These were those numbered of the Israelites, 601,730.


Then the Lord spoke to Moses:


“To these the land must be divided as an inheritance according to the number of the names.


To a larger group you will give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group you will give a smaller inheritance. To each one its inheritance must be given according to the number of people in it.


The land must be divided by lot; and they will inherit in accordance with the names of their ancestral tribes.


Their inheritance must be apportioned by lot among the larger and smaller groups.


And these are the Levites who were numbered according to their families: from Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; from Merari, the family of the Merarites.


These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. Kohath became the father of Amram.


Now the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And to Amram she bore Aaron, Moses, and Miriam their sister.


And to Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.


But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the Lord.


Those of them who were numbered were 23,000, all males from a month old and upward, for they were not numbered among the Israelites; no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites.


These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the Israelites in the plains of Moab along the Jordan River opposite Jericho.


But there was not a man among these who had been among those numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai.


For the Lord had said of them, “They will surely die in the wilderness.” And there was not left a single man of them, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.


Then the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh of the families of Manasseh, the son Joseph came forward. Now these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.


And they stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said,


“Our father died in the wilderness, although he was not part of the company of those that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah; but he died for his own sin, and he had no sons.


Why should the name of our father be lost from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among the relatives of our father.”


So Moses brought their case before the Lord.


The Lord said to Moses:


“The daughters of Zelophehad have a valid claim. You must indeed give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s relatives, and you must transfer the inheritance of their father to them.


And you must tell the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you must transfer his inheritance to his daughter;


and if he has no daughter, then you are to give his inheritance to his brothers;


and if he has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his father’s brothers;


and if his father has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his relative nearest to him from his family, and he will possess it. This will be for the Israelites a legal requirement, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”


Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range, and see the land I have given to the Israelites.


When you have seen it, you will be gathered to your ancestors, as Aaron your brother was gathered to his ancestors.


For in the wilderness of Zin when the community rebelled against me, you rebelled against my command to show me as holy before their eyes over the water – the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.”


Then Moses spoke to the Lord:


“Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all humankind, appoint a man over the community,


who will go out before them, and who will come in before them, and who will lead them out, and who will bring them in, so that the community of the Lord may not be like sheep that have no shepherd.”


The Lord replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is such a spirit, and lay your hand on him;


set him before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission him publicly.


Then you must delegate some of your authority to him, so that the whole community of the Israelites will be obedient.


And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the Lord by the decision of the Urim. At his command they will go out, and at his command they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, the whole community.”


So Moses did as the Lord commanded him; he took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community.


He laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord commanded, by the authority of Moses.


The Lord spoke to Moses:


“Command the Israelites: ‘With regard to my offering, be sure to offer my food for my offering made by fire, as a pleasing aroma to me at its appointed time.’


You will say to them, ‘This is the offering made by fire which you must offer to the Lord: two unblemished lambs one year old each day for a continual burnt offering.


The first lamb you must offer in the morning, and the second lamb you must offer in the late afternoon,


with one-tenth of an ephah of finely ground flour as a grain offering mixed with one quarter of a hin of pressed olive oil.


It is a continual burnt offering that was instituted on Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.


“‘And its drink offering must be one quarter of a hin for each lamb. You must pour out the strong drink as a drink offering to the Lord in the holy place.


And the second lamb you must offer in the late afternoon; just as you offered the grain offering and drink offering in the morning, you must offer it as an offering made by fire, as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.


“‘On the Sabbath day, you must offer two unblemished lambs a year old, and two-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour as a grain offering, mixed with olive oil, along with its drink offering.


This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.


“‘On the first day of each month you must offer as a burnt offering to the Lord two young bulls, one ram, and seven unblemished lambs a year old,


with three-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for each bull, and two-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for the ram,


and one-tenth of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering for a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.


For their drink offerings, include half a hin of wine with each bull, one-third of a hin for the ram, and one-fourth of a hin for each lamb. This is the burnt offering for each month throughout the months of the year.


And one male goat must be offered to the Lord as a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.


“‘On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord’s Passover.


And on the fifteenth day of this month is the festival. For seven days bread made without yeast must be eaten.


And on the first day there is to be a holy assembly; you must do no ordinary work on it.


“‘But you must offer to the Lord an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs one year old; they must all be unblemished.


And their grain offering is to be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil. For each bull you must offer three-tenths of an ephah, and two-tenths for the ram.


For each of the seven lambs you are to offer one-tenth of an ephah,


as well as one goat for a purification offering, to make atonement for you.


You must offer these in addition to the burnt offering in the morning which is for a continual burnt offering.


In this manner you must offer daily throughout the seven days the food of the sacrifice made by fire as a sweet aroma to the Lord. It is to be offered in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.


On the seventh day you are to have a holy assembly, you must do no regular work.


“‘Also, on the day of the first fruits, when you bring a new grain offering to the Lord during your Feast of Weeks, you are to have a holy assembly. You must do no ordinary work.


But you must offer as the burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the Lord, two young bulls, one ram, seven lambs one year old,


with their grain offering of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram,


with one-tenth for each of the seven lambs,


as well as one male goat to make an atonement for you.


You are to offer them with their drink offerings in addition to the continual burnt offering and its grain offering – they must be unblemished.


“‘On the first day of the seventh month, you are to hold a holy assembly. You must not do your ordinary work, for it is a day of blowing trumpets for you.


You must offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the Lord: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs one year old without blemish.


“‘Their grain offering is to be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil, three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths of an ephah for the ram,


and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs,


with one male goat for a purification offering to make an atonement for you;


this is in addition to the monthly burnt offering and its grain offering, and the daily burnt offering with its grain offering and their drink offerings as prescribed, as a sweet aroma, a sacrifice made by fire to the Lord.


“‘On the tenth day of this seventh month you are to have a holy assembly. You must humble yourselves; you must not do any work on it.


But you must offer a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs one year old, all of them without blemish.


Their grain offering must be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil, three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram,


along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the purification offering for atonement and the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and their drink offerings.


“‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you are to have a holy assembly; you must do no ordinary work, and you must keep a festival to the Lord for seven days.


You must offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the Lord: thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs each one year old, all of them without blemish.


Their grain offering must be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil, three-tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths of an ephah for each of the two rams,


and one-tenth for each of the fourteen lambs,


along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and its drink offering.


“‘On the second day you must offer twelve young bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish,


and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed,


along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and their drink offerings.


“‘On the third day you must offer eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish,


“‘On the fourth day you must offer ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish,


“‘On the fifth day you must offer nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish,


“‘On the sixth day you must offer eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish,


“‘On the seventh day you must offer seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs one year old, all without blemish,


“‘On the eighth day you are to have a holy assembly; you must do no ordinary work on it.


But you must offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, one bull, one ram, seven lambs one year old, all of them without blemish,


and with their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed,


“‘These things you must present to the Lord at your appointed times, in addition to your vows and your freewill offerings, as your burnt offerings, your grain offerings, your drink offerings, and your peace offerings.’”


So Moses told the Israelites everything, just as the Lord had commanded him.


Moses told the leaders of the tribes concerning the Israelites, “This is what the Lord has commanded:


If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath of binding obligation on himself, he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised.


“If a young woman who is still living in her father’s house makes a vow to the Lord or places herself under an obligation,


and her father hears of her vow or the obligation to which she has pledged herself, and her father remains silent about her, then all her vows will stand, and every obligation to which she has pledged herself will stand.


But if her father overrules her when he hears about it, then none of her vows or her obligations which she has pledged for herself will stand. And the Lord will release her from it, because her father overruled her.


