The Command to Leave Horeb

DEUTERONOMY 1 [†]These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in  a the Arabah opposite  b Suph, between  c Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2[†]It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to  d Kadesh-barnea. 3 e In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him in commandment to them, 4after  f he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and  g Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in  h Edrei. 5[†]Beyond the Jordan,  i in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying, 6[†]“The LORD our God said to us in Horeb,  j ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7[†]Turn and take your journey, and go to  k the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in  a the Arabah,  l in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and  l by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8[†]See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore to your fathers,  m to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’

Leaders Appointed

9“At that time  n I said to you, ‘I am not able to bear you by myself. 10[†]The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold,  o you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. 11 p May the LORD, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you,  q as he has promised you! 12 r How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife? 13[†] s Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ 14And you answered me, ‘The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.’ 15So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men,  t and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes. 16[†]And I charged your judges at that time, ‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and  u judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him. 17 v You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for  w the judgment is God’s. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall  x bring to me, and I will hear it.’ 18And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land

19“Then we set out from Horeb and  y went through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us. And  z we came to Kadesh-barnea. 20[†]And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. 21See, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has told you.  a Do not fear or be dismayed.’ 22Then all of you came near me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.’ 23[†]The thing seemed good to me, and  b I took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe. 24And  c they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out. 25And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, ‘It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us.’

26“Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. 27And  d you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the LORD  e hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt,  f to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28[†]Where are we going up?  g Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying,  h “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen  i the sons of the Anakim there.”’ 29[†]Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. 30The LORD your God who goes before you  j will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the LORD your God  k carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ 32[†]Yet in spite of this word  l you did not believe the LORD your God, 33 m who went before you in the way  n to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.

The Penalty for Israel’s Rebellion

34“And the LORD heard your words and was angered, and he swore, 35 o ‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, 36[†] p except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the LORD!’ 37[†]Even with me  q the LORD was angry on your account and said, ‘You also shall not go in there. 38 r Joshua the son of Nun,  r who stands before you, he shall enter.  s Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. 39[†]And as for  t your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today  u have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. 40But as for you,  v turn, and journey into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.’

41“Then you answered me,  w ‘We have sinned against the LORD. We ourselves will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.’ And every one of you fastened on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up into the hill country. 42[†]And the LORD said to me,  x ‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight,  y for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.’ 43So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the LORD and  z presumptuously went up into the hill country. 44 a Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you  b as bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as  c Hormah. 45And you returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD did not listen to your voice or give ear to you. 46So  d you remained at Kadesh many days, the days that you remained there.

The Wilderness Years

DEUTERONOMY 2 [†]“Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea,  e as the LORD told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir. 2[†]Then the LORD said to me, 3‘You have been traveling around this mountain country  f long enough. Turn northward 4and command the people, “You are about to pass through the territory of  g your brothers, the people of Esau,  h who live in Seir; and  i they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. 5[†]Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because  h I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 6[†] j You shall purchase food from them with money, that you may eat, and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink. 7For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands.  k He knows your going through this great wilderness.  l These forty years the LORD your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.”’ 8[†]So  m we went on, away from our brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir, away from  n the Arabah road from  o Elath and  p Ezion-geber.

“And we turned and went in the direction of the wilderness of Moab. 9[†]And the LORD said to me,  q ‘Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given  r Ar to  s the people of Lot for a possession.’ 10[†]( t The Emim formerly lived there,  u a people great and many, and tall  v as the Anakim. 11Like the Anakim they are also counted as  w Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim. 12 x The Horites also lived in Seir formerly, but the people of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place,  y as Israel did to the land of their possession, which the LORD gave to them.) 13[†]‘Now rise up and go over  z the brook Zered.’ So we went over  z the brook Zered. 14And the time from our leaving  a Kadesh-barnea until we crossed  b the brook Zered was thirty-eight years,  c until the entire generation, that is, the men of war, had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them. 15For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from the camp, until they had perished.

