Study Desk

"Listen, Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go and drive out nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.^(a)

The people are strong and tall, the descendants of the Anakim.^(b) You know about them and you have heard it said about them, ‘Who can stand up to the sons of Anak?'^(c)

But understand that today the Lord your God will cross over ahead of you^(d) as a consuming fire; He will devastate and subdue them before you. You will drive them out and destroy them swiftly, as the Lord has told you.

When the Lord your God drives them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘The Lord brought me in to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.' Instead, the Lord will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness.

You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, the Lord your God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land^(e) to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.

"Remember^(f) and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God in the wilderness. You have been rebelling against the Lord from the day you left the land of Egypt until you reached this place.

You provoked the Lord at Horeb, and He was angry enough with you to destroy you.

When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant the Lord made with you, I stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights. I did not eat bread or drink water.

On the day of the assembly the Lord gave me the two stone tablets, inscribed by God's finger. The exact words were on them, which the Lord spoke to you from the fire on the mountain.

The Lord gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant, at the end of the 40 days and 40 nights.

"The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go down immediately from here. For your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned from the way that I commanded them; they have made a cast image for themselves.'

The Lord also said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed, they are a stiff-necked people.

Leave Me alone, and I will destroy them and blot out their name under heaven. Then I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.'

"So I went back down the mountain, while it was blazing with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.

I saw how you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made a calf image for yourselves. You had quickly turned from the way the Lord had commanded for you.

So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my hands, shattering them before your eyes.

Then I fell down like the first time in the presence of the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights; I did not eat bread or drink water because of all the sin you committed, doing what was evil in the Lord 's sight and provoking Him to anger.

I was afraid of the fierce anger the Lord had directed against you,^(g) because He was about to destroy you. But again the Lord listened to me on that occasion.^(h)

The Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him. But I prayed for Aaron at that time also.

I took the sinful calf you had made, burned it up, and crushed it, thoroughly grinding it to powder as fine as dust. Then I threw it into the stream that came down from the mountain.⁽ⁱ⁾

"You continued to provoke the Lord at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth-hattaavah.^(j)

When the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, He said, ‘Go up and possess the land I have given you'; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not believe or obey Him.^(k)

You have been rebelling against the Lord ever since I have^[a] known you.^(l)

"I fell down in the presence of the Lord 40 days and 40 nights because the Lord had threatened to destroy you.

I prayed to the Lord : Lord God , do not annihilate Your people, Your inheritance, whom You redeemed^(m) through Your greatness and brought out of Egypt with a strong hand.

Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Disregard this people's stubbornness, and their wickedness and sin.

Otherwise, those in the land you brought us from will say, ‘Because the Lord wasn't able to bring them into the land He had promised them, and because He hated them, He brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.'⁽ⁿ⁾

But they are Your people, Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and outstretched arm.^(o)

"The Lord said to me at that time, ‘Cut two stone tablets like the first ones and come to Me on the mountain and make a wooden ark.

I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets you broke, and you are to place them in the ark.'

So I made an ark of acacia wood, cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and climbed the mountain with the two tablets in my hand.

Then on the day of the assembly, the Lord wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Commandments that He had spoken to you on the mountain from the fire. The Lord gave them to me,

and I went back down the mountain and placed the tablets in the ark I had made. And they have remained there, as the Lord commanded me."

The Israelites traveled from Beeroth Bene-jaakan^[a] to Moserah. Aaron died and was buried there, and Eleazar his son became priest in his place.^(a)

They traveled from there to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with streams of water.^(b)

"At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi^(c) to carry the ark of the Lord 's covenant, to stand before Yahweh to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name, as it is today.

For this reason, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance like his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God told him.^(d)

"I stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights like the first time. The Lord also listened to me on this occasion;^(e) He agreed not to annihilate you.

Then the Lord said to me, ‘Get up. Continue your journey ahead of the people, so that they may enter and possess the land I swore to give their fathers.'^(f)

"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear^(g) the Lord your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul?

Keep the Lord 's commands and statutes I am giving you today, for your own good.

The heavens, indeed the highest heavens, belong to the Lord your God, as does the earth and everything in it.

Yet the Lord was devoted to your fathers and loved them.^(h) He chose their descendants after them—He chose you out of all the peoples, as it is today.

Therefore, circumcise your hearts⁽ⁱ⁾ and don't be stiff-necked any longer.

For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe.

He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing.

You also must love the foreigner, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.^(j)

You are to fear Yahweh your God and worship Him. Remain faithful^[b] to Him and take oaths in His name.^(k)

He is your praise and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome works your eyes have seen.

Your fathers went down to Egypt, 70 people in all,^(l) and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky.^(m)

"Therefore, love the Lord your God and always keep His mandate and His statutes, ordinances, and commands.

You must understand today that it is not your children who experienced or saw the discipline of the Lord your God: His greatness, strong hand, and outstretched arm;

His signs and the works He did in Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt and all his land;^(a)

what He did to Egypt's army, its horses and chariots, when He made the waters of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued you, and He destroyed them^(b) completely;^[a]

what He did to you in the wilderness until you reached this place;

and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when in the middle of the whole Israelite camp the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing with them.^(c)

Your own eyes have seen every great work the Lord has done.

"Keep every command I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to cross into and possess the land you are to inherit,

and so that you may live long in the land the Lord swore to your fathers to give them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.^(d)

For the land you are entering to possess is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated by hand^[b] as in a vegetable garden.

But the land you are entering to possess is a land of mountains and valleys, watered by rain from the sky.

It is a land the Lord your God cares for. He is always watching over it from the beginning to the end of the year.

