The Old Testament - The Middle Books - The New Testament with the Prophets

The 1527 Original Word of God In English


God's Truth To Us

 

 

The Fifth Book of Moses

also called Deuteronomy

 

Chapters 1-4 | 5-10 | 11-16 | 17-23 | 24-28 | 29-34 | Next Book


 

The 1st Chapter

      These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel, on the other side I Jordan in the wilderness and in the fields by the red sea, between Pharan and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Disahab eleven days journey from Horeb unto Cades barne, by the way that leadeth unto mount Seir. And it fortuned the first day of the eleventh month in the fortieth year, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them, after that he had smitten Sehon the king of the Amorites which dwelt in Hesbon, and Og king of Basan which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei.
      On the other side Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to declare this law saying: the Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb saying: Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: depart therefore and take your journey and go unto the hills of the Amorites and unto all places nigh there unto: both fields, hills and dales: and unto the south and unto the seas side in the land of Canaan, and unto Libanon: even unto the great river Euphrates. Behold, I have set the land before you: go in therefore and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give unto them and their seed after them.
      And I said unto you the same season: I am not able to bear you myself alone. For the Lord your God hath multiplied you: so that ye are this day as the stars of heaven in number (the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you as he hath promised you) how (said I) can I myself alone, bear the cumbrance, charge and strife that is among you: bring therefore men of wisdom and of understanding and expert, known among your tribes, that I may make them rulers over you. And ye answered me and said: that which thou hast spoken is good to be done. And then I took the heads of your tribes, men of wisdom and that were expert, and made them rulers over you: captains over thousands and over hundreds, over fifty and over ten, and officers among your tribes.
      And I charged your Judges the same time saying: hear your brethren and judge righteously between every man and his brother and the stranger that is with him. See that ye know no man in Judgement: but hear the small as well as the great and be afraid of no man, for the law is Gods. And the cause that is too hard for you, bring unto me and I will hear it. And I commanded you the same season, all the things which ye should do. And then we departed from Horeb and walked through all that great and terrible wilderness as ye have seen along by the way that leadeth unto the hills of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us, and came to Cades barne. And there I said unto you: Ye are come unto the hills of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us. Behold the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee, go up and conquer it, as the Lord God of thy fathers saith unto thee: fear not, neither be discouraged. And then ye came unto me every one and said: Let us send men before us, to search us out the land and to bring us word again, both what way we shall go up by, and unto what cities we shall come. And the saying pleased me well, and I took twelve men of you, of every tribe one. And they departed and went up into the high country and came unto the river Escol, and searched it out, and took of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down unto us and brought us word again and said: it is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us.
      Notwithstanding ye would not consent to go up, but were disobedient unto the mouth of the Lord your God, and murmured in your tents and said: because the Lord hateth us, therefore he hath brought us out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites and to destroy us. How shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts saying: the people is greater and taller than we, and the cities are great and walled even up to heaven, and moreover we have seen the sons of the Enakims there.
      And I said unto you: dread not nor be afraid of them: The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did unto you in Egypt before your eyes and in the wilderness: as thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee as a man should bear his son, throughout all the way which ye have gone, until ye came unto this place. And yet for all this saying ye did not believe the Lord your God which goeth the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, that ye might see what way to go and in a cloud by day.
      And the Lord heard the voice of your words and was wroth and swore saying, there shall not one of these men of this froward generation see that good land which I sware to give unto your fathers, save Caleb the son of Jephune, he shall see it, and to him I will give the land which he hath walked in and to his children, because he hath continually followed the Lord. Likewise the Lord was angry with me for your sakes saying: thou also shalt not go in thither. But Josua the son of Nun which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither. Bold him therefore for he shall divide it unto Israel. Moreover your children which ye said should be a prey, and your sons which know neither good nor bad this day, they shall go in thither and unto them I will give it, and they shall enjoy it. But as for you, turn back and take your journey into the wilderness: even the way to the read sea. Then ye answered and said unto me: We have sinned against the Lord: we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war and were ready to go up into the hills, the Lord said unto me: say unto them, see that ye go not up and that ye fight not, for I am not among you: lest ye be plagued before your enemies. And when I told you ye would not hear: but disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hills.
      Then the Amorites which dwelt in those hills, came out against you and chased you as bees do, and hewed you in Seir, even unto Horma. And ye came again and wept before the Lord: but the Lord would not hear your voice nor give you audience. And so ye abode in Cades a long season.