16“So as soon as all the men of war had perished and were dead from among the people, 17the LORD said to me, 18‘Today you are to cross the border of Moab at Ar. 19And when you approach the territory of the people of Ammon,  d do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to  e the sons of Lot for a possession.’ 20(It is also counted as a land of  f Rephaim. Rephaim formerly lived there—but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim— 21 g a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them before the Ammonites, [1] and they dispossessed them and settled in their place, 22as he did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed  h the Horites before them and they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day. 23As for  i the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as  j Gaza,  k the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.) 24[†]‘Rise up, set out on your journey and  l go over the Valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of  m Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession, and  n contend with him in battle. 25This day I will begin to put  o the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

The Defeat of King Sihon

26[†]“So I sent messengers from the wilderness of  p Kedemoth to Sihon the king of  m Heshbon,  q with words of peace, saying, 27 r ‘Let me pass through your land. I will go only by the road; I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left. 28 s You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink. Only let me pass through on foot, 29 t as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I go over the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is giving to us.’ 30[†]But  u Sihon the king of  m Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the LORD your God  v hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might give him into your hand, as he is this day. 31And the LORD said to me, ‘Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to take possession, that you may occupy his land.’ 32[†]Then  w Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz. 33And  x the LORD our God gave him over to us, and  y we defeated him and his sons and all his people. 34[†]And we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction [2] every  z city, men, women, and children. We left no survivors. 35Only the livestock we took as spoil for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities that we captured. 36 a From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from  b the city that is in the valley, as far as Gilead, there was not a city too high for us.  c The LORD our God gave all into our hands. 37Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not draw near, that is, to all the banks of the river  d Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, whatever the LORD our God had forbidden us.

The Defeat of King Og

DEUTERONOMY 3 [†]“Then we turned and went up the way to Bashan. And  e Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at  f Edrei. 2But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have given him and all his people and his land into your hand. And you shall do to him as you did to  g Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’ 3So the LORD our God gave into our hand Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people,  h and we struck him down until he had no survivor left. 4And we took all his cities at that time—there was not a city that we did not take from them—sixty cities,  i the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5[†]All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides very many unwalled villages. 6And  j we devoted them to destruction, [1] as we did to Sihon the king of Heshbon, devoting to destruction every  k city, men, women, and children. 7But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as our plunder. 8[†]So we took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon 9(the Sidonians call  l Hermon  m Sirion, while the Amorites call it  n Senir), 10all the cities of the  o tableland and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as  p Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11[†](For  q only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of  r the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron. Is it not in  s Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits [2] was its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the  t common cubit. [3])

12“When we took possession of this land at that time, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory beginning  u at Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead with  v its cities. 13 w The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, that is,  x all the region of Argob, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (All that portion of Bashan is called the land of  r Rephaim. 14 y Jair the Manassite took all the region of Argob, that is, Bashan, as far as the border of  z the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called the villages  a after his own name, Havvoth-jair, as it is to this day.) 15[†]To Machir  b I gave Gilead, 16and to the Reubenites  c and the Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead as far as the Valley of the Arnon, with the middle of the valley as a border, as far over as the river Jabbok,  d the border of the Ammonites; 17[†]the Arabah also, with the Jordan as the border, from  e Chinnereth as far as  f the Sea of the Arabah,  g the Salt Sea, under  h the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

18[†]“And I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘The LORD your God has given you this land to possess.  i All your men of valor shall cross over armed before your brothers, the people of Israel. 19Only your wives, your little ones, and your livestock  j (I know that you have much livestock) shall remain in the cities that I have given you, 20[†] k until the LORD gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also occupy the land that the LORD your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.’ 21And I commanded  l Joshua at that time, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. So will the LORD do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. 22You shall not fear them, for it is  m the LORD your God who fights for you.’

Moses Forbidden to Enter the Land

23“And I pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying, 24[†]‘O Lord GOD, you have only begun to show your servant  n your greatness and your mighty hand. For  o what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? 25Please let me go over and see  p the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and  q Lebanon.’ 26[†]But  r the LORD was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the LORD said to me,  s ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. 27 t Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. 28But  u charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see.’ 29[†]So we remained in  v the valley opposite Beth-peor.

Moses Commands Obedience

DEUTERONOMY 4 [†]“And now, O Israel, listen to  w the statutes and the rules [1] that I am teaching you, and do them,  x that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2[†] y You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you. 3[†]Your eyes have seen what the LORD did  z at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all the men who followed the Baal of Peor. 4But you who held fast to the LORD your God are all alive today. 5See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6[†] a Keep them and do them, for  b that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7[†]For  c what great nation is there that has  d a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so  e righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

9[†] f “Only take care, and  g keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.  h Make them known to your children and your children’s children— 10[†]how on  i the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me,  j ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words,  k so that they may learn to fear  l me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ 11And  m you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while  n the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. 12Then  o the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words,  p but saw no form;  q there was only a voice. 13[†] r And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is,  s the Ten Commandments, [2]  t and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14And  u the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

