The Fifth Book of Moses: Deuteronomy

⭑ Geneva Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 4 -

(Deuteronomy 11:1–7)

Nowe therefore hearken, O Israel, vnto the ordinances and to the lawes which I teache you to doe, that ye may liue and goe in, and possesse the lande, which the Lord God of your fathers giueth you.

Ye shall put nothing vnto the word which I command you, neither shall ye take ought there from, that ye may keepe the commandements of the Lord your God which I commande you.

Your eyes haue seene what the Lord did because of Baal-Peor, for al the men that folowed Baal-Peor the Lord thy God hath destroyed euery one from among you.

But ye that did cleaue vnto the Lord your God, are aliue euery one of you this day.

Behold, I haue taught you ordinances, and lawes, as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should doe euen so within the land whither ye goe to possesse it.

Keepe them therefore, and doe them; for that is your wisdome, and your vnderstanding in the sight of the people, which shall heare all these ordinances, and shall say, Onely this people is wise, and of vnderstanding, and a great nation.

For what nation is so great, vnto whome the gods come so neere vnto them, as the Lord our God is neere vnto vs, in all that we call vnto him for?

And what nation is so great, that hath ordinances and lawes so righteous, as all this Lawe, which I set before you this day?

But take heede to thy selfe, and keepe thy soule diligently, that thou forget not the thinges which thine eyes haue seene, and that they depart not out of thine heart, all the dayes of thy life: but teach them thy sonnes, and thy sonnes sonnes:

Forget not the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said vnto me, Gather me the people together, and I wil cause them heare my wordes, that they may learne to feare me all the dayes that they shall liue vpon the earth, and that they may teache their children:

Then came you neere and stoode vnder the mountaine, and the mountaine burnt with fire vnto the mids of heauen, and there was darkenesse, cloudes and mist.

And the Lord spake vnto you out of the middes of the fire, and ye heard the voyce of the wordes, but sawe no similitude, saue a voyce.

Then hee declared vnto you his couenant which he commanded you to doe, euen the ten commandements, and wrote them vpon two tables of stone.

And the Lord commanded me that same time, that I should teach you ordinances and lawes, which ye should obserue in the lande, whither ye goe, to possesse it.

A Warning against Idolatry

(Deuteronomy 12:29–32; Ezekiel 6:1–7)

Take therefore good heede vnto your selues: for ye sawe no image in the day that the Lord spake vnto you in Horeb out of the middes of the fire:

That ye corrupt not your selues, and make you a grauen image or representation of any figure: whither it be the likenes of male or female,

The likenes of any beast that is on earth, or the likenesse of any fethered foule that flieth in the aire:

Or the likenesse of any thing that creepeth on the earth, or the likenesse of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth,

And lest thou lift vp thine eyes vnto heauen, and when thou seest the sunne and the moone and the starres with all the host of heauen, shouldest bee driuen to worship them and serue them, which the Lord thy God hath distributed to all people vnder the whole heauen.

But the Lord hath taken you and brought you out of the yron fornace: out of Egypt to be vnto him a people and inheritance, as appeareth this day.

And the Lord was angrie with me for your words, and sware that I should not goe ouer Iorden, and that I should not goe in vnto that good land, which the Lord thy God giueth thee for an inheritance.

For I must die in this land, and shall not go ouer Iorden: but ye shall goe ouer, and possesse that good land.

Take heede vnto your selues, least ye forget the couenant of the Lord your God which hee made with you, and least ye make you any grauen image, or likenes of any thing, as the Lord thy God hath charged thee.

For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, and a ielous God.

When thou shalt beget children and childrens children, and shalt haue remained long in the land, if ye corrupt your selues, and make any grauen image, or likenes of any thing, and worke euill in the sight of the Lord thy God, to prouoke him to anger,

I call heauen and earth to record against you this day, that ye shall shortly perish from the land, whereunto ye goe ouer Iorden to possesse it: ye shall not prolong your dayes therein, but shall vtterly be destroyed.

And the Lord shall scatter you among the people, and ye shall be left few in nomber among the nations, whither the Lord shall bring you:

And there ye shall serue gods, euen ye worke of mans hand, wood, and stone, which neither see, nor heare, nor eate, nor smelll.

But if from thence thou shalt seeke the Lord thy God, thou shalt finde him, if thou seeke him with all thine heart, and with all thy soule.

When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come vpon thee, at the length if thou returne to the Lord thy God, and bee obedient vnto his voyce,

(For the Lord thy God is a mercifull God) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the couenant of thy fathers, which hee sware vnto them.

The LORD Alone Is God

For inquire now of the dayes that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man vpon the earth, and aske from the one ende of heauen vnto the other, if there came to passe such a great thing as this, or whether any such like thing hath bene heard.

Did euer people heare the voyce of God speaking out of the middes of a fire, as thou hast heard, and liued?

Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from among nations, by tentations, by signes, and by wonders, and by warre, and by a mightie hand, and by a stretched out arme, and by great feare, according vnto all that the Lord your God did vnto you in Egypt before your eyes?

