Preamble

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all of Israel on the other side of[fn] the Jordan in the desert,[fn] in the desert plateau[fn] opposite Suph, between Paran and between Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab. 2 It is a journey of eleven days[fn] from Herob by the way of Mount Seir[fn] up to Kadesh Barnea.

3 And it was[fn] in the fortieth year, on the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the Israelites[fn] according to all that Yahweh had instructed him to speak to them. 4 This happened after defeating[fn] Sihon king of the Amorites, who was reigning[fn] in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who was reigning[fn] in Ashtaroth in Edrei. 5 On the other side of[fn] the Jordan in the land of Moab Moses began to explain this law,[fn] saying:[fn]

Historical Prologue

6 “Yahweh our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying,[fn] ‘You have stayed long enough[fn] at this mountain. 7 Turn now and move on,[fn] and go into the hill of the Amorites[fn] and to all of the neighboring regions[fn] in the Jordan Valley[fn] in the hill country and in the Negev and in the coastal area along the sea, into the land of the Canaanites[fn] and into the Lebanon, as far as the great river Euphrates. 8 Look, I have set the land before you;[fn] go and take possession of the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors,[fn] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give it to them and to their offspring after them.’

9 “And I spoke to them at that time, saying,[fn] ‘I am not able to bear you alone. 10 Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and look; you are today as the stars of the heaven in number.[fn] 11 Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,[fn] may he add to you as you are now a thousand times, and may he bless you just as he promised you.[fn] 12 How can I bear you by myself,[fn] your burden and your load and your strife? 13 Choose for yourselves wise and discerning and knowledgeable men[fn] for each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’

14 “And you answered me, and you said, ‘The thing you have said to do is good.’ 15 And so I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and then I appointed them as leaders over you as commanders of groups of thousands and commanders of groups of hundreds and commanders of groups of fifties and commanders of groups of tens as officials for your tribes. 16 And at that time I instructed your judges, saying, ‘hear out your fellow men,[fn] and then judge fairly[fn] between a man and between his brother and between his opponent who is a resident alien.[fn] 17 You must not be partial[fn] in your judgment;[fn] hear out the small person as also the great person; do not be intimidated by any person,[fn] because the judgment is God’s; and the case that is too difficult[fn] for you, bring it to me, and I will hear it out.’ 18 And so I instructed you at that time concerning all of the things that you should do.

19 “Then we set out from Horeb, and we went through the whole of that great and terrible desert that you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites[fn] as Yahweh our God had commanded us, and so we came up to Kadesh Barnea. 20 I said to you, ‘You have reached[fn] the hill country of the Amorites[fn] that Yahweh our God is giving to us. 21 See, Yahweh your God has set before you the land; go up and possess it as Yahweh the God of your ancestors[fn] said to you; do not fear and do not be dismayed.’

22 “Then all of you approached me, and you said, ‘Let us send men before us,[fn] and let them explore the land for us, and let them bring back a report[fn] to us concerning the way that we should take[fn] and concerning the cities that we shall come to.’ 23 The plan was good in my opinion,[fn] and so I took from among you twelve men, one from each tribe.[fn] 24 And they set out[fn] and went up into the hill country,[fn] and they went up to the wadi[fn] of Eschol, and they spied out the land. 25 They took in their hands[fn] some of the fruit[fn] of the land, and they brought it down to us, and they brought to us back a report,[fn] and they said, ‘The land that Yahweh our God is giving to us is good.’ 26 But you were not willing to go up, and you rebelled against the command[fn] of Yahweh your God. 27 And you grumbled in your tents, and you said, ‘Because of the hatred of Yahweh toward us he has brought us out from the land of Egypt to give us into the hand of the Amorites[fn] to destroy us. 28 Where can we go up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt,[fn] saying,[fn] “The people are greater[fn] and taller than we are,[fn] and there are great fortified cities reaching up to heaven, and we saw the sons of the Anakites living there.” ’

29 “And so I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, and do not fear them. 30 Yahweh your God, who is going before you,[fn] will himself[fn] fight for you, just as[fn] he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and just as he did in the wilderness[fn] when[fn] you saw that[fn] Yahweh your God carried you, just as someone[fn] carries his son, all along the way that you traveled until you reached[fn] this place.’ 32 But through all of this you did not trust in Yahweh your God, 33 who goes[fn] before you[fn] on your[fn] way, seeking a place for your encampment, in fire at night and in a cloud by day, to show you the way that you should go.[fn]

34 “Then Yahweh heard the sound of your words, and he was angry, and he swore, saying,[fn] 35 ‘No one of these men[fn] of this evil generation will see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors,[fn] 36 except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh; he himself[fn] shall see it, and to him I will give the land upon which he has trodden and to his sons[fn] because he followed Yahweh unreservedly.’[fn] 37 Even with me Yahweh was angry because of you, saying, ‘Not even you shall enter there. 38 Joshua, the son of Nun, your assistant,[fn] will go there; encourage him because he will cause Israel to inherit it. 39 And your little children, who you thought shall become plunder, and your sons, who do not today know good or bad, shall themselves[fn] go there, and I will give it to them, and they shall take possession of it. 40 But you turn and set out in the direction of the wilderness by way of the Red Sea.’[fn]

41 “You replied and said to me, ‘We have sinned against Yahweh, and now we will go up and fight according to all that Yahweh our God commanded us’; and so each man fastened on his battle gear,[fn] and you regarded it as easy to go up into the hill country. 42 So Yahweh said to me, ‘Say to them, “You shall not go up, and you shall not fight because I am not in your midst; you will be defeated before[fn] your enemies.” ’ 43 So I spoke to you, but you did not listen; you rebelled against the command of Yahweh;[fn] you behaved presumptuously, and you went up into the hill country. 44 The Amorites living in the hill country went out to oppose you[fn] and chased you as a swarm of wild honey bees do; and so they beat[fn] you down in Seir as far as Hormah. 45 So you returned and wept before Yahweh;[fn] but Yahweh did not listen to your voice and did not pay any attention to you. 46 You stayed in Kadesh many days; such were the days that you stayed there.

2 “Then we turned and set out toward the wilderness[fn] in the direction of the Red Sea,[fn] as Yahweh told me, and we went around Mount Seir for many days. 2 Yahweh spoke to me, saying,[fn] 3 ‘Long enough you have been skirting this mountain; turn yourselves north, 4 and instruct[fn] the people, saying,[fn] “You are about to cross through the territory of your brothers, the descendants[fn] of Esau, who are living in Seir; they will be afraid of you, and so be very careful. 5 Do not get involved in battle[fn] with them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a foot’s breadth[fn] of it; since I have given Mount Seir as a possession for Esau. 6 You shall buy food from them so that you may eat; and also you shall purchase water from them with money so that you may drink. 7 The fact of the matter is, Yahweh your God has blessed you in all the work you have done;[fn] he knows your travels[fn] with respect to this great wilderness; forty years Yahweh your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.” ’ 8 And so we passed by our brothers, the descendants[fn] of Esau, who live in Seir, past the road of the Arabah,[fn] from Elath and Ezion Geber, and we turned and traveled along the route of the desert[fn] of Moab.

9 And Yahweh said to me, ‘You shall not attack Moab, and you shall not engage in war[fn] with them, for I will not give you any of his land as a possession; I have given Ar to the descendants[fn] of Lot as a possession.’ 10 (The Emim previously lived in it, a people large,[fn] numerous, and tall, like the Anakites. 11 They were reckoned also as Rephaim as the Anakites were; but the Moabites called them Emim. 12 The Horites previously lived in Seir, but the descendants[fn] of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from among themselves,[fn] as Israel did with respect to the land of their[fn] possession that Yahweh gave to them.) 13 So now arise and cross over the wadi[fn] of Zered yourselves; and so we crossed the wadi[fn] of Zered. 14 Now the length of time[fn] that we had traveled from Kadesh Barnea until the time when we crossed the wadi[fn] of Zered was thirty-eight years, until the perishing of all of that generation; that is, the men of war from the midst of the camp as Yahweh had sworn to them. 15 The hand of Yahweh was against them to root them out from the midst of the camp until they perished completely.

16 “And then[fn] when all the men of war[fn] had died[fn] from among the people, 17 Yahweh spoke to me, saying,[fn] 18 ‘You are about to cross over the boundary of Moab today[fn] at Ar. 19 When you approach the border of[fn] the Ammonites,[fn] you shall not harass them, and you shall not get involved in battle with them, for I have not given the land of the Ammonites[fn] to you as a possession; because I have given it to the descendants[fn] of Lot as a possession. 20 (It is also considered the land of Rephaim; Rephaim lived in it previously,[fn] and the Ammonites called them Zamzummim, 21 a people great and numerous and as tall as the Anakites; Yahweh destroyed them from before them,[fn] and they dispossessed them and settled in place of them, 22 just as he did for the descendants[fn] of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them[fn] and dispossessed them, and then they settled in their[fn] place up to this day. 23 And also the Avvites, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, and the Caphtorim, who came out from Caphtor, destroyed them and then settled in their place. 24 Arise,[fn] set out and cross over the wadi[fn] of Arnon. Look! I have given Sihon the Amorite, the king of Heshbon, and his land into your hand; begin to take possession of it, and engage with him in battle. 25 This day I will begin to place the dread of you[fn] and the fear of you before[fn] the peoples under all the heavens. They will hear the report about you,[fn] and so they will shake and tremble because of you.’[fn]

26 “So I sent messengers from the wilderness[fn] of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon; I sent terms of peace, saying,[fn] 27 ‘Let me cross through your land and only along the road[fn] I will go; I will not turn aside to the right or to the left. 28 Food for money you shall sell me, so that I may eat, and water for money you will give to me, so that I may drink; just let me cross on foot. 29 Just as the descendants[fn] of Esau did for me, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, until I cross the Jordan into the land that Yahweh our God is giving to us.’ 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing to let us cross through his territory because Yahweh your God hardened his spirit and made him obstinate[fn] in order to give him[fn] into your hand, just as he has now done.[fn] 31 Yahweh said to me, ‘Look! I have begun to give over to you[fn] Sihon and his land; begin to take possession of his land.’[fn] 32 Then Sihon and all his people came out to meet us for battle at Jahaz. 33 And so Yahweh our God gave him over to us,[fn] and we struck him down, and his sons[fn] and all of his people. 34 So we captured all of his cities at that time, and we destroyed each town of males and the women and the children; we did not leave behind a survivor. 35 We took only the livestock as spoil for ourselves,[fn] and also the booty of the cities that we had captured. 36 From Aroer, which is on the edge of the wadi[fn] of Arnon and the city that was in the wadi[fn] on up to Gilead, there was not a city that was inaccessible to us; Yahweh our God gave everything[fn] to us.[fn] 37 Only the land of the Ammonites[fn] you did not approach, all along the whole upper region of the Jabbok River[fn] and the towns of the hill country, according to all that Yahweh our God had instructed.

3 “Then we turned, and we went up the road to Bashan, and Og the king of Bashan came out to meet us, he and all of his army for the battle at Edrei. 2 And Yahweh said to me, ‘You should not fear him, for I have given him and all of his army[fn] and his land into your hand. And so you will do to him as you did to Sihon the king of the Amorites,[fn] who was reigning in Heshbon.’ 3 And so Yahweh our God also gave Og the king of Bashan, and all of his army[fn] into our hand, and we struck him down until not a survivor remained to[fn] him. 4 And we captured all of his towns[fn] at that time; there was not a city that we did not take from them. 5 All of these were fortified towns with high walls, gates, and bars,[fn] apart from[fn] very many of the villages of the open country. 6 And so we destroyed them just as we had done to Sihon the king of Heshbon; we destroyed utterly each town of males, the women, and the little children. 7 But all of the livestock and the booty of the towns we kept as spoil for ourselves.[fn]

8 “And so we took at that time the land from the control of[fn] the two kings of the Amorites[fn] who were on the other side of the Jordan,[fn] from the wadi[fn] of Arnon up to Mount Hermon.[fn] 9 (The Sidonians called Hermon ‘Sirion,’ and the Amorites called it ‘Senir.’) 10 All of the towns of the plateau and the whole of Gilead and all of Bashan up to Salecah and Edrei, the towns of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11 (For only Og, king of Bashan, was left from the remnant of the Rephaim. Indeed, his bedstead—it was a bedstead of iron. It is in Rabbah of the Ammonites.[fn] Nine cubits is its length, and four cubits is its width according to the cubit of a man.)

12 And so we took possession of this land at that time, from Aroer, which is on the edge of the wadi[fn] of Arnon, and also half of the hill country of Gilead and its towns I gave to the Reubenites[fn] and to the Gadites.[fn] 13 And the remainder of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh, the whole region of Argo. All of that area of Bashan was called the land of the Rephaim. 14 Jair the descendant[fn] of Manasseh acquired the whole region of Argob, up to the boundary of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and he called it,[fn] that is Bashan, after his own name, Havvoth Jair, as it still is today.[fn] 15 And also I gave Gilead to Makir. 16 And to the Reubenites[fn] and to the Gadites[fn] I gave, from Gilead up to the wadi[fn] of Arnon, the middle of the wadi[fn] as a boundary and up to the Jabbok River,[fn] the boundary of the Ammonites.[fn] 17 And the Jordan Valley[fn] with the Jordan River as its boundary, from Kinnereth[fn] up to the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea,[fn] with the slopes of Pisgah toward the east.

18 “And I charged you all at that time when I said, “Yahweh has given you—to all of you—this land to possess. All the warriors[fn] shall cross over, ready to fight, before your brothers, the Israelites.[fn] 19 Only your wives and your little children and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock)[fn] must stay in your towns that I have given you, 20 until Yahweh shall give rest to your brothers as he did to you, and also they take possession of the land that Yahweh your God is giving to them beyond the Jordan; then they may return, each one to his possession that I have given to them. 21 And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes see all that Yahweh your God has done to these two kings; so Yahweh will do to all of the kingdoms where you are about to cross over to. 22 You shall not fear them, for Yahweh your God is the one fighting for you.

23 “And I pleaded with Yahweh at that time, saying, 24 ‘Lord Yahweh, you have begun to show your servant your greatness and your strong hand, for what[fn] god is there in the heaven or on the earth who can do according to your works and according to your mighty deeds? 25 Let me cross over, please, and let me see the good land that is beyond the Jordan,[fn] this good hill country and Lebanon.’ 26 But Yahweh was very angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me, and Yahweh said, ‘Enough of that from you![fn] You shall not speak to me any longer about this matter! 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and look around you[fn] toward the west, toward the north, and toward the east, and view[fn] the land with your eyes, for you will not cross this Jordan. 28 Now instruct Joshua and support him and encourage him because he himself[fn] will cross over before this people and enable them to inherit the land that you will see.’ 29 So we remained in the valley opposite Beth Peor.

