Study Desk

"Hear, Israel! You are crossing the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess ^(C1)nations greater and mightier than you, cities that are great and ^(C2)fortified to heaven,

a people who are great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, '^(C1)Who can stand against the sons of Anak?'

"So be aware today that ^(C1)it is the LORD your God who is crossing over ahead of you as ^(C2)a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that ^(C3)you may drive them out and eliminate them quickly, just as the LORD has spoken to you.

"^(C1)Do not say in your heart when the LORD your God has driven them away from ^(F1)you, 'Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to take possession of this land.' Rather, it is ^(C2)because of the ^(F2)wickedness of these nations that the LORD is dispossessing them before you.

"It is ^(C1)not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you are going in to take possession of their land, ^(F1)but it is because of the ^(F2)wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and in order to confirm ^(C2)the ^(F3)oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

"Know, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are ^(C1)a ^(F1)stubborn people.

"Remember, do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to anger in the wilderness; ^(C1)from the day that you left the land of Egypt until you arrived at this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD.

"Even ^(C1)at Horeb you provoked the LORD to anger, and the LORD was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you.

"When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I remained on the mountain for forty days and nights; ^(C1)I neither ate bread nor drank water.

"The LORD gave me the two tablets of stone ^(C1)written by the finger of God; and on them were all the words which the LORD had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly.

"It came about ^(C1)at the end of forty days and nights that the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant.

"^(C1)Then the LORD said to me, 'Arise, go down from here quickly, because your people, whom you brought out of Egypt, have behaved corruptly. They have ^(C2)quickly turned aside from the way that I commanded them; they have made a cast metal image for themselves.'

"The ^(C1)LORD also said to ^(F1)me, 'I have seen this people, and indeed, it is a ^(F2)(C2)stubborn people.

'^(C1)Leave Me alone, that I may destroy them and ^(C2)wipe out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.'

"^(C1)So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands.

"And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a cast metal image of a calf; you had quickly turned aside from the way that the LORD had commanded you.

"So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my two hands, and smashed them to pieces before your eyes!

"^(C1)Then I fell down before the LORD ^(C2)like the first time, for forty days and nights; ^(C3)I neither ate bread nor drank water, ^(C4)because of all your sin which you had committed by doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.

"For ^(C1)I was afraid of the anger and the rage with which the LORD was angry with you so as to destroy you; ^(C2)but the LORD listened to me that time as well.

"The LORD was also angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time.

"^(C1)And I took your ^(F1)sinful thing which you had made, the calf, and burned it in the fire and crushed it, grinding it thoroughly until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the stream that came down from the mountain.

"Then at ^(C1)Taberah, at ^(C2)Massah, and at ^(C3)Kibroth-hattaavah you kept provoking the LORD to anger.

"And when the LORD sent you from ^(C1)Kadesh-barnea, saying, '^(C2)Go up and take possession of the land which I have given you,' you rebelled against the ^(F1)command of the LORD your God; ^(C3)you neither trusted Him nor listened to His voice.

"^(C1)You have been rebellious toward the LORD since the day I knew you.

"^(C1)So I fell down before the LORD for the forty days and nights, which I ^(F1)did because the LORD said He would destroy you.

"^(C1)And I prayed to the LORD and said, 'Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand!

'Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not turn Your attention to the stubbornness of this people, or to their wickedness, or their sin.

'Otherwise, the people of the land from which You brought us will say, "^(C1)Since the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which He had ^(F1)promised them, and since He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness!"

'Yet they are Your people, and ^(C1)Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your ^(C2)great power and Your outstretched arm.'

"At that time the LORD said to me, '^(C1)Cut out for yourself two tablets of stone like the first two, and come up to Me on the mountain, and ^(C2)make an ^(F1)ark of wood for yourself.

'Then ^(C1)I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you smashed to pieces, and ^(C2)you shall put them in the ark.'

"So ^(C1)I made an ark of acacia wood and ^(C2)cut out two tablets of stone like the first two, and I went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hand.

"Then He wrote on the tablets, like the first writing, ^(C1)the Ten ^(F1)Commandments ^(C2)which the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire ^(C3)on the day of the assembly; and the LORD gave them to me.