Vnto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest knowe, that the Lord hee is God, and that there is none but he alone.

Out of heauen hee made thee heare his voyce to instruct thee, and vpon earth he shewed thee his great fire, and thou heardest his voyce out of the middes of the fire.

And because hee loued thy fathers, therefore hee chose their seede after them, and hath brought thee out of Egypt in his sight by his mightie power,

To thrust out nations greater and mightier then thou, before thee, to bring thee in, and to giue thee their land for inheritance: as appeareth this day.

Vnderstande therefore this day, and consider in thine heart, that the Lord, he is God in heauen aboue, and vpon the earth beneath: there is none other.

Thou shalt keepe therefore his ordinances, and his commandements which I commaund thee this day, that it may goe well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayst prolong thy dayes vpon the earth, which the Lord thy God giueth thee for euer.

Cities of Refuge

(Numbers 35:9–34; Deuteronomy 19:1–14; Joshua 20:1–9)

Then Moses separated three cities on this side of Iorden toward the sunne rising:

That the slayer should flee thither, which had killed his neighbour at vnwares, and hated him not in time past, might flee, I say, vnto one of those cities, and liue:

That is, Bezer in the wildernesse, in the plaine countrey of the Reubenites: and Ramoth in Gilead among the Gadites: and Golan in Bashan among them of Manasseh.

Introduction to the Law

So this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel.

These are the witnesses, and the ordinances, and the lawes which Moses declared to the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt,

On this side Iorden, in the valley ouer against Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon King of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come out of Egypt:

And they possessed his land, and the lande of Og King of Bashan, two Kings of the Amorites, which were on this side Iorden towarde the sunne rising:

From Aroer, which is by the banke of the riuer Arnon, euen vnto mount Sion, which is Hermon,

And all the plaine by Iorden Eastwarde, euen vnto the Sea, of ye plaine, vnder the springs of Pisgah.

(Deuteronomy 11:1–7)

Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and to the ordinances which I teach you, to do them, that you may live and go in and possess the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, gives you.

You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baal Peor; for the LORD your God has destroyed all the men who followed Baal Peor from among you.

But you who were faithful to the LORD your God are all alive today.

Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do so in the middle of the land where you go in to possess it.

Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who shall hear all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

For what great nation is there that has a god so near to them as the LORD our God is whenever we call on him?

What great nation is there that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you today?

Only be careful, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children’s children—

the day that you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, “Assemble the people to me, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.”

You came near and stood under the mountain. The mountain burned with fire to the heart of the sky, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.

The LORD spoke to you out of the middle of the fire: you heard the voice of words, but you saw no form; you only heard a voice.

He declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments. He wrote them on two stone tablets.

The LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that you might do them in the land where you go over to possess it.

A Warning against Idolatry

(Deuteronomy 12:29–32; Ezekiel 6:1–7)

Be very careful, for you saw no kind of form on the day that the LORD spoke to you in Horeb out of the middle of the fire,

lest you corrupt yourselves, and make yourself a carved image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky,

the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth;

and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the army of the sky, you are drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky.

But the LORD has taken you, and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as it is today.

Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in to that good land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance;

but I must die in this land. I must not go over the Jordan, but you shall go over and possess that good land.

Be careful, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you.

For the LORD your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.

When you father children and children’s children, and you have been long in the land, and then corrupt yourselves, and make a carved image in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the LORD your God’s sight to provoke him to anger,

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from off the land which you go over the Jordan to possess it. You will not prolong your days on it, but will utterly be destroyed.

The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will lead you away.

There you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

But from there you shall seek the LORD your God, and you will find him when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

When you are in oppression, and all these things have come on you, in the latter days you shall return to the LORD your God and listen to his voice.

For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not fail you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them.

The LORD Alone Is God

For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and from the one end of the sky to the other, whether there has been anything as great as this thing is, or has been heard like it?

Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the middle of the fire, as you have heard, and live?

Or has God tried to go and take a nation for himself from among another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

It was shown to you so that you might know that the LORD is God. There is no one else besides him.

Out of heaven he made you to hear his voice, that he might instruct you. On earth he made you to see his great fire; and you heard his words out of the middle of the fire.

Because he loved your fathers, therefore he chose their offspring after them, and brought you out with his presence, with his great power, out of Egypt;

to drive out nations from before you greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today.

Know therefore today, and take it to heart, that the LORD himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. There is no one else.

You shall keep his statutes and his commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD your God gives you for all time.

Cities of Refuge

(Numbers 35:9–34; Deuteronomy 19:1–14; Joshua 20:1–9)

Then Moses set apart three cities beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise,

that the man slayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unintentionally and didn’t hate him in time past, and that fleeing to one of these cities he might live:

Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

This is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel.

These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances which Moses spoke to the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt,

beyond the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel struck when they came out of Egypt.

They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise;

from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, even to Mount Zion (also called Hermon),

and all the Arabah beyond the Jordan eastward, even to the sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.