Introduction to the Stipulations

4 “Now, Israel, listen to the rules and to the regulations that I am teaching you to do, in order that you may live and you may go in and you may take possession of the land that Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,[fn] is giving to you. 2 You must not add to the word that I am commanding you, and you shall not take away from it in order to keep[fn] the commands of Yahweh your God that I am commanding you to observe. 3 Your eyes have seen[fn] what Yahweh did with[fn] the case of Baal Peor, for each[fn] man that followed after Baal Peor Yahweh your God destroyed from your midst. 4 But you, the ones holding fast to Yahweh your God, are all alive today.[fn]

5 See, I now teach[fn] you rules and regulations just as Yahweh my God has commanded me, to observe them just so in the midst of the land where you are going, to take possession of it. 6 And you must observe them diligently,[fn] for that is your wisdom and your insight before the eyes of the people, who will hear all of these rules, and they will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people.’ 7 For what great nation has for it a god near to it as Yahweh our God, whenever[fn] we call upon him? 8 And what other great nation has for it[fn] just rules and regulations just like[fn] this whole[fn] law that I am setting before[fn] you today?[fn]

9 “However, take care[fn] for yourself and watch your inner self[fn] closely, so that you do not forget the things that your eyes have seen, so that they do not slip from your mind all the days of your life; and you shall make them known to your children and to your grandchildren.[fn] 10 Remember the day that you stood before[fn] Yahweh your God at Horeb when Yahweh said to me,[fn] ‘Summon for me the people so that I can tell them my words, that they may learn to fear me all of the days they are alive on the earth and so that they may teach their children.’ 11 And so you came near, and you stood under the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire up to the heart of the heaven, dark with a very thick cloud.[fn] 12 And Yahweh spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard[fn] a sound of words, but you did not see[fn] a form—only a voice. 13 And he declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments,[fn] which he charged you to observe,[fn] and he wrote them on the two tablets of stone. 14 And Yahweh charged me at that time to teach you rules and regulations for your observation of them[fn] in the land that you are about to cross into[fn] to take possession of it.

15 “So you must be very careful for yourselves,[fn] because you did not see[fn] any form on the day Yahweh spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, 16 so that you do not ruin yourselves[fn] and make for yourselves a divine image in a form of any image, a replica of male or female, 17 a replica of any animal that is upon the earth, a replica of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 a replica of any creeping thing on the ground, a replica of any fish that is in the water below[fn] the earth. 19 And do this so that you do not lift[fn] your eyes toward heaven and observe[fn] the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of the heaven, and be led astray and bow down to them and serve them, things that Yahweh your God has allotted to all of the peoples under all of the heaven. 20 But Yahweh has taken you and brought you out from the furnace of iron, from Egypt, to be a people of inheritance to[fn] him, as it is this day.[fn]

21 “And Yahweh was angry with me because of you,[fn] and he swore that I would not cross the Jordan[fn] and that I would not go to the good land[fn] that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance. 22 For I am going to die in this land; I am not going to cross the Jordan, but you are going to cross, and you are going to take possession of this good land. 23 Watch out for yourselves so that you do not forget the covenant of Yahweh your God that he had made[fn] with you and make for yourselves a divine image of the form of anything that Yahweh your God has forbidden,[fn] 24 for Yahweh your God is a devouring fire, a jealous[fn] God.

25 “When you have had children and grandchildren[fn] and you have grown old in the land and you act corruptly and you make a divine image of the form of anything and you do evil in the eyes of Yahweh your God, thus provoking him to anger, 26 I call[fn] to witness against you today the heaven and the earth, that you will perish soon and completely from the land that you are crossing the Jordan into it to take possession of it; you will not live long on it,[fn] but you will be completely destroyed. 27 And Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number[fn] among the nations to where Yahweh will lead you.[fn] 28 And you will there serve gods made by human hands,[fn] of wood and stone, gods that cannot see and cannot hear and cannot eat and cannot smell. 29 But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God and will find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.[fn] 30 In your distress[fn] when[fn] all these things have found you in the latter days,[fn] then[fn] you will return to Yahweh your God, and you will listen to his voice. 31 For Yahweh your God is a compassionate God; he will not abandon you,[fn] and he will not destroy you, and he will not forget the covenant of your ancestors[fn] that he swore to them.

32 “Yes, ask, please, about former days that preceded you[fn] from the day that God created humankind on the earth; ask even from one end of the heaven up to the other end of heaven whether anything ever happened[fn] like this great thing or whether anything like it was ever heard.[fn] 33 Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, just as you heard it, and lived? 34 Or has a god ever attempted to go to take for himself[fn] a nation from the midst of a nation, using trials and signs and wonders and war, with an outstretched arm and with great and awesome deeds, like all that Yahweh your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 You yourselves[fn] were shown this wonder in order for you to acknowledge that Yahweh is the God;[fn] there is no other God besides him.[fn] 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to teach you, and on the earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from the midst of the fire. 37 And because he loved your ancestors[fn] he chose their descendants[fn] after them. And he brought you forth from Egypt with his own presence,[fn] by his great strength, 38 to drive out nations greater and more numerous than you from before you,[fn] to bring you and to give to you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. 39 So you shall acknowledge today,[fn] and you must call to mind[fn] that Yahweh is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. There is no other God. 40 And you shall keep his rules and his commandments that I am commanding you today,[fn] so that it may go well[fn] for you and for your children[fn] after you, and so that you may remain a long time[fn] on the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you during all of those days.”

41 Then Moses set apart three cities on the other side of the Jordan,[fn] toward the east,[fn] 42 in order for a manslayer[fn] to flee there who has killed his neighbor without intent[fn] and was not hating him previously,[fn] and so he could flee to one of these cities and be safe.[fn] 43 He set apart Bezer in the wilderness[fn] in the land of the plateau of the Reubenites;[fn] Ramoth in Gilead of the Gadites,[fn] and Golan in Bashan of the Manassites.[fn]

44 Now this is the law[fn] that Moses set before[fn] the Israelites;[fn] 45 these are the legal provisions and the rules and the regulations that Moses spoke to the Israelites[fn] when they left Egypt,[fn] 46 beyond the Jordan in the valley opposite Beth Peor in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites,[fn] who was reigning in Heshbon and whom Moses and the Israelites[fn] defeated when they came out of Egypt.[fn] 47 And so they took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites[fn] who were beyond the Jordan, eastward,[fn] 48 from Aroer, which is on the bank of the wadi[fn] of Arnon and as far as Mount Sirion; that is, Hermon, 49 and all of the Arabah[fn] beyond the Jordan, eastward, and as far as the Sea of the Arabah[fn] under the slopes of Pisgah.

Basic Stipulations

5 And then Moses summoned all of Israel and said to them, “Hear, Israel, the rules and the regulations that I am speaking in your ears today,[fn] and you shall learn them, and you must observe them diligently.[fn] 2 Yahweh our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our ancestors[fn] that Yahweh made this covenant, but with these of us who are here alive today. 4 Face to face[fn] Yahweh spoke with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire. 5 I was standing between Yahweh and you[fn] at that time to report[fn] to you the word of Yahweh, for you were afraid because of the presence of[fn] the fire, and so you did not go up the mountain. He said,[fn]

6 ‘I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 7 There shall not be for you other gods besides me.[fn]

8 ‘You shall not make for yourself a divine image of any type of form that is in the heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.

9 ‘You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, punishing the guilt of fathers upon their children and upon the third and upon the fourth generation of those hating me, 10 but showing loyal love to thousands of those who love me and of those who keep my commandments.

11 ‘You shall not take up the name of Yahweh your God for a worthless purpose, for Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who uses his name for a worthless purpose.

12 ‘Observe the Sabbath day[fn] to make it holy,[fn] just as Yahweh your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall work, and you shall do all of your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto Yahweh your God; you shall not do any work, or your son, or your daughter, or your slave, or your slave woman, or your ox, or your donkey, or any of your domestic animals, or your resident alien who is in your towns,[fn] so that your slave and your slave woman may rest as you rest. 15 And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm; therefore, Yahweh your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath.[fn]

16 ‘Honor your father and your mother, as Yahweh your God commanded you, so that it will be good for you[fn] in the land[fn] that Yahweh your God is giving to you.

17 ‘You shall not murder.

18 ‘And you shall not commit adultery.

19 ‘And you shall not steal.

20 ‘And you shall not falsely bear evidence against your neighbor.

21 ‘And you shall not covet the wife of your neighbor, and you shall not crave the house of your neighbor, his field or his slave or his slave woman or his ox and his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’[fn]

22 “These words Yahweh spoke to your whole assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire and the very thick cloud with a loud voice, and he did not add anything,[fn] and then he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 And then[fn] when you heard[fn] the voice from the midst of the darkness, and as the mountain was burning with fire, and and all the heads of your tribes and your elders approached me, 24 you said, ‘Look, Yahweh our God has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice from the midst of the fire; this day we have seen[fn] that God can speak with a human being, yet he remains alive.[fn] 25 And so then why shall we die, for this great fire will consume us if we continue[fn] to hear the voice of Yahweh our God any longer, and so we shall die? 26 For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire as we have heard it and remained alive?[fn] 27 You go near and hear everything[fn] that Yahweh our God will say; and then you tell us all that Yahweh our God tells you, and we will listen, and we will do it.’

28 “And Yahweh heard the sound of your words when you spoke to me,[fn] and Yahweh said to me, ‘I have heard the sound of the words of this people that they have spoken to you; they are right with respect to all that they have spoken. 29 If only[fn] they had such a mind’;[fn] that is, to fear me and to keep all my commandments at all times,[fn] so that it will go well[fn] for them and for their children forever.[fn] 30 Go! Say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But you stand here with me, and let me tell you all of the commandments and the rules and the regulations that you shall teach them, so that they may do them in the land that I am giving to them to take possession of it.’

32 “So you must be careful to do just as Yahweh your God commanded you; you shall not turn to the right or to the left. 33 In exactly the path[fn] that Yahweh your God has commanded, you must go, so that you may live and it will go well[fn] for you and you may live long[fn] in the land that you will take possession of.”

Detailed Stipulations

6 “Now this is the commandment, the rules and the regulations, that Yahweh your God charged to teach to you for you to observe[fn] in the land that you are about to cross over into[fn] to take possession of it, 2 so that you may revere Yahweh your God by keeping all his statutes and his commandments that I am commanding you, you and your children and grandchildren,[fn] all the days of your life and so you may live long[fn] lives. 3 And you shall hear, Israel, and be careful to observe these instructions, so that it may go well for you[fn] and that you may multiply greatly, just as Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,[fn] promised[fn] you, in a land with milk and honey.

4 “Hear, Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is unique.[fn] 5 And you shall love Yahweh your God with all of your heart[fn] and with all of your soul[fn] and with all of your might. 6 And these words that I am commanding you today[fn] shall be on[fn] your heart.[fn] 7 And you shall recite them to your children, and you shall talk about them at the time of your living in your house and at the time of your going on the road and at the time of your lying down and at the time of your rising up. 8 And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as an emblem between your eyes. 9 And you shall write them on the doorframe of your house and on your gates.

10 “And then it will happen that when Yahweh your God will bring you to the land that he swore to your ancestors,[fn] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to you large and fine cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all sorts of good things[fn] that you did not fill, and hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant, and you have eaten your fill,[fn] 12 then take care for yourself, so that you do not forget Yahweh, who brought you out from the land of Egypt from the house of slavery.

13 “You shall fear Yahweh your God, and you shall serve him, and by his name you shall swear. 14 You shall not go after other gods from the gods of the peoples who are all around you, 15 for Yahweh your God is a jealous god in your midst, so that the anger of Yahweh your God would be kindled,[fn] and he would destroy you from the face of the earth. 16 You shall not put Yahweh your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. 17 You shall diligently keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and his legal provisions and his rules that he has commanded you. 18 And you shall do what is right and good in the eyes of Yahweh, so that it shall go well[fn] for you and so that you may go and you may take possession of the good land that Yahweh swore for your ancestors,[fn] 19 by driving out all of your enemies before you,[fn] just as Yahweh has promised.[fn]

20 “When your child[fn] asks you in the future, saying,[fn] ‘What is the meaning of the legal provisions and the rules and the regulations that Yahweh our God commanded for you?’ 21 Then you shall say to your child,[fn] ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and Yahweh brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand. 22 And Yahweh gave great and awesome signs and wonders in Egypt against Pharaoh and against his entire household in our presence.[fn] 23 But he brought us out from there in order to bring us here to give us the land that he swore to our ancestors.[fn] 24 And so Yahweh commanded us to observe all of these rules and to revere Yahweh our God for our benefit[fn] all the days that we live,[fn] as it is today.[fn] 25 And it shall be righteousness for us if we diligently observe and do all of this commandment before[fn] Yahweh our God, as he has commanded us.’

7 “When Yahweh your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter into it[fn] to take possession of it, and he drives[fn] out many nations before you,[fn] the Hittites[fn] and the Girgashites[fn] and the Amorites[fn] and the Canaanites[fn] and the Hivites[fn] and the Jebusites,[fn] seven nations mightier and more numerous than you, 2 and Yahweh your God will give them over to you[fn] and you defeat them, you must utterly destroy them;[fn] you shall not make a covenant with them, and you shall not show mercy to them. 3 And you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughter to their son; and you shall not take his daughter for your son.[fn] 4 For their[fn] sons and daughters will cause your son[fn] to turn away from following me,[fn] and so they will serve other gods, and the anger of Yahweh would be kindled[fn] against you, and he would quickly destroy you. 5 But this is what you must do to them: you shall break down their altars, and their stone pillars you shall smash, and their Asherah poles you shall hew down, and you shall burn their idols with fire. 6 For you are a holy people for Yahweh your God; Yahweh your God has chosen you to be for him a people, a treasured possession from among all the peoples that are on the face[fn] of the earth.

7 “Yahweh loved you and chose you not because of your great number[fn] exceeding all other peoples, for you are fewer than all of the peoples, 8 but[fn] because of[fn] the love of Yahweh for you and because of his keeping of the sworn oath that he swore to your ancestors,[fn] Yahweh brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. 9 So know that Yahweh your God, he is God, the trustworthy God, maintaining his[fn] covenant and his[fn] loyal love with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments to a thousand generations,[fn] 10 but repaying those[fn] who hate him in their own person[fn] to destroy them;[fn] he is not slow with those who hate him in their own person;[fn] he repays them.[fn] 11 And so you shall keep the commandment and the rules and the regulations that I am commanding you today[fn] to observe them.

12 “And then[fn] because you listen to these regulations and you diligently keep and you do them, then Yahweh your God will maintain his[fn] covenant and his[fn] loyal love that he swore to your ancestors.[fn] 13 And he will love you, and he will bless you, and he will multiply you, and he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your soil, your grain, your wine, and your olive oil, and newborn calves of your cattle, and the newborn lambs[fn] of your flocks in the land that he swore to your ancestors[fn] to give you. 14 You shall be blessed more than all of the peoples; among you there shall not be sterility and bareness, even[fn] among domestic animals.[fn] 15 And Yahweh will turn away from you all the illness and all the harmful diseases of Egypt that you experienced; he will not lay them on you, but he will lay them on all of those who hate you. 16 And you shall devour all of the peoples that Yahweh your God is giving to you; you shall not pity them,[fn] and you shall not serve their gods, which will be a snare for you.

