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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Deuteronomy 4 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/deuteronomy/4.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/deuteronomy/4-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > Deuteronomy 4</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../deuteronomy/3.htm" title="Deuteronomy 3">◄</a> Deuteronomy 4 <a href="../deuteronomy/5.htm" title="Deuteronomy 5">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/deuteronomy/4.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">Moses Urges Israel to Obey</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>“And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>“You saw for yourself what the LORD did to you at Baal-peor. There the LORD your God destroyed everyone who had worshiped Baal, the god of Peor. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>But all of you who were faithful to the LORD your God are still alive today—every one of you.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>“Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’ <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD our God is near to us whenever we call on him? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>“But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Never forget the day when you stood before the LORD your God at Mount Sinai,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a> where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.’</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>“You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while flames from the mountain shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>And the LORD spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words but didn’t see his form; there was only a voice. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a>—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>It was at that time that the LORD commanded me to teach you his decrees and regulations so you would obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy.</p><p class="hdg">A Warning against Idolatry</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>“But be very careful! You did not see the LORD’s form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The LORD your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>Remember that the LORD rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>“But the LORD was angry with me because of you. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan River into the good land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>You will cross the Jordan to occupy the land, but I will not. Instead, I will die here on the east side of the river. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>So be careful not to break the covenant the LORD your God has made with you. Do not make idols of any shape or form, for the LORD your God has forbidden this. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>The LORD your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>“In the future, when you have children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time, do not corrupt yourselves by making idols of any kind. This is evil in the sight of the LORD your God and will arouse his anger.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>“Today I call on heaven and earth as witnesses against you. If you break my covenant, you will quickly disappear from the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. You will live there only a short time; then you will be utterly destroyed. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>For the LORD will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>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.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>“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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>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.</p><p class="hdg">There Is Only One God</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>“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? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>Has any nation ever heard the voice of God<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a> speaking from fire—as you did—and survived? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>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.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span>“He showed you these things so you would know that the LORD is God and there is no other. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span>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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-37.htm"><b>37</b></a></span>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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-38.htm"><b>38</b></a></span>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.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-39.htm"><b>39</b></a></span>“So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The LORD is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-40.htm"><b>40</b></a></span>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.”</p><p class="hdg">Eastern Cities of Refuge</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-41.htm"><b>41</b></a></span>Then Moses set apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-42.htm"><b>42</b></a></span>Anyone who killed another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, could flee there to live in safety. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-43.htm"><b>43</b></a></span>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.</p><p class="hdg">Introduction to Moses’ Second Address</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-44.htm"><b>44</b></a></span>This is the body of instruction that Moses presented to the Israelites. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-45.htm"><b>45</b></a></span>These are the laws, decrees, and regulations that Moses gave to the people of Israel when they left Egypt, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-46.htm"><b>46</b></a></span>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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-47.htm"><b>47</b></a></span>Israel took possession of his land and that of King Og of Bashan—the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-48.htm"><b>48</b></a></span>So Israel conquered the entire area from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge all the way to Mount Sirion,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">d</span></a> also called Mount Hermon. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/4-49.htm"><b>49</b></a></span>And they conquered the eastern bank of the Jordan River as far south as the Dead Sea,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">e</span></a> below the slopes of Pisgah.)</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:10 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">Horeb,</span><span class="ft"> another name for Sinai; also in 4:15.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:13 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">the ten words.</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:33 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="it">voice of a god.</span><br><span class="fn">d</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:48 </span><span class="ft">As in Syriac version (see also 3:9); Hebrew reads </span><span class="it">Mount Sion.</span><br><span class="fn">e</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:49 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">took the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as the sea of the Arabah.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. 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