Catholic Public Domain Version

1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all of Israel, across the Jordan, in the plain of the wilderness opposite the Red Sea, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth, where gold is very plentiful,

2 eleven days from Horeb, by way of Mount Seir as far as Kadesh-barnea.

3 In the fortieth year, on the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses told the sons of Israel all that the Lord had instructed him. And so he spoke to them,

4 after he had struck down Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, who resided at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,

5 across the Jordan in the land of Moab. And so, Moses began to explain the law, and to say:

6 “The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying: ‘You have remained long enough on this mountain.

7 Turn back and go to the mountain of the Amorites, and to the other places which are near it: the plains as well as the mountainous regions, and the low-lying places opposite the south and along the shore of the sea, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river Euphrates.’

8 ‘Lo,’ he said, ‘I have delivered it to you. Enter and possess that which the Lord swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give it to them, and to their offspring after them.’

9 And I said to you, at that time:

10 ‘I alone am not able to sustain you. For the Lord, your God, has multiplied you, and you are today like the stars of heaven, very many.

11 May the Lord, the God of your fathers, add to this number many thousands more, and may he bless you, just as he has said.

12 Alone, I do not have the strength to endure your arbitrations and judgments and disputes.

13 Offer, from among you, wise and experienced men, those whose conversation has been proven within your tribes, so that I may appoint them as your rulers.’

14 Then you responded to me: ‘What you intend to do is a good thing.’

15 And so, I took from your tribes men, wise and noble, and I appointed them as rulers, as tribunes and centurions, and as leaders over fifty and over ten, who would teach you each thing.

16 And I instructed them, saying: ‘Listen to them, and judge what is just, whether he is one of your citizens or a sojourner.

17 There shall be no favoritism to any persons. So you shall listen to the little as well as to the great. And you shall not accept anyone’s reputation, for this is the judgment of God. But if anything seems difficult to you, then refer it to me, and I will hear it.’

18 And I instructed you in all that you were obliged to do.

19 Then, setting out from Horeb, we crossed through a terrible and great wasteland, which you saw along the way of the mountain of the Amorite, just as the Lord our God had instructed us. And when we had arrived at Kadesh-barnea,

20 I said to you: ‘You have arrived at the mountain of the Amorite, which the Lord our God will give to us.

21 Gaze upon the land that the Lord your God gives to you. Ascend and possess it, just as the Lord our God has spoken to your fathers. Do not be afraid, and do not become terrified by anything.’

22 And you all approached me and said: ‘Let us send men who may consider the land, and who may report as to the way by which we ought to ascend, and as to which cities we ought to travel.’

23 And since the word was pleasing to me, I sent from among you twelve men, one from each tribe.

24 These, when they had set out and had ascended the mountains, arrived as far as the valley of the cluster of grapes. And having considered the land,

25 having taken from its fruits in order to show its fertility, they brought these to us, and they said: ‘The land that the Lord our God will give to us is good.’

26 Yet you were not willing to go there. Instead, being incredulous to the word of the Lord our God,

27 you murmured in your tents, and you said: ‘The Lord hates us, and therefore he has led us away from the land of Egypt, so that he might deliver us into the hand of the Amorite and destroy us.

28 To where should we ascend? The messengers have terrified our heart by saying: “The multitude is very great, and taller than us. And the cities are great, and the walls extend even to the sky. We have seen the sons of the Anakim there.” ‘

29 And I said to you: ‘Do not be apprehensive, nor should you fear them.

30 The Lord God himself, who is your leader, will fight on your behalf, just as he did in Egypt in the sight of all.

31 And in the wilderness (as you yourselves saw), the Lord your God carried you, like a man who is accustomed to carrying his little son, along all the way that you walked, until you arrived at this place.’

32 And yet, despite all of this, you did not believe the Lord your God,

33 who went before you on the way, and who marked out the place where you should pitch your tents, showing you the way by fire in the night, and by a pillar of cloud in the day.

34 And when the Lord had heard the voice of your words, becoming angry, he swore and said:

35 ‘None of the men of this wicked generation will see the good land, which I have promised by oath to your fathers,

36 except Caleb the son of Jephuneh. For he himself will see it, and I will give the land on which he has walked to him and to his sons, because he has followed the Lord.’

