Study Desk

Do not add anything to what I command you, and do not take anything away. Obey the commands of the Lord your God that I have given you.

but those of you who were faithful to the Lord your God are still alive today.

"I have taught you all the laws, as the Lord my God told me to do. Obey them in the land that you are about to invade and occupy.

"No other nation, no matter how great, has a god who is so near when they need him as the Lord our God is to us. He answers us whenever we call for help.

about the day you stood in the presence of the Lord your God at Mount Sinai, when he said to me, ‘Assemble the people. I want them to hear what I have to say, so that they will learn to obey me as long as they live and so that they will teach their children to do the same.'

Do not be tempted to worship and serve what you see in the sky—the sun, the moon, and the stars. The Lord your God has given these to all other peoples for them to worship.

Because of you the Lord your God was angry with me and solemnly declared that I would not cross the Jordan River to enter the fertile land which he is giving you.

Be certain that you do not forget the covenant that the Lord your God made with you. Obey his command not to make yourselves any kind of idol,

because the Lord your God is like a flaming fire; he tolerates no rivals.

There you will look for the Lord your God, and if you search for him with all your heart, you will find him.

He is a merciful God. He will not abandon you or destroy you, and he will not forget the covenant that he himself made with your ancestors.

"Search the past, the time before you were born, all the way back to the time when God created human beings on the earth. Search the entire earth. Has anything as great as this ever happened before? Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?

Have any people ever lived after hearing a god speak to them from a fire, as you have?

Has any god ever dared to go and take a people from another nation and make them his own, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt? Before your very eyes he used his great power and strength; he brought plagues and war, worked miracles and wonders, and caused terrifying things to happen.

The Lord has shown you this, to prove to you that he alone is God and that there is no other.

So remember today and never forget: the Lord is God in heaven and on earth. There is no other god.

Obey all his laws that I have given you today, and all will go well with you and your descendants. You will continue to live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to be yours forever."

At Mount Sinai the Lord our God made a covenant,

‘I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves.

"‘Worship no god but me.