Deuteronomy 4:3-13

3 Your eyes saw all things which the Lord did against Baalpeor; how he all-brake all the worshippers of him from the midst of you. (Your own eyes saw all the things which the Lord did at Mount Peor; how he destroyed all the worshippers of Baal of Peor in the midst of you.)

4 Forsooth ye that cleave(d) to your Lord God live all till into (this) present day. (But all of ye who cleaved to the Lord your God still be alive unto this present day.)

5 Ye know that I taught you the behests and the rightwisenesses, as my Lord God commanded to me; so ye shall do them in the land that ye shall wield, (Ye know that I have taught you all the statutes and the laws, or the judgements, as the Lord my God commanded to me; and ye shall do them in the land that ye shall take,)

6 and ye shall keep, and fulfill them in work. For this is your wisdom and understanding before [the] peoples, that all men hear these behests, and say, Lo! a wise people and an understanding (one)! a great folk! (and ye shall obey them, and fulfill them in work. For this shall show your wisdom and understanding to the other peoples, and when the other peoples hear of these statutes, they shall say, Lo! a wise people, a people of understanding! yea, a great nation!)

7 None other nation is so great, that hath Gods nighing to itself, as our God is ready to all our beseechings. (No other nation, no matter how great, hath gods so near to it, as our God is to us.)

8 For what other folk is so noble, that it hath ceremonies, and just dooms, and all the law, which I shall set forth today before your eyes? (For what other nation is so noble, that it hath statutes, and judgements, and all the law/s, which I shall set forth today before your eyes?)

9 Therefore keep thyself, and thy soul busily; forget thou not the words which thine eyes have seen, and fall they not down from thine heart, in all the days of thy life. Thou shalt teach those (to) thy sons, and thy sons? sons. (And so guard thyself, and thy soul; forget thou not the things which thine eyes have seen, and fall they not down from thy heart, all the days of thy life. Thou shalt teach them to thy sons and thy daughters, and to thy children's children.)

10 Tell thou to them (about) the day in which thou stoodest before thy Lord God in Horeb, when the Lord spake to me, and said, Gather thou the people to me, that it hear my words, and that it learn for to dread me in all time in which it liveth in (the) earth, and teach his sons. (Tell thou them about the day in which thou stoodest before the Lord thy God at Mount Sinai, when the Lord spoke to me, and said, Gather thou the people to me, so that they can hear my words, and that they learn to fear me/and that they learn to revere me, in all the time in which they live on the earth, and that they also teach their sons and their daughters this.)

11 And ye nighed to the root of the hill, that burnt till to heaven; and darknesses, and cloud, and mist were therein. (And ye came near, and stood at the foot of the mountain, that burned unto the heavens; and darkness, and cloud, and mist were on that mountain.)

12 And the Lord spake to you from the midst of [the] fire; ye heard the voice of his words, and utterly ye saw no form, or shape. (And the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire; ye heard him speaking to you, but truly ye saw no shape, or form.)

13 And he showed to you his covenant, which he commanded that ye should do, and [the] ten words, which he wrote in two tables of stone. (And he told you his covenant, which he commanded that ye should do, and the Ten Words, that is, the Ten Commandments, which he wrote on two tablets of stone.)

Deuteronomy 4:3-13 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 4

This chapter contains an exhortation to Israel to keep the commands, statutes, and judgments of God, urged from the superior excellency of them to those of all other nations, De 4:1-8, from the manner in which they were delivered, out of the midst of fire, by a voice of words, but no similitude seen, De 4:9-15, and particularly the Israelites are cautioned against idolatry, from the consideration of the goodness of God to them, in bringing them out of Egypt, De 4:16-20, and the rather Moses is urgent upon them to be diligent in their obedience to the laws of God, because he should quickly be removed from them, De 4:21-24, and should they be disobedient to them, it would provoke the Lord to destroy them, or to carry them captive into other lands, De 4:25-28 though even then, if they repented and sought the Lord, and became obedient, he would be merciful to them, and not forsake them, De 4:29-31 and they are put in mind again of the amazing things God had done for them, in speaking to them out of fire, and they alive; in bringing them out of another nation, and driving out other nations to make room for them; all which he improves, as so many arguments to move them to obedience to the divine commands, De 4:32-40 and then notice is taken of the three cities of refuge, separated on this side Jordan, De 4:41-43, and the chapter is concluded with observing, that this is the law, and these the testimonies, Moses declared and repeated to the children of Israel in the country of Sihon and Og, who were delivered into their hands, and their lands possessed by them, which laid them under fresh obligations to yield obedience to God, De 4:44-49.