17 “If you think in your heart, ‘These nations are more numerous than I, so how can I dispossess them?’ 18 then remember you must not be afraid of them; you must well remember what Yahweh your God did to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt: 19 the great trials that your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the workings of the strong hand and the outstretched arm by which Yahweh your God brought you out; so Yahweh your God will do to all of the peoples because of whom[fn] you are in fear before them.[fn] 20 And, moreover, Yahweh your God will send the hornets[fn] among them until both the survivors and the fugitives are destroyed[fn] before you.[fn] 21 You must not be in dread from the presence of them, because Yahweh your God, who is in your midst, is a great and awesome God. 22 And Yahweh your God will clear away these nations from before you[fn] little by little; you will not be able to finish them off quickly, lest[fn] the wild animals[fn] multiply[fn] against you.[fn] 23 But Yahweh your God will give them to you,[fn] and he will throw them into great panic until they are destroyed.[fn] 24 And he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall blot out their names[fn] from under the heaven; anyone will not be able to stand against you[fn] until you destroy them.[fn] 25 You shall burn the images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, and so you take it for yourself, so that you are not ensnared by it, for it is a detestable thing to Yahweh your God. 26 And you must not bring a detestable thing into your house, or you will become a thing devoted to destruction like it; you must utterly detest it, and you must utterly abhor it, for it is an object devoted to destruction.

8 “All of the commandments[fn] that I am commanding you today you must diligently observe, so that you may live and multiply, and you may go and take possession of the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors.[fn] 2 And you shall remember all of the way that Yahweh your God led you during these forty years in the desert in order to humble you and to test you to know what is in your heart, whether you would diligently keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you go hungry, and then he fed you with that which you did not know nor did your ancestors[fn] know, in order to make you know that not by bread alone but by all that goes out[fn] of the mouth of Yahweh humankind shall live. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you,[fn] and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 And you should know with your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so Yahweh your God is disciplining you.[fn] 6 So you must keep the commandments of Yahweh your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. 7 For Yahweh your God is bringing you to a good land with streams of water, springs and underground water, welling up in the valleys[fn] and in the hills,[fn] 8 to a land of wheat and barley and vines[fn] and fig trees[fn] and pomegranate trees,[fn] a land of olive trees,[fn] olive oil and honey; 9 to a land where you may eat food in it without scarcity;[fn] you will not find anything lacking in it, a land where its stones are iron and from its mountains you can mine copper. 10 And you will eat, and you will be satisfied,[fn] and you will bless Yahweh your God because of the good land that he has given to you.

11 “Take care for yourself so that you not forget Yahweh your God by not keeping his commandments and his regulations and his statutes that I am commanding you today,[fn] 12 lest when you have eaten and you are satisfied and you have built good houses and you live in them, 13 and your herds and your flocks have multiplied, and you have accumulated silver and gold,[fn] and all that you have[fn] has multiplied, 14 then your heart becomes proud[fn] and you forget Yahweh your God, the one who brought you out[fn] from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, 15 the one leading you in the great and terrible desert infested with dangerous[fn] snakes[fn] and scorpions[fn] and parched ground, where there is[fn] no water, and the one bringing out water for you from flint rock, 16 the one feeding you[fn] manna in the desert, food that your ancestors[fn] did not know, in order to humble you and in order to test you so that he could do good to you in the future.[fn] 17 And you may think[fn] in your heart, ‘My strength and the might of my hand acquired this wealth for[fn] me.’ 18 But you must remember Yahweh your God, for he is the one giving you strength to acquire wealth in order to confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors[fn] as it is today.[fn] 19 And it will happen that if you indeed forget Yahweh your God and you go after other gods and you serve them and you bow down before them, I warn you today that you will surely perish. 20 As with the nations that Yahweh is destroying before you,[fn] so you shall perish because you would not obey the voice of Yahweh your God.

9 “Hear, Israel, you are about to cross the Jordan today to go to dispossess nations larger and more numerous than you, great cities fortified with high walls,[fn] 2 a great and tall people, the sons of the Anakites, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who could stand before the sons of Anak?’ 3 You should know today[fn] that Yahweh your God is the one crossing ahead of you[fn] as a devouring fire; he will destroy them, and he will subdue them before you; so you will dispossess them, and you will destroy them quickly, just as[fn] Yahweh promised[fn] you.

4 “You shall not say to yourself[fn] when Yahweh your God is driving them out[fn] before you,[fn] saying,[fn] ‘Because of my righteousness Yahweh brought me to take possession of this land’; but because of the wickedness of these nations Yahweh is driving them out before you.[fn] 5 It is not because of your righteousness and because of the uprightness of your heart that you are coming to take possession of their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations Yahweh your God is driving them before you,[fn] and in order to confirm the promise[fn] that Yahweh swore to your ancestors,[fn] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

6 “So you should understand that it is not because of your righteousness that Yahweh your God is giving you this good land to take possession of it, because you are a stubborn people.[fn] 7 Remember, do not forget,[fn] that you provoked Yahweh your God in the desert, and from the day that you went out from the land of Egypt until you came to this place[fn] you were rebelling against Yahweh.

8 “And remember at Horeb you provoked Yahweh, and Yahweh became angry enough to destroy you. 9 When I went up the mountain[fn] to receive the stone tablets,[fn] the tablets of the covenant that Yahweh made[fn] with you, and remained on the mountain forty days[fn] and forty nights,[fn] I did not eat food and I did not drink water. 10 And Yahweh gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them was writing according to all the words that Yahweh spoke with you at the mountain, from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11 And then[fn] at the end of forty days[fn] and forty nights,[fn] Yahweh gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12 And Yahweh said to me, ‘Come now, go down quickly from this mountain because your people behave corruptly whom you brought out from Egypt, for they turned quickly from the way that I commanded them to follow; they have made for themselves a cast image.’ 13 And Yahweh spoke to me, saying,[fn] ‘I have seen this people, and look! They are a stubborn people.[fn] 14 Leave me alone, and let me destroy them, and let me blot out their name from under heaven, and let me make you into a nation mightier and more numerous than they!’

15 “And I turned, and I went down the mountain, as the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 And I looked,[fn] and indeed you had sinned against Yahweh your God; you had made for yourselves an image of a calf of cast metal;[fn] you had turned quickly from the way that Yahweh had commanded for you. 17 And I took hold of the two tablets, and I threw them out of[fn] my two hands and smashed them before your eyes. 18 And then I lay prostrate before[fn] Yahweh, as earlier, forty days[fn] and forty nights;[fn] I did not eat food and I did not drink water because of all your sins that you committed, by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh and so provoking him. 19 For I was in dread[fn] from being in the presence of the anger and the wrath with which Yahweh was angry with you so as to destroy you, but Yahweh listened to me also at that time.[fn] 20 And with Aaron Yahweh was angry enough[fn] to destroy him, and I prayed also for Aaron at that time. 21 And your sinful thing that you had made, the molten calf, I took and I burned it with fire, and I crushed it, grinding it thoroughly until it was crushed to dust, and I threw its dust into the stream that flowed down the mountain.[fn]

22 “And also at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth Hattaavah you provoked Yahweh to anger. 23 And when Yahweh sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, saying,[fn] ‘Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,’ you rebelled against the command of Yahweh your God, and you did not believe him, and you did not listen to his voice. 24 You have been rebellious toward Yahweh from the day I have known you.[fn]

25 “And I lay prostrate before Yahweh through forty days,[fn] and through forty nights[fn] I prostrated myself, because Yahweh intended to kill you. 26 And I prayed to Yahweh, and I said, ‘Lord Yahweh, you must not destroy your people and your inheritance whom you redeemed in your greatness,[fn] whom you brought out from Egypt with a strong hand. 27 Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; you must not pay attention to[fn] the stubbornness of this people, to their wickedness and to their sin, 28 lest the people of the land from which you brought us out from there say, “Because Yahweh was not able to bring them to the land that he promised[fn] to them and because of his hatred toward them, he has brought them out to kill them in the desert.” 29 For they are your people and your inheritance whom you brought with your great power and with your outstretched arm.’

10 “At that time Yahweh said to me, ‘Carve for yourself two tablets of stone just as the former ones, and come up the mountain to me, and you shall make for yourself an ark of wood. 2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you smashed, and you must put them in the ark.’ 3 And so I made an ark of acacia wood,[fn] and I carved two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4 And he wrote upon the tablets according to the first writing,[fn] the ten words that Yahweh spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly, and Yahweh gave them to me. 5 And I turned, and I came down from the mountain, and I put the tablets in the ark that I had made, and they are there, just as Yahweh commanded me.

6 “And the Israelites[fn] journeyed from the wells of Bene-Yaqan to Moserah; there Aaron died and was buried, and Eleazar, his son, served as a priest in place of him. 7 From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land flowing with streams of water. 8 At that time Yahweh set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to stand before[fn] Yahweh, to serve him and to bless the people in his name until this day. 9 Therefore there was not[fn] for Levi an allotment or an inheritance along with his brothers; rather Yahweh is his inheritance just as Yahweh your God promised[fn] to him.

10 And I stayed on the mountain just as during the former forty days[fn] and forty nights,[fn] and Yahweh listened to me also on that occasion;[fn] Yahweh was not willing to destroy you. 11 And Yahweh said to me, ‘Come, continue[fn] your journey before the people,[fn] so that you may go and take possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors[fn] to give to them.’

12 And now, Israel, what is Yahweh your God asking[fn] from you, except[fn] to revere Yahweh your God, to go[fn] in all his ways and to love him and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul,[fn] 13 to keep the commandments of Yahweh and his statutes that I am commanding you today for your own good.[fn] 14 Look! For to Yahweh your God belong[fn] heaven and the highest heavens,[fn] the earth and all that is in it. 15 Yet[fn] to your ancestors[fn] Yahweh was very attached, so as to love them, and so he chose their offspring after them, namely you, from all the peoples, as it is today.[fn] 16 So you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn.[fn] 17 For Yahweh your God, he is God of the gods and Lord of the lords, the great and mighty God, the awesome one who is not partial,[fn] and he does not take bribes. 18 And he executes justice for the orphan and widow, and he is one who loves the alien, to give to them food and clothing. 19 And you shall love the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 20 Yahweh your God, you shall revere him, you shall serve him, and to him you shall cling, and by his name you shall swear. 21 He is your praise, and he is your God, who has done with you these great and awesome things that your eyes have seen. 22 With only seventy persons your ancestors[fn] went down to Egypt, but now Yahweh your God has made you as the stars of the heaven with respect to multitude.[fn]

11 “And you shall love Yahweh your God, and you shall keep his obligations and his statutes and his regulations and his commandments always.[fn] 2 And you shall realize today[fn] that it is not with your children who have not known and who have not seen the discipline of Yahweh your God—his greatness, his strong hand, and his outstretched arm, 3 and his signs and his deeds that he did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to all of his land, 4 and what he did to the army of Egypt and to their horses and to their chariots, and how he made the water of the Red Sea[fn] flow over them, when they pursued after them,[fn] and so Yahweh has destroyed them, as is the case today,[fn] 5 and what he did to you in the desert until you came up to this place, 6 and what he did to Dathan and to Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth wide and swallowed them, their households and their tents, and all of the living creatures[fn] that were in their possession and that were following along with them[fn] in the midst of all of Israel. 7 The fact of the matter is, your own eyes have seen[fn] all of the great deeds[fn] of Yahweh that he did.

8 “And you must keep all of the commandments[fn] that I am commanding you today,[fn] so that you may have strength and you may go and you may take possession of that land to which you are crossing[fn] to take possession of it, 9 so that you may live long[fn] on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors,[fn] to give it to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the fact is that the land that you are about to go into[fn] to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come out of,[fn] where you sow your seed and you give water by your foot, as in a vegetable garden.[fn] 11 But the land that you are about to cross into to take possession of it is a land of hills and valleys, and by the rain of the heaven it drinks water, 12 a land that Yahweh your God is caring for it; continually the eyes of Yahweh your God are on it, from the beginning of the year up to the end of the year.

13 “And it will happen that if you listen carefully to my commandments that I am commanding you today,[fn] to love Yahweh your God, and to serve him with all of your heart and with all of your soul,[fn] 14 then ‘I will send the rain for your land in its season, early rain and later rain, and you will gather your grain and your wine and your olive oil. 15 And I will give vegetation in your field for your livestock, and you will eat your fill.’[fn] 16 Take care[fn] so that your heart is not easily deceived, and you turn away, and you serve other gods, and you bow down to them. 17 And then the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you,[fn] and he will shut up the heavens,[fn] and there shall not be rain, and so the ground will not give its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land that Yahweh is giving to you.

18 “And you shall put these, my words, on your heart and on your inner self,[fn] and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be as an emblem between your eyes. 19 And you shall teach them to your children[fn] by talking about them when you sit in your house and when you travel on the road and when you lie down and when you get up. 20 And you shall write them on the doorframes of your house and on your gates, 21 so that they may multiply your days and the days of your children on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors[fn] to give it to them as long as heaven endures over the earth.[fn] 22 Yes, if you diligently keep all[fn] this commandment that I am commanding you to observe it,[fn] by loving Yahweh your God by walking in[fn] all his ways and by holding fast to him, 23 then Yahweh will drive out all of these nations before you,[fn] and you will dispossess nations larger and more numerous than you. 24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, it shall be yours; your boundary shall be from the desert and Lebanon from the river, the river Euphrates, on up to the western sea.[fn] 25 No one can take a stand against you;[fn] your dread and your fear Yahweh your God will put on the surface[fn] of all the land where you tread,[fn] just as he promised[fn] to you.

26 “See, I am setting before you[fn] today[fn] a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God that I am commanding you today,[fn] 28 and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, but rather you turn from the way that I am commanding you today[fn] to go after other gods that you have not known.

29 “And it will happen that when Yahweh your God has brought you to the land that you are going to,[fn] to take possession of it, then[fn] you shall pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30 (Are they not beyond the Jordan, toward the west,[fn] in the land of the Canaanites living in the Jordan Valley,[fn] opposite Gilgal beside the terebinth[fn] of Moreh?) 31 For you are now about to cross the Jordan to go to take possession of the land that Yahweh, your God, is giving to you, and you will take possession of it and live in it, 32 and you must diligently observe[fn] all the rules and the regulations that I am setting before you[fn] today.”[fn]

Detailed Stipulations: Purity and Unity

12 “These are the rules and the regulations that you must diligently observe[fn] in the land that Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,[fn] has given to you to take possession of it, during all the days that you are living on the land.

2 You must completely demolish all of the places there where they served their gods, that is, the nations whom you are about to dispossess, on the high mountains, and on the hills and under each leafy green tree.[fn] 3 And you shall break down their altars, and you shall smash their stone pillars, and their Asherah poles you must burn with fire, and the images of their gods you shall hew down, and you shall blot out their names from that place. 4 You shall not worship Yahweh your God like this. 5 But only[fn] to the place that Yahweh your God will choose from all of your tribes to place his name there as his dwelling shall you seek, and there you shall go. 6 And you shall bring there your burnt offerings and your sacrifices and your tithes and your donations[fn] and your votive gifts and your freewill offerings and the firstling of your herd and your flock. 7 And you shall eat there before[fn] Yahweh your God, and you shall rejoice in all your endeavors,[fn] you and your family in which Yahweh your God has blessed you.

