Parallel Bible results for "deuteronomy 4"

Deuteronomy 4

New Living Translation NLT

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.

2 Do 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.

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.

4 But all of you who were faithful to the LORD your God are still alive today—every one of you.

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.

6 Obey 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!’

7 For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD our God is near to us whenever we call on him?

8 And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?

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.

10 Never 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.’

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.

12 And 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.

13 He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments —which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets.

14 It 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.

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.

16 So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman,

17 an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky,

18 a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea.

19 And 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.

20 Remember 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.

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.

22 You will cross the Jordan to occupy the land, but I will not. Instead, I will die here on the east side of the river.

23 So 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.

24 The LORD your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God.

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.

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.

27 For the LORD will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive.

28 There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

29 But 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.

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 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.

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?

33 Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire—as you did—and survived?

34 Has 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.

35 “He showed you these things so you would know that the LORD is God and there is no other.

36 He 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.

37 Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power.

38 He 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.

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.

40 If 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.”

41 Then Moses set apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River.

42 Anyone who killed another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, could flee there to live in safety.

43 These 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.

44 This is the body of instruction that Moses presented to the Israelites.

45 These are the laws, decrees, and regulations that Moses gave to the people of Israel when they left Egypt,

46 and 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.

47 Israel took possession of his land and that of King Og of Bashan—the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan.

48 So Israel conquered the entire area from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge all the way to Mount Sirion, also called Mount Hermon.

49 And they conquered the eastern bank of the Jordan River as far south as the Dead Sea, below the slopes of Pisgah.)

The Message Bible MSG

1 Now listen, Israel, listen carefully to the rules and regulations that I am teaching you to follow so that you may live and enter and take possession of the land that God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, is giving to you.

2 Don't add a word to what I command you, and don't remove a word from it. Keep the commands of God, your God, that I am commanding you.

3 You saw with your own eyes what God did at Baal Peor, how God destroyed from among you every man who joined in the Baal Peor orgies.

4 But you, the ones who held tight to God, your God, are alive and well, every one of you, today.

5 Pay attention: I'm teaching you the rules and regulations that God commanded me, so that you may live by them in the land you are entering to take up ownership.

6 Keep them. Practice them. You'll become wise and understanding. When people hear and see what's going on, they'll say, "What a great nation! So wise, so understanding! We've never seen anything like it."

7 Yes. What other great nation has gods that are intimate with them the way God, our God, is with us, always ready to listen to us?

8 And what other great nation has rules and regulations as good and fair as this Revelation that I'm setting before you today?

9 Just make sure you stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don't forget anything of what you've seen. Don't let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you've seen and heard to your children and grandchildren.

10 That day when you stood before God, your God, at Horeb, God said to me, "Assemble the people in my presence to listen to my words so that they will learn to fear me in holy fear for as long as they live on the land, and then they will teach these same words to their children."

11 You gathered. You stood in the shadow of the mountain. The mountain was ablaze with fire, blazing high into the very heart of Heaven. You stood in deep darkness and thick clouds.

12 God spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but you saw nothing - no form, only a voice.

13 He announced his covenant, the Ten Words, by which he commanded you to live. Then he wrote them down on two slabs of stone.

14 And God commanded me at that time to teach you the rules and regulations that you are to live by in the land which you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.

15 You saw no form on the day God spoke to you at Horeb from out of the fire. Remember that. Carefully guard yourselves

16 so that you don't turn corrupt and make a form, carving a figure

17 that looks male or female, or looks like a prowling animal or a flying bird

18 or a slithering snake or a fish in a stream.

19 And also carefully guard yourselves so that you don't look up into the skies and see the sun and moon and stars, all the constellations of the skies, and be seduced into worshiping and serving them. God set them out for everybody's benefit, everywhere.

20 But you - God took you right out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to become the people of his inheritance - and that's what you are this very day.

21 But God was angry with me because of you and the things you said. He swore that I'd never cross the Jordan, never get to enter the good land that God, your God, is giving you as an inheritance.

22 This means that I am going to die here. I'm not crossing the Jordan. But you will cross; you'll possess the good land.

23 So stay alert. Don't for a minute forget the covenant which God, your God, made with you. And don't take up with any carved images, no forms of any kind - God, your God, issued clear commands on that.

24 God, your God, is not to be trifled with - he's a consuming fire, a jealous God.

25 When the time comes that you have children and grandchildren, put on years, and start taking things for granted, if you then become corrupt and make any carved images, no matter what their form, by doing what is sheer evil in God's eyes and provoking his anger -

26 I can tell you right now, with Heaven and Earth as witnesses, that it will be all over for you. You'll be kicked off the land that you're about to cross over the Jordan to possess. Believe me, you'll have a very short stay there. You'll be ruined, completely ruined.

27 God will scatter you far and wide; a few of you will survive here and there in the nations where God will drive you.

28 There you can worship your homemade gods to your hearts' content, your wonderful gods of wood and stone that can't see or hear or eat or smell.

29 But even there, if you seek God, your God, you'll be able to find him if you're serious, looking for him with your whole heart and soul.

30 When troubles come and all these awful things happen to you, in future days you will come back to God, your God, and listen obediently to what he says.

31 God, your God, is above all a compassionate God. In the end he will not abandon you, he won't bring you to ruin, he won't forget the covenant with your ancestors which he swore to them.

32 Ask questions. Find out what has been going on all these years before you were born. From the day God created man and woman on this Earth, and from the horizon in the east to the horizon in the west - as far back as you can imagine and as far away as you can imagine - has as great a thing as this ever happened? Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?

33 Has a people ever heard, as you did, a god speaking out of the middle of the fire and lived to tell the story?

34 Or has a god ever tried to select for himself a nation from within a nation using trials, miracles, and war, putting his strong hand in, reaching his long arm out, a spectacle awesome and staggering, the way God, your God, did it for you in Egypt while you stood right there and watched?

35 You were shown all this so that you would know that God is, well, God. He's the only God there is. He's it.

36 He made it possible for you to hear his voice out of Heaven to discipline you. Down on Earth, he showed you the big fire and again you heard his words, this time out of the fire.

37 He loved your ancestors and chose to work with their children. He personally and powerfully brought you out of Egypt

38 in order to displace bigger and stronger and older nations with you, bringing you out and turning their land over to you as an inheritance. And now it's happening. This very day.

39 Know this well, then. Take it to heart right now: God is in Heaven above; God is on Earth below. He's the only God there is.

40 Obediently live by his rules and commands which I'm giving you today so that you'll live well and your children after you - oh, you'll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you.

41 Then Moses set aside three towns in the country on the east side of the Jordan

42 to which someone who had unintentionally killed a person could flee and find refuge. If the murder was unintentional and there was no history of bad blood, the murderer could flee to one of these cities and save his life:

43 Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

44 This is the Revelation that Moses presented to the People of Israel.

45 These are the testimonies, the rules and regulations Moses spoke to the People of Israel after their exodus from Egypt

46 and arrival on the east side of the Jordan in the valley near Beth Peor. It was the country of Sihon king of the Amorites who ruled from Heshbon. Moses and the People of Israel fought and beat him after they left Egypt

47 and took his land. They also took the land of Og king of Bashan. The two Amorite kings held the country on the east of the Jordan

48 from Aroer on the bank of the Brook Arnon as far north as Mount Siyon, that is, Mount Hermon,

49 all the Arabah plain east of the Jordan, and as far south as the Sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea) beneath the slopes of Mount Pisgah.