| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Now, Israel, pay attention to the statutes and ordinances I am about to teach you, so that you might live and go on to enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, 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. |
| 2Do not add a thing to what I command you nor subtract from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am delivering to 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. |
| 3You have witnessed what the LORD did at Baal Peor, how he eradicated from your midst everyone who followed Baal 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 remained faithful to the LORD your God are still alive to this very day, every one of you. | 4But all of you who were faithful to the LORD your God are still alive today—every one of you. |
| 5Look! I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the LORD my God told me to do, so that you might carry them out in the land you are about to enter and possess. | 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. |
| 6So be sure to do them, because this will testify of your wise understanding to the people who will learn of all these statutes and say, "Indeed, this great nation is a very wise 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!’ |
| 7In fact, what other great nation has a god so near to them like the LORD our God whenever we call on 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 other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this whole law that I am about to share with 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? |
| 9Again, however, pay very careful attention, lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren. | 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. |
| 10You stood before the LORD your God at Horeb and he said to me, "Assemble the people before me so that I can tell them my commands. Then they will learn to revere me all the days they live in the land, and they will instruct their children." | 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.’ |
| 11You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain, a mountain ablaze to the sky above it and yet dark with a thick cloud. | 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 from the middle of the fire; you heard speech but you could not see anything--only a voice was heard. | 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 revealed to you the covenant he has commanded you to keep, the ten commandments, writing them on two stone tablets. | 13He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments —which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets. |
| 14Moreover, at that same time the LORD commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to keep in the land which you are about to enter and 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 |
| 15Be very careful, then, because you saw no form at the time the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the middle 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. |
| 16I say this so you will not corrupt yourselves by making an image in the form of any kind of figure. This includes the likeness of a human male or female, | 16So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman, |
| 17any kind of land animal, any bird that flies in the sky, | 17an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky, |
| 18anything that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the deep waters of the earth. | 18a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea. |
| 19When you look up to the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars--the whole heavenly creation--you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, for the LORD your God has assigned them to all the people of the world. | 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. |
| 20You, however, the LORD has selected and brought from Egypt, that iron-smelting furnace, to be his special people as you are today. | 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. |
| 21But the LORD became angry with me because of you and vowed that I would never cross the Jordan nor enter the good land that he is about to give you. | 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. |
| 22So I must die here in this land; I will not cross the Jordan. But you are going over and will possess 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. |
| 23Be on guard so that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he has made with you, and that you do not make an image of any kind, just as he 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; he is a jealous God. | 24The LORD your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God. |
| 25After you have produced children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, if you become corrupt and make an image of any kind and do other evil things before the LORD your God that enrage him, | 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 invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will surely and swiftly be removed from the very land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not last long there because you will surely be annihilated. | 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. |
| 27Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples and there will be very few of you 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. |
| 28There you will worship gods made by human hands--wood and stone that can neither see, hear, 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 if you seek the LORD your God from there, you will find him, if, indeed, you seek him with all your heart and 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. |
| 30In your distress when all these things happen to you in the latter days, if you return to the LORD your God and obey him | 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. |
| 31(for he is a merciful God), he will not let you down or destroy you, for he cannot forget the covenant with your ancestors that he confirmed by oath 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 |
| 32Indeed, ask about the distant past, starting from the day God created humankind on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether there has ever been such a great thing as this, or even a rumor of it. | 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? |
| 33Have a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the middle of fire, as you yourselves have, and lived to tell about it? | 33Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire—as you did—and survived? |
| 34Or has God ever before tried to deliver a nation from the middle of another nation, accompanied by judgments, signs, wonders, war, strength, power, and other very terrifying things like the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very 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. |
| 35You have been taught that the LORD alone 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. |
| 36From heaven he spoke to you in order to teach you, and on earth he showed you his great fire from which you also heard his words. | 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. |
| 37Moreover, because he loved your ancestors, he chose their descendants who followed them and personally brought you out of Egypt with 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. |
| 38to dispossess nations greater and stronger than you and brought you here this day to give you their land as your property. | 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. |
| 39Today realize and carefully consider that the LORD is God in heaven above and on earth below--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. |
| 40Keep his statutes and commandments that I am setting forth today so that it may go well with you and your descendants and that you may enjoy longevity in the land that the LORD your God is about to give you as a permanent possession. | 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 selected three cities in the Transjordan, toward the east. | 41Then Moses set apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River. |
| 42Anyone who accidentally killed someone without hating him at the time of the accident could flee to one of those cities and be safe. | 42Anyone who killed another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, could flee there to live in safety. |
| 43These cities are Bezer, in the desert plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for the Manassehites. | 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 Israelites. | 44This is the body of instruction that Moses presented to the Israelites. |
| 45These are the stipulations, statutes, and ordinances that Moses spoke to the Israelites after he had brought them out of Egypt, | 45These are the laws, decrees, and regulations that Moses gave to the people of Israel when they left Egypt, |
| 46in the Transjordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. (It is he whom Moses and the Israelites attacked after 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. |
| 47They possessed his land and that of King Og of Bashan--both of whom were Amorite kings in the Transjordan, to the east. | 47Israel took possession of his land and that of King Og of Bashan—the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. |
| 48Their territory extended from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon valley as far as Mount Siyon--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. |
| 49including all the Arabah of the Transjordan in the east to the sea of the Arabah, beneath the watershed of Pisgah.) | 49And they conquered the eastern bank of the Jordan River as far south as the Dead Sea, below the slopes of Pisgah.) |
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