8 “You must not do just as we are doing here today,[fn] each according to all that is right in his eyes.[fn] 9 For you have not come up to now to the resting place and to the inheritance that Yahweh your God is giving to you. 10 But you will cross the Jordan, and you will settle in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give rest to you from all your enemies from all around, and you will live securely, 11 and then[fn] at the place that Yahweh your God will choose, to let his name dwell there, there you shall bring all the things I am commanding you, your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and your donations,[fn] and all of the choice things, your votive gifts that you vow to Yahweh. 12 And you shall rejoice before[fn] Yahweh your God, you and your sons and your daughters and your slaves and your slave women and the Levite who is in your towns,[fn] because there is not for him a plot of ground and an inheritance with you.

13 “Take care for yourself so that you do not offer your burnt offerings at just any place that you happen to see, 14 but only[fn] at the place that Yahweh will choose among one of your tribes; there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all the things that I am commanding you.

15 “But whenever you desire[fn] you may slaughter, and you may eat meat according to the blessing of Yahweh your God that he has given to you in all of your towns;[fn] the unclean and the clean may eat it just as they would the gazelle and as the deer. 16 Only the blood you must not eat, but on the ground you must pour it like water. 17 You are not allowed to eat in your towns[fn] the tithe of your grain and your wine and your olive oil and the firstborn of your herd and your flock and all of your votive gifts that you vowed and your freewill offering and your donations.[fn] 18 But only before[fn] Yahweh your God you shall eat it, at the place that Yahweh your God will choose,[fn] you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite who is in your towns,[fn] and you must rejoice before[fn] your God in all your undertakings.[fn] 19 Take care[fn] so that you do not neglect the Levite all of your days on your land.

20 “When Yahweh your God enlarges your territory just as he has promised[fn] to you, and you say ‘I want to eat some meat,’ because you want it,[fn] whenever you desire[fn] you may eat meat. 21 If the place that[fn] Yahweh your God will choose to put his name there is too far from you, and you slaughter any of your herd and any of your flock that Yahweh has given to you just as I have commanded you, then you may eat whenever you desire in your towns.[fn] 22 Surely just as the gazelle and the deer is eaten, so both the unclean and the clean together may eat it. 23 Only, be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the meat. 24 You shall not eat it, but on the ground you shall pour it out like water. 25 You shall not eat it, so that it will go well[fn] for you and your children after you, because then you will be doing what is[fn] right in the eyes of Yahweh. 26 Only your holy objects that are yours[fn] and your votive gifts you must carry and you must bring to the place that Yahweh will choose. 27 And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood on the altar of Yahweh your God, and the blood of your sacrifices you shall pour out on the altar of Yahweh your God, but the meat you may eat. 28 Be careful to obey[fn] all these things that I am commanding you, so that it will go well[fn] for you and for your children after you forever,[fn] because then you will be doing what is[fn] good and right[fn] in the eyes of Yahweh your God.

29 “When Yahweh your God has cut off the nations whom you are about to go to,[fn] to dispossess them before you,[fn] and you have dispossessed them, and you live in their land, 30 take care[fn] so that you are not ensnared into imitating them[fn] after their being destroyed from before you,[fn] and so that you not enquire concerning their gods, saying,[fn] ‘How did these nations serve their gods, and thus I myself[fn] want to do also.’ 31 You must not do so toward Yahweh your God, because of every detestable thing they have done for their gods Yahweh hates, for even their sons and their daughters they would burn in the fire to their gods.[fn] All of the things[fn] that I am commanding you, you must diligently observe;[fn] you shall not add to it, and you shall not take away from it.”

13 “If a prophet stands up in your midst or a dreamer of dreams[fn] and he gives to you a sign or wonder, 2 and the sign or[fn] the wonder comes about that he spoke[fn] to you, saying,[fn] ‘Let us go after other gods (those whom you have not known), and let us serve them,’ 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer, for Yahweh your God is testing you to know whether you love[fn] Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all of your inner self.[fn] 4 You shall go after Yahweh your God, and him you shall revere, and his commandment you shall keep, and to his voice you shall listen, and him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast. 5 But that prophet or the dreamer of that dream shall be executed, for he spoke falsely about Yahweh your God, the one bringing you out from the land of Egypt and the one redeeming you from the house of slavery, in order to seduce you from the way that Yahweh your God commanded you to go in it; so in this way you shall purge the evil from your midst.

6 “If your brother, the son of your mother or your son or your daughter or your wife whom you embrace[fn] or your intimate friend[fn] in secrecy says,[fn] ‘Let us go and let us serve other gods!’ gods that you and your ancestors[fn] have not known, 7 from among the gods of the people who are around you, those near you or those far from you,[fn] from one end of the earth and up to the other end of the earth, 8 you must not give in to him, and you shall not listen to him, and your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall not have compassion, and you shall not cover up[fn] for him. 9 But you shall certainly kill him; your hand shall be first against him to kill him and next the hand of all of the people. 10 And you shall stone him with stones and let him die, for he tried to seduce you from Yahweh your God, the one bringing you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 11 And all of Israel shall hear, and they shall fear, and they shall not continue to act[fn] according to this evil thing in your midst.

12 “If you hear in one of your towns which Yahweh your God is giving to you to live in, someone saying that[fn] 13 worthless men[fn] have gone out from your midst and have seduced the inhabitants of their town, saying,[fn] ‘Let us go and serve other gods!’ whom you have not known, 14 then you shall inquire and examine and interrogate thoroughly, and, look! It is true; the thing has actually been done, this detestable thing in your midst, 15 then you shall certainly strike down the inhabitants of that town with the edge[fn] of the sword; you shall destroy it and everything in it, its domestic animals with the edge[fn] of the sword. 16 And then you shall gather all of its booty into the middle of its public square, and you shall burn the town and all of its war-booty totally for Yahweh your God, and it shall be a pile of rubble forever;[fn] it shall not be built again. 17 And let not something cling to your hand from the things devoted to destruction, so that Yahweh may turn back from his burning anger,[fn] and he may show compassion to you and he may continue to show compassion and so multiply you just as he swore[fn] to your ancestors,[fn] 18 if you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep all of his commandments that I am commanding to you today[fn] so as to do the right thing in the eyes of Yahweh your God.”

14 “You are children[fn] of Yahweh your God; therefore you must not gash[fn] yourself, and you must not make your forehead bald[fn] for the dead. 2 For you are a people holy to Yahweh your God, and you Yahweh has chosen to be a treasured possession from among all of the peoples that are on the surface[fn] of the earth.

3 You shall not eat any detestable thing. 4 These are the animals you may eat: ox, sheep, goats,[fn] 5 deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, ibex, antelope, and mountain sheep. 6 And any animal having a split hoof[fn] and so a dividing of the hoof into two parts[fn] and that chews the cud[fn] among the animals[fn]—that animal you may eat. 7 Only these you may not eat from those chewing the cud[fn] and from those having a division of the hoof:[fn] the camel and the hare and the coney, because they chew the cud,[fn] but they do not divide the hoof; they are therefore unclean for you. 8 And also the pig because it has a division of the hoof[fn] but does not chew the cud;[fn] it is unclean for you; from their meat you shall not eat, and you shall not touch their carcasses.[fn]

9 “This is what you shall eat from all that is in the water: everything[fn] that has fins and scales[fn] you may eat. 10 But anything that does not have[fn] fins and scales, you may not eat, for it is unclean for you.

11 “All of the birds that are clean you may eat. 12 Now these are the ones you shall not eat any of them:[fn] the eagle and the vulture and the short-toed eagle,[fn] 13 and the red kite[fn] and the black kite or any kind of falcon,[fn] 14 and any kind of crow[fn] according to its kind, 15 and the ostrich[fn] and the short-eared owl and the seagull[fn] and the hawk according to its kind, 16 the little owl and the great owl and the barn owl,[fn] 17 and the desert owl[fn] and the carrion vulture[fn] and the cormorant,[fn] 18 and the stork and the heron according to its kind and the hoopoe and the bat. 19 And also all of the winged insects;[fn] they are unclean for you; you shall not eat them. 20 You may eat any clean bird.

21 “You shall not eat any carcass;[fn] you may give it to the alien who is in your towns,[fn] and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people for Yahweh your God; you may not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.

22 “Certainly you must give a tithe of all the yield of your seed, which comes forth from your field year after year.[fn] 23 And you shall eat before[fn] Yahweh your God in the place that he will choose to make to dwell his name there the tithe of your grain, your wine and your olive oil and the firstling of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to revere Yahweh your God always.[fn] 24 But if the distance is too great for you,[fn] so that you are not able to transport[fn] it, because the place that Yahweh your God will choose to set his name there, it is too far from you, when Yahweh your God will bless you, 25 then in that case you may exchange for money,[fn] and you shall take[fn] the money to your hand and go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose. 26 You may spend the money for anything that you desire,[fn] for oxen or for sheep or for wine or for strong drink or for anything that you desire,[fn] and you shall eat it there before[fn] Yahweh your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. 27 And as to the Levite who is in your towns,[fn] you shall not neglect him, because there is not a plot of ground for him and an inheritance along with you.

28 “At the end of three years you shall bring out all of the tithe of your yield for that year, and you shall store it in your towns.[fn] 29 And so the Levite may come, because there is no plot of ground for him or an inheritance with you, and the alien also may come and the orphan and the widow that are in your towns,[fn] and they may eat their fill,[fn] so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all of the work of your hand that you undertake.”

15 “At the end of seven years you shall grant a remission of debt. 2 And this is the manner of the remission of debt: every creditor[fn] shall remit his claim that he holds against his neighbor, and he shall not exact payment from his brother because there[fn] a remission of debt has been proclaimed unto[fn] Yahweh. 3 With respect to the foreigner you may exact payment, but you must remit[fn] what shall be owed to you with respect to your brother. 4 Nevertheless, there[fn] shall not be among you a poor person, because Yahweh will certainly bless you in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance, to take possession of it. 5 If only you listen well to the voice of Yahweh your God by observing diligently[fn] all of these commandments[fn] that I am commanding you today.[fn] 6 When Yahweh your God has blessed you, just as he promised[fn] to you, then you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow from them, and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you. 7 If there is a poor person among you from among one of your brothers in one of your towns[fn] that Yahweh your God is giving to you, you shall not harden your heart, and you shall not shut your hand toward your brother who is poor.[fn] 8 But you shall certainly open your hand for him, and you shall willingly lend[fn] to him enough to meet his need, whatever it is.[fn] 9 Take care[fn] so that there[fn] will not be a thought of wickedness[fn] in your heart, saying,[fn] ‘The seventh year, the year of the remission of debt is near,’ and you view your needy neighbor with hostility,[fn] and so you do not give to him, and he might cry out against you to Yahweh, and you would incur guilt against yourself.[fn] 10 By all means you must give to him, and you must not be discontented[fn] at your giving to him, because on account of this very thing, Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.[fn] 11 For the poor[fn] will not cease to be among you[fn] in the land; therefore I am commanding you, saying,[fn] ‘You shall willingly open your hand to your brother, to your needy and to your poor that are in your land.’

12 If your relative[fn] who is a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman is sold to you, and he or she has served you six years, then in the seventh year you shall send that person out free.[fn] 13 And when you send him out free from you, you shall not send him away empty-handed. 14 You shall generously supply him from among your flocks and from your threshing floor and from your press; according to that with which Yahweh your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding you thus today.[fn] 16 And then if it will happen that he says to you, ‘I do not want to go out[fn] from you,’ because he loves you and your family, because it is good for him to be with you; 17 then you shall take an awl, and you shall thrust it through his earlobe and into the door, and he shall be to you a slave forever;[fn] and you shall also do likewise for your slave woman. 18 It shall not be hard in your eyes when you send him forth free,[fn] because for six years he has served you worth twice the wage of a hired worker; and Yahweh your God will bless you in whatever you will do.[fn]

19 “Every firstling male that is born of your herd and of your flock you shall consecrate to Yahweh your God; you shall not do work with the firstling of your ox, and you shall not shear the firstling of your flock. 20 Rather before Yahweh[fn] your God you shall eat it year by year at the place Yahweh will choose, you and your household. 21 But if there is a physical defect in it, such as lameness or blindness, any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God. 22 In your towns[fn] you shall eat it, the unclean and the clean together may eat it, just as they eat the gazelle and as they eat the deer. 23 But you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.”

16 “Observe the month of Abib, and you shall keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, for in the month of Abib Yahweh your God brought you out from Egypt by night. 2 And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to Yahweh your God from among your flock and herd at the place that Yahweh will choose, to let his name dwell there. 3 You shall not eat with it[fn] anything leavened; seven days you shall eat with it[fn] unleavened bread of affliction, because in haste you went out from the land of Egypt, so that you will remember the day of your going out from the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4 And leaven shall not be seen with[fn] you in any of your territory[fn] for seven days, and none of the meat that you will slaughter on the evening on the first day shall remain overnight until morning. 5 You are not allowed to offer the Passover sacrifice in one of your towns[fn] that Yahweh your God is giving to you, 6 but only at the place that Yahweh your God will choose, to let his name dwell there; you shall offer the Passover sacrifice in the evening at sunset,[fn] at the designated time[fn] of your going out from Egypt. 7 And you shall cook, and you shall eat it at the place that Yahweh your God will choose; and you may turn in the morning and go to your tents. 8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be an assembly for Yahweh your God; you shall not do work.

9 “You shall count off seven weeks for you; from the time you begin to harvest the standing grain[fn] you shall begin to count seven weeks. 10 And then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks for Yahweh your God with the measure of the freewill offering of your hand that you shall give just as Yahweh your God has blessed you. 11 And you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite that is in your towns[fn] and the alien and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst in the place that Yahweh your God will choose to let his name dwell there. 12 And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and so you shall diligently observe[fn] these rules.

13 “You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths for yourselves[fn] seven days at the gathering in of the produce[fn] from your threshing floor and from your press; 14 and you shall rejoice at your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite and the orphan and the widow that are in your towns.[fn] 15 Seven days you shall celebrate your feast to Yahweh your God at the place Yahweh will choose, for Yahweh your God shall bless you in all of your produce[fn] and in all of the work of your hand, and you shall surely be rejoicing.[fn] 16 Three times in the year all of your males shall appear before[fn] Yahweh your God at the place that he will choose, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before Yahweh[fn] empty-handed. 17 Each person shall give as he is able,[fn] that is, according to the blessing of Yahweh your God that he has given to you.