15[†] v “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since  w you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16beware  x lest you act corruptly  y by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure,  z the likeness of male or female, 17the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see  a the sun and the moon and the stars,  b all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. 20[†]But the LORD has taken you and  c brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt,  d to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. 21[†]Furthermore,  e the LORD was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan, and that I should not enter the good land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance. 22For I must die in this land;  f I must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of  g that good land. 23[†] h Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and  i make a carved image, the form of anything that the LORD your God has forbidden you. 24For  j the LORD your God is a consuming fire,  k a jealous God.

25“When you father children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land,  l if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and  m by doing what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, so as to provoke him to anger, 26I  n call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27[†]And the LORD  o will scatter you among the peoples,  p and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you. 28And  q there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands,  r that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29[†] s But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you  t in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice. 31[†]For the LORD your God is  u a merciful God.  v He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

The LORD Alone Is God

32[†]“For  w ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. 33 x Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? 34Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials,  y by signs, by wonders, and  z by war,  a by a mighty hand and  b an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35[†]To you it was shown,  c that you might know that the LORD is God;  d there is no other besides him. 36 e Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and  x you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. 37[†]And because  f he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them [3] and brought you out of Egypt  g with his own presence, by his great power, 38 h driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, 39know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that  i the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath;  j there is no other. 40 k Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today,  l that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

Cities of Refuge

41[†]Then Moses  m set apart three cities in the east beyond the Jordan, 42that  n the manslayer might flee there, anyone who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without being at enmity with him in time past; he may flee to one of these cities and save his life: 43 o Bezer in the wilderness on the  p tableland for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

44[†]This is the law that Moses set before the people of Israel. 45These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the rules, which Moses spoke to the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt, 46beyond the Jordan  q in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon,  r whom Moses and the people of Israel defeated when they came out of Egypt. 47And they took possession of his land and the land  s of Og, the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who lived to the east beyond the Jordan; 48 t from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, as far as Mount  u Sirion [4] (that is,  v Hermon), 49together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as  w the Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.

The Ten Commandments

DEUTERONOMY 5 [†]And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. 2 x The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3[†] y Not with our fathers did the LORD make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4The LORD spoke with you  z face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, 5[†] a while I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD. For  b you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:

6[†] c “‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

7[†]“‘You shall have no other gods before [1] me.

8[†]“‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9[†]You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10but showing steadfast love to  d thousands [2] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

11[†]“‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

12[†]“‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. 13Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14but  e the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates,  f that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15[†] g You shall remember that you were a slave [3] in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there  h with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

16[†]“‘Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you,  i that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

17[†] j “‘You shall not murder. [4]

18[†] j “‘And you shall not commit adultery.

19“‘And you shall not steal.

20[†]“‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

21“‘And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’

22“These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly  k at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And  l he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23And  m as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. 24And you said, ‘Behold, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and  n greatness, and  o we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man  p still live. 25Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us.  q If we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, we shall die. 26 p For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? 27Go near and hear all that the LORD our God will say, and  r speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’

28“And the LORD heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the LORD said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you.  s They are right in all that they have spoken. 29 t Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments,  u that it might go well with them and with their descendants [5] forever! 30Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31But you, stand here by me, and  v I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’ 32[†]You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you.  w You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 x You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and  y that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

The Greatest Commandment

DEUTERONOMY 6 “Now this is  z the commandment—the statutes and the rules [1]—that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2that  a you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and  b that your days may be long. 3[†]Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly,  c as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

4[†]“Hear, O Israel:  d The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [2] 5[†]You  e shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6And  f these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7[†] g You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 h You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 i You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

10“And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities  j that you did not build, 11and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12[†] k then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13[†]It is  l the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and  m by his name you shall swear. 14[†]You shall not  n go after other gods,  o the gods of the peoples who are around you— 15for  p the LORD your God in your midst  q is a jealous God— r lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.

16[†] s “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test,  t as you tested him at Massah. 17You shall  u diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. 18 v And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers 19 w by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has promised.

20[†] x “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ 21then you shall say to your son,  y ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22And  z the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. 24And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes,  a to fear the LORD our God,  b for our good always, that  c he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. 25[†]And  d it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.’