37 Neither is his indignation with the people a wonder, since the Lord also became angry with me because of you, and so he said: ‘Neither will you enter into that place.

38 But Joshua, the son of Nun, your minister, shall himself enter on your behalf. Exhort and strengthen this man, and he himself shall divide the land by lot to Israel.

39 Your little ones, about whom you said that they would be led away as captives, and your sons, who to this day are ignorant of the difference between good and evil, they shall enter. And I will give the land to them, and they will possess it.

40 But as for you, turn back and go out to the wilderness, by way of the Red Sea.’

41 And you responded to me: ‘We have sinned against the Lord. We will ascend and fight, just as the Lord our God has instructed.’ And having been equipped with weapons, when you were setting out for the mountain,

42 the Lord said to me: ‘Say to them: Do not ascend and do not fight. For I am not with you. Otherwise, you may fall in the sight of your enemies.’

43 I spoke, and you did not listen. But, opposing the order of the Lord, and swelling with pride, you ascended onto the mountain.

44 And so, having gone forth, the Amorite, who was living in the mountains, came against you and pursued you, just as a swarm of bees would do. And he struck you down from Seir all the way to Hormah.

45 And when you returned and were weeping in the sight of the Lord, he would not hear you, nor was he willing to agree to your voice.

46 Therefore, you camped at Kadesh-barnea for a long time.”

1 “And setting out from there, we arrived at the wilderness which leads to the Red Sea, just as the Lord had spoken to me. And we encompassed Mount Seir for a long time.

2 And the Lord said to me:

3 ‘You have encompassed this mountain for long enough. Go forth, toward the north.

4 And instruct the people, saying: You shall cross through the borders of your brothers, the sons of Esau, who live at Seir, and they will fear you.

5 Therefore, take care diligently, lest you be moved against them. For I will not give to you from their land even as much as the step that one foot can tread upon, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.

6 You shall buy food from them for money, and you shall eat. You shall draw water for money, and you shall drink.

7 The Lord your God has blessed you in every work of your hands. The Lord your God, dwelling with you, knows your journey, how you crossed through this great wilderness over forty years, and how you have been lacking in nothing.’

8 And when we had passed through our brothers, the sons of Esau, who were living at Seir by the way of the plain from Elath and from Eziongeber, we arrived at the way which leads to the desert of Moab.

9 And the Lord said to me: ‘You should not fight against the Moabites, nor should you go to battle against them. For I will not give to you anything from their land, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession.’

10 The Emim were the first of its inhabitants, a people great and strong, and of such great height, like the race of the Anakim.

11 They were considered to be like giants, and they were like the sons of the Anakim. And, indeed, the Moabites call them: the Emim.

12 The Horites also formerly lived at Seir. When these had been driven out and destroyed, the sons of Esau lived there, just as Israel did in the land of his possession, which the Lord gave to him.

13 Then, rising up so as to cross over the torrent Zered, we arrived at the place.

14 Then, from the time that we advanced from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the torrent Zered, there were thirty-eight years, until the entire generation of the men who were fit for war had been consumed out of the camp, just as the Lord had sworn.

15 For his hand was against them, so that they would pass away from the midst of the camp.

16 Then, after all the fighting men had fallen,

17 the Lord spoke to me, saying:

18 ‘Today, you shall cross the borders of Moab, at the city named Ar.

19 And when you have arrived in the vicinity of the sons of Ammon, be careful that you do not fight against them, nor should you be moved to battle. For I will not give to you from the land of the sons of Ammon, because I have given it to the sons of Lot as a possession.’

20 It was reputed to be a land of giants. And giants lived there in times past, those whom the Ammonites call the Zamzummim.

21 They are a people, great and numerous, and of lofty stature, like the Anakim, whom the Lord wiped away before their face. And he caused them to live there in place of them,

22 just as he had done for the sons of Esau, who live at Seir, wiping out the Horites and delivering their land to them, which they possess even to the present time.

23 Likewise the Hevites, who were living in small villages as far as Gaza, were expelled by the Cappadocians, who went forth from Cappadocia, and they wiped them out and lived in their place.

24 ‘Rise up and cross the torrent Arnon! Behold, I have delivered Sihon, the king of Heshbon, the Amorite, into your hand, and so, begin to possess his land and to engage in battle against him.