18 “You shall appoint judges and officials for you in all your towns[fn] that Yahweh your God is giving to you throughout your tribes, and you shall render for the people righteous judgments.[fn] 19 You shall not subvert[fn] justice; you shall not show partiality;[fn] and you shall not take a bribe, for the bribe makes blind the eyes of the wise and misrepresents the words of the righteous. 20 Justice, only justice[fn] you shall pursue, so that you may live, and you shall take possession of the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you. 21 You shall not plant for yourselves[fn] an Asherah pole[fn] beside the altar of Yahweh your God that you make for yourselves.[fn] 22 And you shall not set up for yourselves a stone pillar, a thing that Yahweh your God hates.

17 “You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or sheep that has a physical defect[fn] of anything seriously wrong,[fn] for that is a detestable thing to Yahweh your God. 2 If there is found in one of your towns[fn] that Yahweh your God is giving to you a man or a woman that does evil in the eyes of Yahweh your God to transgress his covenant 3 and by going and serving other gods and so he bows down to them and to the sun or to the moon or to any of the host of heaven which I have forbidden,[fn] 4 and it is reported to you or you hear about it and you enquire about it thoroughly and, indeed,[fn] the trustworthiness of the deed[fn] has been established, it has occurred,[fn] this detestable thing, in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has[fn] done this evil thing to your gates; that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them with stones to death.[fn] 6 On the evidence of[fn] two or three witnesses the person shall be put to death.[fn] The person[fn] shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness. 7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first against the person[fn] to kill the person,[fn] and afterward the hands[fn] of all the people, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.

8 “If a matter is too difficult for you,[fn] for example disputes between blood and blood,[fn] between legal claim and legal claim[fn] and between assault and assault[fn] and between matters of discernment in your towns,[fn] then you shall get up and you shall go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose; 9 then you shall go to the priests and the Levites and to the judge who will be in office in those days, and you shall enquire, and they shall announce to you the verdict.[fn]

10 “And you shall carry out exactly the decision[fn] that they announced to you from that place that Yahweh will choose, and you shall diligently observe[fn] according to all that they instruct you. 11 And so according to the instruction of the law[fn] that they teach you and according to the decisions that they say to you, you shall do; you shall not turn from the word that they tell you to the right or to the left. 12 And the man who treats with contempt[fn] so as not to listen to the priest who is standing to minister on behalf of Yahweh your God or to the judge, that man shall die; so you shall purge the evil from Israel. 13 And all the people will hear and will be afraid, and they will not behave presumptuously again.

14 “When you have come to that land that Yahweh your God is giving to you and you have taken possession of it and you have settled in it, and you say, ‘I will set over me a king like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 indeed, you may set a king over you whom Yahweh your God will choose, from the midst of your countrymen[fn] you must set a king over you; you are not allowed to appoint over you a man, a foreigner, who is not your countryman.[fn] 16 Except, he may not make numerous[fn] for himself horses, and he may not allow the people to to go to Egypt in order to increase horses,[fn] for Yahweh has said to you that you may never return.[fn] 17 And he must not acquire many[fn] wives for himself, so that his heart would turn aside; and he must not accumulate silver and gold for himself excessively.[fn]

18 “And then[fn] when he is sitting[fn] on the throne of his kingdom, then he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll before[fn] the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it[fn] all the days of his life, so that he may learn to revere Yahweh your God by diligently observing[fn] all the word of this law and these rules, 20 so as not to exalt his heart above his countrymen[fn] and not to turn aside from the commandment to the right or to the left, so that he may reign long over his kingdom,[fn] he and his children in the midst of Israel.”

18 “And there shall not be for the Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, a plot of ground and an inheritance with Israel, rather they may eat an offering made by fire as their inheritance,[fn] for Yahweh. 2 And there shall not be for them[fn] an inheritance of land in the midst of his brothers; rather Yahweh is his inheritance, just as he promised[fn] to them.[fn]

3 Now this shall be the share of the priest from the people, from those who sacrifice the sacrifice,[fn] whether it is an ox, sheep, or goat, and they shall give the priest the shoulder and the jawbones and the stomach. 4 The firstfruits[fn] of your grain, your wine, and your olive oil and the firstfruits[fn] of the fleece of your sheep you shall give to him. 5 For Yahweh your God has chosen him from among all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of Yahweh, he and his sons forever.[fn]

6 And if a[fn] Levite comes from one of your towns[fn] from anywhere in Israel[fn] where he is residing, he may come whenever he desires,[fn] to the place that Yahweh will choose, 7 and he may minister in the name of Yahweh his God, just like all his brothers, the Levites who stand there[fn] before[fn] Yahweh. 8 They shall eat equal portions,[fn] apart from what he may receive from the sale of his patrimony.[fn]

9 “When you come to the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you, you must not learn to do like the detestable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, or one who practices divination,[fn] or an interpreter of signs,[fn] or an augur,[fn] or sorcerer, 11 or one who casts magic spells, or one who consults a spirit of the dead,[fn] or spiritist, or one who inquires of the dead.[fn] 12 For everyone doing these things is detestable to Yahweh, and because of these detestable things Yahweh your God is driving them out from before you.[fn] 13 You must be blameless before Yahweh your God. 14 For these nations that you are about to dispossess listen to interpreters of signs[fn] and to diviners, but Yahweh your God has not allowed you to do the same.

15 “Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your countrymen,[fn] and to him you shall listen. 16 This is according to all that you asked[fn] from Yahweh your God at Horeb, on the day of the assembly, saying,[fn] ‘I do not want again to hear[fn] the voice of Yahweh my God, and I do not want to see again this great fire, so that I may not die!’ 17 And Yahweh said to me, ‘They are right in what they have said. 18 I will raise up a prophet for them from among their countrymen[fn] like you, and I will place[fn] my words into his mouth, and he shall speak to them everything that I command him.[fn] 19 And then[fn] the man that will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I will hold accountable. 20 However, the prophet that behaves presumptuously by speaking a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, and who speaks in the name of other gods, then that prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say to yourself,[fn] ‘How can we know the word that Yahweh has not spoken to him?’ 22 Whenever what the prophet spoke in the name of Yahweh, the thing does not take place and does not come about, that is the thing that Yahweh has not spoken to him.[fn] Presumptuously the prophet spoke it; you shall not fear that[fn] prophet.”

19 “When Yahweh your God has exterminated[fn] the nations concerning whom Yahweh your God is giving to you their land, and you have dispossessed them, and you have settled in their towns and in their houses, 2 you shall set apart three cities for you in the midst of your land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to take possession of it. 3 You shall prepare the roads[fn] for yourselves, and you shall divide the regions of your land into thirds that Yahweh your God gives you as a possession, so that it will be available for any manslayer to flee there.[fn]

4 “Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live there who has killed his neighbor unintentionally,[fn] and he did not hate him previously.[fn] 5 For example,[fn] when somebody goes with his neighbor into the forest to cut wood, and the iron head slips from the handle of the tool and strikes his neighbor and he dies, then he may flee to one of these cities, and so he may live. 6 He does this lest the avenger of blood might pursue after the killer, because he is hot with anger[fn] and he overtakes him, because it is a long distance to the city of refuge, and so he kills him,[fn] but he did not deserve a death sentence,[fn] because he was not hating him before.[fn] 7 Therefore I am commanding you, saying,[fn] ‘You shall set apart three cities.’ 8 Then if Yahweh your God enlarges your territory just as he swore to your ancestors[fn] and gives[fn] to you all the land that he promised[fn] to give to your ancestors,[fn] 9 then if you diligently observe this entire commandment[fn] that I am commanding you today[fn] by loving Yahweh your God and by going[fn] in his ways at all times,[fn] then you shall add three more cities for yourselves to these three. 10 Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed[fn] in the midst of your land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance and thereby bloodguilt would be on you.[fn]

11 But if someone hates[fn] his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up[fn] against him and murders him,[fn] and the murderer flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there, and they shall give him into the hand of the avenger of blood, and he shall be put to death. 13 Your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that good will be directed toward you.[fn]

14 “You shall not move the boundary marker of your neighbor that former generations[fn] set up on your property in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to take possession of it. 15 The testimony of a single witness may not be used to convict[fn] with respect to any crime and for any wrongdoing in any offense that a person[fn] committed; on the evidence[fn] of two witnesses or on the evidence[fn] of three witnesses a charge shall be sustained.[fn] 16 If a malicious witness[fn] gets up to accuse[fn] anyone to testify against him falsely, 17 then the two men to whom the legal dispute pertains[fn] shall stand before[fn] Yahweh, before[fn] the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. 18 Then judges shall make a thorough inquiry, and if it turns out[fn] that the witness is a false witness and he testified falsely against his brother, 19 then you shall do to him as he meant[fn] to do to his brother, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst. 20 And the rest[fn] shall hear and shall fear, and they shall not continue to do such a thing again[fn] as this evil thing in your midst. 21 You must show no pity:[fn] life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

20 “If you go out to war against your enemies and you see a horse and a chariot, an army[fn] larger that you, you shall not be afraid because of them; for Yahweh your God is with you, the one who brought you from the land of Egypt. 2 And then[fn] when you approach the battle, then the priest shall come near and speak to the troops. 3 And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, Israel, you are near today[fn] to the battle against your enemies; do not lose heart;[fn] you shall not be afraid, and you shall not panic, and you shall not be terrified because of them,[fn] 4 for Yahweh your God is going with you to fight for you against your enemies to help you.’ 5 And the officials shall speak to the troops, saying,[fn] ‘Who is the man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to this house, so that he does not die in battle and another man[fn] dedicates it. 6 And who is the man that has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed it? Let him go and let him return to his house, so that he does not die in battle and another man[fn] enjoys it. 7 And who is the man who got engaged to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and let him return to his house, so that he does not die in battle and another man[fn] marries her.’ 8 And the officials shall continue to speak to the troops, and they shall say, ‘What man[fn] is afraid and disheartened?[fn] Let him go, and let him return to his house, and let him not cause the heart of his brothers to melt[fn] like his.’ 9 And when the officials have finished speaking[fn] to the army troops, then they shall appoint commanders of divisions at the head of the troops.

10 “When you approach a city to fight against it, you must offer it peace.[fn] 11 And then[fn] if they accept your terms of peace[fn] and they surrender to you,[fn] and then[fn] all the people inhabiting it[fn] shall be forced labor for you, and they shall serve you. 12 But if they do not accept your terms of peace[fn] and they want to make war with you, then you shall lay siege against it.[fn] 13 And Yahweh your God will give it into your hand, and you shall kill all its males with the edge[fn] of the sword. 14 Only the women and the little children and the domestic animals[fn] and all that shall be in the city, all of its spoil you may loot for yourselves, and you may enjoy the spoil of your enemies that Yahweh you God has given to you. 15 Thus you shall do to all the far[fn] cities from you, which are not from the cities of these nations located nearby.[fn]

16 But from the cities of these peoples that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance, you shall not let anything live that breathes.[fn] 17 Rather, you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites[fn] and the Amorites,[fn] the Canaanites[fn] and the Perizzites,[fn] the Hivites,[fn] and the Jebusites,[fn] just as Yahweh your God has commanded you, 18 so that they may not teach you to do like all their detestable things that they do for their gods and thereby you sin against Yahweh your God.

19 “If[fn] you besiege a town for many days to make war against it in order to seize it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them,[fn] for you may eat from them,[fn] and so you must not cut them[fn] down. Are the trees of the field humans that they should come in siege against you?[fn] 20 Only[fn] the trees[fn] that you know are not fruit trees[fn] you may destroy and you may cut down, and you may build siege works against that city that is making war with you until it falls.”[fn]

21 “If someone slain is found in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to take possession of it and is lying in the field, and it is not known who killed him,[fn] 2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and shall measure the distance to the cities that are around the slain one. 3 And then[fn] the nearest city to the slain one, the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd that has not been worked with in the field, that has not pulled a yoke, 4 and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a wadi that flows with water all year[fn] and that has not been plowed and has not been sown; then there they shall break the neck of the heifer in the wadi.[fn] 5 Then the priests, the descendants[fn] of Levi, shall come near, for Yahweh your God has chosen them to bless in the name of Yahweh, and every legal dispute and every case of assault will be subject to their ruling.[fn] 6 And all of the elders of that city nearest to the slain person shall wash their hands over the heifer with the broken neck in the wadi.[fn] 7 And they shall declare, and they shall say, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, and our eyes did not see what was done. 8 Forgive your people, Israel, whom you redeemed, Yahweh, and do not allow[fn] the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, and let them be forgiven with regard to blood.’ 9 And so you shall purge the innocent blood from your midst, because you must do the right thing in the eyes of Yahweh.

10 “When you go out for battle against your enemies, and Yahweh your God gives them into your hand, and you lead the captives[fn] away, 11 and you see among the captives[fn] a woman beautiful in appearance, and you become attached to her and you want to take her as a wife, 12 then you shall bring her into your household, and she shall shave her head, and she shall trim her nails. 13 And she shall remove the clothing of her captivity from her, and she shall remain in your house, and she shall mourn her father and her mother a full month,[fn] and after this you may have sex with her,[fn] and you may marry her, and she may become your wife.[fn] 14 And then if you do not take delight in her, then you shall let her go to do whatever she wants,[fn] but you shall not treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored[fn] her.

15 “If a man has two wives, and the one is loved and the other one is disliked and the one loved and the one that is disliked have borne for him sons, if it happens that the firstborn son belongs to the one that is disliked,[fn] 16 nevertheless it will be the case that[fn] on the day of bestowing his inheritance upon his sons, he will not be allowed to treat as the firstborn son the son of the beloved wife in preference to[fn] the son of the disliked wife, who is the firstborn son. 17 But he shall acknowledge the firstborn son of the disliked wife by giving[fn] him a double portion of all that he has,[fn] for he is the firstfruit of his vigor;[fn] to him is the legal claim of the birthright.[fn]

18 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son[fn] who does not listen to[fn] the voice of his father and to the voice of his mother, and they discipline him, and he does not obey[fn] them, 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him, and they shall bring him out to the elders of his city and to the gate of his town,[fn] 20 and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he does not obey us,[fn] and he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of his city shall stone him with stones and let him die; and so you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all of Israel will hear, and they will fear.

22 “And if a man commits a sin punishable by death,[fn] and so he is put to death and you hang him on a tree, 23 his dead body shall not hang on the tree, but certainly you shall bury him on that day, for cursed by God is one that is being hung; so you shall not defile your land[fn] that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance.”

22 “You shall not watch the ox of your neighbor or his sheep or goat straying and ignore them; certainly you shall return them to your neighbor. 2 And if your countryman[fn] is not near you or you do not know who he is,[fn] then you shall bring it to your household,[fn] and it shall be[fn] with you until your countryman seeks after it,[fn] and you shall return it to him. 3 And thus also you shall do regarding[fn] his donkey, and thus you shall do concerning[fn] his garment, and so you shall do with respect to[fn] all of the lost property of your countryman[fn] that is lost from him and you find it; you are not allowed to withhold help.

4 “You shall not see the donkey of your neighbor or his ox fallen on the road and you ignore them; certainly you must help them get up along with him.

5 “The apparel of a man shall not be put on[fn] a woman, and a man shall not wear the clothing of a woman, because everyone who does these things is detestable to Yahweh your God.

