Beginning
The Opening Exhortation
5 Then Moses called all the people of Israel together and said to them:[a] “Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances that I am about to deliver to you today; learn them and be careful to keep them! 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 He[b] did not make this covenant with our ancestors[c] but with us, we who are here today, all of us living now. 4 The Lord spoke face to face with you at the mountain, from the middle of the fire. 5 (I was standing between the Lord and you at that time to reveal the Lord’s message to you, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.) He said:
The Ten Commandments
6 “I am the Lord your God—he who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery.
7 “You must not have any other gods[d] besides me.[e]
8 “You must not make for yourself an image[f] of anything in heaven above, on earth below, or in the waters beneath.[g] 9 You must not worship or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I punish[h] the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons for the sin of the fathers who reject[i] me,[j] 10 but I show covenant faithfulness[k] to the thousands[l] who choose[m] me and keep my commandments.
11 “You must not make use of the name of the Lord your God for worthless purposes,[n] for the Lord will not exonerate anyone who abuses his name that way.[o]
12 “Be careful to observe[p] the Sabbath day just as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 You are to work and do all your tasks in six days, 14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath[q] of the Lord your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the resident foreigner who lives with you,[r] so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest. 15 Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there by strength and power.[s] That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe[t] the Sabbath day.
16 “Honor[u] your father and your mother just as the Lord your God has commanded you to do, so that your days may be extended and that it may go well with you in the land that he[v] is about to give you.
17 “You must not murder.[w]
18 “You must not commit adultery.
19 “You must not steal.
20 “You must not offer false testimony against another.[x] 21 You must not desire[y] another man’s[z] wife, nor should you crave his[aa] house, his field, his male and female servants, his ox, his donkey, or anything else he owns.”[ab]
The Narrative of the Sinai Revelation and Israel’s Response
22 The Lord said these things to your entire assembly at the mountain from the middle of the fire, the cloud, and the darkness with a loud voice, and that was all he said.[ac] Then he inscribed the words[ad] on two stone tablets and gave them to me. 23 Then, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness while the mountain was ablaze, all your tribal leaders and elders approached me. 24 You said, “The Lord our God has shown us his great glory,[ae] and we have heard him speak from the middle of the fire. It is now clear to us[af] that God can speak to human beings and they can keep on living. 25 But now, why should we die, because this intense fire will consume us? If we keep hearing the voice of the Lord our God we will die! 26 Who is there from the entire human race[ag] who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the middle of the fire as we have, and has lived? 27 You go near so that you can hear everything the Lord our God is saying and then you can tell us whatever he[ah] says to you; then we will pay attention and do it.” 28 When the Lord heard you speaking to me, he[ai] said to me, “I have heard what these people have said to you—they have spoken well. 29 If only it would really be their desire to fear me and obey[aj] all my commandments in the future, so that it may go well with them and their descendants forever. 30 Go and tell them, ‘Return to your tents!’ 31 But as for you, remain here with me so I can declare to you all the commandments,[ak] statutes, and ordinances that you are to teach them, so that they can carry them out in the land I am about to give them.”[al] 32 Be careful, therefore, to do exactly what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn right or left! 33 Walk just as he[am] has commanded you so that you may live, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long[an] in the land you are going to possess.
Exhortation to Keep the Covenant Principles
6 Now these are the commandments,[ao] statutes, and ordinances that the Lord your God instructed me to teach you so that you may carry them out in the land where you are headed[ap] 2 and that you may so revere the Lord your God that you will keep all his statutes and commandments[aq] that I am giving[ar] you—you, your children, and your grandchildren—all your lives, to prolong your days. 3 Pay attention, Israel, and be careful to do this so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in number[as]—as the Lord, the God of your ancestors,[at] said to you, you will have a land flowing with milk and honey.
The Essence of the Covenant Principles
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one![au] 5 You must love[av] the Lord your God with your whole mind,[aw] your whole being,[ax] and all your strength.[ay]
Exhortation to Teach the Covenant Principles
6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 7 and you must teach[az] them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road,[ba] as you lie down, and as you get up. 8 You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm[bb] and fasten them as symbols[bc] on your forehead. 9 Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates.[bd]
Exhortation to Worship the Lord Exclusively
10 Then when the Lord your God brings you to the land he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you—a land with large, fine cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with choice things you did not accumulate, hewn-out cisterns you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—and you eat your fill, 12 be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, that place of slavery.[be] 13 You must revere the Lord your God, serve him, and take oaths using only his name. 14 You must not go after other gods, those[bf] of the surrounding peoples, 15 for the Lord your God, who is present among you, is a jealous God—his anger will erupt against you and remove you from the land.[bg]
Exhortation to Obey the Lord Exclusively
16 You must not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.[bh] 17 Keep his[bi] commandments very carefully,[bj] as well as the stipulations and statutes he commanded you to observe. 18 Do whatever is proper[bk] and good before the Lord so that it may go well with you and that you may enter and occupy the good land that he[bl] promised your ancestors, 19 and that you may drive out all your enemies just as the Lord said.