25 Today I will begin to send the terror and dread of you among the peoples who are living under all of heaven, so that, when they hear your name, they may be afraid, and may tremble in the manner of a woman giving birth, and may be gripped by anguish.’

26 Therefore, I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, with peaceful words, saying:

27 ‘We will cross through your land. We will advance by the public way. We will not turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left.

28 Sell us food for a price, so that we may eat. Provide us with water for money, and so we will drink. We only ask that you allow us to pass through,

29 just as the sons of Esau have done, who live at Seir, and the Moabites, who abide in Ar, until we arrive at the Jordan, and we cross to the land which the Lord our God will give to us.’

30 And Sihon, the king of Heshbon, was not willing to grant passage to us. For the Lord your God had hardened his spirit, and had fastened his heart, so that he would be delivered into your hands, just as you now see.

31 And the Lord said to me: ‘Behold, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land to you. Begin to possess it.’

32 And Sihon went out to meet us with all his people, to battle at Jahaz.

33 And the Lord our God delivered him to us. And we struck him down, with his sons and all his people.

34 And we seized all his cities at that time, putting to death their inhabitants: men as well as women and children. We left nothing of them,

35 except the cattle, which went to the share of those who plundered them. And we seized the spoils of the cities,

36 from Aroer, which is above the bank of the torrent Arnon, a town which is situated in a valley, all the way to Gilead. There was not a village or city which escaped from our hands. The Lord our God delivered everything to us,

37 except the land of the sons of Ammon, which we did not approach, and all that is adjacent to the torrent Jabbok, and the cities in the mountains, and all the places which the Lord our God prohibited to us.”

1 “And so, having turned back, we ascended by the way of Bashan. And Og, the king of Bashan, went forth with his people to meet us in warfare at Edrei.

2 And the Lord said to me: ‘You should not fear him. For he has been delivered into your hand, with all his people as well as his land. And you shall do to him just as you have done to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’

3 Therefore, the Lord our God delivered into our hands, now Og, the king of Bashan, and all his people. And we struck them down unto utter annihilation,

4 laying waste to all his cities at one time. There was not a village which escaped from us: sixty cities, the entire region of Argob, the kingdom of Og, in Bashan.

5 All the cities were fortified with very high walls, and with gates and bars, in addition to innumerable villages which had no walls.

6 And we wiped them out, just as we had done to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, destroying every city, and its men, as well as women and children.

7 But the cattle and the spoils of the cities, we plundered.

8 And at that time, we took the land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites, who were across the Jordan: from the torrent Arnon as far as Mount Hermon,

9 which the Sidonians call Sirion, and the Amorites call Senir,

10 all the cities that are situated in the plain, and the entire land of Gilead and Bashan, all the way to Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

11 For only Og, the king of Bashan, was left behind out of the race of the giants. His bed of iron is on display, (it is in Rabbah, among the sons of Ammon) being nine cubits in length, and four in width, according to the measure of the cubit of a man’s hand.

12 And we possessed the land, at that time, from Aroer, which is above the bank of the torrent Arnon, as far as the middle of Mount Gilead. And I gave its cities to Ruben and Gad.

13 Then I delivered the remaining part of Gilead, and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, which is the entire region of Argob, to one half of the tribe of Manasseh. And all of Bashan is called the land of the giants.

14 Jair, the son of Manasseh, possessed all the region of Argob, as far as the borders of Geshur and Maacath. And he called Bashan by his own name, Havvoth Jair, that is, the villages of Jair, even to the present day.

15 Likewise, to Machir, I gave Gilead.

16 And to the tribes of Ruben and Gad, I gave from the land of Gilead as far as the torrent Arnon, one half of the torrent and its confines, even to the torrent Jabbok, which is along the border of the sons of Ammon,

17 and the plain of the wilderness, as well as the Jordan, and the borders of Chinnereth, all the way to the sea of the desert, which is very salty, to the base of Mount Pisgah toward the east.

18 And I instructed you at that time, saying: ‘The Lord your God gives to you this land as an inheritance. Having armed yourselves, go before your brothers, the sons of Israel, all you strong men.

