| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. | 1Now, 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 Yahweh, the God of your fathers, is giving you. |
| 2Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command 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. |
| 3Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among 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. |
| 4But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day. | 4But you who have remained faithful to the LORD your God are all alive today. |
| 5Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. | 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. |
| 6Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. | 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.' |
| 7For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? | 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? |
| 8And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? | 8And what great nation has righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?" |
| 9Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; | 9Only 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. |
| 10Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. | 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.' |
| 11And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. | 11You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire into the heavens and enveloped in a dense, black cloud. |
| 12And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. | 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. |
| 13And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. | 13He declared His covenant to you. He commanded you to follow the Ten Commandments, which He wrote on two stone tablets. |
| 14And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. | 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." |
| 15Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: | 15For your own good, be extremely careful--because you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb-- |
| 16Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, | 16not to act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves in the shape of any figure: a male or female form, |
| 17The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, | 17or the form of any beast on the earth, any winged creature that flies in the sky, |
| 18The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: | 18any creature that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the waters under the earth. |
| 19And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. | 19When you look to the heavens and see the sun, moon, and stars--all the array of heaven--do not be led astray to bow down and worship them. The LORD your God has provided them for all people everywhere under heaven. |
| 20But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day. | 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." |
| 21Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance: | 21The 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. |
| 22But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land. | 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. |
| 23Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. | 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. |
| 24For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. | 24For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." |
| 25When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: | 25When 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, provoking Him to anger, |
| 26I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. | 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. |
| 27And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you. | 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. |
| 28And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. | 28There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see, hear, eat, or smell. |
| 29But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. | 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. |
| 30When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; | 30When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, you will return to the LORD your God in later days and obey Him. |
| 31(For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. | 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." |
| 32For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? | 32Indeed, ask about the earlier days that preceded you, from the day God created man 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? |
| 33Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? | 33Has a people heard God's voice speaking from the fire as you have, and lived? |
| 34Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? | 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? |
| 35Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him. | 35You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him. |
| 36Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire. | 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. |
| 37And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt; | 37Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by His presence and great power, |
| 38To drive out 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. | 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. |
| 39Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. | 39Today, recognize and keep in mind that the LORD is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other. |
| 40Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever. | 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." |
| 41Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising; | 41Then Moses set apart three cities across the Jordan to the east. |
| 42That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live: | 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: |
| 43Namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites. | 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. |
| 44And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel: | 44This is the law Moses gave the Israelites. |
| 45These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt, | 45These are the decrees, statutes, and ordinances Moses proclaimed to them after they came out of Egypt, |
| 46On this side Jordan, in the valley over against Bethpeor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt: | 46across the Jordan in the valley facing Beth-peor in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites. He lived in Heshbon, and Moses and the Israelites defeated him after they came out of Egypt. |
| 47And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, which were on this side Jordan toward the sunrising; | 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, |
| 48From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which is Hermon, | 48from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Sion (that is, Hermon) |
| 49And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah. | 49and all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Dead Sea below the slopes of Pisgah. |
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