“And if she marries a husband while under a vow, or she uttered anything impulsively by which she has pledged herself,


and her husband hears about it, but remains silent about her when he hears about it, then her vows will stand and her obligations which she has pledged for herself will stand.


But if when her husband hears it he overrules her, then he will nullify the vow she has taken, and whatever she uttered impulsively which she has pledged for herself. And the Lord will release her from it.


“But every vow of a widow or of a divorced woman which she has pledged for herself will remain intact.


If she made the vow in her husband’s house or put herself under obligation with an oath,


and her husband heard about it, but remained silent about her, and did not overrule her, then all her vows will stand, and every obligation which she pledged for herself will stand.


But if her husband clearly nullifies them when he hears them, then whatever she says by way of vows or obligations will not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her from them.


“Any vow or sworn obligation that would bring affliction to her, her husband can confirm or nullify.


But if her husband remains completely silent about her from day to day, he thus confirms all her vows or all her obligations which she is under; he confirms them because he remained silent about when he heard them.


But if he should nullify them after he has heard them, then he will bear her iniquity.”


These are the statutes that the Lord commanded Moses, relating to a man and his wife, and a father and his young daughter who is still living in her father’s house.


The Lord spoke to Moses:


“Exact vengeance for the Israelites on the Midianites – after that you will be gathered to your people.”


So Moses spoke to the people: “Arm men from among you for the war, to attack the Midianites and to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian.


You must send to the battle a thousand men from every tribe throughout all the tribes of Israel.”


So a thousand from every tribe, twelve thousand armed for battle in all, were provided out of the thousands of Israel.


So Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from every tribe, with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who was in charge of the holy articles and the signal trumpets.


They fought against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed every male.


They killed the kings of Midian in addition to those slain – Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba – five Midianite kings. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.


The Israelites took the women of Midian captives along with their little ones, and took all their herds, all their flocks, and all their goods as plunder.


They burned all their towns where they lived and all their encampments.


They took all the plunder and all the spoils, both people and animals.


They brought the captives and the spoils and the plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the Israelite community, to the camp on the plains of Moab, along the Jordan River across from Jericho.


Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went out to meet them outside the camp.


But Moses was furious with the officers of the army, the commanders over thousands and commanders over hundreds, who had come from service in the war.


Moses said to them, “Have you allowed all the women to live?


Look, these people through the counsel of Balaam caused the Israelites to act treacherously against the Lord in the matter of Peor – which resulted in the plague among the community of the Lord!


Now therefore kill every boy, and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse with a man.


But all the young women who have not had sexual intercourse with a man will be yours.


“Any of you who has killed anyone or touched any of the dead, remain outside the camp for seven days; purify yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.


You must purify each garment and everything that is made of skin, everything made of goat’s hair, and everything made of wood.”


Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone into the battle, “This is the ordinance of the law that the Lord commanded Moses:


‘Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,


everything that may stand the fire, you are to pass through the fire, and it will be ceremonially clean, but it must still be purified with the water of purification. Anything that cannot withstand the fire you must pass through the water.


You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you will be ceremonially clean, and afterward you may enter the camp.’”


Then the Lord spoke to Moses:


“You and Eleazar the priest, and all the family leaders of the community, take the sum of the plunder that was captured, both people and animals.


Divide the plunder into two parts, one for those who took part in the war – who went out to battle – and the other for all the community.


“You must exact a tribute for the Lord from the fighting men who went out to battle: one life out of five hundred, from the people, the cattle, and from the donkeys and the sheep.


You are to take it from their half-share and give it to Eleazar the priest for a raised offering to the Lord.


From the Israelites’ half-share you are to take one portion out of fifty of the people, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep – from every kind of animal – and you are to give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.”


So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.


The spoil that remained of the plunder which the fighting men had gathered was 675,000 sheep,


72,000 cattle,


61,000 donkeys,


and 32,000 young women who had never had sexual intercourse with a man.


The half-portion of those who went to war numbered 337,500 sheep;


the Lord’s tribute from the sheep was 675.


The cattle numbered 36,000; the Lord’s tribute was 72.


The donkeys were 30,500, of which the Lord’s tribute was 61.


The people were 16,000, of which the Lord’s tribute was 32 people.


So Moses gave the tribute, which was the Lord’s raised offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.


From the Israelites’ half-share that Moses had separated from the fighting men,


there were 337,500 sheep from the portion belonging to the community,


36,000 cattle,


30,500 donkeys,


and 16,000 people.


From the Israelites’ share Moses took one of every fifty people and animals and gave them to the Levites who were responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle, just as the Lord commanded Moses.


Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders over thousands and the commanders over hundreds, approached Moses


and said to him, “Your servants have taken a count of the men who were in the battle, who were under our authority, and not one is missing.


So we have brought as an offering for the Lord what each man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.”


Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all of it in the form of ornaments.


All the gold of the offering they offered up to the Lord from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds weighed 16,750 shekels.


Each soldier had taken plunder for himself.


So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord.


Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle,


the Gadites and the Reubenites came and addressed Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community. They said,


“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,


the land that the Lord subdued before the community of Israel, is ideal for cattle, and your servants have cattle.”


So they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for our inheritance. Do not have us cross the Jordan River.”


Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites, “Must your brothers go to war while you remain here?


Why do you frustrate the intent of the Israelites to cross over into the land which the Lord has given them?


Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land.


When they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter the land that the Lord had given them.


So the anger of the Lord was kindled that day, and he swore,


‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,


except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.’


So the Lord’s anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished.


Now look, you are standing in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinners, to increase still further the fierce wrath of the Lord against the Israelites.


For if you turn away from following him, he will once again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will be the reason for their destruction.”


Then they came very close to him and said, “We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families,


but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against the inhabitants of the land.


We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has his inheritance.


For we will not accept any inheritance on the other side of the Jordan River and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this eastern side of the Jordan.”


Then Moses replied, “If you will do this thing, and if you will arm yourselves for battle before the Lord,


and if all your armed men cross the Jordan before the Lord until he drives out his enemies from his presence


and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be free of your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. This land will then be your possession in the Lord’s sight.


“But if you do not do this, then look, you will have sinned against the Lord. And know that your sin will find you out.


So build cities for your descendants and pens for your sheep, but do what you have said you would do.”


So the Gadites and the Reubenites replied to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands.


Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead,


but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, to do battle in the Lord’s presence, just as my lord says.”


So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes.


Moses said to them: “If the Gadites and the Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, each one equipped for battle in the Lord’s presence, and you conquer the land, then you must allot them the territory of Gilead as their possession.


But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must receive possessions among you in Canaan.”


Then the Gadites and the Reubenites answered, “Your servants will do what the Lord has spoken.


We will cross armed in the Lord’s presence into the land of Canaan, and then the possession of our inheritance that we inherit will be ours on this side of the Jordan River.”


So Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the realm of King Sihon of the Amorites, and the realm of King Og of Bashan, the entire land with its cities and the territory surrounding them.


The Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,


Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,


Beth Nimrah, and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and constructed pens for their flocks.


The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,


Nebo, Baal Meon (with a change of name), and Sibmah. They renamed the cities they built.


The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it.


So Moses gave Gilead to Machir, son of Manasseh, and he lived there.


Now Jair son of Manasseh went and captured their small towns and named them Havvoth Jair.


Then Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages and called it Nobah after his own name.


These are the journeys of the Israelites, who went out of the land of Egypt by their divisions under the authority of Moses and Aaron.


Moses recorded their departures according to their journeys, by the commandment of the Lord; now these are their journeys according to their departures.


They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the Israelites went out defiantly in plain sight of all the Egyptians.


Now the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had killed among them; the Lord also executed judgments on their gods.