19 Leave behind your wives and little ones, as well as the cattle. For I know that you have many cattle, and they should remain in the cities which I have delivered to you,

20 until the Lord provides rest to your brothers, just as he has provided for you. And they, too, shall possess the land, which he will give to them beyond the Jordan. Then each one shall return to his possession, which I have allotted to you.’

21 Likewise, I instructed Joshua at that time, saying: ‘Your eyes have seen what the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So also will he do to all the kingdoms through which you shall pass.

22 You should not fear them. For the Lord your God will fight on your behalf.’

23 And I beseeched the Lord at that time, saying:

24 ‘Lord God, you have begun to reveal your greatness and your very strong hand to your servant. For there is no other god, either in heaven or on earth, who is able to accomplish your works, or to be compared to your strength.

25 Therefore, I will cross over, and I will view this excellent land beyond the Jordan, and this singular mountain, and Lebanon.’

26 And the Lord became angry with me because of you, and he would not heed me. But he said to me: ‘It is enough for you. You shall no longer speak to me at all about this matter.

27 Ascend to the summit of Pisgah, and look around with your eyes to the west, and to the north, and to the south, and to the east, and behold it. For you shall not cross this Jordan.

28 Instruct Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him. For he shall go before this people, and he shall distribute to them the land that you will see.’

29 And we remained in the valley, opposite the shrine of Peor.”

1 “And now, O Israel, listen to the precepts and judgments which I am teaching to you, so that, by doing these, you may live, and you may enter and possess the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, will give to you.

2 You shall not add to the word which I speak to you, neither shall you take away from it. Preserve the commandments of the Lord your God which I am teaching to you.

3 Your eyes have seen all that the Lord has done against Baal-peor, in what manner he has crushed all of his worshippers from among you.

4 But you who adhere to the Lord your God are all still alive, to the present day.

5 You know that I have taught you precepts as well as justices, just as the Lord my God has commanded me. And so shall you do in the land that you will possess.

6 And you shall observe and fulfill these in practice. For this is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, so that, upon hearing all these precepts, they may say: ‘Lo, a wise and understanding people, a great nation.’

7 Neither is there any other nation so great, which has its gods so near to them, as our God is present to all our petitions.

8 For what other nation is there so renowned as to have ceremonies, and just judgments, and the entire law that I will set forth today before your eyes?

9 And so, guard yourself and your soul carefully. You should not forget the words that your eyes have seen, and do not let them be cut away from your heart, throughout all the days of your life. You shall teach them to your sons and to your grandsons,

10 from the day on which you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord spoke to me, saying: ‘Gather the people to me, so that they may listen to my words, and may learn to fear me, throughout all the time that they are alive on earth, and so that they may teach their children.’

11 And you approached the base of the mountain, which was burning even toward heaven. And there was a darkness upon it, and a cloud, and a mist.

12 And the Lord spoke to you from the midst of fire. You heard the voice of his words, but you did not see any form at all.

13 And he revealed his covenant to you, which he instructed you to carry out, and the ten words which he wrote on two tablets of stone.

14 And he commanded me, at that time, that I should teach you the ceremonies and judgments which you must carry out, in the land that you shall possess.

15 And so, guard your souls carefully. You saw no likeness on the day that the Lord God spoke to you on Horeb from the midst of fire.

16 Otherwise, perhaps being deceived, you might have made a graven image, or an image of male or female,

17 a likeness of any of the beasts, which are upon the earth, or of birds, which fly under heaven,

18 or of reptiles, which move across the earth, or of fish, which abide in the waters under the earth.

19 Otherwise, perhaps lifting up your eyes to heaven, you might look upon the sun and the moon and all the stars of heaven, and being deceived by error, you might adore and worship these things, which the Lord your God created for the service of all the nations, which are under heaven.

20 But the Lord has taken you up, and led you away from the iron furnaces of Egypt, in order to have a people of inheritance, just as it is to the present day.

21 And the Lord became angry against me because of your words, and he swore that I would not cross over the Jordan, nor enter into the excellent land, which he will give to you.

22 Behold, I shall die on this soil. I shall not cross over the Jordan. You shall cross it, and you shall possess the singular land.

23 Be careful, lest you at sometime forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he has formed with you, and lest you make for yourselves a graven likeness of those things which the Lord has prohibited to be made.

