to worship him alone. He will destroy anyone who worships idols. BSB BSB: For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
25 ARST When you have been in the land of Canaan for a long time and you have children and grandchildren, do not sin by making a carved figure that represents anything. Yahweh says that is evil, and if you do that, you will cause him to become angry. BSB BSB: After you have children and grandchildren and you have been in the land a long time, if you then act corruptly and make an idol of any form—doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God and provoking Him to anger—
26 ARST Today I am requesting everyone who is in heaven and earth to watch what you are doing. But{ if you disobey what I am telling you}, you will soon all die in the land that you will be crossing the Jordan River to occupy. You will not live very long there, because Yahweh will get rid of you. BSB BSB: I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.
27 ARST Yahweh will force the rest of you to go and live among the people of many other nations. Only a few of you will survive there. BSB BSB: Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
28 ARST When you are in those nations, you will worship gods that are made by humans from wood and stone.{ They will be gods} that cannot see, hear, eat, or smell{ anything}. BSB BSB: And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.
29 ARST But while you are there, you will try to know Yahweh your God. If you try as much as you can to know him, he will answer you. BSB BSB: But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
30 ARST In the future, when you are being mistreated{ there} and all those{ bad} things happen to you, you will again worship only Yahweh and obey him. BSB BSB: When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.
31 ARST Yahweh is a God who acts mercifully.{ If you obey him}, he will not abandon you, cause you to die, or forget the agreement that he solemnly made with your ancestors. BSB BSB: For the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers, which He swore to them by oath.
32 ARST Now please think about the past, about the time before you were born, about all the time since God first created people here on the earth. You could search everywhere. Certainly, nothing has ever happened that is as great{ as what Yahweh did for the Israelite people}. BSB BSB: Indeed, ask now from one end of the heavens to the other about the days that long preceded you, from the day that God created man on earth: Has anything as great as this ever happened or been reported?
33 ARST Certainly no group has ever remained alive after they heard their God speak to them from the middle of a fire like we did. BSB BSB: Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, as you have, and lived?
34 ARST Certainly God has never before tried to take a huge group of people from one nation{ to another location} as he did for us when he brought us out of Egypt. We saw Yahweh our God use his power when he performed miracles, sent plagues, terrified people, and fought the Egyptians for us. BSB BSB: Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation—by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors—as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes?
35 ARST Yahweh showed all these things to you in order that you would know that only he is truly God and that there is no other God. BSB BSB: You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.
36 ARST He allowed your parents to hear him speak from heaven in order that he could discipline them. Here on the earth, he allowed them to see his great fire{ on Mount Sinai}. He spoke to them from the middle of the fire. BSB BSB: He let you hear His voice from heaven to discipline you, and on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the fire.
37 ARST Because he loved our ancestors, he chose you Israelites, who are their descendants. By his great power, he brought us out of Egypt. BSB BSB: Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by His presence and great power,
38 ARST { As they traveled}, he expelled the people of nations that were greater and more powerful than we were. This is so that we could capture and live in their land, as we are about to do today. BSB BSB: to drive out before you nations greater and mightier than you, and to bring you into their land and give it to you for your inheritance, as it is this day.
39 ARST So today you should think about the fact that Yahweh is God, that{ he rules} in heaven and also on the earth, and that there is no other god. BSB BSB: Know therefore this day and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.
40 ARST Obey all the rules and regulations that I am giving to you today. This is so that things will go well for you and your descendants. And it is so that you will live a long time in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, so{ it will belong to you} forever.” BSB BSB: Keep His statutes and commandments, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.
41 ARST Then Moses chose three cities that are on the east side of the Jordan River. BSB BSB: Then Moses set aside three cities across the Jordan to the east
42 ARST If someone accidentally killed another person, a person who had not been his enemy previously, he could escape to one of those cities. He would be safe there{ because the people there would protect him}. BSB BSB: to which a manslayer could flee after killing his neighbor unintentionally without prior malice. To save one’s own life, he could flee to one of these cities:
43 ARST For the tribe of Reuben, Moses chose the city of Bezer in the wilderness. For the tribe of Gad, he chose the city of Ramoth in the region of Gilead. For the tribe of Manasseh, he chose the city of Golan in the region of Bashan. BSB BSB: Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau belonging to the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the Gadites, or Golan in Bashan belonging to the Manassites.
44 ARST Moses gave God’ s instructions to the Israelite people. BSB BSB: This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites.
45 ARST They included all the instructions, rules, and regulations that Moses told the Israelite people after they had come out of Egypt, BSB BSB: These are the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances that Moses proclaimed to them after they had come out of Egypt,
46 ARST when they were in the valley east of the Jordan River. They were across from the town of Beth Peor, in the land that{ previously} was ruled by Sihon, the king of the Amor people group, who lived in the city of Heshbon. Moses and the other Israelites had defeated his army when they came out of Egypt. BSB BSB: while they were in the valley across the Jordan facing Beth-peor in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt.
47 ARST They captured Sihon’ s land and the land that Og, the king of the region of Bashan, had ruled. Those were the two kings who ruled the Amor people group in the area east of the Jordan River. BSB BSB: They took possession of the land belonging to Sihon and to Og king of Bashan—the two Amorite kings across the Jordan to the east—
48 ARST Their land extended from the city of Aroer in the south along the Arnon River, as far north as Mount Sirion, which{ most people} call Mount Hermon. BSB BSB: extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),
49 ARST It also included all the area in the plain east of the Jordan River valley, extending to the Dead Sea and east to the slopes of Mount Pisgah. BSB BSB: including all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan and as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the slopes of Pisgah.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.