A Chosen People

DEUTERONOMY 7 [†]“When the  e LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you,  f the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations  g more numerous and mightier than you, 2 h and when the LORD your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must  i devote them to complete destruction. [1]  j You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. 3[†] k You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, 4for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods.  l Then the anger of the LORD would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you  m quickly. 5[†]But thus shall you deal with them:  n you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their  n pillars and chop down their  n Asherim and  o burn their carved images with fire.

6[†]“For  p you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be  p a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8but  q it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping  r the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9Know therefore that the LORD your God is God,  s the faithful God  t who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10and  u repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them.  v He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 w You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.

12[†] x “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you  y the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. 13He will  z love you, bless you, and multiply you.  a He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. 14You shall be blessed above all peoples.  b There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. 15And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil  c diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. 16And  d you shall consume all the peoples that the LORD your God will give over to you.  e Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be  f a snare to you.

17[†]“If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ 18 g you shall not be afraid of them but you shall  h remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, 19the great trials that your eyes saw,  i the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So will the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 20[†]Moreover,  j the LORD your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. 21You shall not be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is  k in your midst,  l a great and awesome God. 22 m The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, [2] lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. 23 n But the LORD your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. 24And  o he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall  p make their name perish from under heaven.  q No one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. 25[†]The carved images of their gods  r you shall burn with fire. You  s shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be  t ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. 26And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction [3] like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it,  u for it is devoted to destruction.

Remember the LORD Your God

DEUTERONOMY 8 “The whole commandment that I command you today  v you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers. 2[†]And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you  w these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you,  x testing you  y to know what was in your heart,  z whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3And he humbled you and  a let you hunger and  b fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that  c man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word [1] that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4[†] d Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. 5[†]Know then in your heart that,  e as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you. 6So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. 7For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land,  f a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, 8a land of wheat and barley,  g of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.

11“Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 h lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14[†] i then your heart be lifted up, and you  j forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15[†]who  k led you through the great and terrifying wilderness,  l with its fiery serpents and scorpions  m and thirsty ground where there was no water,  n who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16who fed you in the wilderness with  o manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you,  p to do you good in the end. 17[†]Beware  q lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18You shall remember the LORD your God, for  r it is he who gives you power to get wealth,  s that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19[†]And if you forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them,  t I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. 20Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you,  u so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

Not Because of Righteousness

DEUTERONOMY 9 [†]“Hear, O Israel: you are  v to cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations  w greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven, 2[†]a people great and tall,  x the sons of the Anakim,  y whom you know, and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the sons of Anak?’ 3[†]Know therefore today that he who  z goes over before you  a as a consuming fire is the LORD your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you.  b So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the LORD has promised you.

4[†] c “Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is  d because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you. 5 e Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm  f the word that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

6“Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are  g a stubborn people. 7[†]Remember and do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness.  h From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD. 8[†]Even  i at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you. 9[†] j When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD made with you, I remained on the mountain  k forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10And  l the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them were all the words that the LORD had spoken with you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire  m on the day of the assembly. 11And at the end of forty days and forty nights the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12[†]Then the LORD said to me,  n ‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you have brought from Egypt have acted corruptly. They have  o turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them; they have made themselves a metal image.’

The Golden Calf

13 p “Furthermore, the LORD said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is  g a stubborn people. 14 q Let me alone, that I may destroy them and  r blot out their name from under heaven. And  s I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’ 15 t So I turned and came down from the mountain, and  u the mountain was burning with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16And  v I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God. You had made yourselves a golden [1] calf.  w You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you. 17[†]So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes. 18[†]Then I  x lay prostrate before the LORD  y as before, forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all the sin that you had committed,  z in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke him to anger. 19For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure that the LORD bore against you, so that he was ready to destroy you.  a But the LORD listened to me that time also. 20And the LORD was so angry with Aaron that he was ready to destroy him. And I prayed for Aaron also at the same time. 21[†]Then  b I took the sinful thing, the calf that you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust. And I threw the dust of it into the brook that ran down from the mountain.

22“At  c Taberah also, and at  d Massah and at  e Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the LORD to wrath. 23And  f when the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God and  g did not believe him or obey his voice. 24 h You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.

25[†] x “So I lay prostrate before the LORD for these forty days and forty nights, because the LORD had said he would destroy you. 26 i And I prayed to the LORD, ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy your people and your heritage, whom you have redeemed through your greatness, whom you have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not regard the stubbornness of this people, or their wickedness or their sin, 28lest the land from which you brought us say,  j “Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land that he promised them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.” 29 k For they are your people and your heritage, whom you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.’

