English Standard Version

New Living Translation

1“And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that 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 shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command 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 from among you all the men who followed the 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 held fast 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.

5See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

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.

6Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is 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 so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon 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 is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that 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 take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—

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.

10how on the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’

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.’

11And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom.

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 out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no 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.

13And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone.

13He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments —which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets.

14And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to 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“Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire,

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.

16beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

16So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman,

17the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air,

17an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky,

18the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth.

18a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea.

19And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole 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 has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day.

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.

21Furthermore, the LORD was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan, and that I should not enter the good land that the LORD your God is giving you for 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.

22For I must die in this land; I must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of that 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.

23Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the LORD your God 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 father children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, so as to provoke him to anger,

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 to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly 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.

27And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you.

27For the LORD will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive.

28And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor 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 seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with 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 tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice.

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.

31For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

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“For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever 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?

33Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live?

33Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire—as you did—and survived?

34Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which 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.

35To you it was shown, that you might 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.

36Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of 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.

37And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his 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.

38driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day,

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.

39know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; 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.

40Therefore 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 that 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 in the east beyond the Jordan,

41Then Moses set apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River.

42that the manslayer might flee there, anyone who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without being at enmity with him in time past; he may flee to one of these cities and save his life:

42Anyone who killed another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, could flee there to live in safety.

43Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for 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 that Moses set before the people of Israel.

44This is the body of instruction that Moses presented to the Israelites.

45These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the rules, which Moses spoke to the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt,

45These are the laws, decrees, and regulations that Moses gave to the people of Israel when they left Egypt,

46beyond the Jordan in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the people of Israel defeated when 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.

47And they took possession of his land and the land of Og, the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who lived to the east beyond the Jordan;

47Israel took possession of his land and that of King Og of Bashan—the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan.

48from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, as far as Mount Sirion (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.

49together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, under 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.)

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

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.