"Then I turned and ^(C1)came down from the mountain, and I ^(C2)put the tablets in the ark which I had made; ^(C3)and they are there, just as the LORD commanded me."

(Now the sons of Israel set out from ^(F1)Beeroth ^(C1)Bene-jaakan to Moserah. ^(C2)There Aaron died and there he was buried, and his son Eleazar served as priest in his place.

^(C1)From there they set out to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of streams of water.

^(C1)At that time the LORD singled out the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD ^(C2)to serve Him and to bless in His name, until this day.

^(C1)Therefore, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance with his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, just as the LORD your God spoke to him.)

"^(C1)I, moreover, stayed on the mountain for forty days and forty nights like the first time, and the LORD listened to me that time also; the LORD was not willing to destroy you.

"Then the LORD said to me, 'Arise, proceed on your journey ahead of the people, so that they may go in and take possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.'

"^(C1)And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to ^(F1)fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and ^(C2)love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with ^(C3)all your heart and with all your soul,

and to keep the LORD'S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?

"Behold, ^(C1)to the LORD your God belong heaven and the ^(F1)highest heavens, ^(C2)the earth and all that is in it.

"^(C1)Yet the LORD set His affection on your fathers, to love them, and He chose their ^(F1)descendants after them, you over all the other peoples, as it is this day.

"^(C1)So circumcise ^(F1)your heart, and do not ^(C2)stiffen your neck any longer.

"^(C1)For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the ^(C2)Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, ^(C3)who does not show partiality, nor ^(C4)take a bribe.

"He executes justice for ^(C1)the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the stranger by giving him food and clothing.

"^(C1)So show your love for the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

"You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and ^(C1)cling to Him, and ^(C2)you shall swear by His name.

"He is ^(C1)your glory and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen.

"^(C1)Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, ^(C2)and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.

"You shall therefore ^(C1)love the LORD your God, and always ^(C2)keep His directive, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments.

"Know this day ^(C1)that I am not speaking with your sons who have not known and who have not seen the ^(F1)discipline of the LORD your God—His greatness, His mighty hand, His outstretched arm,

and ^(C1)His signs and His works which He did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land;

and what He did to Egypt's army, to its horses and its chariots, ^(C1)when He made the water of the ^(F1)Red Sea ^(F2)engulf them while they were pursuing you, and the LORD ^(F3)completely eliminated them;

and what He did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place;

and ^(C1)what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and ^(C2)every living thing that ^(F1)followed them, among all Israel—

but your own eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD which He did.

"You shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today, ^(C1)so that you may be strong and go in and take possession of the land into which you are about to cross to possess it;

and ^(C1)so that you may prolong your days on the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them and to their ^(F1)descendants, ^(C2)a land flowing with milk and honey.

"For the land, into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it ^(F1)by your foot like a vegetable garden.

"But ^(C1)the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven,

a land for which the LORD your God cares; ^(C1)the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it, from the ^(F1)beginning even to the end of the year.

"And it shall come about, ^(C1)if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, ^(C2)to love the LORD your God and to serve Him ^(C3)with all your heart and all your soul,

that ^(F1)(C1)He will provide rain for your land in its season, the ^(F2)(C2)early and ^(F3)late rain, so that you may gather your grain, your new wine, and your oil.

"^(F1)(C1)He will also provide grass in your field for your cattle, and ^(C2)you will eat and be satisfied.

"^(F1)(C1)Beware that your hearts are not easily deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods, and worship them.

"Otherwise, ^(C1)the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will ^(C2)shut up the sky ^(C3)so that there will be no rain, and the ground will not yield its produce; then ^(C4)you will quickly perish from the good land which the LORD is giving you.

"^(C1)You shall therefore take these words of mine to ^(F1)heart and to soul; and you shall tie them as a sign on your ^(F2)hand, and they shall be as ^(F3)frontlets ^(F4)on your forehead.

"^(C1)You shall also teach them to your sons, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.

"^(C1)And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,

so that ^(C1)your days and the days of your sons may be increased on the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as ^(F1)(C2)long as the heavens are above the earth.

"For if you are ^(C1)careful to keep all of this commandment which I am commanding you to do, ^(C2)to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and ^(C3)cling to Him,

then the LORD will ^(F1)(C1)dispossess all these nations from you, and you will ^(F1)(C2)dispossess nations greater and mightier than you.