New Tablets of Stone

DEUTERONOMY 10 [†]“At that time the LORD said to me,  l ‘Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to me on the mountain and  m make an ark of wood. 2And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets that you broke, and  n you shall put them in the ark.’ 3So I made an ark  o of acacia wood, and  p cut two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4And  q he wrote on the tablets, in the same writing as before, the Ten Commandments [1]  r that the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire  s on the day of the assembly. And the LORD gave them to me. 5Then I turned and  t came down from the mountain and  u put the tablets in the ark that I had made.  v And there they are, as the LORD commanded me.”

6[†](The people of Israel  w journeyed from Beeroth Bene-jaakan [2] to Moserah.  x There Aaron died, and there he was buried. And his son Eleazar ministered as priest in his place. 7 y From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with brooks of water. 8At that time  z the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi  a to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD  b to stand before the LORD to minister to him and  c to bless in his name, to this day. 9 d Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God said to him.)

10 e “I myself stayed on the mountain, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights,  f and the LORD listened to me that time also. The LORD was unwilling to destroy you. 11[†] g And the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, go on your journey at the head of the people, so that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers to give them.’

Circumcise Your Heart

12[†]“And now, Israel,  h what does the LORD your God require of you, but  i to fear the LORD your God,  j to walk in all his ways,  k to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13and  l to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today  m for your good? 14[†]Behold,  n to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens,  o the earth with all that is in it. 15Yet  p the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. 16[†]Circumcise therefore  q the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer  r stubborn. 17[†]For the LORD your God is  s God of gods and  t Lord of lords,  u the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is  v not partial and takes no bribe. 18 w He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. 19 x Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 20[†] i You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and  y hold fast to him, and  z by his name you shall swear. 21 a He is your praise. He is your God,  b who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. 22[†]Your fathers went down to Egypt  c seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you  d as numerous as the stars of heaven.

Love and Serve the LORD

DEUTERONOMY 11 [†] e “You shall therefore love the LORD your God and  f keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. 2[†]And consider today (since I am not speaking to  g your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline [1] of the LORD your God,  h his greatness,  i his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, 3 j his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, 4and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots,  k how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD has destroyed them to this day, 5and  l what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place, 6[†]and  m what he did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel. 7[†]For your eyes have seen  n all the great work of the LORD that he did.

8“You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may  o be strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess, 9and  p that you may live long in the land  q that the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring,  r a land flowing with milk and honey. 10For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, [2] like a garden of vegetables. 11 s But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, 12a land that the LORD your God cares for.  t The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

13“And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today,  u to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14[†] v he [3] will give the rain for your land in its season,  w the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15 x And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and  y you shall eat and be full. 16[†]Take care  z lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and  a serve other gods and worship them; 17then  b the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and he  c will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and  d you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you.

18[†] e “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and  f you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 20 g You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 h that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them,  i as long as the heavens are above the earth. 22For if  j you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the LORD your God, walking in all his ways, and  k holding fast to him, 23then the LORD  l will drive out all these nations before you, and you will  m dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24 n Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be  o from the wilderness to [4] the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea. 25 p No one shall be able to stand against you. The LORD your God will lay  q the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread,  r as he promised you.

26[†] s “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 t the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, 28[†]and  u the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today,  v to go after other gods that you have not known. 29[†]And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set  w the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30[†]Are they not beyond the Jordan, west of the road, toward the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the  x Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside  y the oak [5] of Moreh? 31For you are  z to cross over the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you. And when you possess it and live in it, 32you shall be careful  a to do all the statutes and the rules that I am setting before you today.

The LORD’s Chosen Place of Worship

DEUTERONOMY 12 [†] b “These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess,  c all the days that you live on the earth. 2[†] d You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods,  e on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces  f their pillars and burn their  g Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and  h destroy their name out of that place. 4[†] i You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way. 5[†]But you shall seek  j the place that the LORD your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation [1] there. There you shall go, 6and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices,  k your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the  l firstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7[†]And  m there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and  n you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.

8[†]“You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today,  o everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, 9for you have not as yet come to  p the rest and to the inheritance that the LORD your God is giving you. 10But when  q you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to inherit,  r and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety, 11then to  j the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices,  k your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the LORD. 12[†]And  n you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male servants and your female servants, and the Levite that is within your towns, since  s he has no portion or inheritance with you. 13[†] t Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place that you see, 14but at  j the place that the LORD will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you.

