Deuteronomy 4

Deuteronomy · Chapter 4

Deuteronomy 4:43

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
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.Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau belonging to the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the Gadites, or Golan in Bashan belonging to the Manassites.namely, 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.

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
Bezerבֶּ֧צֶרBE-tzerH1221G
Bezer

בֶּ֫צֶר (be.tser) Bezer = "gold ore" or "remote fortress" a city of refuge in Reuben in the downs on the east of the Jordan Also named: bots.rah (בׇּצְרָה "Bozrah" H1224H)

in the wildernessבַּמִּדְבָּ֛רba-mid-BARH4057B
wilderness

מִדְבָּר (mid.bar) 1) wilderness 1a) pasture 1b) uninhabited land, wilderness 1c) large tracts of wilderness (around cities) 1d) wilderness (fig.)

in [the] land ofבְּאֶ֥רֶץbe-'E-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 …

the plainהַמִּישֹׁ֖רha-mi-SHORH4334
plain

מִישׁוֹר (mi.shor) 1) level place, uprightness 1a) level country, table-land, plain 1b) level place 1c) uprightness

for the Reubenite[s]לָרֻֽאוּבֵנִ֑יla-ru-'u-ve-NIH7206
Reubenite

רְאוּבֵנִי (re.u.ve.ni) Someone from the tribe of Reuben living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.29.32; son of: Israel (H3478) and Leah (H3812); brother of: Simeon (H8095), Levi (H3878), Judah (H3063), Issachar (H3485), Zebulun (H2074) and Dinah (H1783); half-brother of: Dan (H1835H), Naphtali (H5321), Gad (H1410), Asher (H0836), Joseph (H3130) and Benjamin (H1144); father of: Hanoch (H2585J), Pallu (H6396), Hezron (H2696) and Carmi (H3756) Group of re.u.ven (רְאוּבֵן "Reuben" H7205) § Reubenite, of Reuben "behold a son" a descendant of Reuben the son of Jacob

Ramothרָאמֹ֤תra-MOTH7216H
Ramoth

רָאמוֹת (ra.mot) § Ramoth = "heights" a place in Issachar

in the Gileadבַּגִּלְעָד֙ba-gil-'ADH1568G
Gilead

גִּלְעָד (gil.ad) Gilead = "rocky region" a mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon; sometimes called 'Mount Gilead' or the 'land of Gilead' or just 'Gilead'. Divided into north and south Gilead Also named: gil.a.di (גִּלְעָדִי "Gileadite" H1569)

for the Gadite[s]לַגָּדִ֔יla-ga-DIH1425
Gad

גָּדִי (ga.di) Spomeone from the tribe of Gad living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.30.11; son of: Israel (H3478) and Zilpah (H2153); brother of: Asher (H0836); half-brother of: Reuben (H7205), Simeon (H8095), Levi (H3878), Judah (H3063), Dan (H1835H), Naphtali (H5321), Issachar (H3485), Zebulun (H2074), Dinah (H1783), Joseph (H3130) and Benjamin (H1144); father of: Ziphion (H6837), Haggi (H2291), Shuni (H7764), Ezbon (H0675), Eri (H6179), Arod (H0720) and Areli (H0692) Another name of gad (גָּד "Gad" H1410G) § Gadite = "an invader: a troop: fortune" …

Golanגּוֹלָ֥ןgo-LANH1474
Golan

גּוֹלָן (go.lan) § Golan = "their captivity: their rejoicing" a town of Manasseh in the heights of Bashan east of the Jordan; a city of refuge

in the Bashanבַּבָּשָׁ֖ןba-ba-SHANH1316
Bashan

בָּשָׁן (ba.shan) § Bashan = "fruitful" a district east of the Jordan known for its fertility which was given to the half-tribe of Manasseh

for the Manassite[s]לַֽמְנַשִּֽׁי׃LAM-na-SHIH4520
Manassite

מְנַשִּׁי (me.nash.shi) Someone from the tribe of Manasseh living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.41.51; son of: Joseph (H3130) and Asenath (H0621); brother of: Ephraim (H0669); married to Aramitess (H0761); father of: Machir (H4353) and Asriel (H0844H) Group of me.nash.sheh (מְנַשֶּׁה "Manasseh" H4519) § Manassites = Manasseh "causing to forget" 1) descendants of Manasseh, son of Joseph and grandson of Jacob 1a) specifically used only of that half that lived east of the Jordan

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