The Israelites traveled from Rameses and camped in Succoth.


They traveled from Succoth, and camped in Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.


They traveled from Etham, and turned again to Pi-hahiroth, which is before Baal-Zephon; and they camped before Migdal.


They traveled from Pi-hahiroth, and passed through the middle of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and camped in Marah.


They traveled from Marah and came to Elim; in Elim there are twelve fountains of water and seventy palm trees, so they camped there.


They traveled from Elim, and camped by the Red Sea.


They traveled from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Zin.


They traveled from the wilderness of Zin and camped in Dophkah.


And they traveled from Dophkah, and camped in Alush.


They traveled from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.


They traveled from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.


They traveled from the desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah.


They traveled from Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.


They traveled from Hazeroth and camped in Rithmah.


They traveled from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.


They traveled from Rimmon-perez and camped in Libnah.


They traveled from Libnah and camped at Rissah.


They traveled from Rissah and camped in Kehelathah.


They traveled from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.


They traveled from Mount Shepher and camped in Haradah.


They traveled from Haradah and camped in Makheloth.


They traveled from Makheloth and camped at Tahath.


They traveled from Tahath and camped at Terah.


They traveled from Terah and camped in Mithcah.


They traveled from Mithcah and camped in Hashmonah.


They traveled from Hashmonah and camped in Moseroth.


They traveled from Moseroth and camped in Bene-jaakan.


They traveled from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.


They traveled from Hor-haggidgad and camped in Jotbathah.


They traveled from Jotbathah and camped in Abronah.


They traveled from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.


They traveled from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh.


They traveled from Kadesh and camped in Mount Hor at the edge of the land of Edom.


Aaron the priest ascended Mount Hor at the command of the Lord, and he died there in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt on the first day of the fifth month.


Now Aaron was 123 years old when he died in Mount Hor.


The king of Arad, the Canaanite king who lived in the south of the land of Canaan, heard about the approach of the Israelites.


They traveled from Mount Hor and camped in Zalmonah.


They traveled from Zalmonah and camped in Punon.


They traveled from Punon and camped in Oboth.


They traveled from Oboth and camped in Iye-abarim, on the border of Moab.


They traveled from Iim and camped in Dibon-gad.


They traveled from Dibon-gad and camped in Almon-diblathaim.


They traveled from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim before Nebo.


They traveled from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River across from Jericho.


They camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.


The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. He said:


“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan,


you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images, all their molten images, and demolish their high places.


You must dispossess the inhabitants of the land and live in it, for I have given you the land to possess it.


You must divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families. To a larger group you must give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group you must give a smaller inheritance. Everyone’s inheritance must be in the place where his lot falls. You must inherit according to your ancestral tribes.


But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, then those whom you allow to remain will be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your side, and will cause you trouble in the land where you will be living.


And what I intended to do to them I will do to you.”


Then the Lord spoke to Moses:


“Give these instructions to the Israelites, and tell them: ‘When you enter Canaan, the land that has been assigned to you as an inheritance, the land of Canaan with its borders,


your southern border will extend from the wilderness of Zin along the Edomite border, and your southern border will run eastward to the extremity of the Salt Sea,


and then the border will turn from the south to the Scorpion Ascent, continue to Zin, and then its direction will be from the south to Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and pass over to Azmon.


There the border will turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and then its direction is to the sea.


“‘And for a western border you will have the Great Sea. This will be your western border.


“‘And this will be your northern border: From the Great Sea you will draw a line to Mount Hor;


from Mount Hor you will draw a line to Lebo Hamath, and the direction of the border will be to Zedad.


The border will continue to Ziphron, and its direction will be to Hazar Enan. This will be your northern border.


“‘For your eastern border you will draw a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham.


The border will run down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain, and the border will descend and reach the eastern side of the Sea of Chinnereth.


Then the border will continue down the Jordan River and its direction will be to the Salt Sea. This will be your land by its borders that surround it.’”


Then Moses commanded the Israelites: “This is the land which you will inherit by lot, which the Lord has commanded to be given to the nine and a half tribes,


because the tribe of the Reubenites by their families, the tribe of the Gadites by their families, and half of the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance.


The two and a half tribes have received their inheritance on this side of the Jordan, east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”


The Lord said to Moses:


“These are the names of the men who are to allocate the land to you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun.


You must take one leader from every tribe to assist in allocating the land as an inheritance.


These are the names of the men: from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;


from the tribe of the Simeonites, Shemuel son of Ammihud;


from the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Kislon;


and from the tribe of the Danites, a leader, Bukki son of Jogli.


From the Josephites, Hanniel son of Ephod, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh;


from the tribe of the Ephraimites, a leader, Kemuel son of Shiphtan;


from the tribe of the Zebulunites, a leader, Elizaphan son of Parnach;


from the tribe of the Issacharites, a leader, Paltiel son of Azzan;


from the tribe of the Asherites, a leader, Ahihud son of Shelomi;


and from the tribe of the Naphtalites, a leader, Pedahel son of Ammihud.”


These are the ones whom the Lord commanded to divide up the inheritance among the Israelites in the land of Canaan.


Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the Moabite plains by the Jordan near Jericho. He said:


“Instruct the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. You must also give the Levites grazing land around the towns.


Thus they will have towns in which to live, and their grazing lands will be for their cattle, for their possessions, and for all their animals.


The grazing lands around the towns that you will give to the Levites must extend to a distance of 500 yards from the town wall.


“You must measure from outside the wall of the town on the east 1,000 yards, and on the south side 1,000 yards, and on the west side 1,000 yards, and on the north side 1,000 yards, with the town in the middle. This territory must belong to them as grazing land for the towns.


Now from these towns that you will give to the Levites you must select six towns of refuge to which a person who has killed someone may flee. And you must give them forty-two other towns.


“So the total of the towns you will give the Levites is forty-eight. You must give these together with their grazing lands.


The towns you will give must be from the possession of the Israelites. From the larger tribes you must give more; and from the smaller tribes fewer. Each must contribute some of its own towns to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance allocated to each.


Then the Lord spoke to Moses:


“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you cross over the Jordan River into the land of Canaan,


you must then designate some towns as towns of refuge for you, to which a person who has killed someone unintentionally may flee.


And they must stand as your towns of refuge from the avenger in order that the killer may not die until he has stood trial before the community.


These towns that you must give shall be your six towns for refuge.


“You must give three towns on this side of the Jordan, and you must give three towns in the land of Canaan; they must be towns of refuge.


These six towns will be places of refuge for the Israelites, and for the foreigner, and for the settler among them, so that anyone who kills any person accidentally may flee there.


“But if he hits someone with an iron tool so that he dies, he is a murderer. The murderer must surely be put to death.


If he strikes him by throwing a stone large enough that he could die, and he dies, he is a murderer. The murderer must surely be put to death.


Or if he strikes him with a wooden hand weapon so that he could die, and he dies, he is a murderer. The murderer must surely be put to death.


The avenger of blood himself must kill the murderer; when he meets him, he must kill him.


“But if he strikes him out of hatred or throws something at him intentionally so that he dies,


or with enmity he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death, for he is a murderer. The avenger of blood must kill the murderer when he meets him.


“But if he strikes him suddenly, without enmity, or throws anything at him unintentionally,


or with any stone large enough that a man could die, without seeing him, and throws it at him, and he dies, even though he was not his enemy nor sought his harm,


then the community must judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these decisions.


The community must deliver the slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the community must restore him to the town of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the consecrated oil.


But if the slayer at any time goes outside the boundary of the town to which he had fled,


and the avenger of blood finds him outside the borders of the town of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the slayer, he will not be guilty of blood,


because the slayer should have stayed in his town of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to the land of his possessions.