24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

25 When you will have conceived sons and grandsons while abiding in the land, and if, having been deceived, you make for yourselves any likeness, accomplishing evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to wrath,

26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses this day, that you shall quickly perish from the land, which, when you have crossed over the Jordan, you will possess. You will not live in it for a long time; instead, the Lord will destroy you.

27 And he will scatter you among all the nations, and few of you will remain among those nations, to which the Lord will lead you.

28 And there, you will serve gods which were fabricated by the hands of men: gods of wood and of stone, who neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

29 And when you will seek the Lord your God in that place, you shall find him, if only you seek him with all your heart, and in all the tribulation of your soul.

30 After all these things which have been foretold have found you, in the end time, you shall return to the Lord your God, and you will hear his voice.

31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not abandon you, nor will he entirely destroy you, nor will he forget the covenant, which he swore to your fathers.

32 Inquire concerning the days of antiquity, which were before you, from the day when God created man upon the earth, from one end of heaven to another, if anything similar has ever occurred, or whether any such thing has ever been known,

33 that a people would hear the voice of God, speaking from the midst of fire, just as you have heard it, and live,

34 whether God has acted so as to enter and take for himself a nation from the midst of the nations, by means of tests, signs, and wonders, by means of fighting, and a strong hand, and an outstretched arm, and terrible visions, in accord with all the things which the Lord your God has accomplished for you in Egypt, in the sight of your eyes.

35 So may you know that the Lord himself is God, and there is no other beside him.

36 He has caused you to hear his voice from heaven, so that he might teach you. And he showed you his exceedingly great fire on earth, and you heard his words from the midst of the fire.

37 For he loved your fathers, and he chose their offspring after them. And he led you away from Egypt, advancing before you with his great power,

38 so as to wipe away, upon your arrival, nations, very great and stronger than you, and so as to lead you in, and to present to you their land as a possession, just as you discern in the present day.

39 Therefore, know on this day and consider in your heart, that the Lord himself is God in heaven above, and on earth below, and there is no other.

40 Keep his precepts and commandments, which I am teaching to you, so that it may be well with you, and with your sons after you, and so that you may remain for a long time upon the land, which the Lord your God will give to you.”

41 Then Moses set aside three cities, across the Jordan toward the eastern region,

42 so that anyone might flee to these if he has killed his neighbor unwillingly, who was not his enemy a day or two earlier, and so that he would be able to escape to one of these cities:

43 Bezer in the wilderness, which is situated in the plains of the tribe of Ruben; and Ramoth in Gilead, which is in the tribe of Gad; and Golan in Bashan, which is in the tribe of Manasseh.

44 This is the law, which Moses set forth before the sons of Israel.

45 And these are the testimonies and ceremonies as well as judgments, which he spoke to the sons of Israel, when they departed from Egypt,

46 across the Jordan, in the valley opposite the shrine of Peor, in the land of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses struck down. Accordingly, the sons of Israel, having departed from Egypt,

47 possessed his land, and the land of Og, the king of Bashan, the land of the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun:

48 from Aroer, which is situated above the bank of the torrent Arnon, as far as Mount Zion, which is also called Hermon,

49 the entire plain across the Jordan, from its eastern region, as far as the sea of the wilderness, and even to the base of Mount Pisgah.

1 And Moses summoned all of Israel, and he said to them: “Listen, O Israel, to the ceremonies and judgments, which I am speaking to your ears on this day. Learn them, and fulfill them in deed.

2 The Lord our God formed a covenant with us at Horeb.

3 He did not make the covenant with our fathers, but with us, who are alive and in the present time.

4 He spoke to us face to face on the mountain, from the midst of fire.

5 I was the mediator, for I was in the middle between the Lord and you, at that time, to announce his words to you. For you were afraid of the fire, and so you did not ascend to the mountain. And he said:

6 ‘I am the Lord your God, who led you away from the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude.

7 You shall not have strange gods in my sight.

8 You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor the likeness of anything, which is in heaven above, or on earth below, or which abides in the waters under the earth.

9 You shall not adore and you shall not worship these things. For I am the Lord your God, a jealous God, repaying the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation to those who hate me,

10 and acting with mercy in thousands of ways to those who love me and keep my precepts.

