Obedience commanded
1Now, 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 that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2Do 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.
3You 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, 4but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.
5See, 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. 6Observe 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.’ 7What 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? 8And 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?
9Only 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. 10Remember 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.’ 11You 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. 12Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. 14And 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
15You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16so 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, 17or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. 19And 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 worshipping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. 20But 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.
21The 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. 22I 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. 23Be 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. 24For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
25After 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, 26I 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. 27The 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. 28There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29But 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. 30When 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. 31For 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
32Ask 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? 33Has any other people heard the voice of God4:33 Or of a god speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? 34Has 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?
35You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other. 36From 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. 37Because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, 38to 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.
39Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. 40Keep 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
41Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan, 42to which anyone who had killed a person could flee if they had unintentionally killed a neighbour without malice aforethought. They could flee into one of these cities and save their life. 43The 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
44This is the law Moses set before the Israelites. 45These are the stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt 46and 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. 47They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. 48This land extended from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Sirion4:48 Syriac (see also 3:9); Hebrew Siyon (that is, Hermon), 49and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Dead Sea,4:49 Hebrew the Sea of the Arabah below the slopes of Pisgah.
Moses opfordrer folket til lydighed
1Moses fortsatte sin tale: „Israels folk, lyt omhyggeligt til de love og forordninger, jeg her pålægger jer at overholde, så I kan blive i live og gå ind og tage det land i besiddelse, som Herren, jeres fædres Gud, vil give jer. 2I må ikke lægge noget til eller trække noget fra, men I skal adlyde de her befalinger, som kommer fra Herren, jeres Gud. 3I har været vidne til Herrens straf ved Peors bjerg, hvor han udryddede alle, der dyrkede Ba’al. 4Det er kun de af jer, der holdt jer til Herren, som i dag er i live.
5De love og forordninger, jeg giver jer, har jeg fået fra Herren, min Gud, og I skal sørge for at overholde dem, også når I tager landet i besiddelse. 6Hvis I overholder dem, vil I blive kendt som et folk med visdom og indsigt. Når de omkringboende folk hører om de her love, vil de sige: ‚Israels folk er både et stort og klogt folk.’ 7Er der andre folkeslag, hvis gud kommer dem til hjælp, hver gang de kalder på ham, sådan som Gud Herren gør det for os? 8Og hvilket folk på jorden kan fremvise så retfærdige love, som dem jeg pålægger jer i dag?
9Men pas på, at I aldrig glemmer det, I har oplevet med Gud! Må hans undere have gjort et dybt, uudsletteligt indtryk på jer, så I fortæller dem videre til jeres børn og børnebørn. 10Husk at fortælle dem om dengang, da jeres forældres generation stod for Herrens ansigt ved Horebs bjerg, og han sagde til mig: ‚Kald folket sammen, så jeg kan lære dem at have ærefrygt for mig, og så de kan lære deres børn den samme ærefrygt.’ 11Folket stod ved bjergets fod, mens bjerget var i brand, og flammerne slog op mod himlen gennem mørke og sorte skyer. 12Da talte Herren til folket fra ilden. De hørte hans stemme, men kunne ikke se ham. 13Han bekendtgjorde sin pagt med os, den overenskomst vi skal overholde, de ti bud, og han skrev dem på de to stentavler. 14Lige siden den dag har Herren gennem mig givet sit folk alle de love og regler, der vil gælde i det land, I nu skal ind og tage i besiddelse.
15Men tag jer i agt, for selv om Herren talte til folket fra ilden på Horebs bjerg, fik de ham aldrig at se. 16-18Derfor må I ikke synde ved at fremstille billeder af nogen art og tilbede dem. I må ikke lave afgudsbilleder, hvad enten de forestiller mænd, kvinder, husdyr, vilde dyr, krybdyr, fugle eller fisk. 19Løft heller ikke blikket mod himlen for at tilbede solen, månen og stjernerne, selv om andre folk dyrker den slags. Det vil Gud ikke tillade jer at gøre, 20for han hentede sit folk ud af Egyptens smelteovn, for at de skulle være hans ejendomsfolk, og det er, hvad I er i dag. 21-22Herren blev vred på mig på grund af folket, og han svor, at jeg ikke skulle få lov til at gå over Jordanfloden ind i det gode land, han har givet jer som arvelod. Derfor må jeg dø her på denne side af floden.
