Deuteronomy 4:3

3 You saw with your own eyes what ADONAI did at Ba'al-P'or, that ADONAI destroyed from among you all the men who followed Ba'al-P'or;

Deuteronomy 4:3 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 4:3

Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baalpeor,
&c.] Because of the idolatry the people of Israel fell into by worshipping that idol, being drawn into it by the daughters of Moab and Midian, through the counsel of Balaam, with whom they committed fornication; which led them to the other sin, and both highly provoking to God. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan are,

``what the Word of the Lord has done to the worshippers of the idol Peor;''

for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the Lord thy God hath
destroyed them from among you;
24,000 persons died on that account; which being a recent thing, fresh in memory, and what they were eyewitnesses of, was a caution to them to avoid the same sins, as it is to us on whom the ends of the world are come, ( Numbers 23:9 ) ( 1 Corinthians 10:6-8 1 Corinthians 10:11 ) .

Deuteronomy 4:3 In-Context

1 "Now, Isra'el, listen to the laws and rulings I am teaching you, in order to follow them, so that you will live; then you will go in and take possession of the land that ADONAI, the God of your fathers, is giving you.

2 In order to obey the mitzvot of ADONAI your God which I am giving you, do not add to what I am saying, and do not subtract from it.

3 You saw with your own eyes what ADONAI did at Ba'al-P'or, that ADONAI destroyed from among you all the men who followed Ba'al-P'or;

4 but you who stuck with ADONAI your God are still alive today, every one of you.

5 Look, I have taught you laws and rulings, just as ADONAI my God ordered me, so that you can behave accordingly in the land where you are going in order to take possession of it.