So these things must be a statutory ordinance for you throughout your generations, in all the places where you live.


“Whoever kills any person, the murderer must be put to death by the testimony of witnesses; but one witness cannot testify against any person to cause him to be put to death.


Moreover, you must not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; he must surely be put to death.


And you must not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a town of refuge, to allow him to return home and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.


“You must not pollute the land where you live, for blood defiles the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed there, except by the blood of the person who shed it.


Therefore do not defile the land that you will inhabit, in which I live, for I the Lord live among the Israelites.”


Then the heads of the family groups of the Gileadites, the descendant of Machir, the descendant of Manasseh, who were from the Josephite families, approached and spoke before Moses and the leaders who were the heads of the Israelite families.


They said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites; and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.


Now if they should be married to one of the men from another Israelite tribe, their inheritance would be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. As a result, it will be taken from the lot of our inheritance.


And when the Jubilee of the Israelites is to take place, their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.”


Then Moses gave a ruling to the Israelites by the word of the Lord: “What the tribe of the Josephites is saying is right.


This is what the Lord has commanded for Zelophehad’s daughters: ‘Let them marry whomever they think best, only they must marry within the family of their father’s tribe.


In this way the inheritance of the Israelites will not be transferred from tribe to tribe. But every one of the Israelites must retain the ancestral heritage.


And every daughter who possesses an inheritance from any of the tribes of the Israelites must become the wife of a man from any family in her father’s tribe, so that every Israelite may retain the inheritance of his fathers.


No inheritance may pass from tribe to tribe. But every one of the tribes of the Israelites must retain its inheritance.”


As the Lord had commanded Moses, so the daughters of Zelophehad did.


For the daughters of Zelophehad – Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah – were married to the sons of their uncles.


They were married into the families of the Manassehites, the descendants of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father’s family.


These are the commandments and the decisions that the Lord commanded the Israelites through the authority of Moses, on the plains of Moab by the Jordan River opposite Jericho.


This is what Moses said to the assembly of Israel in the Transjordanian wastelands, the arid country opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di Zahab


Now it is ordinarily an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by way of Mount Seir.


However, it was not until the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year that Moses addressed the Israelites just as the Lord had instructed him to do.


This took place after the defeat of King Sihon of the Amorites, whose capital was in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, whose capital was in Ashtaroth, specifically in Edrei.


So it was in the Transjordan, in Moab, that Moses began to deliver these words:


The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb and said, “You have stayed in the area of this mountain long enough.


Get up now, resume your journey, heading for the Amorite hill country, to all its areas including the arid country, the highlands, the Shephelah, the Negev, and the coastal plain – all of Canaan and Lebanon as far as the Great River, that is, the Euphrates.


Look! I have already given the land to you. Go, occupy the territory that I, the Lord, promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants.”


I also said to you at that time, “I am no longer able to sustain you by myself.


The Lord your God has increased your population to the point that you are now as numerous as the very stars of the sky.


Indeed, may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, make you a thousand times more numerous than you are now, blessing you just as he said he would!


But how can I alone bear up under the burden of your hardship and strife?


Select wise and practical men, those known among your tribes, whom I may appoint as your leaders.”


You replied to me that what I had said to you was good.


So I chose as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials.


I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens and judge fairly, whether between one citizen and another or a citizen and a resident foreigner.


They must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.


So I instructed you at that time regarding everything you should do.


Then we left Horeb and passed through all that immense, forbidding wilderness that you saw on the way to the Amorite hill country as the Lord our God had commanded us to do, finally arriving at Kadesh Barnea.


Then I said to you, “You have come to the Amorite hill country which the Lord our God is about to give us.


Look, he has placed the land in front of you! Go up, take possession of it, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to do. Do not be afraid or discouraged!”


So all of you approached me and said, “Let’s send some men ahead of us to scout out the land and bring us back word as to how we should attack it and what the cities are like there.”


I thought this was a good idea, so I sent twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.


They left and went up to the hill country, coming to the Eshcol Valley, which they scouted out.


Then they took some of the produce of the land and carried it back down to us. They also brought a report to us, saying, “The land that the Lord our God is about to give us is good.”


You were not willing to go up, however, but instead rebelled against the Lord your God.


You complained among yourselves privately and said, “Because the Lord hates us he brought us from Egypt to deliver us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us!


What is going to happen to us? Our brothers have drained away our courage by describing people who are more numerous and taller than we are, and great cities whose defenses appear to be as high as heaven itself! Moreover, they said they saw Anakites there.”


So I responded to you, “Do not be terrified of them!


The Lord your God is about to go ahead of you; he will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt


and in the desert, where you saw him carrying you along like a man carries his son. This he did everywhere you went until you came to this very place.”


However, through all this you did not have confidence in the Lord your God,


the one who was constantly going before you to find places for you to set up camp. He appeared by fire at night and cloud by day, to show you the way you ought to go.


When the Lord heard you, he became angry and made this vow:


“Not a single person of this evil generation will see the good land that I promised to give to your ancestors!


The exception is Caleb son of Jephunneh; he will see it and I will give him and his descendants the territory on which he has walked, because he has wholeheartedly followed me.”


As for me, the Lord was also angry with me on your account. He said, “You also will not be able to go there.


However, Joshua son of Nun, your assistant, will go. Encourage him, because he will enable Israel to inherit the land.


Also, your infants, who you thought would die on the way, and your children, who as yet do not know good from bad, will go there; I will give them the land and they will possess it.


But as for you, turn back and head for the desert by the way to the Red Sea.”


Then you responded to me and admitted, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will now go up and fight as the Lord our God has told us to do.” So you each put on your battle gear and prepared to go up to the hill country.


But the Lord told me: “Tell them this: ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you and you will be defeated by your enemies.’”


I spoke to you, but you did not listen. Instead you rebelled against the Lord and recklessly went up to the hill country.


The Amorite inhabitants of that area confronted you and chased you like a swarm of bees, striking you down from Seir as far as Hormah.


Then you came back and wept before the Lord, but he paid no attention to you whatsoever.


Therefore, you remained at Kadesh for a long time – indeed, for the full time.


Then we turned and set out toward the desert land on the way to the Red Sea just as the Lord told me to do, detouring around Mount Seir for a long time.


At this point the Lord said to me,


“You have circled around this mountain long enough; now turn north.


Instruct these people as follows: ‘You are about to cross the border of your relatives the descendants of Esau, who inhabit Seir. They will be afraid of you, so watch yourselves carefully.


Do not be hostile toward them, because I am not giving you any of their land, not even a footprint, for I have given Mount Seir as an inheritance for Esau.


You may purchase food to eat and water to drink from them.


All along the way I, the Lord your God, have blessed your every effort. I have been attentive to your travels through this great wasteland. These forty years I have been with you; you have lacked for nothing.’”


So we turned away from our relatives the descendants of Esau, the inhabitants of Seir, turning from the desert route, from Elat and Ezion Geber, and traveling the way of the Moab wastelands.


Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass Moab and provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as your territory. This is because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.


(The Emites used to live there, a people as powerful, numerous, and tall as the Anakites.


These people, as well as the Anakites, are also considered Rephaites; the Moabites call them Emites.


Previously the Horites lived in Seir but the descendants of Esau dispossessed and destroyed them and settled in their place, just as Israel did to the land it came to possess, the land the Lord gave them.)


Now, get up and cross the Wadi Zered.” So we did so.


Now the length of time it took for us to go from Kadesh Barnea to the crossing of Wadi Zered was thirty-eight years, time for all the military men of that generation to die, just as the Lord had vowed to them.