15[†]“However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your towns, as much as you desire,  u according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you.  v The unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and as of the deer. 16[†] w Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out on the earth like water. 17[†]You may not eat within your towns  k the tithe of your grain or of your wine or of your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or of your flock, or any of your vow offerings that you vow, or your freewill offerings or the contribution that you present, 18but  m you shall eat them before the LORD your God in  j the place that the LORD your God will choose, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your towns. And  n you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all that you undertake. 19 x Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land.

20“When the LORD your God  y enlarges your territory,  z as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you crave meat, you may eat meat whenever you desire. 21If  a the place that the LORD your God will choose to put his name there is too far from you,  b then you may kill any of your herd or your flock, which the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your towns whenever you desire. 22Just  c as the gazelle or the deer is eaten, so you may eat of it.  c The unclean and the clean alike may eat of it. 23 d Only be sure that you do not eat the blood,  e for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. 24You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the earth like water. 25You shall not eat it,  f that all may go well with you and with your children after you,  g when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD. 26[†]But the  h holy things that are due from you, and  i your vow offerings, you shall take, and you shall go to  a the place that the LORD will choose, 27and  j offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the LORD your God. The blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the LORD your God, but the flesh you may eat. 28Be careful to obey all these words that I command you,  f that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.

Warning Against Idolatry

29“When  k the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30[†]take care  l that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ 31[†] m You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every  n abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods, for  o they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.

32[†] [2] “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do.  p You shall not add to it or take from it.

DEUTERONOMY 13 [†]“If a prophet or  q a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2[†]and  r the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3[†]you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God  s is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4[†]You shall  t walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and  u hold fast to him. 5[†]But  v that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk.  w So you shall purge the evil [1] from your midst.

6[†] x “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or  y the wife you embrace [2] or your friend  z who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’  a which neither you nor your fathers have known, 7some  b of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, 8[†]you shall  c not yield to him or listen to him, nor  d shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. 9But you shall kill him.  e Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. 10 f You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 11[†]And  g all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.

12[†]“If you hear in one of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you to dwell there, 13that certain  h worthless fellows have gone out among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, 14then you shall inquire and make search and ask  i diligently. And behold, if it be true and certain that such an abomination has been done among you, 15you shall surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, devoting it to destruction, [3] all who are in it and its cattle, with the edge of the sword. 16You shall gather all its spoil into the midst of its open square and  j burn the city and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It shall be a  k heap forever. It shall not be built again. 17 l None of the devoted things shall stick to your hand,  m that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy and have compassion on you and multiply you,  n as he swore to your fathers, 18if you obey the voice of the LORD your God,  o keeping all his commandments that I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your God.

Clean and Unclean Food

DEUTERONOMY 14 [†]“You are  p the sons of the LORD your God.  q You shall not cut yourselves or make any  r baldness on your foreheads for the dead. 2For  s you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

3[†] t “You shall not eat any abomination. 4[†] u These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, [1] the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 6Every animal that parts the hoof and has the hoof cloven in two and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. 7Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cloven you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the  v rock badger, because they chew the cud but do not part the hoof, are unclean for you. 8And the pig, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and  w their carcasses you shall not touch.

9“Of all that are in the waters you may eat these: whatever has fins and scales you may eat. 10And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.

11[†]“You may eat all clean birds. 12But these are the ones that you shall not eat: the eagle, [2] the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 13the kite, the falcon of any kind; 14every raven of any kind; 15the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind; 16the little owl and the short-eared owl, the barn owl 17and the tawny owl, the carrion vulture and the cormorant, 18the stork, the heron of any kind; the hoopoe and the bat. 19And all winged insects are unclean for you; they shall not be eaten. 20All clean winged things you may eat.

21[†] x “You shall not eat anything that has died naturally. You may give it to the sojourner who is within your towns, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For  y you are a people holy to the LORD your God.

 z “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Tithes

22[†] a “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. 23[†]And before the LORD your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there,  b you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil,  c and the firstborn of your herd and flock,  d that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. 24[†]And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the LORD your God blesses you, because  e the place is too far from you, which the LORD your God chooses, to set his name there, 25then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the LORD your God chooses 26and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And  b you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household. 27[†]And you shall not neglect  f the Levite who is within your towns, for  g he has no portion or inheritance with you.

