An Exhortation to Obedience (Deuteronomy 11:1–7)
1 DBY And now, Israel, hearken to the statutes and to the ordinances which I teach you, to do them , that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which Jehovah the God of your fathers giveth 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 DBY Ye shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall ye take from it, that ye may keep the commandments of Jehovah your God which I command 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 DBY Your eyes have seen what Jehovah did because of Baal-Peor; for all the men that followed Baal-Peor, Jehovah thy God hath destroyed them from among you; 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 DBY but ye that did cleave to Jehovah your God are alive every one of you this day. BSB BSB: But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive to this day, every one of you.
5 DBY See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as Jehovah my God commanded me, that ye may do so in the land into which ye enter to possess it. 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 DBY And ye shall keep and do them; for that will be your wisdom and your understanding before the eyes of the peoples that shall hear all these statutes, and say, Verily this great nation is a wise and understanding people. 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 DBY For what great nation is there that hath God near to them as Jehovah our God is in everything we call upon him for? 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 DBY And what great nation is there that hath righteous statutes and ordinances, as all this law which I set before you this day? BSB BSB: And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?
9 DBY Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things that thine eyes have seen (and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but thou shalt make them known to thy sons and to thy sons' sons), 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 DBY the day that thou stoodest before Jehovah thy God in Horeb, when Jehovah said to me, Gather me the people together, that I may cause them to hear my words, that they may learn them, and fear me all the days that they live upon the earth, and teach them to their children. 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 DBY And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and obscurity. 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 DBY And Jehovah spoke to you from the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but ye saw no form; only ye heard a voice. 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 DBY And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to do, the ten words; and he wrote them on two tables of stone. 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 DBY And Jehovah commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that ye might do them in the land whither ye are passing over to possess it. 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.
A Warning against Idolatry (Deuteronomy 12:29–32; Ezekiel 6:1–7)
15 DBY And take great heed to your souls (for ye saw no form on the day that Jehovah spoke to you in Horeb from the midst of the fire), 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 DBY lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the form of any figure, the pattern of male or female, 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 DBY the pattern of any beast that is on the earth, the pattern of any winged fowl that flieth in the heaven, BSB BSB: of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air,
18 DBY the pattern of anything that creepeth on the ground, the pattern of any fish that is in the waters under the earth; BSB BSB: or of any creature that crawls on the ground or fish that is in the waters below.
19 DBY and lest thou lift up thine eyes to the heavens, and see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, the whole host of heaven, and be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, which Jehovah thy God hath assigned unto all peoples under the whole heaven. 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 DBY But you hath Jehovah taken, and hath brought you forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, that ye might be to him a people of inheritance, as it is this day. 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 DBY And Jehovah was angry with me on your account, and swore that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not enter in to that good land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance; 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 DBY for I shall die in this land, I shall not go over the Jordan; but ye shall go over, and possess this good 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 DBY Take heed to yourselves lest ye forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which he made with you, and make yourselves a graven image, the form of anything which Jehovah thy God hath forbidden thee. 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 DBY For Jehovah thy God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. BSB BSB: For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
25 DBY When thou begettest sons, and sons' sons, and ye have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, the form of anything, and do evil in the sight of Jehovah thy God, to provoke him to anger, 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 DBY I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye pass over the Jordan to possess it: ye shall not prolong your days on it, but shall be utterly destroyed. 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 DBY And Jehovah will scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left a small company among the nations to which Jehovah will lead you. 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 DBY And ye shall there serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. BSB BSB: And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.
29 DBY And from thence ye shall seek Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt find him, if thou shalt seek him with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul. 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 DBY In thy tribulation, and when all these things shall come upon thee, at the end of days, thou shalt return to Jehovah thy God, and shalt hearken to his voice, 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 DBY — for Jehovah thy God is a merciful God, — he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he swore unto them. 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.
The LORD Alone Is God 32 DBY For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man on the earth, and from one end of the heavens to the other end of the heavens, whether there hath been anything as this great thing is, or if anything hath been heard like it? 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 DBY Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? BSB BSB: Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, as you have, and lived?
34 DBY Or hath God essayed to come to take him a nation from the midst of a nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a powerful hand, and by a stretched-out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Jehovah your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 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 DBY Unto thee it was shewn, that thou mightest know that Jehovah, he is God — there is none other besides him. BSB BSB: You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.
36 DBY From the heavens he made thee hear his voice, that he might instruct thee; and on the earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words from the midst 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 DBY And because he loved thy fathers, and chose their seed after them, he brought thee out with his countenance, with his great power, 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 DBY to dispossess nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day. 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 DBY Thou shalt know therefore this day, and consider it in thy heart, that Jehovah, he is God in the heavens above, and on the earth beneath: there is none else. 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 DBY And thou shalt keep his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may be well with thee and with thy sons after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days on the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, for ever. 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.
Cities of Refuge (Numbers 35:9–34; Deuteronomy 19:1–14; Joshua 20:1–9)
41 DBY Then Moses separated three cities on this side the Jordan toward the sun-rising, BSB BSB: Then Moses set aside three cities across the Jordan to the east
42 DBY that the manslayer might flee thither, who should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not previously, that fleeing to one of these cities, he might live: 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 DBY Bezer in the wilderness, in the plateau, of the Reubenites, and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites. 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.
Introduction to the Law 44 DBY And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel: BSB BSB: This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites.
45 DBY these are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances that Moses declared to the children of Israel, when they came 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 DBY on this side the Jordan, in the valley opposite to Beth-Peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote 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 DBY and they took possession of his land, and the land of Og the king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, who were on this side the Jordan, toward the sun-rising; 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 DBY from Aroer, which is on the bank of the river Arnon, as far as mount Sion, which is Hermon, BSB BSB: extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),
49 DBY and all the plain on this side the Jordan, eastward, and as far as the sea of the plain, under the slopes of 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.