Indeed, it was the very hand of the Lord that eliminated them from within the camp until they were all gone.


So it was that after all the military men had been eliminated from the community,


the Lord said to me,


“Today you are going to cross the border of Moab, that is, of Ar.


But when you come close to the Ammonites, do not harass or provoke them because I am not giving you any of the Ammonites’ land as your possession; I have already given it to Lot’s descendants as their possession.


(That also is considered to be a land of the Rephaites. The Rephaites lived there originally; the Ammonites call them Zamzummites.


They are a people as powerful, numerous, and tall as the Anakites. But the Lord destroyed the Rephaites in advance of the Ammonites, so they dispossessed them and settled down in their place.


This is exactly what he did for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir when he destroyed the Horites before them so that they could dispossess them and settle in their area to this very day.


As for the Avvites who lived in settlements as far west as Gaza, Caphtorites who came from Crete destroyed them and settled down in their place.)


Get up, make your way across Wadi Arnon. Look! I have already delivered over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Go ahead! Take it! Engage him in war!


This very day I will begin to fill all the people of the earth with dread and to terrify them when they hear about you. They will shiver and shake in anticipation of your approach.”


Then I sent messengers from the Kedemoth Desert to King Sihon of Heshbon with an offer of peace:


“Let me pass through your land; I will keep strictly to the roadway. I will not turn aside to the right or the left.


Sell me food for cash so that I can eat and sell me water to drink. Just allow me to go through on foot,


just as the descendants of Esau who live at Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I cross the Jordan to the land the Lord our God is giving us.”


But King Sihon of Heshbon was unwilling to allow us to pass near him because the Lord our God had made him obstinate and stubborn so that he might deliver him over to you this very day.


The Lord said to me, “Look! I have already begun to give over Sihon and his land to you. Start right now to take his land as your possession.”


When Sihon and all his troops emerged to encounter us in battle at Jahaz,


the Lord our God delivered him over to us and we struck him down, along with his sons and everyone else.


At that time we seized all his cities and put every one of them under divine judgment, including even the women and children; we left no survivors.


We kept only the livestock and plunder from the cities for ourselves.


From Aroer, which is at the edge of Wadi Arnon (it is the city in the wadi), all the way to Gilead there was not a town able to resist us – the Lord our God gave them all to us.


However, you did not approach the land of the Ammonites, the Wadi Jabbok, the cities of the hill country, or any place else forbidden by the Lord our God.


Next we set out on the route to Bashan, but King Og of Bashan and his whole army came out to meet us in battle at Edrei.


The Lord, however, said to me, “Don’t be afraid of him because I have already given him, his whole army, and his land to you. You will do to him exactly what you did to King Sihon of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon.”


So the Lord our God did indeed give over to us King Og of Bashan and his whole army and we struck them down until not a single survivor was left.


We captured all his cities at that time – there was not a town we did not take from them – sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the dominion of Og in Bashan.


All of these cities were fortified by high walls, gates, and locking bars; in addition there were a great many open villages.


We put all of these under divine judgment just as we had done to King Sihon of Heshbon – every occupied city, including women and children.


But all the livestock and plunder from the cities we kept for ourselves.


So at that time we took the land of the two Amorite kings in the Transjordan from Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon


(the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion and the Amorites call it Senir),


all the cities of the plateau, all of Gilead and Bashan as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.


Only King Og of Bashan was left of the remaining Rephaites. (It is noteworthy that his sarcophagus was made of iron. Does it not, indeed, still remain in Rabbath of the Ammonites? It is thirteen and a half feet long and six feet wide according to standard measure.)


This is the land we brought under our control at that time: The territory extending from Aroer by the Wadi Arnon and half the Gilead hill country with its cities I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites.


The rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. (All the region of Argob, that is, all Bashan, is called the land of Rephaim.


Jair, son of Manasseh, took all the Argob region as far as the border with the Geshurites and Maacathites (namely Bashan) and called it by his name, Havvoth-Jair, which it retains to this very day.)


I gave Gilead to Machir.


To the Reubenites and Gadites I allocated the territory extending from Gilead as far as Wadi Arnon (the exact middle of the wadi was a boundary) all the way to the Wadi Jabbok, the Ammonite border.


The Arabah and the Jordan River were also a border, from the sea of Chinnereth to the sea of the Arabah (that is, the Salt Sea), beneath the watershed of Pisgah to the east.


At that time I instructed you as follows: “The Lord your God has given you this land for your possession. You warriors are to cross over before your fellow Israelites equipped for battle.


But your wives, children, and livestock (of which I know you have many) may remain in the cities I have given you.


You must fight until the Lord gives your countrymen victory as he did you and they take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them on the other side of the Jordan River. Then each of you may return to his own territory that I have given you.”


I also commanded Joshua at the same time, “You have seen everything the Lord your God did to these two kings; he will do the same to all the kingdoms where you are going.


Do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God will personally fight for you.”


Moreover, at that time I pleaded with the Lord,


“O, Lord God, you have begun to show me your greatness and strength. (What god in heaven or earth can rival your works and mighty deeds?)


Let me please cross over to see the good land on the other side of the Jordan River – this good hill country and the Lebanon!”


But the Lord was angry at me because of you and would not listen to me. Instead, he said to me, “Enough of that! Do not speak to me anymore about this matter.


Go up to the top of Pisgah and take a good look to the west, north, south, and east, for you will not be allowed to cross the Jordan.


Commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, because he will lead these people over and will enable them to inherit the land you will see.”


So we settled down in the valley opposite Beth Peor.


Now, Israel, pay attention to the statutes and ordinances I am about to teach you, so that you might live and go on to enter and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.


Do not add a thing to what I command you nor subtract from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I am delivering to you.


You have witnessed what the Lord did at Baal Peor, how he eradicated from your midst everyone who followed Baal Peor.


But you who remained faithful to the Lord your God are still alive to this very day, every one of you.


Look! I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the Lord my God told me to do, so that you might carry them out in the land you are about to enter and possess.


So be sure to do them, because this will testify of your wise understanding to the people who will learn of all these statutes and say, “Indeed, this great nation is a very wise people.”


In fact, what other great nation has a god so near to them like the Lord our God whenever we call on him?


And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this whole law that I am about to share with you today?


Again, however, pay very careful attention, lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren.


You stood before the Lord your God at Horeb and he said to me, “Assemble the people before me so that I can tell them my commands. Then they will learn to revere me all the days they live in the land, and they will instruct their children.”


You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain, a mountain ablaze to the sky above it and yet dark with a thick cloud.


Then the Lord spoke to you from the middle of the fire; you heard speech but you could not see anything – only a voice was heard.


And he revealed to you the covenant he has commanded you to keep, the ten commandments, writing them on two stone tablets.


Moreover, at that same time the Lord commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to keep in the land which you are about to enter and possess.


Be very careful, then, because you saw no form at the time the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the middle of the fire.


I say this so you will not corrupt yourselves by making an image in the form of any kind of figure. This includes the likeness of a human male or female,


any kind of land animal, any bird that flies in the sky,


anything that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the deep waters of the earth.


When you look up to the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars – the whole heavenly creation – you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, for the Lord your God has assigned them to all the people of the world.


You, however, the Lord has selected and brought from Egypt, that iron-smelting furnace, to be his special people as you are today.


But the Lord became angry with me because of you and vowed that I would never cross the Jordan nor enter the good land that he is about to give you.


So I must die here in this land; I will not cross the Jordan. But you are going over and will possess that good land.


Be on guard so that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he has made with you, and that you do not make an image of any kind, just as he has forbidden you.


