Deuteronomy 4

• 1. "And now, Israel, listen carefully to these laws and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.
• 2. Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you from the LORD your God. Just obey them.
• 3. You saw what the LORD did to you at Baal-peor, where the LORD your God destroyed everyone who had worshiped the god Baal of Peor.
• 4. But all of you who were faithful to the LORD your God are still alive today.
• 5. "You must obey these laws and regulations when you arrive in the land you are about to enter and occupy. The LORD my God gave them to me and commanded me to pass them on to you.
• 6. If you obey them carefully, you will display your wisdom and intelligence to the surrounding nations. When they hear about these laws, they will exclaim, `What other nation is as wise and prudent as this!'
• 7. For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD our God is near to us whenever we call on him?
• 8. And what great nation has laws and regulations as fair as this body of laws that I am giving you today?
• 9. "But watch out! Be very careful never to forget what you have seen the LORD do for you. Do not let these things escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.
• 10. Tell them especially about the day when you stood before the LORD your God at Mount Sinai, where he told me, `Summon the people before me, and I will instruct them. That way, they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will be able to teach my laws to their children.'
• 11. You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain was burning with fire. Flames shot into the sky, shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness.
• 12. And the LORD spoke to you from the fire. You heard his words but didn't see his form; there was only a voice.
• 13. He proclaimed his covenant, which he commanded you to keep--the Ten Commandments--and wrote them on two stone tablets.
• 14. It was at that time that the LORD commanded me to issue the laws and regulations you must obey in the land you are about to enter and occupy.
• 15. "But be careful! You did not see the LORD's form on the day he spoke to you from the fire at Mount Sinai.
• 16. So do not corrupt yourselves by making a physical image in any form--whether of a man or a woman,
• 17. an animal or a bird,
• 18. a creeping creature or a fish.
• 19. And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars--all the forces of heaven--don't be seduced by them and worship them. The LORD your God designated these heavenly bodies for all the peoples of the earth.
• 20. Remember that the LORD rescued you from the burning furnace of Egypt to become his own people and special possession; that is what you are today.
• 21. "But the LORD was very angry with me because of you. He vowed that I would never cross the Jordan River into the good land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession.
• 22. Though you will cross the Jordan to occupy the land, I will die here on this side of the river.
• 23. So be careful not to break the covenant the LORD your God has made with you. You will break it if you make idols of any shape or form, for the LORD your God has absolutely forbidden this.
• 24. The LORD your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.
• 25. "In the future, when you have children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time, do not corrupt yourselves by making idols of any kind. This is evil in the sight of the LORD your God and will arouse his anger.
• 26. "Today I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you. If you disobey me, you will quickly disappear from the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. You will live there only a short time; then you will be utterly destroyed.
• 27. For the LORD will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive.
• 28. There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone, gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.
• 29. From there you will search again for the LORD your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.
• 30. "When those bitter days have come upon you far in the future, you will finally return to the LORD your God and listen to what he tells you.
• 31. For the LORD your God is merciful--he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.
• 32. "Search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now. Then search from one end of the heavens to the other. See if anything as great as this has ever happened before.
• 33. Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire--as you did--and survived?
• 34. Has any other god taken one nation for himself by rescuing it from another by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, awesome power, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, right before your very eyes.
• 35. "He showed you these things so you would realize that the LORD is God and that there is no other god.
• 36. He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct you. He let you see his great fire here on earth so he could speak to you from it.
• 37. Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants and personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power.
• 38. He drove out nations far greater than you, so he could bring you in and give you their land as a special possession, as it is today.
• 39. So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The LORD is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other god!
• 40. If you obey all the laws and commands that I will give you today, all will be well with you and your children. Then you will enjoy a long life in the land the LORD your God is giving you for all time."
• 41. Then Moses set apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River,
• 42. where anyone who had accidentally killed someone without having any previous hostility could flee for safety.
• 43. These were the cities: Bezer on the wilderness plateau for the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead for the tribe of Gad; Golan in Bashan for the tribe of Manasseh.
• 44. This is the law that Moses handed down to the Israelites.
• 45. These are the stipulations, laws, and regulations that Moses gave to the people of Israel when they left Egypt,
• 46. and as they camped in the valley near Beth-peor east of the Jordan River. (This land was formerly occupied by the Amorites under King Sihon of Heshbon. He and his people had been destroyed by Moses and the Israelites as they came up from Egypt.
• 47. Israel conquered his land and that of King Og of Bashan--the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan.
• 48. So Israel conquered all the area from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Sirion, also called Mount Hermon.
• 49. And they took the eastern bank of the Jordan Valley as far south as the Dead Sea, below the slopes of Pisgah.)

