HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 534
D EU T ERO N O MY 5
there only a short time; then you will be utterly
destroyed. 27 For the Lord will scatter you among
the nations, where only a few of you will survive. 28 There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods
that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.
29 But from there you will search again for the
Lord your God. And if you search for him with
all your heart and soul, you will find him.
30 “In the distant future, when you are suffering all these things, you will finally return to the
Lord your God and listen to what he tells you.
31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will
not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.
There Is Only One God
32 “Now search all of history, from the time God
created people on the earth until now, and
search from one end of the heavens to the other.
Has anything as great as this ever been seen or
heard before? 33 Has any nation ever heard the
voice of God* speaking from fire—as you did—
and survived? 34 Has any other god dared to
take a nation for himself out of another nation
by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders,
war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the Lord your God did
for you in Egypt, right before your eyes.
35 “He showed you these things so you would
know that the Lord is God and there is no other.
36 He let you hear his voice from heaven so he
could instruct you. He let you see his great fire
here on earth so he could speak to you from it.
37 Because he loved your ancestors, he chose
to bless their descendants, and he personally
brought you out of Egypt with a great display of
power. 38 He drove out nations far greater than
you, so he could bring you in and give you their
land as your special possession, as it is today.
39 “So remember this and keep it firmly in
mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on
earth, and there is no other. 40 If you obey all the
decrees and commands I am giving you today,
all will be well with you and your children. I am
giving you these instructions so you will enjoy a
long life in the land the Lord your God is giving
you for all time.”
Eastern Cities of Refuge
41 Then Moses set apart three cities of refuge east
of the Jordan River. 42 Anyone who killed another
person unintentionally, without previous hostility, could flee there to live in safety. 43 These were
the cities: Bezer on the wilderness plateau for the
tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead for the tribe of
Gad; Golan in Bashan for the tribe of Manasseh.
Introduction to Moses’ Second Address
44 This is the body of instruction that Moses presented to the Israelites. 45 These are the laws,
decrees, and regulations that Moses gave to the
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people of Israel when they left Egypt, 46 and as
they camped in the valley near Beth-peor east
of the Jordan River. (This land was formerly occupied by the Amorites under King Sihon, who
ruled from Heshbon. But Moses and the Israelites
destroyed him and his people when they came up
from Egypt. 47 Israel took possession of his land
and that of King Og of Bashan—the two Amorite
kings east of the Jordan. 48 So Israel conquered the
entire area from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon
Gorge all the way to Mount Sirion,* also called
Mount Hermon. 49 And they conquered the eastern bank of the Jordan River as far south as the
Dead Sea,* below the slopes of Pisgah.)
Ten Commandments for the
Covenant Community
Moses called all the people of Israel together
and said, “Listen carefully, Israel. Hear the
decrees and regulations I am giving you today, so
you may learn them and obey them!
2 “The Lord our God made a covenant with us
at Mount Sinai.* 3 The Lord did not make this covenant with our ancestors, but with all of us who
are alive today. 4 At the mountain the Lord spoke to
you face to face from the heart of the fire. 5 I stood
as an intermediary between you and the Lord,
for you were afraid of the fire and did not want
to approach the mountain. He spoke to me, and
I passed his words on to you. This is what he said:
5
6 “I
am the Lord your God, who rescued you from
the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
7 “You must not have any other god but me.
8 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any
kind, or an image of anything in the heavens
or on the earth or in the sea. 9 You must not
bow down to them or worship them, for I,
the Lord your God, am a jealous God who
will not tolerate your affection for any other
gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their
children; the entire family is affected—even
children in the third and fourth generations
of those who reject me. 10 But I lavish
unfailing love for a thousand generations on
those* who love me and obey my commands.
11 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord
your God. The Lord will not let you go
unpunished if you misuse his name.
12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it
holy, as the Lord your God has commanded
you. 13 You have six days each week for
your ordinary work, 14 but the seventh day
is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the
Lord your God. On that day no one in your
household may do any work. This includes
you, your sons and daughters, your male
and female servants, your oxen and donkeys
4:33 Or voice of a god. 4:48 As in Syriac version (see also 3:9);
Hebrew reads Mount Sion. 4:49 Hebrew took the Arabah
on the east side of the Jordan as far as the sea of the Arabah.
5:2 Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai. 5:10 Hebrew for
thousands of those.