Deuteronomy 4

Deuteronomy · Chapter 4

Deuteronomy 4:14

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.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.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.4But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.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.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.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?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?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;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.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.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.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.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.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:16Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,17The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,18The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath 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.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.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:22But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that 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.24For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even 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: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.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.28And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor 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.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;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.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?33Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?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?35Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside 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.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;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.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.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.41Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;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: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.44And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel: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,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: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;48From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which is Hermon,49And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
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.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.And Jehovah commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Where

Locations from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Some ancient sites are uncertain.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
he commandedצִוָּ֤הtzi-VAHH6680
to command

צָוָה (tsa.vah) 1) to command, charge, give orders, lay charge, give charge to, order 1a)(Piel) 1a1) to lay charge upon 1a2) to give charge to, give command to 1a3) to give charge unto 1a4) to give charge over, appoint 1a5) to give charge, command 1a6) to charge, command 1a7) to charge, commission 1a8) to command, appoint, ordain (of divine act) 1b) (Pual) to be commanded

Yahwehיְהוָה֙YAH-wehH3068G
Lord

אֲדֹנָי (a.do.nai) Lord - a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

at the timeבָּעֵ֣תba-'ETH6256
time

עֵת (et) 1) time 1a) time (of an event) 1b) time (usual) 1c) experiences, fortunes 1d) occurrence, occasion

the thatהַהִ֔ואha-HIV'H1931
he/she/it

הוּא (hu) pron 3p s 1) he, she, it 1a) himself (with emphasis) 1b) resuming subj with emphasis 1c) (with minimum emphasis following predicate) 1d) (anticipating subj) 1e) (emphasising predicate) 1f) that, it (neuter) demons pron 2) that (with article)

to teachלְלַמֵּ֣דle-la-MEDH3925G
to learn: teach

לָמַד (la.mad) : teach 1) to learn. teach, exercise in 1a) (Qal) to learn 1b) (Piel) to teach 1c) (Pual) to be taught, be trained Also means: la.mad (לָמַד ": learn" H3925H)

statutesחֻקִּ֖יםchu-KIMH2706G
statute: decree

חֹק (choq) : decree 1) statute, ordinance, limit, something prescribed, due 1a) prescribed task 1b) prescribed portion 1c) action prescribed (for oneself), resolve 1d) prescribed due 1e) prescribed limit, boundary 1f) enactment, decree, ordinance 1f1) specific decree 1f2) law in general 1g) enactments, statutes 1g1) conditions 1g2) enactments 1g3) decrees 1g4) civil enactments prescribed by God

and judgmentsוּמִשְׁפָּטִ֑יםu-mish-pa-TIMH4941G
justice: judgement

מִשְׁפָּט (mish.pat) : judgement/punishment 1) judgment, justice, ordinance 1a) judgment 1a1) act of deciding a case 1a2) place, court, seat of judgment 1a3) process, procedure, litigation (before judges) 1a4) case, cause (presented for judgment) 1a5) sentence, decision (of judgment) 1a6) execution (of judgment) 1a7) time (of judgment) 1b) justice, right, rectitude (attributes of God or man) 1c) ordinance 1d) decision (in law) 1e) right, privilege, due (legal) 1f) proper, fitting, measure, fitness, custom, manner, plan

to observe youלַעֲשֹׂתְכֶ֣םla-'a-so-te-KHEMH6213A
to make: do

עָשָׂה (a.sah) : do/perform 1) to do, fashion, accomplish, make 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to do, work, make, produce 1a1a) to do 1a1b) to work 1a1c) to deal (with) 1a1d) to act, act with effect, effect 1a2) to make 1a2a) to make 1a2b) to produce 1a2c) to prepare 1a2d) to make (an offering) 1a2e) to attend to, put in order 1a2f) to observe, celebrate 1a2g) to acquire (property) 1a2h) to appoint, ordain, institute 1a2i) to bring about 1a2j) to use 1a2k) to spend, pass 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be done 1b2) to be made 1b3) to be produced 1b4) to be offered 1b5) to be observed 1b6) to be used 1c) (Pual) to be made

in the landבָּאָ֕רֶץba-'A-retzH0776G
land: country/planet

אֶ֫רֶץ (e.rets) : country/field 1) land, earth 1a) earth 1a1) whole earth (as opposed to a part) 1a2) earth (as opposed to heaven) 1a3) earth (inhabitants) 1b) land 1b1) country, territory 1b2) district, region 1b3) tribal territory 1b4) piece of ground 1b5) land of Canaan, Israel 1b6) inhabitants of land 1b7) Sheol, land without return, (under) world 1b8) city (-state) 1c) ground, surface of the earth 1c1) ground 1c2) soil 1d) (in phrases) 1d1) people of the land 1d2) space or distance of country (in measurements of distance) 1d3) level or plain country 1d4) land of the living 1d5) end(s) of the earth …

whereאֲשֶׁ֥ר'a-SHERH0834A
which

אֲשֶׁר (a.sher) A: 1) (relative part.) 1a) which, who 1b) that which 2) (conj) 2a) that (in obj clause) 2b) when 2c) since 2d) as 2e) conditional if B: Beth+ 1) in (that) which 2) (adv) 2a) where 3) (conj) 3a) in that, inasmuch as 3b) on account of C: Mem+ 1) from (or than) that which 2) from (the place) where 3) from (the fact) that, since D: Kaph+ 1) (conj.), according as, as, when 1a) according to that which, according as, as 1b) with a causal force: in so far as, since 1c) with a temporal force: when

youאַתֶּ֛ם'a-TEMH0859D
you

אַנְתּוּן (an.tun) you, thou (second pers. pl.) Aramaic of at.tem (אַתֶּם "you(m.p.)" H0859D)

[are] about to pass overעֹבְרִ֥ים'oe-RIMH5674A
to pass

עָבַר (a.var) 1) to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to pass over, cross, cross over, pass over, march over, overflow, go over 1a2) to pass beyond 1a3) to pass through, traverse 1a3a) passers-through (participle) 1a3b) to pass through (the parts of victim in covenant) 1a4) to pass along, pass by, overtake and pass, sweep by 1a4a) passer-by (participle) 1a4b) to be past, be over 1a5) to pass on, go on, pass on before, go in advance of, pass along, travel, advance 1a6) to pass away 1a6a) to emigrate, leave (one's territory) 1a6b) to vanish …

there towardsשָׁ֖מָּהSHA-mahH8033G
there

שָׁם (sham) 1) there, thither 1a) there 1b) thither (after verbs of motion) 1c) from there, thence 1d) then (as an adverb of time) Aramaic equivalent: tam.mah (תַּמָּה "there" H8536)

to take possession of itלְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃le-rish-TAHH3423H
to possess: possess

יָרַשׁ (ya.rash) : possess/inherit 1) to seize, dispossess, take possession off, inherit, disinherit, occupy, impoverish, be an heir 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to take possession of 1a2) to inherit 1a3) to impoverish, come to poverty, be poor 1b) (Niphal) to be dispossessed, be impoverished, come to poverty 1c) (Piel) to devour 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to cause to possess or inherit 1d2) to cause others to possess or inherit 1d3) to impoverish 1d4) to dispossess 1d5) to destroy, bring to ruin, disinherit

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.