For the Lord your God is a consuming fire; he is a jealous God.


After you have produced children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, if you become corrupt and make an image of any kind and do other evil things before the Lord your God that enrage him,


I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will surely and swiftly be removed from the very land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not last long there because you will surely be annihilated.


Then the Lord will scatter you among the peoples and there will be very few of you among the nations where the Lord will drive you.


There you will worship gods made by human hands – wood and stone that can neither see, hear, eat, nor smell.


But if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find him, if, indeed, you seek him with all your heart and soul.


In your distress when all these things happen to you in the latter days, if you return to the Lord your God and obey him


(for he is a merciful God), he will not let you down or destroy you, for he cannot forget the covenant with your ancestors that he confirmed by oath to them.


Indeed, ask about the distant past, starting from the day God created humankind on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether there has ever been such a great thing as this, or even a rumor of it.


Have a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the middle of fire, as you yourselves have, and lived to tell about it?


Or has God ever before tried to deliver a nation from the middle of another nation, accompanied by judgments, signs, wonders, war, strength, power, and other very terrifying things like the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?


You have been taught that the Lord alone is God – there is no other besides him.


From heaven he spoke to you in order to teach you, and on earth he showed you his great fire from which you also heard his words.


Moreover, because he loved your ancestors, he chose their descendants who followed them and personally brought you out of Egypt with his great power


to dispossess nations greater and stronger than you and brought you here this day to give you their land as your property.


Today realize and carefully consider that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below – there is no other!


Keep his statutes and commandments that I am setting forth today so that it may go well with you and your descendants and that you may enjoy longevity in the land that the Lord your God is about to give you as a permanent possession.


Then Moses selected three cities in the Transjordan, toward the east.


Anyone who accidentally killed someone without hating him at the time of the accident could flee to one of those cities and be safe.


These cities are Bezer, in the desert plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for the Manassehites.


This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites.


These are the stipulations, statutes, and ordinances that Moses spoke to the Israelites after he had brought them out of Egypt,


in the Transjordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. (It is he whom Moses and the Israelites attacked after they came out of Egypt.


They possessed his land and that of King Og of Bashan – both of whom were Amorite kings in the Transjordan, to the east.


Their territory extended from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon valley as far as Mount Siyon – that is, Hermon –


including all the Arabah of the Transjordan in the east to the sea of the Arabah, beneath the watershed of Pisgah.)


Then Moses called all the people of Israel together and said to them: “Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances that I am about to deliver to you today; learn them and be careful to keep them!


The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.


He did not make this covenant with our ancestors but with us, we who are here today, all of us living now.


The Lord spoke face to face with you at the mountain, from the middle of the fire.


(I was standing between the Lord and you at that time to reveal to you the message of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.) He said:


“I am the Lord your God, he who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery.


You must not have any other gods besides me.


You must not make for yourself an image of anything in heaven above, on earth below, or in the waters beneath.


You must not worship or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I punish the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons for the sin of the fathers who reject me,


but I show covenant faithfulness to the thousands who choose me and keep my commandments.


You must not make use of the name of the Lord your God for worthless purposes, for the Lord will not exonerate anyone who abuses his name that way.


Be careful to observe the Sabbath day just as the Lord your God has commanded you.


You are to work and do all your tasks in six days,


but the seventh day is the Sabbath 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 foreigner who lives with you, so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest.


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. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.


Honor 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 is about to give you.


You must not murder.


You must not commit adultery.


You must not steal.


You must not offer false testimony against another.


You must not desire another man’s wife, nor should you crave his house, his field, his male and female servants, his ox, his donkey, or anything else he owns.”


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. Then he inscribed the words on two stone tablets and gave them to me.


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.


You said, “The Lord our God has shown us his great glory and we have heard him speak from the middle of the fire. It is now clear to us that God can speak to human beings and they can keep on living.


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!


Who is there from the entire human race who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the middle of the fire as we have, and has lived?


You go near so that you can hear everything the Lord our God is saying and then you can tell us whatever he says to you; then we will pay attention and do it.”


When the Lord heard you speaking to me, he said to me, “I have heard what these people have said to you – they have spoken well.


If only it would really be their desire to fear me and obey all my commandments in the future, so that it may go well with them and their descendants forever.


Go and tell them, ‘Return to your tents!’


But as for you, remain here with me so I can declare to you all the commandments, 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.”


Be careful, therefore, to do exactly what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn right or left!


Walk just as he has commanded you so that you may live, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land you are going to possess.


Now these are the commandments, 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


and that you may so revere the Lord your God that you will keep all his statutes and commandments that I am giving you – you, your children, and your grandchildren – all your lives, to prolong your days.


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 the Lord, God of your ancestors, said to you, you will have a land flowing with milk and honey.


Listen, Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!


You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength.


These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind,


and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.


You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm and fasten them as symbols on your forehead.


Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates.


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,


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,


be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, that place of slavery.


You must revere the Lord your God, serve him, and take oaths using only his name.


You must not go after other gods, those of the surrounding peoples,


for the Lord your God, who is present among you, is a jealous God and his anger will erupt against you and remove you from the land.


You must not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.


Keep his commandments very carefully, as well as the stipulations and statutes he commanded you to observe.


Do whatever is proper 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 promised your ancestors,


and that you may drive out all your enemies just as the Lord said.


When your children ask you later on, “What are the stipulations, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord our God commanded you?”


you must say to them, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt in a powerful way.


And he brought signs and great, devastating wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on his whole family before our very eyes.


He delivered us from there so that he could give us the land he had promised our ancestors.


The Lord commanded us to obey all these statutes and to revere him so that it may always go well for us and he may preserve us, as he has to this day.


We will be innocent if we carefully keep all these commandments before the Lord our God, just as he demands.”


When the Lord your God brings you to the land that you are going to occupy and forces out many nations before you – Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you –


and he delivers them over to you and you attack them, you must utterly annihilate them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy!


You must not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,


for they 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.


Instead, this is what you must do to them: You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, cut down their sacred Asherah poles, and burn up their idols.


For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. He has chosen you to be his people, prized above all others on the face of the earth.


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.


Rather it is because of his love for you and his faithfulness to the promise he solemnly vowed to your ancestors that the Lord brought you out with great power, redeeming you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.


So realize that the Lord your God is the true God, the faithful God who keeps covenant faithfully with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,


but who pays back those who hate him as they deserve and destroys them. He will not ignore those who hate him but will repay them as they deserve!


So keep the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that I today am commanding you to do.


If you obey these ordinances and are careful to do them, the Lord your God will faithfully keep covenant with you as he promised your ancestors.


He will love and bless you, and make you numerous. He will bless you with many children, with the produce of your soil, your grain, your new wine, your oil, the offspring of your oxen, and the young of your flocks in the land which he promised your ancestors to give you.


You will be blessed beyond all peoples; there will be no barrenness among you or your livestock.


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.


You must destroy all the people whom the Lord your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.


If you think, “These nations are more numerous than I – how can I dispossess them?”


you must not fear them. You must carefully recall what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt,


the great judgments you saw, the signs and wonders, the strength and power by which he brought you out – thus the Lord your God will do to all the people you fear.


Furthermore, the Lord your God will release hornets among them until the very last ones who hide from you perish.


You must not tremble in their presence, for the Lord your God, who is present among you, is a great and awesome God.


He, 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.


The Lord your God will give them over to you; he will throw them into a great panic until they are destroyed.


He will hand over their kings to you and you will erase their very names from memory. Nobody will be able to resist you until you destroy them.


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 to the Lord your God.


You must not bring any abhorrent thing into your house and thereby become an object of divine wrath along with it. You must absolutely detest and abhor it, for it is an object of divine wrath.


