Devarim 4:3

3 Your eyes have seen what Hashem did because of Baal Peor; for all the men that followed Baal Peor, Hashem Eloheicha hath destroyed them from among you.

Devarim 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 ) .

Devarim 4:3 In-Context

1 Now therefore shema, Yisroel, unto the chukkim and unto the mishpatim, which I melammed (teach) you, to do them, in order that ye may live, and go in and possess ha’aretz which Hashem Elohei Avoteichem giveth you.

2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye take anything from it, that ye may be shomer mitzvot of the commandments of Hashem Eloheichem which I command you.

3 Your eyes have seen what Hashem did because of Baal Peor; for all the men that followed Baal Peor, Hashem Eloheicha hath destroyed them from among you.

4 But ye that did have deveykus (cleaving) unto Hashem Eloheichem are alive every one of you today.

5 Behold, I have taught you chukkim and mishpatim, even as Hashem Elohai commanded me, that ye should do so in ha’aretz whither ye go to possess it.