6 “If a bird’s nest is found before you[fn] on the road in any tree or on the ground, and there are chicks or eggs, and the mother is lying down on the chicks or the eggs, you shall not take the mother along with the young; 7 you shall certainly let the mother go, but you may take the young for yourselves;[fn] do this so that it may go well[fn] for you and you may live long in the land.[fn]

8 “When you build a new house then[fn] you shall make a parapet wall[fn] for your roof, so that you will not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone should fall from it.[fn]

9 “You shall not sow your vineyard with differing kinds of seed, so that you shall not forfeit the whole harvest,[fn] both the seed that you sowed and the yield of the vineyard.

10 “You shall not plow with an ox and with a donkey yoked together.

11 “You shall not wear woven material made of wool and linen mixed together.

12 “You shall make tassels for yourselves[fn] on the four corners of your clothing with which you cover yourself.

13 “If a man takes a woman and he has sex with her,[fn] but he then dislikes her,[fn] 14 and he accuses her falsely,[fn] and he defames her,[fn] and he says ‘This woman I took and I lay with her and I discovered that she was not a virgin,’[fn] 15 then in defense the father of the young woman shall take, along with her mother, and together they must bring out the evidence of the virginity of the young woman to display it to the elders of the city at the city gate.[fn] 16 And then the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as wife, but he now dislikes[fn] her, 17 and now look he has accused her falsely,[fn] saying, “I did not find your daughter a virgin,”[fn] but here is evidence of the virginity of my daughter’; and they shall spread the cloth out before[fn] the elders of the city. 18 Then the elders of that city shall take the man, and they shall discipline him. 19 Then they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver, and they shall give them to the father of the young woman, for he defamed an Israelite young woman,[fn] and she shall become his wife;[fn] he will not be allowed to divorce her[fn] all his days.

20 “But if this charge[fn] was true, and the signs of virginity were not found[fn] for the young woman, 21 and then they shall bring out the young woman to the doorway of the house of her father, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones, and she shall die, because she did a disgraceful thing in Israel by playing the harlot[fn] in the house of her father, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.

22 “If a man is found lying with a married woman,[fn] then they shall both die; both of them,[fn] the man who lay with the woman and the woman also, so you shall purge the evil from Israel.

23 “If it happens that a young woman, a virgin, is engaged to a man, and a man finds her in the town and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring out both of them[fn] to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them with stones so that they shall die, the young woman because she did not cry out in the town, and the man because[fn] he violated his neighbor’s wife; and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.

25 “But if the man finds the young engaged woman in the field and the man overpowers her and he has sex with her,[fn] then the man only[fn] must die who lay[fn] with her. 26 But you shall not do anything[fn] to the young woman, for there is not reckoned against[fn] the young woman a sin deserving death;[fn] it is similar to when[fn] a man rises up against his neighbor and murders him, a fellow human being,[fn] just so is this case,[fn] 27 for he found her in the field, the engaged young woman cried out, but there was no[fn] rescuer to help her.[fn]

28 “If a man finds a young woman, a virgin who is not engaged, and he seizes her and he has sex with her[fn] and they are caught, 29 then the man who lay with her[fn] shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife[fn] because[fn] he violated her, and he is not allowed to divorce her during his lifetime.[fn] [fn] A man may not take the wife of his father, and so he may not dishonor his father.[fn]

23 “No man with crushed testicles[fn] or whose male organ is cut off[fn] may come into the assembly of Yahweh.

2 An illegitimate child may not come into the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants[fn] may come into the assembly of Yahweh.

3 An Ammonite or a Moabite may not come into the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants[fn] may come into the assembly of Yahweh forever,[fn] 4 because[fn] they did not come to meet you with food and with water when you came out of Egypt,[fn] and also because[fn] they[fn] hired Balaam, son of Beor, from Pethor, in Aram Naharaim[fn] to act against you to curse you. 5 But Yahweh your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, and Yahweh your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because Yahweh your God loved you. 6 You shall not promote their welfare or their prosperity all your days forever.[fn]

7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, because he is your brother; you shall not abhor an Egyptian because you were an alien in his land. 8 The children[fn] that are born to them in the third generation may come representing them[fn] in the assembly of Yahweh.

9 “If[fn] you go out to encamp against your enemies, then you shall guard against doing anything evil.

10 “If there is among you a man that is not clean because of a seminal emission during the night,[fn] he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come within the camp. 11 And then[fn] toward the coming[fn] of the evening, he shall bathe with[fn] water, and at the going down[fn] of the sun, he may come to the midst of the camp.

12 “And there shall be for you a designated place outside the camp; and you shall go there to relieve yourself,[fn] 13 and a digging tool[fn] shall be included in addition to your other utensils[fn] for yourself; and then[fn] when you relieve yourself[fn] outside the camp you shall dig with it, and then you shall turn, and you shall cover your excrement. 14 For Yahweh your God is walking about in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to hand your enemies over to you before you,[fn] and so let your camp be holy, so that he shall not see in it anything indecent,[fn] and he shall turn away from going with you.[fn]

15 “And you shall not hand over a slave to his master who has escaped and fled to you from his master. 16 He shall reside with you in your midst in the place that he chooses in one of your towns wherever he pleases;[fn] you shall not oppress him.

17 “No woman of Israel[fn] shall be a temple prostitute, and no man of Israel[fn] shall be a male shrine prostitute. 18 You may not bring the hire[fn] of a prostitute or the earnings of a male prostitute[fn] into the house of Yahweh your God, for any vow offerings, because both[fn] are a detestable thing to Yahweh your God.

19 “You shall not charge your brother interest on money,[fn] interest on[fn] food, or interest on[fn] anything that one could lend[fn] on interest. 20 You may lend on interest to the foreigner, but to your countryman[fn] you may not lend on interest, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all your undertakings[fn] in the land where you are going,[fn] in order to take possession of it.[fn]

21 “When you make a vow[fn] to Yahweh your God, you shall not postpone fulfillment of it,[fn] for certainly Yahweh your God shall require it from you and if postponed you will incur guilt.[fn] 22 And if you refrain from vowing,[fn] you shall not incur guilt.[fn] 23 The utterance of your lips you must perform diligently[fn] just as you have vowed freely to Yahweh your God whatever it was that you promised[fn] with your mouth.

24 “When[fn] you come into the vineyard of your neighbor, then you may eat grapes as you please[fn] and until you are full,[fn] but you shall not put any into your container.

25 “When[fn] you come into the standing grain of your neighbor, then you may pluck ears with your hand, but you may not swing[fn] a sickle among the standing grain of your neighbor.”

24 “When[fn] a man takes a wife and he marries her and then[fn] she does not please him,[fn] because he found something objectionable[fn] and writes her a letter of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her away from his house, 2 and she goes from his house, and she goes out and becomes a wife for another man,[fn] 3 and then the second man dislikes her and he writes her a letter of divorce and places it into her hand and sends her from his house, or if the second man dies who took her to himself[fn] as a wife, 4 her first husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again[fn] to become a wife to him after she has been defiled,[fn] for that is a detestable thing before[fn] Yahweh, and so you shall not mislead into sin the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance.

5 “When[fn] a man takes a new wife he shall not go out with the army, and he shall not be obligated with anything;[fn] he shall be free from obligation, to stay at home[fn] for one year, and he shall bring joy to his wife that he took.

6 “A person[fn] shall not take[fn] a pair of millstones or an upper millstone, for he is taking necessities of life as a pledge.[fn]

7 “If a man is caught[fn] kidnapping somebody from among his countrymen,[fn] the Israelites,[fn] and he treats him as a slave or he sells him, then that kidnapper shall die, and so you shall purge the evil from among you.[fn]

8 Be watchful[fn] with respect to[fn] an outbreak of any infectious skin disease, by being very careful and by acting[fn] according to all that the priests and the Levites have instructed you, just as I have commanded them, so you shall diligently observe.[fn] 9 So remember what Yahweh your God did to Miriam on the journey when you went out from Egypt.[fn]

10 “When you make a loan to your neighbor, a loan of any kind, you shall not go into his house to take his pledge.[fn] 11 You shall wait outside, and the man to whom you are lending, he shall bring the pledge outside to you. 12 And if he is a needy man, you shall not sleep in his pledge.[fn] 13 You shall certainly return the pledge to him as the sun sets,[fn] so that he may sleep in his cloak and may bless you, and it shall be considered righteousness on your behalf[fn] before[fn] Yahweh your God.

14 “You shall not exploit a hired worker, who is needy and poor, from among your fellow men or from among your aliens[fn] who are in your land and in your towns.[fn] 15 On his day you shall give his wage, and the sun shall not go down,[fn] because he is poor and his life depends on it;[fn] do this so that he does not cry out against you to Yahweh, and you incur guilt.[fn]

16 “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, and children shall not be put to death because of their fathers; each one shall be put to death for his own sin. 17 You shall not subvert the rights of an alien or an orphan, and you shall not take as pledge the garment of a widow. 18 And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and that Yahweh your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this commandment.

19 “When[fn] you reap your harvest in your field and you forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not return to get it, for it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat off the fruit of your olive trees you shall not search through the branches afterward, for it[fn] shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.

21 When you harvest grapes, you shall not glean your vineyards again;[fn] it[fn] shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. 22 And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.”

25 “When a legal dispute takes place[fn] between men and they come near to the court, and the judges judge with respect to them, then they shall declare the righteous to be in the right and they shall condemn the wicked, 2 then it will happen if the guilty one deserves beating,[fn] then the judge shall make him lie, and he shall beat him before him,[fn] according to[fn] the prescribed number of lashes proportionate to the offense.[fn] 3 He may beat him with forty lashes, and he shall not do more than these, so that he will not beat more in addition to these many blows,[fn] and your countryman[fn] would be[fn] degraded before your eyes.

4 “You shall not muzzle an ox when he is threshing.[fn]

5 “When brothers dwell together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not become the wife of a man of another family;[fn] her brother-in-law shall have sex with her,[fn] and he shall take her to himself[fn] as a wife, and he shall perform his duty as a brother-in-law with respect to her. 6 And then the firstborn that she bears shall represent his dead brother,[fn] so that his name is not blotted out from Israel. 7 But if the man does not want to take his sister-in-law, then his sister-in-law shall go up to the gate, to the elders, and she shall say, ‘My brother-in-law refused to perpetuate his brother’s name[fn] in Israel, for he is not willing to marry me.’[fn] 8 Then the elders of his town shall summon him and speak to him, and if he persists and says, ‘I do not desire to[fn] marry her’ 9 then his sister-in-law shall go near him before the eyes of the elders, and she shall pull off his sandal from his foot, and she shall spit in his face, and she shall declare[fn] and she shall say, ‘This is how it is done to the man who does not build the house of his brother.’ 10 And his family[fn] shall be called in Israel, ‘The house where the sandal was pulled off.’[fn]

11 “If a man and his brother fight each other and the wife of the one man comes near to rescue her husband from the hand of his attacker and she stretches out her hand and she seizes his genitals, 12 then you shall cut off her hand; your eye shall not take pity.

13 “There shall not be for your use[fn] in your bag two kinds of stone weights, a large one and a small one.[fn] 14 There shall not be in your house for your use[fn] two kinds of measures.[fn] 15 Rather a full and honest weight shall be for your use;[fn] there shall be for you a full and honest measure,[fn] so that your days on the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you may be long. 16 For detestable to[fn] Yahweh your God is everyone who is doing such things,[fn] everyone who is acting[fn] dishonestly.

17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the journey when[fn] you went out from Egypt, 18 that he met you on the journey and attacked you, all those lagging behind you and when you were weary and worn out, and he did not fear God. 19 And when[fn] Yahweh your God gives rest to you from all your enemies from around about you in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance to take possession of it, you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens; you shall not forget!”

26 “And then[fn] when you come to the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and you settle in it, 2 then you shall take from the firstfruit of all the fruit of the ground that you harvest from your land that Yahweh your God is giving to you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose to make his name to dwell there. 3 And you shall go to the priest who is in office in those days, and you shall say, ‘I declare today[fn] to Yahweh your God that I have come into the land that Yahweh swore to our ancestors[fn] to give to us.’ 4 Then the priest takes the basket from your hand and places it before[fn] the altar of Yahweh your God. 5 And you shall declare[fn] and you shall say before[fn] your God, ‘My ancestor[fn] was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt, and there he dwelt as an alien few in number,[fn] and there he became a great nation, mighty and numerous. 6 And the Egyptians treated us badly, and they oppressed us and imposed on us hard labor. 7 And we cried to Yahweh, the God of our ancestors,[fn] and Yahweh heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression. 8 And Yahweh brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and with wonders. 9 And he brought us to this place and gave to us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And now, look, I am bringing[fn] the firstfruit of the fruit of the ground that you gave to me, Yahweh,’ and you shall place it before[fn] Yahweh your God, and you shall bow down before[fn] Yahweh your God. 11 And you shall celebrate with all of the bounty that Yahweh your God gave to you and to your family, you and the Levite and the alien who is in your midst.

12 “When you are finished giving a tithe,[fn] all of the tithe of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, then you shall give to the Levite, to the alien, to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and they may be satisfied. 13 And you shall say before[fn] Yahweh your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from the[fn] house and, moreover, I have given it to the Levite and to the alien and to the orphan and to the widow according to all your commandment that you commanded me; I have not transgressed any of your commandments, and I have not forgotten any of them. 14 I have not eaten during my time of mourning, and I have not removed anything from it while being unclean, and I have not offered any of it[fn] to someone who has died. I have listened to the voice of Yahweh my God; I have done all that you commanded me to do.

15 Look down from the dwelling place of your holiness, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the land that you have given to us, as you swore to our ancestors,[fn] a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 16 “This day Yahweh your God is commanding you to do these rules and regulations, and you must observe them diligently[fn] with all your heart and with all your soul.[fn] 17 Yahweh you have declared today[fn] to be for you as your God, and to go[fn] in his ways and to observe his rules and his commandments and his regulations and to listen to his voice. 18 And Yahweh has declared you today[fn] to be for him as a people, a treasured possession, as he promised[fn] to you, and that you are to observe all his commandments, 19 and that he then will set you[fn] high above all the nations that he has made for his praise and for fame[fn] and for honor and for you to be a holy people[fn] to Yahweh your God, as he promised.”[fn]

Ceremonies

27 Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged the people, saying,[fn] “Keep all of the commandment that I am commanding you today.[fn] 2 And then on the day that you cross the Jordan to the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you, then you shall set up for yourselves[fn] large stones, and you shall paint[fn] them with lime, 3 and you shall write on them all the words of this law at your crossing, so that you may come into the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,[fn] promised[fn] to you. 4 And when you cross the Jordan,[fn] you shall set up these stones that I am commanding you about today[fn] on Mount Ebal, and you shall paint[fn] them with lime. 5 And you shall build an altar there for Yahweh your God, an altar of stone, but[fn] you shall not use an iron tool to shape the stones.[fn] 6 You must build the altar of your God with unhewn stones, and you shall sacrifice on it burnt offerings to Yahweh your God. 7 And you shall sacrifice fellowship offerings, and you shall eat them there, and you shall rejoice before[fn] Yahweh your God. 8 You shall write on the stone all of the words of this law very clearly.”