You must keep carefully all these commandments I am giving you today so that you may live, increase in number, and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors.


Remember the whole way by which he has brought you these forty years through the desert so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not.


So he humbled you by making you hungry and then feeding you with unfamiliar manna. He did this to teach you that humankind cannot live by bread alone, but also by everything that comes from the Lord’s mouth.


Your clothing did not wear out nor did your feet swell all these forty years.


Be keenly aware that just as a parent disciplines his child, the Lord your God disciplines you.


So you must keep his commandments, live according to his standards, and revere him.


For the Lord your God is bringing you to a good land, a land of brooks, springs, and fountains flowing forth in valleys and hills,


a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates, of olive trees and honey,


a land where you may eat food in plenty and find no lack of anything, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you can mine copper.


You will eat your fill and then praise the Lord your God because of the good land he has given you.


Be sure you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments, ordinances, and statutes that I am giving you today.


When you eat your fill, when you build and occupy good houses,


when your cattle and flocks increase, when you have plenty of silver and gold, and when you have abundance of everything,


be sure you do not feel self-important and forget the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery,


and who brought you through the great, fearful desert of venomous serpents and scorpions, an arid place with no water. He made water flow from a flint rock and


fed you in the desert with manna (which your ancestors had never before known) so that he might by humbling you test you and eventually bring good to you.


Be careful not to say, “My own ability and skill have gotten me this wealth.”


You must remember the Lord your God, for he is the one who gives ability to get wealth; if you do this he will confirm his covenant that he made by oath to your ancestors, even as he has to this day.


Now if you forget the Lord your God at all and follow other gods, worshiping and prostrating yourselves before them, I testify to you today that you will surely be annihilated.


Just like the nations the Lord is about to destroy from your sight, so he will do to you because you would not obey him.


Listen, Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan so you can dispossess the nations there, people greater and stronger than you who live in large cities with extremely high fortifications.


They include the Anakites, a numerous and tall people whom you know about and of whom it is said, “Who is able to resist the Anakites?”


Understand today that the Lord your God who goes before you is a devouring fire; he will defeat and subdue them before you. You will dispossess and destroy them quickly just as he has told you.


Do not think to yourself after the Lord your God has driven them out before you, “Because of my own righteousness the Lord has brought me here to possess this land.” It is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out ahead of you.


It is not because of your righteousness, or even your inner uprightness, that you have come here to possess their land. Instead, because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out ahead of you in order to confirm the promise he made on oath to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.


Understand, therefore, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is about to give you this good land as a possession, for you are a stubborn people!


Remember – don’t ever forget – how you provoked the Lord your God in the desert; from the time you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place you were constantly rebelling against him.


At Horeb you provoked him and he was angry enough with you to destroy you.


When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you, I remained there forty days and nights, eating and drinking nothing.


The Lord gave me the two stone tablets, written by the very finger of God, and on them was everything he said to you at the mountain from the midst of the fire at the time of that assembly.


Now at the end of the forty days and nights the Lord presented me with the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant.


And he said to me, “Get up, go down at once from here because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have sinned! They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a cast metal image.”


Moreover, he said to me, “I have taken note of these people; they are a stubborn lot!


Stand aside and I will destroy them, obliterating their very name from memory, and I will make you into a stronger and more numerous nation than they are.”


So I turned and went down the mountain while it was blazing with fire; the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.


When I looked, you had indeed sinned against the Lord your God and had cast for yourselves a metal calf; you had quickly turned aside from the way he had commanded you!


I grabbed the two tablets, threw them down, and shattered them before your very eyes.


Then I again fell down before the Lord for forty days and nights; I ate and drank nothing because of all the sin you had committed, doing such evil before the Lord as to enrage him.


For I was terrified at the Lord’s intense anger that threatened to destroy you. But he listened to me this time as well.


The Lord was also angry enough at Aaron to kill him, but at that time I prayed for him too.


As for your sinful thing that you had made, the calf, I took it, melted it down, ground it up until it was as fine as dust, and tossed the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain.


Moreover, you continued to provoke the Lord at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth-Hattaavah.


And when he sent you from Kadesh-Barnea and told you, “Go up and possess the land I have given you,” you rebelled against the Lord your God and would neither believe nor obey him.


You have been rebelling against him from the very first day I knew you!


I lay flat on the ground before the Lord for forty days and nights, for he had said he would destroy you.


I prayed to him: O, Lord God, do not destroy your people, your valued property that you have powerfully redeemed, whom you brought out of Egypt by your strength.


Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; ignore the stubbornness, wickedness, and sin of these people.


Otherwise the people of the land from which you brought us will say, “The Lord was unable to bring them to the land he promised them, and because of his hatred for them he has brought them out to kill them in the desert.”


They are your people, your valued property, whom you brought out with great strength and power.


At that same time the Lord said to me, “Carve out for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up the mountain to me; also make for yourself a wooden ark.


I will write on the tablets the same words that were on the first tablets you broke, and you must put them into the ark.”


So I made an ark of acacia wood and carved out two stone tablets just like the first ones. Then I went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hands.


The Lord then wrote on the tablets the same words, the ten commandments, which he had spoken to you at the mountain from the middle of the fire at the time of that assembly, and he gave them to me.


Then I turned, went down the mountain, and placed the tablets into the ark I had made – they are still there, just as the Lord commanded me.


“During those days the Israelites traveled from Beeroth Bene-Yaaqan to Moserah. There Aaron died and was buried, and his son Eleazar became priest in his place.


From there they traveled to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a place of flowing streams.


At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to formulate blessings in his name, as they do to this very day.


Therefore Levi has no allotment or inheritance among his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance just as the Lord your God told him.


As for me, I stayed at the mountain as I did the first time, forty days and nights. The Lord listened to me that time as well and decided not to destroy you.


Then he said to me, “Get up, set out leading the people so they may go and possess the land I promised to give to their ancestors.”


Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you except to revere him, to obey all his commandments, to love him, to serve him with all your mind and being,


and to keep the Lord’s commandments and statutes that I am giving you today for your own good?


The heavens – indeed the highest heavens – belong to the Lord your God, as does the earth and everything in it.


However, only to your ancestors did he show his loving favor, and he chose you, their descendants, from all peoples – as is apparent today.


Therefore, cleanse your heart and stop being so stubborn!


For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe,


who justly treats the orphan and widow, and who loves resident foreigners, giving them food and clothing.


So you must love the resident foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.


Revere the Lord your God, serve him, be loyal to him and take oaths only in his name.


He is the one you should praise; he is your God, the one who has done these great and awesome things for you that you have seen.


When your ancestors went down to Egypt, they numbered only seventy, but now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky.


You must love the Lord your God and do what he requires; keep his statutes, ordinances, and commandments at all times.


Bear in mind today that I am not speaking to your children who have not personally experienced the judgments of the Lord your God, which revealed his greatness, strength, and power.


They did not see the awesome deeds he performed in the midst of Egypt against Pharaoh king of Egypt and his whole land,


or what he did to the army of Egypt, including their horses and chariots, when he made the waters of the Red Sea overwhelm them while they were pursuing you and he annihilated them.


They did not see what he did to you in the desert before you reached this place,


or what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth in the middle of the Israelite camp and swallowed them, their families, their tents, and all the property they brought with them.


I am speaking to you because you are the ones who saw all the great deeds of the Lord!


Now pay attention to all the commandments I am giving you today, so that you may be strong enough to enter and possess the land where you are headed,


and that you may enjoy long life in the land the Lord promised to give to your ancestors and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.


For the land where you are headed is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, a land where you planted seed and which you irrigated by hand like a vegetable garden.


