Moses gives the Israelites instructions on how to love and obey the Lord in the Promised Land.
This is a recap of the laws given in Exodus.
chapter 1
chapter 1
The history of the Israelites. He talked of how they defeated the Amorites, the appointment of the[...]
The history of the Israelites. He talked of how they defeated the Amorites, the appointment of the deputies, the twelve spies, and how the Israelites were afraid to enter the Promised Land.Read Less
chapter 2
The history of the Israelites, passing through Edom, Moab, Kadesh Barnea, and Ammon. He also[...]
The history of the Israelites, passing through Edom, Moab, Kadesh Barnea, and Ammon. He also recounted how they defeated Sihon and the King of Heshbon.Read Less
chapter 3
The history of Israel: The defeat of Og King, Reubenites, Gadites, and half Manasseh were given[...]
The history of Israel: The defeat of Og King, Reubenites, Gadites, and half Manasseh were given the land to the east of Jordan. God did not allow Moses to enter the Promised Land.Read Less
chapter 4
Obedience Commanded
4 Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them[...]
Obedience Commanded
4 Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.
3 You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor. The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, 4 but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.
5 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.” 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.
Idolatry Forbidden
15 You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. 20 But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are.
21 The Lord was angry with me because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance. 22 I will die in this land; I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land. 23 Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29 But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.
The Lord Is God
32 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God[a] speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other. 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. 37 Because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, 38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.
39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. 40 Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.
Cities of Refuge
41 Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan, 42 to which anyone who had killed a person could flee if they had unintentionally killed a neighbor without malice aforethought. They could flee into one of these cities and save their life. 43 The cities were these: Bezer in the wilderness plateau, 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 Moses set before the Israelites. 45 These are the stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt 46 and were in the valley near Beth Peor east of the Jordan, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt. 47 They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. 48 This land extended from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Sirion[b] (that is, Hermon), 49 and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Dead Sea,[c] below the slopes of Pisgah.
Footnotes
Deuteronomy 4:33 Or of a god
Deuteronomy 4:48 Syriac (see also 3:9); Hebrew Siyon
Deuteronomy 4:49 Hebrew the Sea of the ArabahRead Less
chapter 5
Moses recounts how God spoke to Moses and made a covenant with the Israelites. The Ten[...]
Moses recounts how God spoke to Moses and made a covenant with the Israelites. The Ten Commandments are repeated in full, and the Israelites respond to God in fear.Read Less
chapter 6
Moses recounts: Keep, remember and teach God's commands, love God with all your heart, don't[...]
Moses recounts: Keep, remember and teach God's commands, love God with all your heart, don't forget about God, and worship only one God.Read Less
chapter 7
Moses speaks to the Israelites that they should not make agreements with foreign nations; God[...]
Moses speaks to the Israelites that they should not make agreements with foreign nations; God chose the Israelites and that He will bless them if they heed his commandments and follow him.Read Less
chapter 8
God had tested and humbled the Israelites by subjecting them to 40 years in the wilderness. God[...]
God had tested and humbled the Israelites by subjecting them to 40 years in the wilderness. God provided manna proving that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. God promised to give Israel a good land, warned them against pride during prosperity times, and that they should never forget God or they will perish.Read Less
chapter 9
The battles ahead will be difficult, but the Lord will lead them as a consuming fire. God granted[...]
The battles ahead will be difficult, but the Lord will lead them as a consuming fire. God granted them victory not because of their righteousness but because of the wickedness of the other nations. The Israelites are warned to recall past rebellions against God, and the story of the golden calf is recounted and other scenarios when the Israelites' faith failed.Read Less
chapter 10
Moses speaks to the Israelites and recounts the tables of the stone that replaced the smashed ones,[...]
Moses speaks to the Israelites and recounts the tables of the stone that replaced the smashed ones, the journeys of the Israelites to love strangers, and the God of goods commands them to serve Him.Read Less
chapter 11
Moses recounts God's greatness in Egypt and against Dathan and Abiram. He recounts the good things[...]
Moses recounts God's greatness in Egypt and against Dathan and Abiram. He recounts the good things in the Promised Land and the repercussions of serving other gods. God will bless them if they obey.Read Less
chapter 12
Moses speaks to the Israelites about destroying other nations' gods and that God should be[...]