9 Then Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying,[fn] “Be silent and hear, Israel, for this day you have become a people[fn] for Yahweh your God. 10 And listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, and observe his commandments and his rules that I am commanding you today.”[fn]

Blessings and Curses

11 And Moses charged the people on that day, saying,[fn] 12 “These tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people when you cross[fn] the Jordan: Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Joseph and Benjamin. 13 And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for delivering the curse: Reuben, Gad and Asher and Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali. 14 And the Levites shall declare,[fn] and they shall say to each man of Israel with a loud voice, 15 ‘Cursed be the man that makes a divine image or a cast image, which is a detestable thing for Yahweh, the work of the hand of a skilled craftsman, and then sets it in a hiding place.’[fn] And all the people shall respond,[fn] ‘Amen.’

16 ‘Cursed be the one who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all of the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

17 ‘Cursed be the one who moves the boundary marker of his neighbor.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

18 ‘Cursed be the one who misleads a blind person on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

19 ‘Cursed be the one who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

20 ‘Cursed be the one who lies with the wife of his father, because he has dishonored his father’s bed.’[fn] And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

21 ‘Cursed be the one who lies with any kind of animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

22 ‘Cursed be the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

23 ‘Cursed be the one who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

24 ‘Cursed be the one who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

25 ‘Cursed be the one who takes a bribe to murder an innocent person.’[fn] And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

26 ‘Cursed be the one who does not keep[fn] the words of this law, to observe them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ”

28 “And it will happen that if you indeed listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to diligently observe[fn] all his commandments that I am commanding you today,[fn] then Yahweh your God will set you above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all of these blessings shall come upon you, and they shall have an effect on you[fn] if you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God:

3 “You will be blessed in the city, and you will be blessed in the field.

4 “Blessed will be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your livestock, the calf of your cattle and the lambs of your flock.[fn]

5 “Blessed will be your basket and your kneading trough.

6 “Blessed will you be when you come in and blessed will you be when you go out.[fn]

7 “Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you;[fn] on one road[fn] they shall come out against you, but on seven roads[fn] they shall flee before you.[fn] 8 Yahweh will command concerning you[fn] the blessing to be in your barns and in all your endeavors;[fn] and he will bless you in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you. 9 Yahweh will establish you for himself[fn] as a holy people as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and you walk in his ways. 10 And all of the peoples of the earth shall see that by the name of Yahweh you are called,[fn] and they shall fear you.[fn] 11 And Yahweh will make you successful and prosperous,[fn] in the fruit of your womb and on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors[fn] to give to you. 12 Yahweh shall open for you his rich[fn] storehouse, even the heavens, to give the rain for[fn] your land in its time and to bless all of the work of your hand, and you will lend to many nations; you will not borrow from them. 13 And Yahweh shall make you[fn] as head and not the tail, and you shall be only at the top of the nations, and you shall not be at the bottom, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God that I am commanding you today[fn] and diligently observe them.[fn] 14 And you shall not turn aside from any of[fn] the words that I am commanding you today[fn] to the right or left by going after other gods to serve them.

15 “And then[fn] if you do not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God by diligently observing[fn] all of his commandments and his statutes that I am commanding you today,[fn] then all of these curses shall come upon you, and they shall overtake you:

16 “You shall[fn] be cursed in the city, and you shall be cursed in the field.

17 “Your basket shall be cursed and your kneading trough.

18 “The fruit of your womb shall be cursed and the fruit of you ground, the calves of your cattle and the lambs of your flock.

19 “You shall be cursed when you come in,[fn] and you shall be cursed when you go out.[fn]

20 “Yahweh will send upon you[fn] the curse,[fn] the panic,[fn] and the threat[fn] in everything that you undertake,[fn] until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly[fn] because of[fn] the evil of your deeds in that[fn] you have forsaken me. 21 Yahweh will cause the plague to cling to you until it consumes you[fn] from the land that you are going to,[fn] to take possession of it. 22 Yahweh will afflict you with the wasting diseases and with the fever and with the inflammation and with the scorching heat and with the sword[fn] and with the blight and with the mildew, and they shall pursue you until you perish.[fn] 23 And your heavens that are over your heads shall be like bronze, and the earth that is under you shall be like iron. 24 Yahweh will change the rain of your land to fine dust and to sand; from the heaven it shall come down upon you until you are destroyed.[fn]

25 “Yahweh shall cause you to be defeated before[fn] your enemies; on one road you shall go against[fn] them,[fn] but you will flee on seven roads before[fn] them,[fn] and you shall become a thing of horror to all of the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And your dead bodies shall be as food for all of the birds of the heaven and to the animals of the earth, and there shall not be anyone to frighten them away.[fn]

27 “Yahweh shall afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scurvy and with the skin rash that cannot be healed.[fn] 28 Yahweh shall afflict you with madness and with blindness and with confusion of heart. 29 And you shall be groping at noon just as the blind person gropes in the dark, and you shall not succeed in finding your way, and you shall only be abused and robbed all the time,[fn] and there will not be anyone who will rescue you.[fn] 30 You shall become engaged to a woman, but another man shall sleep[fn] with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not live in it; a vineyard you shall plant, but you shall not enjoy it. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, and you shall not eat it; your donkey shall be stolen right before you,[fn] and it shall not be returned to you; your sheep and your goats shall be given to your enemies, and there shall not be anyone who rescues you.[fn] 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to other people, and you will be looking on[fn] longingly[fn] for[fn] them all day, but you will be powerless to do anything.[fn] 33 A people that you do not know shall consume the harvest of your land and all your labor, and you will be only oppressed and crushed for the rest of your lives.[fn] 34 You shall become mad because of what your eyes shall see.[fn] 35 Yahweh shall strike you with grievous boils on the knees and on the upper thighs from which you will not be able to be healed,[fn] from the sole of your foot and up to your crown. 36 Yahweh will bring you and your king whom you set up over you to a nation that you or your ancestors[fn] have not known, and there you will serve other gods of wood and stone. 37 And you will become a horror and a proverb and ridicule among all the peoples where Yahweh drives you there.

38 “You shall carry out much seed to the field, but you shall gather little produce, for the locust shall devour it. 39 You shall plant vineyards and you shall dress[fn] them, but you shall not drink wine and you shall not gather grapes, for the worm shall eat it.[fn] 40 There shall be olive trees for you in all of your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself, for your olives[fn] shall drop off. 41 You shall bear sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours,[fn] for they shall go into captivity. 42 The cricket shall take possession of all your trees and the fruit of your ground. 43 The alien that is in your midst shall ascend over you, higher and higher, but you shall go down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, but you shall be the tail.

45 “And all of these curses shall come over you, and they shall pursue you, and they shall overtake you until you are destroyed,[fn] because you did not listen[fn] to the voice of Yahweh your God, by observing[fn] his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. 46 And they shall be among you as a sign and as a wonder and among your offspring forever.[fn]

47 “Because[fn] of the fact that you did not serve Yahweh your God with joy and with gladness of heart for the abundance of everything, 48 then you shall serve your enemies, whom Yahweh will send against you under conditions of famine, in thirst, in nakedness, and in a lack of everything; and he shall place[fn] a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.[fn] 49 Yahweh will raise up against you a nation from far off, from the end of the earth, attacking as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you will not understand,[fn] 50 a grim-faced nation[fn] who does not show respect[fn] to the old and the young and does not show pity. 51 And it[fn] shall consume the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your ground until you are destroyed,[fn] and who will not leave for you any grain, wine, and olive oil, calves of your herds,[fn] and lambs of[fn] your flock until it has destroyed you.[fn] 52 And it shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls fall,[fn] which you are trusting in[fn] throughout your land;[fn] and it shall besiege you in all of your towns in all of your land that Yahweh your God has given to you. 53 And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and your daughters, whom Yahweh your God gave to you, during the siege and during the distress[fn] your enemy inflicts upon you. 54 The most refined and the very sensitive[fn] man among you shall be mean with his brother[fn] and against his beloved wife[fn] and against the rest[fn] of his children that he has left over, 55 by refraining from giving[fn] to even one of them any of the meat of his children that he eats, because there is not anything that is left over for him during the siege and distress[fn] that your enemy inflicts upon you. 56 The most refined and the most delicate woman among you, who shall[fn] not venture to put the sole of her foot on the ground from being so delicate and from such gentleness, shall be mean to her beloved husband[fn] and against her son and against her daughter, 57 and even concerning her afterbirth that goes out[fn] from between her feet and also concerning her children that she bears, because she eats them for lack of anything in secret during the siege and during the distress[fn] that your enemy inflicts upon her in your towns.[fn]

58 “If you do not diligently observe[fn] all the words of this law written in this scroll by revering this glorious and awesome name, Yahweh your God, 59 then Yahweh shall overwhelm you with your plagues and the plagues of your offspring, severe plagues and lasting illnesses, grievous and enduring. 60 And he shall bring back upon you all the diseases of Egypt concerning which you were in dread[fn] because of them.[fn] 61 Also any illness and any plague[fn] that is not written in the scroll of this law, he shall bring them, Yahweh, upon you until you are destroyed. 62 And you shall remain only a few people[fn] in place of the fact you were formerly as the stars of heaven as far as number is concerned, because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God. 63 And then[fn] as Yahweh delighted over you to make you prosperous[fn] to make you numerous, so Yahweh shall delight over you to exterminate you[fn] and to destroy you, and so you shall be plucked from the land that you are going there to take possession of it. 64 And Yahweh shall scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth up to the other end of the earth, and there you shall serve other gods that you have not known nor[fn] your ancestors,[fn] gods of wood and stone. 65 And among these nations you shall not find rest, and there shall not be a resting place for the sole of your foot, and Yahweh shall give you there an anxious heart and a weakening of eyes[fn] and a languishing of your inner self.[fn] 66 And your life shall hang in doubt before you,[fn] and you shall be startled[fn] night and day, and you shall not be confident of your life. 67 In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it was evening!’[fn] and in the evening you shall say ‘If only it was morning!’[fn] because of the dread of your heart that you shall feel, and because of the sight of your eyes that you shall see. 68 And Yahweh shall bring you back to Egypt in ships by the route that I promised[fn] to you that ‘You shall not see it again!’[fn] And you shall sell yourself there to your enemies as slaves and as female slaves, but there will not be a buyer.”

Covenant Renewal, Oaths, Restoration, Charges to the Nation

29 [fn] These are the words of the covenant that Yahweh commanded Moses to make with the Israelites[fn] in the land of Moab besides[fn] the covenant that he made with them at Horeb.

2 And Moses summoned all of Israel and said to them, “You saw all that Yahweh did before your eyes in the land of Egypt and to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land; 3 that is, the great trials that your eyes saw, and those great signs and wonders. 4 But Yahweh has not given to you a heart to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear, even to this day.[fn] 5 And I have led you forty years[fn] in the desert; your clothes have not worn out on you,[fn] and your sandal has not worn out on your foot.[fn] 6 You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine and strong drink, so that you may know that I am Yahweh your God. 7 And when you came to this place then Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out to meet you for battle, and we defeated them. 8 And we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites[fn] and to the Gadites[fn] and to the half-tribe of Manasseh. 9 And you must diligently observe the words of this covenant,[fn] so that you may succeed in all that you do.

10 “You are standing today,[fn] all of you, before[fn] Yahweh your God, your leaders, your tribes, your elders, and your officials, all the men of Israel, 11 your little children, your women and your aliens[fn] who are in the midst of your camp, from the choppers[fn] of your wood to the drawers[fn] of your water, 12 in order for you to enter into the covenant of Yahweh your God,[fn] and into[fn] his oath that Yahweh your God is making with you[fn] today,[fn] 13 in order to establish you today[fn] to himself[fn] as a people and so that he may be for you as God, just as he promised[fn] to you and just as[fn] he swore to your ancestors,[fn] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

14 “Now I am not making this covenant[fn] and this oath with you alone.[fn] 15 But with whoever is standing here[fn] with us today[fn] before[fn] Yahweh our God, and with whoever is not standing here[fn] with us today.[fn] 16 For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we traveled through the midst of the nations that you traveled[fn] through. 17 And you have seen their detestable things and their idols of wood and stone, silver, and gold that were among them, 18 so that there is not[fn] among you a man or a woman or a clan or a tribe whose heart[fn] turns today[fn] from being with Yahweh our God to go to serve the gods of these nations, so that there is not among you a root sprouting poison and wormwood. 19 And then when he hears the words of this oath, then[fn] he will assure himself[fn] in his heart, saying,[fn] ‘Safety shall be mine even though I go in the stubbornness of my heart,’[fn] thereby destroying the well-watered land along with the parched.[fn] 20 Yahweh will not be willing to forgive him, for by then the anger of Yahweh will smoke, and his passion against that man and all the curses written in this scroll will descend on him, and Yahweh will blot out his name from under heaven. 21 And Yahweh will single him out for calamity out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant written in the scroll of this law.

22 “And the next generation, that is, your children who will rise up after you, and the foreigner who will come from a distant land, when[fn] they will see the plagues of that land and its diseases that Yahweh has inflicted upon it, will say, 23 ‘All its land is brimstone and salt left by fire, none of its land will be sown,[fn] and it will not make plants sprout out and it will not grow any vegetation; it is as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Adman and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overturned in his anger and in his wrath.’ 24 And all the nations will say, ‘Why[fn] has Yahweh done such a thing[fn] to this land? What caused the fierceness of this great anger?’ 25 And they will say,[fn] ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,[fn] which he made[fn] with them when he brought them out[fn] from the land of Egypt. 26 And they went and served other gods and bowed down to them, gods whom they did not know them and he[fn] had not allotted to them. 27 So the anger of Yahweh was kindled[fn] against that land to bring upon it all the curses written in this scroll,

28 and Yahweh uprooted them from their land in anger and in wrath and in great fury, and he cast them into another land, just as it is today.’[fn] “The hidden things belong to Yahweh[fn] our God, but the revealed things belong to us[fn] to know and to our children forever,[fn] in order to do all the words of this law.”

30 “And then when all of these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I have set before you[fn] and you call them to mind[fn] among the nations there where Yahweh your God has scattered you, 2 and you return to Yahweh and you listen to his voice according to all that I am commanding you today,[fn] both you and your children,[fn] with all your heart and with all your inner self,[fn] 3 and Yahweh your God will restore your fortunes, and he will have compassion upon you, and he will again gather you together[fn] from all the peoples where Yahweh your God scattered you there.