11 You shall not use the name of the Lord your God in vain. For he will not go unpunished who takes up his name over an unimportant matter.

12 Observe the day of the Sabbath, so that you may sanctify it, just as the Lord your God has instructed you.

13 For six days, you shall labor and do all your work.

14 The seventh is the day of the Sabbath, that is, the rest of the Lord your God. You shall not do any work in it, nor shall your son, nor daughter, nor man servant, nor woman servant, nor ox, nor donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor the sojourner who is within your gates, so that your men and woman servants may rest, just as you do.

15 Remember that you also were servants in Egypt, and the Lord your God led you away from that place with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Because of this, he has instructed you so that you would observe the Sabbath day.

16 Honor your father and mother, just as the Lord your God has instructed you, so that you may live a long time, and so that it may be well with you in the land, which the Lord your God will give to you.

17 You shall not murder.

18 And you shall not commit adultery.

19 And you shall not commit theft.

20 Neither shall you speak false testimony against your neighbor.

21 You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his house, nor his field, nor his man servant, nor his woman servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything out of all that is his.’

22 The Lord spoke these words to the entire multitude of you on the mountain, from the midst of the fire and the cloud and the darkness, with a loud voice, adding nothing more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone, which he delivered to me.

23 Then, after you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, and you saw the mountain burning, you approached me, all you leaders of the tribes and those greater by birth. And you said:

24 ‘Behold, the Lord our God has revealed to us his majesty and his greatness. We have heard his voice from the midst of fire, and we have proven today that, though God is speaking with man, man has lived.

25 Therefore, why should we die, and why should this very great fire devour us? For if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, we will die.

26 What is all flesh, that it would hear the voice of the living God, who speaks from the midst of fire, just as we have heard it, and be able to live?

27 Instead, you should approach and listen to all the things that the Lord our God will say to you. And you will speak to us, and we will listen and do these things.’

28 But when the Lord had heard this, he said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they spoke to you. All this, they have spoken well.

29 Who will grant to them to have such a mind, so that they may fear me, and may keep all my commandments at all times, so that it may be well with them and with their sons forever?

30 Go and say to them: Return to your tents.

31 But as for you, stand here with me, and I will speak to you all my commandments and ceremonies, as well as judgments. These, you shall teach them, so that they may do them in the land, which I will give to them as a possession.

32 And so, keep and do the things which the Lord God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left.

33 For you shall walk in the way that the Lord your God has instructed, so that you may live, and it may be well with you, and your days may be extended in the land of your possession.’ “

1 “These are the precepts and ceremonies, as well as the judgments, which the Lord your God has commanded that I teach to you, which you shall do in the land to which you will travel in order to possess it.

2 So may you fear the Lord your God, and keep all his commandments and precepts, which I am entrusting to you, and to your sons and grandsons, all the days of your life, so that your days may be prolonged.

3 Listen and observe, O Israel, so that you may do just as the Lord has instructed you, and it may be well with you, and you may be multiplied all the more, for the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.

4 Listen, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord.

5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.

6 And these words, which I instruct to you this day, shall be in your heart.

7 And you shall explain them to your sons. And you shall meditate upon them sitting in your house, and walking on a journey, when lying down and when rising up.

8 And you shall bind them like a sign on your hand, and they shall be placed and shall move between your eyes.

9 And you shall write them at the threshold and on the doors of your house.

10 And when the Lord your God will have led you into the land, about which he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and when he will have given to you great and excellent cities, which you did not build;

11 houses full of goods, which you did not amass; cisterns, which you did not dig; vineyards and olive groves, which you did not plant;

12 and when you will have eaten and been satisfied:

13 take care diligently, lest you forget the Lord, who led you away from the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude. You shall fear the Lord your God, and you shall serve him alone, and you shall swear by his name.

14 You shall not go after the strange gods of all the Gentiles, who are around you.

15 For the Lord your God is a jealous God in your midst. Otherwise, at sometime, the fury of the Lord your God may be enraged against you, and he may take you away from the face of the earth.

16 You shall not tempt the Lord your God, as you tempted him in the place of temptation.

17 Keep the precepts of the Lord your God, as well as the testimonies and ceremonies, which he has instructed to you.

18 And do what is pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord, so that it may be well with you, and so that, when you enter, you may possess the excellent land, about which the Lord swore to your fathers

19 that he would wipe away all your enemies before you, just as he has spoken.