"^(C1)Every place on which the sole of your foot steps shall be yours; ^(C2)your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as ^(F1)the western sea.

"^(C1)No one will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will ^(F1)instill the dread of you and the fear of you in all the land on which you set foot, just as He has spoken to you.

"^(C1)See, I am placing before you today a blessing and a curse:

the ^(C1)blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today;

and the ^(C1)curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, ^(F1)by following other gods which you have not known.

"And it shall come about, when the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, ^(C1)that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.

"Are they not across the Jordan, west of the road toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite ^(C1)Gilgal, beside ^(C2)the ^(F1)oaks of Moreh?

"For you are about to cross the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and ^(C1)you shall possess it and live in it,

and you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the judgments which I am placing before you today.

"These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully ^(F1)follow in the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess ^(F2)(C1)as long as you live on the ^(F3)earth.

"You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you are going to dispossess serve their gods, on the ^(C1)high mountains, on the hills, and under every leafy tree.

"And ^(C1)you shall tear down their altars and smash their memorial stones to pieces, and burn their ^(F1)Asherim in the fire, and cut to pieces the carved images of their gods; and you shall ^(C2)eliminate their name from that place.

"You shall not act this way toward the LORD your God.

"^(C1)But you shall seek the LORD at the place which the LORD your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and you shall come there.

"You shall bring there your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, ^(C1)your tithes, the ^(F1)contribution of your hand, your vowed offerings, your ^(F2)voluntary offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.

"There you and your households shall eat before the LORD your God, and ^(C1)rejoice in all ^(F1)your undertakings in which the LORD your God has blessed you.

"You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, ^(C1)everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes;

for you have not as yet come to ^(C1)the resting place and the ^(C2)inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you.

"When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and ^(C1)He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security,

^(C1)then it shall come about that the place in which the LORD your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring everything that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the ^(F1)contribution of your hand, and all your choice vowed offerings which you will vow to the LORD.

"And you shall ^(C1)rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the ^(C2)Levite who is within your gates, since ^(C3)he has no portion or inheritance with you.

"^(C1)Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in any cultic place that you see,

but only in the place which the LORD chooses in one of your tribes: there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do everything that I command you.

"^(C1)However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, ^(F1)whatever you desire, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as ^(C2)the gazelle and the deer.

"^(C1)Only you shall not eat the blood; ^(C2)you are to pour it out on the ground like water.

"^(C1)You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, new wine, or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your vowed offerings which you vow, or your ^(F1)voluntary offerings, or the ^(F2)contribution of your hand.

"But ^(C1)you shall eat them before the LORD your God in ^(C2)the place which the LORD your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female slaves, and the ^(C3)Levite who is within your gates; and you shall ^(C4)rejoice before the LORD your God in all ^(F1)your undertakings.

"^(C1)Be careful that you do not abandon the Levite ^(F1)as long as you live in your land.

"When the LORD your God extends your border ^(C1)as He has ^(F1)promised you, and you say, 'I will eat meat,' because ^(F2)you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, ^(F3)whatever you desire.

"If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter animals from your herd and flock which the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates ^(F1)whatever you desire.

"Just as a gazelle or a deer is eaten, so you may eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it.

"Only be sure ^(C1)not to eat the blood, for the blood is the ^(F1)life, and you shall not eat the ^(F1)life with the flesh.

"You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.

"You shall not eat it, so that ^(C1)it may go well for you and your sons after you, since ^(C2)you will be doing what is right in the sight of the LORD.

"^(C1)Only your holy things which you may have and your vowed offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the LORD chooses.

"And ^(C1)you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the LORD your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the LORD your God, and ^(C2)you shall eat the flesh.

"Be careful and listen to all these words which I am commanding you, so that ^(C1)it may go well for you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.

"When ^(C1)the LORD your God cuts off from you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and live in their land,

be careful that you are not ensnared ^(F1)to follow them, after they are destroyed from your presence, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, 'How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?'

"^(C1)You shall not behave this way toward the LORD your God, because every abominable act which the LORD hates, they have done for their gods; for ^(C2)they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire for their gods.

"^(F1)(C1)Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; ^(C2)you shall not add to nor take anything away from it.