28[†] h “At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. 29And the Levite, because  g he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that  i the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

The Sabbatical Year

DEUTERONOMY 15 [†]“At the end of  j every seven years you shall grant a release. 2And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the LORD’s release has been proclaimed. 3 k Of a foreigner you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release. 4[†] l But there will be no poor among you;  m for the LORD will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess— 5 n if only you will strictly obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today. 6For the LORD your God will bless you,  o as he promised you, and  p you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow, and  q you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.

7[†]“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you,  r you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8but  s you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 9[†]Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your  t eye look grudgingly [1] on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he  u cry to the LORD against you, and  v you be guilty of sin. 10You shall give to him freely, and  w your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because  x for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11For  y there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you,  s ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’

12[†] z “If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold [2] to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13[†]And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. 14You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress.  a As the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 15 b You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. 16[†]But  c if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you, 17then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave [3] forever. And to your female slave [4] you shall do the same. 18[†]It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired worker he has served you six years. So the LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.

19[†] d “All the firstborn males that are born of your herd and flock you shall dedicate to the LORD your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 e You shall eat it, you and your household, before the LORD your God year by year at the place that the LORD will choose. 21 f But if it has any blemish, if it is lame or blind or has any serious blemish whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God. 22You shall eat it within your towns.  g The unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as though it were a gazelle or a deer. 23 h Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.

Passover

DEUTERONOMY 16 [†]“Observe the  i month of Abib and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for  j in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2[†]And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the LORD your God, from the flock or  k the herd,  l at the place that the LORD will choose, to make his name dwell there. 3[†]You shall eat no leavened bread with it.  m Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt  n in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. 4 o No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days,  p nor shall any of the flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning. 5[†]You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, 6but at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7[†]And you shall cook it and eat it at the place that the LORD your God will choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8For  q six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be  r a solemn assembly to the LORD your God. You shall do no work on it.

The Feast of Weeks

9[†] s “You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. 10Then you shall keep  t the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with  u the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give  v as the LORD your God blesses you. 11And  w you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. 12 x You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

The Feast of Booths

13[†] y “You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 z You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. 15For  a seven days you shall keep the feast to the LORD your God at the place that the LORD will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.

16[†] b “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths.  c They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. 17Every man  d shall give as he is able,  v according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you.

Justice

18[†]“You shall appoint  e judges and officers in all your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19[†] f You shall not pervert justice.  g You shall not show partiality,  h and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. 20Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

Forbidden Forms of Worship

21[†]“You shall not plant any tree as  i an Asherah beside the altar of the LORD your God that you shall make. 22And you shall not set up a pillar, which the LORD your God hates.

DEUTERONOMY 17 [†] j “You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep in which is a blemish, any defect whatever, for that is an abomination to the LORD your God.

2[†] k “If there is found among you, within any of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God,  l in transgressing his covenant, 3and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or  m the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven,  n which I have forbidden, 4[†]and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire  o diligently, and if it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel, 5then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you  p shall stone that man or woman to death with stones. 6[†] q On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. 7 r The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So  s you shall purge [1] the evil [2] from your midst.

Legal Decisions by Priests and Judges

8[†]“If any case arises requiring decision between one kind of homicide and another, one kind of legal right and another, or one kind of assault and another, any case within your towns that is too difficult for you, then you shall arise and go up to  t the place that the LORD your God will choose. 9 u And you shall come to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall consult them, and  v they shall declare to you the decision. 10[†]Then you shall do according to what they declare to you from that place that the LORD will choose. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they direct you. 11According to the instructions that they give you, and according to the decision which they pronounce to you, you shall do. You shall not turn aside from the verdict that they declare to you, either to the right hand or to the left. 12The man who  w acts presumptuously by not obeying the priest  x who stands to minister there before the LORD your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So  s you shall purge the evil from Israel. 13And all the people  y shall hear and fear and not act presumptuously again.

Laws Concerning Israel’s Kings

14[†]“When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say,  z ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ 15you may indeed set a king over you  a whom the LORD your God will choose. One  b from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16[†]Only he must not acquire many  c horses for himself or cause the people  d to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you,  e ‘You shall never return that way again.’ 17And he  f shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away,  g nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.

18[†]“And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom,  h he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law,  i approved by [3] the Levitical priests. 19And  j it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life,  k that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he  l may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left,  m so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.