20 And when your son will ask you tomorrow, saying: ‘What do these testimonies and ceremonies and judgments mean, which the Lord our God has entrusted to us?’

21 You shall say to him: ‘We were servants of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord led us away from Egypt with a strong hand.

22 And he wrought signs and wonders, great and very grievous, in Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his house, in our sight.

23 And he led us away from that place, so that he might lead us in and give us the land, about which he swore to our fathers.

24 And the Lord instructed us that we should do all these ordinances, and that we should fear the Lord our God, so that it may be well with us all the days of our life, just as it is today.

25 And he will be merciful to us, if we keep and perform all his precepts, in the sight of the Lord our God, just as he has commanded us.’ “

1 “When the Lord your God will have led you to the land, which you will enter so as to possess it, and when he will have destroyed many nations before you, the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven nations much more numerous than you, and more robust than you,

2 and when the Lord your God will have delivered them to you, you shall strike them down unto utter annihilation. You shall not enter into a pact with them, nor shall you show any pity to them.

3 And you shall not associate with them in marriage. You shall not give your daughter to his son, nor accept his daughter for your son.

4 For she will seduce your son, so that he will not follow me, and so that he will instead serve foreign gods. And the fury of the Lord will be enraged, and he will quickly destroy you.

5 So instead, you shall do this to them: overturn their altars, and break their statues, and cut down their sacred groves, and burn up their graven images.

6 For you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you so that you would be his particular people out of all the peoples who are upon the earth.

7 It is not because you surpass all the nations in number that the Lord has joined with you and has chosen you, for you are the least numerous of any people.

8 But it is because the Lord has loved you, and has kept his oath, which he swore to your fathers. And he has led you away with a strong hand, and he has redeemed you from the house of servitude, from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

9 And you shall know that the Lord your God himself is a strong and faithful God, preserving his covenant and his mercy for those who love him and those who keep his precepts for a thousand generations,

10 and promptly repaying those who hate him, so as to utterly ruin them, without further delay, quickly rendering to them what they deserve.

11 Therefore, keep the precepts and ceremonies as well as the judgments, which I command to you this day, so that you may do them.

12 If, after you have heard these judgments, you keep and do them, the Lord your God will also keep his covenant with you and the mercy that he swore to your fathers.

13 And he will love you and multiply you. And he will bless the fruit of your womb, and the fruit of your land: your grain as well as your vintage, oil, and herds, and the flocks of your sheep, upon the land about which he swore to your fathers that he would give it to you.

14 Blessed shall you be among all peoples. No one will be barren among you of either gender, as much among men as among your herds.

15 The Lord will take all sickness away from you. And the very grievous infirmities of Egypt, which you have known, he will not bring upon you, but upon your enemies.

16 You shall devour all the peoples, which the Lord your God will deliver to you. Your eye shall not spare them, neither shall you serve their gods, lest they be your ruin.

17 If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are more than I am, so how will I be able to destroy them?’

18 do not be apprehensive. Instead, recall what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the Egyptians:

19 the very great plagues, which your eyes saw, and the signs and wonders, and the powerful hand and outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God led you away. So will he do to all the peoples, whom you dread.

20 Moreover, the Lord your God will also send hornets among them, until he destroys and scatters all who have escaped from you, or who have been able to hide.

21 You shall not fear them, for the Lord your God is in your midst: a great and terrible God.

22 He himself will consume these nations in your sight, a little at a time, by degrees. You will not be able to destroy them all at once. Otherwise, the wild beasts of the earth might increase against you.

23 And so, the Lord your God will present them in your sight, and you shall slay them until they are thoroughly wiped away.

24 And he shall deliver their kings into your hands, and you shall abolish their names from under heaven. No one will be able to withstand you, until you crush them.

25 Their graven images, you shall burn with fire. You shall not covet the silver or gold from which they have been made. And you shall not take for yourself anything from these, lest you offend, because this is an abomination to the Lord your God.

26 Neither shall you carry anything of the idol into your house, lest you become accursed, just as it also is. You shall detest it like dung, and you shall abominate it like defilement and filth, because it is an accursed thing.”