"If you carefully obey my commands I am giving you today, to love the Lord your God and worship Him with all your heart and all your soul,

I^[c] will provide rain for your land in the proper time, the autumn and spring rains,^[d] and you will harvest your grain, new wine, and oil.^(e)

I^[e] will provide grass in your fields for your livestock. You will eat and be satisfied.^(f)

Be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside, worship, and bow down to other gods.

Then the Lord 's anger will burn against you. He will close the sky, and there will be no rain; the land will not yield its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land^(g) the Lord is giving you.

"Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol^[f] on your foreheads.^[g]

Teach them to your children,^(h) talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,⁽ⁱ⁾

so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your fathers.^(j)

For if you carefully observe every one of these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, and remain faithful^[h] to Him—

the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will drive out nations greater and stronger than you are.

Every place the sole of your foot treads will be yours.^(k) Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon and from the Euphrates River^[i] to the Mediterranean Sea.^(l)

No one will be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will put fear and dread of you in all the land where you set foot, as He has promised you.^(m)

"Look, today I set before you a blessing and a curse:⁽ⁿ⁾

there will be a blessing, if you obey the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you today,

and a curse, if you do not obey the commands of the Lord your God and you turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods you have not known.

When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal.

Aren't these mountains across the Jordan, beyond the western road in the land of the Canaanites, who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, near the oaks^[j] of Moreh?

For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you possess it and settle in it,

be careful to follow all the statutes and ordinances I set before you today.

"Be careful to follow these statutes and ordinances in the land that Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days you live on the earth.

Destroy completely all the places where the nations that you are driving out worship their gods^(a)—on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.

Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their names from every^[a] place.

Don't worship the Lord your God this way.

Instead, you must turn to the place Yahweh your God chooses from all your tribes to put His name for His dwelling and go there.

You are to bring there your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tenths and personal contributions,^[b] your vow offerings and freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

You will eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice with your household in everything you do,^[c] because the Lord your God has blessed you.

"You are not to do as we are doing here today; everyone is doing whatever seems right in his own eyes.

Indeed, you have not yet come into the resting place^(b) and the inheritance^(c) the Lord your God is giving you.

When you cross the Jordan and live in the land the Lord your God is giving you to inherit,^(d) and He gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you live in security,

then Yahweh your God will choose the place to have His name dwell.^(e) Bring there everything I command you: your burnt offerings, sacrifices, offerings of the tenth, personal contributions,^[d] and all your choice offerings you vow to the Lord .

You will rejoice^(f) before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.^(g)

Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in all the sacred places you see.

You must offer your burnt offerings only in the place the Lord chooses in one of your tribes, and there you must do everything I command you.

"But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates,^(h) according to the blessing the Lord your God has given you. Those who are clean or unclean may eat it, as they would a gazelle or deer,

but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.⁽ⁱ⁾

Within your gates you may not eat: the tenth of your grain, new wine, or oil; the firstborn of your herd or flock; any of your vow offerings that you pledge; your freewill offerings; or your personal contributions.^[e]

You must eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God chooses—you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who is within your gates. Rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you do,^[f]

and be careful not to neglect the Levite, as long as you live in your land.

"When the Lord your God enlarges your territory as He has promised you,^(j) and you say, ‘I want to eat meat' because you have a strong desire to eat meat, you may eat it whenever you want.

If the place where Yahweh your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of your herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want.

Indeed, you may eat it as the gazelle and deer are eaten; both the clean and the unclean may eat it.

But don't eat the blood, since the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.

Do not eat blood; pour it on the ground like water.

Do not eat it, so that you and your children after you will prosper, because you will be doing what is right in the Lord 's sight.

"But you are to take the holy offerings you have and your vow offerings and go to the place the Lord chooses.

Present the meat and blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord your God. The blood of your other sacrifices is to be poured out beside the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat the meat.

Be careful to obey all these things I command you, so that you and your children after you may prosper forever, because you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

"When the Lord your God annihilates the nations before you,^(k) which you are entering to take possession of,^(l) and you drive them out and live in their land,

be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I'll also do the same.'

You must not do the same to the Lord your God, because they practice every detestable thing, which the Lord hates, for their gods. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

^[g]You must be careful to do everything I command you; do not add anything to it or take anything away from it.^(m)

"If a prophet or someone who has dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,

and that sign or wonder he has promised you comes about, but he says, ‘Let us follow other gods,' which you have not known, ‘and let us worship them,'

do not listen to that prophet's words or to that dreamer. For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul.

You must follow the Lord your God and fear Him. You must keep His commands and listen to His voice; you must worship Him and remain faithful^[a] to Him.^(a)

That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has urged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slavery,^(b) to turn you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from you.

"If your brother, the son of your mother,^[b] or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and worship other gods'—which neither you nor your fathers have known,

any of the gods of the peoples around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other—

you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity,^[c] and do not spare him or shield him.

Instead, you must kill him. Your hand is to be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.^(c)

Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

All Israel will hear and be afraid, and they will no longer do anything evil like this among you.^(d)

"If^(e) you hear it said about one of your cities the Lord your God is giving you to live in,

that wicked men have sprung up among you, led the inhabitants of their city astray, and said, ‘Let us go and worship other gods,' which you have not known,

you are to inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. If the report turns out to be true that this detestable thing has happened among you,

you must strike down the inhabitants of that city with the sword. Completely destroy everyone in it as well as its livestock with the sword.

You are to gather all its spoil in the middle of the city square and completely burn up the city and all its spoil for the Lord your God. The city must remain a mound of ruins forever; it is not to be rebuilt.

Nothing set apart for destruction is to remain in your hand, so that the Lord will turn from His burning anger and grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers.

This will occur if you obey the Lord your God, keeping all His commands I am giving you today, doing what is right in the sight of the Lord your God.