4 “Even if you are outcasts[fn] at the end of the heavens, even from there Yahweh your God shall gather you, and from there he shall bring you back.[fn] 5 And Yahweh your God will bring you to the land that your ancestors[fn] had taken possession of,[fn] and he will make you successful, and he will make you more numerous than your ancestors.[fn]

6 “And Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring to love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your inner self[fn] so that you may live.[fn] 7 And Yahweh your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you,[fn] on those who harassed you.[fn] 8 And you will again listen[fn] to the voice of Yahweh, and you will do all his commandments that I am commanding you today.[fn] 9 And Yahweh your God will make you prosperous in all your undertakings,[fn] and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground abundantly,[fn] for Yahweh will again rejoice[fn] over you, just as he rejoiced over your ancestors.[fn] 10 He will do this if you listen to[fn] the voice of Yahweh your God by keeping his commandment and his statutes written in the scroll of this law and if you return to Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your inner self.[fn]

11 “For this commandment that I am commanding you today[fn] is not too wonderful for you,[fn] and it is not too far from you. 12 It is not in the heavens so that you might say,[fn] ‘Who will go up for us to the heavens and get it for us and cause us to hear it, so that we may do it?’ 13 And it is not beyond the sea,[fn] so that you might say,[fn] ‘Who will cross for us to the other side of the sea and take it for us and cause us to hear it, so that we may do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, even in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may do it.[fn]

15 “See, I am setting before you[fn] today[fn] life and prosperity and death and disaster; 16 what I am commanding you today[fn] is to love Yahweh your God by going[fn] in his ways and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his regulations, and then you will live, and you will become numerous, and Yahweh your God will bless you in the land where you are going.[fn] 17 However, if your heart turns aside and you do not listen and you are lured away and you bow down to other gods and you serve them, 18 I declare to you today[fn] that you will certainly perish; you will not extend your time[fn] on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to go there to take possession of it. 19 I invoke as a witness against you today[fn] the heaven and the earth: life and death I have set before you,[fn] blessing and curse. So choose life, so that you may live, you and your offspring,[fn] 20 by loving Yahweh your God by listening to his voice and by clinging to him, for he is your life and the length of your days in order for you to live on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors,[fn] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them.”

Succession, Deposition, and Recitation of Text

31 And Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am a hundred and twenty years old today;[fn] I am not able to go out and to come in any longer, and Yahweh said to me, ‘You may not cross this Jordan.’ 3 Yahweh your God is about to cross before you;[fn] he will destroy these nations before you,[fn] and you shall dispossess them. Joshua will be crossing before you,[fn] just as Yahweh promised.[fn] 4 And Yahweh will do to them just as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and to their land, which he destroyed with them. 5 And Yahweh will deliver them to you before you,[fn] and you shall do to them according to every commandment that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and be courageous; you should not be afraid, and you should not be in dread from their presence,[fn] for Yahweh your God is the one going with you; he will not leave you alone and he will not forsake you.”

7 Then Moses summoned Joshua, and he said to him in the presence of all Israel,[fn] “Be strong and be courageous, for you will go with this people into the land that Yahweh swore to their ancestors[fn] to give to them, and you will give it to them as an inheritance. 8 Yahweh is the one going before you;[fn] he will be with you, and he will not leave you alone, and he will not forsake you; you shall not be afraid, and you shall not be discouraged.” 9 So Moses wrote this law, and he gave it to the priests, the descendants[fn] of Levi, the ones carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and to all the elders of Israel.

10 Then Moses commanded them, saying,[fn] “At the end of seven years, in the time of the year for canceling debts during the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before[fn] Yahweh their God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.[fn] 12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little children and your aliens that are in your towns,[fn] so that they may hear and so that they may learn and they may revere Yahweh your God, and they shall diligently observe[fn] all the words of this law. 13 And then their children,[fn] who have not known, they too may hear, and they may learn to revere Yahweh their God all the days that you live[fn] on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to get there[fn] to take possession of it.”

14 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Look, you are about to die;[fn] call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of assembly,[fn] so that I may instruct him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in[fn] the tent of assembly.[fn] 15 And Yahweh appeared in the tent in a column of cloud, and the column of the cloud stood at the entrance of the tent. 16 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Look, you are about to lie down with your ancestors,[fn] and this people will arise and they[fn] will play the prostitute after the foreign gods[fn] of the land to which they are going.[fn] 17 And my anger shall flare up against them[fn] on that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they[fn] shall become as prey, and disasters and troubles shall find[fn] them,[fn] and they[fn] shall say on that day, ‘Is it not because our[fn] God is not in our[fn] midst that these disasters have found[fn] us?’[fn] 18 But I will certainly hide my face on that day, because of all of the evil that they[fn] did because they[fn] turned to other gods.

19 “And so then write this song for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites;[fn] put it in their mouth, so that this song may be for me as a witness against the Israelites.[fn] 20 For when I bring them[fn] into the land that I swore to their[fn] ancestors,[fn] a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill,[fn] and they[fn] will become fat, and then they[fn] will turn to other gods, and they will serve them, and they will spurn me, and they[fn] will break my covenant. 21 And then[fn] many disasters and troubles will come upon them,[fn] and this song will give evidence before them[fn] as a witness, because it will not be forgotten from out of the mouth of their descendants,[fn] for I know their[fn] inclination that they[fn] are having today[fn] before I have brought them[fn] into the land that I swore.” 22 And Moses wrote this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.[fn]

23 Then he[fn] told Joshua the son of Nun, and said to him, “Be strong and be courageous, for you shall bring the Israelites[fn] into the land that I swore to them, and I will be with you.”

24 And then when Moses finished writing[fn] the words of this law on the scroll until they were complete,[fn] 25 then Moses commanded the Levites carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, saying,[fn] 26 “Take the scroll of this law and put it at the side of the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, and it will be there as a witness against you. 27 For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck even now while I am still alive with you today,[fn] rebelling against Yahweh, and how much more[fn] after my death. 28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officials, so that I may speak in their ears these words, and that I may call as witness against them heaven and earth. 29 For I know that after my death you will certainly act corruptly, and you will turn aside from the way that I have commanded you, and the disaster in the future days will befall you, because you will do evil[fn] in the eyes of Yahweh, provoking him with the work of your hands.”[fn] 30 So Moses spoke into the ears of the assembly of Israel the words of this song until they were complete.[fn]

The Song of Moses

• and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
• 2  my words like rain showers on tender grass,
• and like spring showers on new growth.
• 3  ascribe greatness to our God!
• 4 is perfect, for all his ways are just;
• he is a faithful God, and[fn]
  • righteous and upright is he.
  • 5 have behaved corruptly toward[fn] him; they are not his children; this is their flaw,
  • a generation crooked and perverse.
  • 6 Like this do you treat Yahweh, foolish and[fn] people?
• Has he not, your father, created you?
  • He made you, and he established you.
  • 7 the old days,[fn] ask your father, and he will inform you,
  • your elders and they will tell you.[fn]
  • 8 [fn] the nations, at his dividing up of the sons of humankind,
• he fixed the boundaries of the peoples,
  • according to the number of the children of Israel.[fn]
  • 9 was his people, Jacob the share of his inheritance.
  • 10  and in a howling, desert wasteland;
• he[fn] he cared for him,
  • he protected him like the[fn] of his eye.
  • 11  hovers over its young,
• spreads out its wings, takes them,[fn]
  • carries them[fn] on its pinions,[fn]
  • 12 so Yahweh alone guided him,[fn] and[fn]
  • 13 the land, and he fed him the crops[fn] of the field,
• and he nursed him with honey from crags,[fn]
  • and with oil from flinty rock,
  • 14 With curds[fn] from the herd, and with milk from the flock,
• with the fat of young rams,
  • and rams, the offspring of Bashan,
• and with goats along with the finest kernels of wheat,
  • and from the blood of grapes[fn] you drank fermented wine.[fn]
  • 15 you grew fat, you bloated, and you became obstinate;
• and he abandoned God, his maker,
  • and he scoffed at the rock of his salvation.
  • 16 gods; with detestable things they provoked him.
  • 17  to gods whom[fn] they had not known,
• new gods who[fn] came from recent times;
  • [fn]
  • 18 The rock who[fn] bore you, you neglected, and you forgot God, the one giving you birth.
  • 19 them, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.
  • 20  I will see what will be their end,
• for they are a generation of perversity,
  • [fn]
  • 21 what is not a god; they provoked me with their idols.
• So I will make them jealous with those not a people,
  • with a foolish nation I will provoke them.
  • 22 [fn] by my anger, and it burned[fn]
• and it devoured the earth and its produce,
  • and it set afire the foundation of the mountains.
  • 23  my arrows I will spend on them.
  • 24 They will become weakened by famine, and consumed by plague and bitter pestilence;
• and the teeth of wild animals I will send against them,
  • with the poison of the creeping things in the dust;
  • 25 her boundaries the sword will make her childless, and from inside, terror;
• both for the young man and also the young woman,
  • the infant along with the gray-headed man.
  • 26 [fn]
  • 27 the enemy, lest their foes might misunderstand,[fn]
• lest they should say,[fn] “Our hand is
  • [fn] and Yahweh did not do all this.” ’
  • 28 [fn] and there is not any understanding in them.
  • 29  they would discern[fn]
  • 30  and two could cause a myriad to flee,
• if their Rock had not sold them,
  • and Yahweh had not given them up?
  • 31  their rock is not like our Rock,
  • and our enemies recognize[fn] this.
  • 32 is from the vine of Sodom, and from the terraces of Gomorrah;
• their grapes are grapes of poison;
  • [fn]
  • 33 is the poison of snakes, and the deadly poison of horned vipers.  
  • 34 Is not this stored up with me, sealed in my treasuries?’[fn]
  • 35 [fn] and also recompense,[fn]
• because the day of their disaster is near,
  • [fn]
  • 36 on behalf of his people, and concerning his servants;
• he will change his mind when he sees that their power has disappeared,
  • and there is no one left, confined[fn] or free.[fn]
  • 37 are their gods, their rock in whom[fn] they took refuge?
  • 38 and drank the wine of their libations?
• Let them rise up, and let them help you;
  • [fn]
  • 39 even I am he, and there is not a god besides me;
• I put to death and I give life;
  • I wound and I heal;
  • there is not one who delivers from my hand!
  • 40 indeed I lift up my hand to heaven, And I promise[fn]
  • 41 [fn] [fn] and my hand takes hold[fn] of it in judgment,
• [fn]
  • and my haters I will repay.
  • 42  and my sword shall devour flesh with the blood of the slain,
  • and captives[fn] from the heads[fn] of the leaders of the enemy.’
  • 43 concerning his people,[fn] for the blood of his servants he will avenge,
• [fn]
  • and he will make atonement for his land, his people.”

44 And Moses came, and he spoke[fn] all the words of this song in the ears of the people; that is, he and Joshua the son of Nun. 45 And when Moses finished speaking[fn] all these words to all Israel, 46 then he said to them, “Take to heart all the words[fn] that I am admonishing against you today[fn] concerning which you should instruct them with respect to your children[fn] so that they will observe diligently[fn] all the words of this law, 47 for it is not a trifling matter among you, but it is your life, and through this word you will live long in the land[fn] that you are about to cross the Jordan to get there to take possession of it.”

Instructions Concerning Moses’ Death

48 And Yahweh said to Moses on exactly this day, saying,[fn] 49 “Go up to this mountain of the Abarim range, Mount Nebo, which is opposite Jericho,[fn] and see the land of Canaan that I am giving to the Israelites[fn] as a possession. 50 You shall die on that mountain that you are about to go up there, and you will be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor[fn] and he was gathered to his people, 51 because of the fact that you broke faith with me in the midst of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the desert of Zin, because you did not treat me as holy[fn] in the midst of the Israelites.[fn] 52 Yes, from afar you may view the land, but there you shall not enter there, that is, into the land that I am giving to the Israelites.”[fn]

Blessings of Moses on Israel

33 Now[fn] this is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites[fn] before[fn] his death.

• 2 Then[fn] he said, “Yahweh came from Sinai,
  • and he dawned upon them from Seir;
  • he shone forth from Mount Paran,
• and he came with myriads of holy ones,
  • at his right hand a fiery law for them.[fn]
  • 3 [fn] [fn] all the holy ones were in your hand,
• and they bowed down to[fn] your feet,
  • [fn]
  • 4  as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
  • 5 then a king arose in Jeshurun, at the gathering of the leaders of the people,
  • [fn]
  • 6 [fn]
• 7 [fn] “Hear, O Yahweh, the voice of Judah,
  • and bring him to his people;
• his own hands strive[fn] for him,
  • and may you be a help[fn] his foes.”
  • 8  “Your Thummim and your Urim
• are for[fn]
  • [fn]
• you contended with him
  • at the waters of Meribah.
  • 9 one saying of his father and of his mother, ‘I have not regarded them,’
• and his brothers he did not acknowledge,
  • and his children[fn] he did not know,
• but rather they observed your word,
  • and your covenant they kept.
  • 10 [fn] your regulations to Jacob, and your law to Israel;
• they placed incense smoke[fn]
  • and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
  • 11  and with the work of his hands you must be pleased;
• smite the loins of those who attack him,
  • and those hating him,[fn]
• 12  “The beloved of Yahweh dwells[fn]
  • the Most High[fn] shields all around him,
• all the day,
  • and between his shoulders he dwells.”
  • 13  “Blessed by Yahweh is his land,
• with[fn] the choice things of heaven,
  • with[fn] dew, and with[fn] the deep lying down beneath,
  • 14 [fn] the choice things of the fruits[fn] of the the sun, and with the choice things of the yield of the[fn]
  • 15 [fn] the finest things of the ancient mountains, and with[fn] the choice things of the[fn]
  • 16 [fn] the choice things of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of the one[fn] in the bush.[fn]
• Let them come to the head of Joseph,
  • and to the crown of the prince among his brothers.
  • 17 As the firstborn of his ox, majesty[fn] and his horns are the horns of a wild ox;
• with them he drives people together,[fn]
  • and they are the myriads of Ephraim,
  • and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
• 18  “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
  • and rejoice, Issachar, in your tents;
  • 19 to the mountains;[fn] there they sacrifice the sacrifices of righteousness,
• because the affluence of the seas they suck out,
  • and[fn]
  • 20  “Blessed be[fn]
• like a lion he dwells,
  • and he tears an arm as well as a scalp.
  • 21 [fn] the best part for himself,[fn] for there the portion of a ruler is included,
• and he came with the heads of the people;[fn]
  • he did[fn] the righteousness of Yahweh,
  • and his regulations for Israel.”
• 22  “Dan is a cub of a lion;
  • he leaps from Bashan.”[fn]
• 23  “Oh, Naphtali, sated of favor,
  • and full of the blessing of Yahweh;
• take possession of the lake,
  • and the land to the south.”
  • 24  “Blessed[fn] is Asher;
• [fn] of his brothers,
  • [fn]
  • 25 are[fn] iron and bronze, and as your days, so is[fn] your strength.”
  • 26 one like God, O, Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help,
  • and with his majesty through the skies.
  • 27 [fn] is a hiding place, and underneath are the arms of eternity,[fn]
• and he drove out[fn] you your enemy,
  • and he said, ‘Destroy them!’
  • 28 and carefree, the spring of Jacob in a land of grain and wine;
  • his heavens even drip dew.
  • 29 are you, O Israel. Who is like you, a people who is saved by Yahweh,
• the shield of your help,
  • and who is the sword of your triumph,
• and your enemies, they shall fawn before you,[fn]
  • and you shall tread on their backs.”