Exhortation to Remember the Past
20 When your children[bm] ask you later on, “What are the stipulations, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord our God commanded you?” 21 you must say to them,[bn] “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt in a powerful way.[bo] 22 And he[bp] brought signs and great, devastating wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on his whole family[bq] before our very eyes. 23 He delivered us from there so that he could give us the land he had promised our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these statutes and to revere him[br] so that it may always go well for us and he may preserve us, as he has to this day. 25 We will be innocent if we carefully keep all these commandments[bs] before the Lord our God, just as he demands.”[bt]
The Dispossession of Nonvassals
7 When the Lord your God brings you to the land that you are going to occupy and forces out many nations before you—Hittites,[bu] Girgashites,[bv] Amorites,[bw] Canaanites,[bx] Perizzites,[by] Hivites,[bz] and Jebusites,[ca] seven[cb] nations more numerous and powerful than you— 2 and he[cc] delivers them over to you and you attack them, you must utterly annihilate[cd] them. Make no treaty[ce] with them and show them no mercy! 3 You must not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters[cf] to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they[cg] will turn your sons away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will erupt against you and he will quickly destroy you. 5 Instead, this is what you must do to them: You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars,[ch] cut down their sacred Asherah poles,[ci] and burn up their idols. 6 For you are a people holy[cj] to the Lord your God. He[ck] has chosen you to be his people, prized[cl] above all others on the face of the earth.
The Basis of Israel’s Election
7 It is not because you were more numerous than all the other peoples that the Lord favored and chose you—for in fact you were the least numerous of all peoples. 8 Rather it is because of his[cm] love[cn] for you and his faithfulness to the promise[co] he solemnly vowed[cp] to your ancestors[cq] that the Lord brought you out with great power,[cr] redeeming[cs] you from the place of slavery, from the power[ct] of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 So realize that the Lord your God is the true God,[cu] the faithful God who keeps covenant faithfully[cv] with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 but who pays back those who hate[cw] him as they deserve and destroys them. He will not ignore[cx] those who hate him but will repay them as they deserve! 11 So keep the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that I today am commanding you to do.
Promises of Good for Covenant Obedience
12 If you obey these ordinances and are careful to do them, the Lord your God will faithfully keep covenant with you[cy] as he promised[cz] your ancestors. 13 He will love and bless you, and make you numerous. He will bless you with many children,[da] with the produce of your soil, your grain, your new wine, your olive oil, the offspring of your oxen, and the young of your flocks in the land that he promised your ancestors to give you. 14 You will be blessed beyond all peoples; there will be no barrenness[db] among you or your livestock. 15 The Lord will protect you from all sickness, and you will not experience any of the terrible diseases that you knew in Egypt; instead he will inflict them on all those who hate you.
Exhortation to Destroy Canaanite Paganism
16 You must destroy[dc] all the people whom the Lord your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship[dd] their gods, for that will be a snare to you. 17 If you think, “These nations are more numerous than I—how can I dispossess them?” 18 you must not fear them. You must carefully recall[de] what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt, 19 the great judgments[df] you saw, the signs and wonders, the strength and power[dg] by which he[dh] brought you out—thus the Lord your God will do to all the people you fear. 20 Furthermore, the Lord your God will release hornets[di] among them until the very last ones who hide from you[dj] perish. 21 You must not tremble in their presence, for the Lord your God, who is present among you, is a great and awesome God. 22 He,[dk] the God who leads you, will expel the nations little by little. You will not be allowed to destroy them all at once lest the wild animals overrun you. 23 The Lord your God will give them over to you; he will throw them into a great panic[dl] until they are destroyed. 24 He will hand over their kings to you, and you will erase their very names from memory.[dm] Nobody will be able to resist you until you destroy them. 25 You must burn the images of their gods, but do not covet the silver and gold that covers them so much that you take it for yourself and thus become ensnared by it; for it is abhorrent[dn] to the Lord your God. 26 You must not bring any abhorrent thing into your house and thereby become an object of divine wrath[do] along with it.[dp] You must absolutely detest[dq] and abhor it,[dr] for it is an object of divine wrath.
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