23Tag jer i agt, at I ikke bryder den pagt, som Herren, jeres Gud, har sluttet med jer! I må ikke lave afgudsbilleder; for det har Herren forbudt, 24og jeres Gud er en fortærende ild. Han tåler ingen rivaler!
25Det her skal stå ved magt i al fremtid, også længe efter, at I er kommet ind i landet og har fået børn og børnebørn. I må ikke synde ved at lave afgudsbilleder af nogen art, eller gøre noget, som i Herrens øjne er ondt og fremkalder hans vrede. 26I dag kalder jeg himlen og jorden til vidne på, at hvis I trodser det her bud, vil I blive rykket op fra det land, I nu skal ind og tage i besiddelse. 27Herren vil da sprede jer mellem folkeslagene, og kun en rest vil overleve dér. 28I jeres landflygtighed vil I blive tvunget til at dyrke afguder af træ og sten, som hverken kan se eller høre eller sanse noget som helst.
29Da vil I begynde at søge Herren, jeres Gud, på ny, og I vil finde ham, hvis I søger ham af hele jeres hjerte og hele jeres sjæl. 30Til den tid vil jeres nød og ulykke tvinge jer tilbage til Herren, så I atter adlyder ham. 31Herren, jeres Gud, er nemlig en nådig Gud. Han slipper jer ikke og lader jer ikke gå til grunde. Han glemmer heller ikke de løfter, han har givet jeres forfædre.
32Se tilbage gennem tiden, helt tilbage til begyndelsen, da Gud skabte menneskene på jorden. Spørg fra den ene ende af jordkloden til den anden: 33Har man nogen sinde hørt noget lignende, at et helt folk har hørt Gud tale til dem fra ilden, sådan som Israels folk oplevede det og dog forblev i live? 34Hvor findes et lignende eksempel på, at en gud ved hjælp af plager, undere, kamp og frygtelige straffe har frelst et folk fra dets tyranner? Sådan har Herren jeres Gud ikke desto mindre handlet med sit udvalgte folk, dengang de var slaver i Egypten, sådan som I alle ved. 35Han gjorde det, for at folket skulle indse, at han er Herren, og at der ikke findes nogen anden Gud end ham. 36Han talte med vældig røst fra Himlen for at retlede sit folk, og han lod almindelige mennesker se den guddommelige ild, og han talte til folket fra ilden.
37På grund af kærlighed til sit eget folk, som han havde udvalgt, altså jeres forfædre og deres efterkommere, førte han dem med vældig magt ud af slavetilværelsen i Egypten. 38Og han vil drive folk på flugt foran jer, folk, der er jer overlegne i styrke, og give jer deres lande i eje. Det er allerede begyndt at ske! 39Kan I da være i tvivl om, at Herren er Gud både i Himlen og på jorden, og at der ikke findes nogen anden Gud end ham? 40Derfor skal I ubetinget adlyde de love, jeg pålægger jer i dag. Gør I det, vil det gå jer og jeres børn godt, og I vil få lov at blive boende i det land, som Herren, jeres Gud, vil give jer.”
De tre tilflugtsbyer øst for Jordanfloden
41Moses udpegede nu tre byer øst for Jordanfloden, 42som skulle være fristed for dem, der ved et uheld kom til at slå et andet menneske ihjel. 43Folk fra Rubens stamme skulle søge tilflugt i Betzer i det øde højland. For Gads stamme blev det Ramot i Gilead, og for Manasses stamme blev det Golan i Bashan.
Loven bliver gentaget i lejren øst for Jordanfloden
44-47Her følger en fortegnelse over de love og forordninger, som Moses overdrog til Israels folk, efter at de var undsluppet fra Egypten og lå i lejr i dalen øst for Jordanfloden over for Bet-Peor, et område, der havde tilhørt amoritterkongen Sihon af Heshbon. (Moses og israelitterne havde udryddet det amoritiske folk ved at slå både kong Sihon af Heshbon og kong Og af Bashan. 48Israelitterne havde således erobret hele området fra byen Aroer på toppen af Arnonkløften til Sions bjerg i nord, også kaldet Hermonbjerget. 49Mod syd strakte det sig til Det Døde Hav og øst for søen til området ved foden af Pisgas bjerg.)