Deuteronomy 5

• 1. Moses called all the people of Israel together and said, "Listen carefully to all the laws and regulations I am giving you today. Learn them and be sure to obey them!
• 2. "While we were at Mount Sinai, the LORD our God made a covenant with us.
• 3. The LORD did not make this covenant long ago with our ancestors, but with all of us who are alive today.
• 4. The LORD spoke to you face to face from the heart of the fire on the mountain.
• 5. I stood as an intermediary between you and the LORD, for you were afraid of the fire and did not climb the mountain. He spoke to me, and I passed his words on to you. This is what he said:
• 6. " `I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt.
• 7. " `Do not worship any other gods besides me.
• 8. " `Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds or animals or fish.
• 9. You must never worship or bow down to them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god! I do not leave unpunished the sins of those who hate me, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations.
• 10. But I lavish my love on those who love me and obey my commands, even for a thousand generations.
• 11. " `Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
• 12. " `Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.
• 13. Six days a week are set apart for your daily duties and regular work,
• 14. but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any kind of work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your oxen and donkeys and other livestock, and any foreigners living among you. All your male and female servants must rest as you do.
• 15. Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out with amazing power and mighty deeds. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
• 16. " `Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God will give you.
• 17. " `Do not murder.
• 18. " `Do not commit adultery.
• 19. " `Do not steal.
• 20. " `Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.
• 21. " `Do not covet your neighbor's wife. Do not covet your neighbor's house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else your neighbor owns.'
• 22. "The LORD spoke these words with a loud voice to all of you from the heart of the fire, surrounded by clouds and deep darkness. This was all he said at that time, and he wrote his words on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
• 23. But when you heard the voice from the darkness, while the mountain was blazing with fire, all your tribal leaders came to me.
• 24. They said, `The LORD our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice from the heart of the fire. Today we have seen God speaking to humans, and yet we live!
• 25. But now, why should we die? If the LORD our God speaks to us again, we will certainly die and be consumed by this awesome fire.
• 26. Can any living thing hear the voice of the living God from the heart of the fire and yet survive?
• 27. You go and listen to what the LORD our God says. Then come and tell us everything he tells you, and we will listen and obey.'
• 28. "The LORD heard your request and said to me, `I have heard what the people have said to you, and they are right.
• 29. Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands! If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever.
• 30. Go and tell them to return to their tents.
• 31. But you stay here with me so I can give you all my commands, laws, and regulations. You will teach them to the people so they can obey them in the land I am giving to them as their inheritance.'"
• 32. So Moses told the people, "You must obey all the commands of the LORD your God, following his instructions in every detail.
• 33. Stay on the path that the LORD your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy.

Deuteronomy 6

• 1. "These are all the commands, laws, and regulations that the LORD your God told me to teach you so you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy,
• 2. and so you and your children and grandchildren might fear the LORD your God as long as you live. If you obey all his laws and commands, you will enjoy a long life.
• 3. Listen closely, Israel, to everything I say. Be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
• 4. "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.
• 5. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.
• 6. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today.
• 7. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again.
• 8. Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead.
• 9. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
• 10. "The LORD your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land filled with large, prosperous cities that you did not build.
• 11. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land,
• 12. be careful not to forget the LORD, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.
• 13. You must fear the LORD your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name.
• 14. "You must not worship any of the gods of neighboring nations,
• 15. for the LORD your God, who lives among you, is a jealous God. His anger will flare up against you and wipe you from the face of the earth.
• 16. Do not test the LORD your God as you did when you complained at Massah.
• 17. You must diligently obey the commands of the LORD your God--all the stipulations and laws he has given you.
• 18. Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight, so all will go well with you. Then you will enter and occupy the good land that the LORD solemnly promised to give your ancestors.
• 19. You will drive out all the enemies living in your land, just as the LORD said you would.
• 20. "In the future your children will ask you, `What is the meaning of these stipulations, laws, and regulations that the LORD our God has given us?'
• 21. Then you must tell them, `We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with amazing power.
• 22. Before our eyes the LORD did miraculous signs and wonders, dealing terrifying blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people.
• 23. He brought us out of Egypt so he could give us this land he had solemnly promised to give our ancestors.
• 24. And the LORD our God commanded us to obey all these laws and to fear him for our own prosperity and well-being, as is now the case.
• 25. For we are righteous when we obey all the commands the LORD our God has given us.'

New Living Translation: 54 of 324 days.