Moses speaks to the Israelites about destroying other nations' gods and that God should be worshiped in a prescribed place, the central place of worship. They should bring offerings to the places chosen by God and should spill the blood and not consume it.Read Less
chapter 13
Moses speaks to the Israelites and reminds them of the commands regarding false worship, false[...]
Moses speaks to the Israelites and reminds them of the commands regarding false worship, false gods, false prophets, false dreams, and false miracles. The restitution of apostasy is stoning, and the Apostate cities will be destroyed.Read Less
chapter 14
Moses speaks to the Israelites: They should not shave their heads during morning rituals like the[...]
Moses speaks to the Israelites: They should not shave their heads during morning rituals like the pagans. A list of clean and unclean animals is given, and the tithe should be offered in a prescribed place and enjoyed in a ceremonial meal. The tithe is for the non-landed (Aliens, fatherless, widows, and the Levites) every third year.Read Less
chapter 15
Moses informs the Israelites that all debts should be canceled after seven years. They are[...]
Moses informs the Israelites that all debts should be canceled after seven years. They are instructed to be generous to the poor, and Hebrew slaves must be released every year and not turn out empty-handed. Those who wish to continue serving should have their ears pierced with an awl. The firstborn of the flock or heart should be sacrificed to God.Read Less
chapter 16
Moses tells the Israelites that they should observe the Passover and consume unleavened bread.[...]
Moses tells the Israelites that they should observe the Passover and consume unleavened bread. Passover sacrifices should be offered in a prescribed place, and the Feasts of the Weeks, seven weeks after Passover, and Tabernacles should be observed. Appointed officers and judges must not take bribes, and the idol trees built next to altars are forbidden.Read Less
chapter 17
The sacrifices are to be without blemish, and worshipping idols is punishable by stoning. Three[...]
The sacrifices are to be without blemish, and worshipping idols is punishable by stoning. Three witnesses are needed for a capital conviction with the higher appeal courts headed by Levites. God will give the Israelites a king who shall not have a huge army or many wives.Read Less
chapter 18
The inheritance of the Levites is stated, and from a normal sacrifice, the priests will get the[...]
The inheritance of the Levites is stated, and from a normal sacrifice, the priests will get the shoulder, stomach, and cheeks. Canaanite occult sacrifices and practices are forbidden, and the Lord promises a true prophet who must be obeyed.Read Less
chapter 19
Moses instructs that three refuge cities are to be founded and centrally located with easy access[...]
Moses instructs that three refuge cities are to be founded and centrally located with easy access and three more when Israelites' territory expands. These refugees are only for manslaughter and not for premeditated murder. If one bears false witness, they shall have that done to whim they intended to do unto the other. An eye for an eye.Read Less
chapter 20
Israelites should not fear when they go to war as the Lord will always be with them. They should[...]
Israelites should not fear when they go to war as the Lord will always be with them. They should offer terms before attacking a city, except to the cities of the land. All males should be killed in an attack, and the women, children, and other spoils can be plundered freely. Canaanites should be destroyed, and trees bearing fruits should not be cut down.Read Less
chapter 21
Moses speaks about the mystery death of which a heifer's neck should be broken and prayers offered.[...]
Moses speaks about the mystery death of which a heifer's neck should be broken and prayers offered. Captive women taken for wives should shave their heads and be allowed to mourn for a month. Inheritance should be given equally to the sons, and the rebellious ones will be stoned to death.Read Less
chapter 22
Moses speaks to the Israelites about lost property, various household rules, engagement, virginity,[...]
Moses speaks to the Israelites about lost property, various household rules, engagement, virginity, marriage, and sexual laws. If your neighbor has lost livestock or property, you must not hide away. Men and women in an adulterous relationship must be condemned to death.Read Less
chapter 23
Ammonites and Moabites must not enter the assembly of the LORD, and when going to war, the camp[...]
Ammonites and Moabites must not enter the assembly of the LORD, and when going to war, the camp must remain holy. Other laws regarding treaties, sanitation, uncleanness, property, money, and promises are given.Read Less
chapter 24
Moses speaks to the Israelites on the laws regarding marriage, divorce, loans, leprosy,[...]
Moses speaks to the Israelites on the laws regarding marriage, divorce, loans, leprosy, punishment, oppression, judging, harvesting, and sharing. Poor workers should be paid daily, an individual will be killed for his sins, and the poor should be shown compassion.Read Less