Instead, the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy is one of hills and valleys, a land that drinks in water from the rains,


a land the Lord your God looks after. He is constantly attentive to it from the beginning to the end of the year.


Now, if you pay close attention to my commandments that I am giving you today and love the Lord your God and serve him with all your mind and being,


then he promises, “I will send rain for your land in its season, the autumn and the spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine, and olive oil.


I will provide pasture for your livestock and you will eat your fill.”


Make sure you do not turn away to serve and worship other gods!


Then the anger of the Lord will erupt against you and he will close up the sky so that it does not rain. The land will not yield its produce, and you will soon be removed from the good land that the Lord is about to give you.


Fix these words of mine into your mind and being, and tie them as a reminder on your hands and let them be symbols on your forehead.


Teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.


Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates


so that your days and those of your descendants may be extended in the land which the Lord promised to give to your ancestors, like the days of heaven itself.


For if you carefully observe all of these commandments I am giving you and love the Lord your God, live according to his standards, and remain loyal to him,


then he will drive out all these nations ahead of you, and you will dispossess nations greater and stronger than you.


Every place you set your foot will be yours; your border will extend from the desert to Lebanon and from the River (that is, the Euphrates) as far as the Mediterranean Sea.


Nobody will be able to resist you; the Lord your God will spread the fear and terror of you over the whole land on which you walk, just as he promised you.


Take note – I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:


the blessing if you take to heart the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today,


and the curse if you pay no attention to his commandments and turn from the way I am setting before you today to pursue other gods you have not known.


When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are to possess, you must pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.


Are they not across the Jordan River, toward the west, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah opposite Gilgal near the oak of Moreh?


For you are about to cross the Jordan to possess the land the Lord your God is giving you, and you will possess and inhabit it.


Be certain to keep all the statutes and ordinances that I am presenting to you today.


These are the statutes and ordinances you must be careful to obey as long as you live in the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess.


You must by all means destroy all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods – on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree.


You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, burn up their sacred Asherah poles, and cut down the images of their gods; you must eliminate their very memory from that place.


You must not worship the Lord your God the way they worship.


But you must seek only the place he chooses from all your tribes to establish his name as his place of residence, and you must go there.


And there you must take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the personal offerings you have prepared, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.


Both you and your families must feast there before the Lord your God and rejoice in all the output of your labor with which he has blessed you.


You must not do like we are doing here today, with everyone doing what seems best to him,


for you have not yet come to the final stop and inheritance the Lord your God is giving you.


When you do go across the Jordan River and settle in the land he is granting you as an inheritance and you find relief from all the enemies who surround you, you will live in safety.


Then you must come to the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to reside, bringing everything I am commanding you – your burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, the personal offerings you have prepared, and all your choice votive offerings which you devote to him.


You shall rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God, along with your sons, daughters, male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages (since they have no allotment or inheritance with you).


Make sure you do not offer burnt offerings in any place you wish,


for you may do so only in the place the Lord chooses in one of your tribal areas – there you may do everything I am commanding you.


On the other hand, you may slaughter and eat meat as you please when the Lord your God blesses you in all your villages. Both the ritually pure and impure may eat it, whether it is a gazelle or an ibex.


However, you must not eat blood – pour it out on the ground like water.


You will not be allowed to eat in your villages your tithe of grain, new wine, olive oil, the firstborn of your herd and flock, any votive offerings you have vowed, or your freewill and personal offerings.


Only in the presence of the Lord your God may you eat these, in the place he chooses. This applies to you, your son, your daughter, your male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages. In that place you will rejoice before the Lord your God in all the output of your labor.


Be careful not to overlook the Levites as long as you live in the land.


When the Lord your God extends your borders as he said he would do and you say, “I want to eat meat just as I please,” you may do so as you wish.


If the place he chooses to locate his name is too far for you, you may slaughter any of your herd and flock he has given you just as I have stipulated; you may eat them in your villages just as you wish.


Like you eat the gazelle or ibex, so you may eat these; the ritually impure and pure alike may eat them.


However, by no means eat the blood, for the blood is life itself – you must not eat the life with the meat!


You must not eat it! You must pour it out on the ground like water.


You must not eat it so that it may go well with you and your children after you; you will be doing what is right in the Lord’s sight.


Only the holy things and votive offerings that belong to you, you must pick up and take to the place the Lord will choose.


You must offer your burnt offerings, both meat and blood, on the altar of the Lord your God; the blood of your other sacrifices you must pour out on his altar while you eat the meat.


Pay careful attention to all these things I am commanding you so that it may always go well with you and your children after you when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.


When the Lord your God eliminates the nations from the place where you are headed and you dispossess them, you will settle down in their land.


After they have been destroyed from your presence, be careful not to be ensnared like they are; do not pursue their gods and say, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do the same.”


You must not worship the Lord your God the way they do! For everything that is abhorrent to him, everything he hates, they have done when worshiping their gods. They even burn up their sons and daughters before their gods!


You must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it!


Suppose a prophet or one who foretells by dreams should appear among you and show you a sign or wonder,


and the sign or wonder should come to pass concerning what he said to you, namely, “Let us follow other gods” – gods whom you have not previously known – “and let us serve them.”


You must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer, for the Lord your God will be testing you to see if you love him with all your mind and being.


You must follow the Lord your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him.


As for that prophet or dreamer, he must be executed because he encouraged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, redeeming you from that place of slavery, and because he has tried to entice you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to go. In this way you must purge out evil from within.


Suppose your own full brother, your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have previously known,


the gods of the surrounding people (whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other).


You must not give in to him or even listen to him; do not feel sympathy for him or spare him or cover up for him.


Instead, you must kill him without fail! Your own hand must be the first to strike him, and then the hands of the whole community.


You must stone him to death because he tried to entice you away from the Lord your God, who delivered you from the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.


Thus all Israel will hear and be afraid; no longer will they continue to do evil like this among you.


Suppose you should hear in one of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you as a place to live, that


some evil people have departed from among you to entice the inhabitants of their cities, saying, “Let’s go and serve other gods” (whom you have not known before).


You must investigate thoroughly and inquire carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done among you,


you must by all means slaughter the inhabitants of that city with the sword; annihilate with the sword everyone in it, as well as the livestock.


You must gather all of its plunder into the middle of the plaza and burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It will be an abandoned ruin forever – it must never be rebuilt again.


You must not take for yourself anything that has been placed under judgment. Then the Lord will relent from his intense anger, show you compassion, have mercy on you, and multiply you as he promised your ancestors.


Thus you must obey the Lord your God, keeping all his commandments that I am giving you today and doing what is right before him.


You are children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald for the sake of the dead.


For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. He has chosen you to be his people, prized above all others on the face of the earth.


You must not eat any forbidden thing.


These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat,


the ibex, the gazelle, the deer, the wild goat, the antelope, the wild oryx, and the mountain sheep.


You may eat any animal that has hooves divided into two parts and that chews the cud.


However, you may not eat the following animals among those that chew the cud or those that have divided hooves: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger. (Although they chew the cud, they do not have divided hooves and are therefore ritually impure to you).


Also the pig is ritually impure to you; though it has divided hooves, it does not chew the cud. You may not eat their meat or even touch their remains.


These you may eat from among water creatures: anything with fins and scales you may eat,


but whatever does not have fins and scales you may not eat; it is ritually impure to you.


All ritually clean birds you may eat.


These are the ones you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture,


the kite, the black kite, the dayyah after its species,


every raven after its species,


the ostrich, the owl, the seagull, the falcon after its species,


the little owl, the long-eared owl, the white owl,