 

 

 

The 2nd Chapter

     Then we turned and took our journey into the wilderness, even the way to the read sea as the Lord commanded me. And we compassed the mountains of Seir a long time. Then the Lord spake unto me saying: Ye have compassed these mountains long enough, turn you northward. And warn the people saying: Ye shall go through the coasts of your brethren the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and they shall be afraid of you: But take good heed unto yourselves that ye provoke them not, for I will not give you of their land, no not so much as a foot breadth: because I have given mount Seir unto Esau to possess. Ye shall buy meat of them for money to eat, and ye shall buy water of them for money to drink. For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thine hand, and knew thee as thou wentest through this great wilderness. Moreover the Lord thy God hath been with thee this forty years, so that thou hast lacked nothing.
      And when we were departed from our brethren the children of Esau which dwelt in Seir by the field way from Elath and Ezion Gaber, we turned and went the way to the wilderness of Moab. Then the Lord said unto me: see that thou vex not the Moabites, neither provoke them to battle for I will not give thee of their land to possess: because I have given Ar unto the children of loth to possess. The Emims dwelt there in times past, a people great, many and tall, as the Enakims: which also were taken for giants as the Enakims: And the Moabites called them Emims. In like manner the Horims dwelt in Seir before time which the children of Esau cast out, and destroyed them before them and dwelt there in their stead: as Israel did in the land of his possession which the Lord gave them. Now rise up (said I) and get you over the river Zared: and we went over the river Zared. The space in which we came from Cades barne until we were come over the river Zared was thirty eight years: until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out of the host as the Lord sware unto them. For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them out of the host, till they were consumed.
      And as soon as all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, then the Lord spake unto me saying: Thou shalt go through Ar the coast of Moab this day, and shalt come nigh unto the children of Ammon: see that thou vex them not, nor yet provoke them. For I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon to possess, because I have given it unto the children of Loth to possess. That also was taken for a land of giants and giants dwelt therein in old time, and the Ammonites called them Zamzumims. A people that was great, many and tall, as the Enakims. But the Lord destroyed them before the Ammonites, and they cast them out and they dwelt there in their stead: as he did for the children of Esau which dwell in Seir: even as he destroyed the Horims before them, and they cast them out and dwell in their stead unto this day. And the Avims which dwelt in Hazarim even unto Aza, the Caphthorims which came out of Caphthor destroyed them and dwelt in their rooms.
      Rise up, take your journey and go over the river Arnon. Behold, I have given into thy hand Sehon the Amorite king of Hesbon, and his land. Go to and conquer and provoke him to battle. This day I will begin to send the fear and dread of thee upon all nations that are under all ports of heaven: so that when they hear speak of thee, they shall tremble and quake for fear of thee.
      Then I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Hesbon, with words of peace saying: Let me go through thy land. I will go always along by the high way and will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left. Sell me meat for money for to eat, and give me drink for money for to drink: I will go through by foot only (as the children of Esau did unto me which dwell in Seir and the Moabites which dwell in Ar) until I be come over Jordan, into the land which the Lord our God giveth us.
      But Sihon the king of Hesbon would not let us pass by him, for the Lord thy God had hardened his spirit and made his heart tough because he would deliver him into thy hands as it is come to pass this day.
      And the Lord said unto me: behold, I have begun to set Sihon and his land before thee: go to and conquer, that thou mayst possess his land. Then both Sihon and all his people came out against us unto battle at Jahab. And the Lord set him before us, and we smote him and his sons and all his people.
      And we took all his cities the same season, and destroyed all the cities with men, women, and children and let nothing remain, save the cattle only we caught unto ourselves and the spoil of the cities which we took, from Aroer upon the brink of the river of Arnon, and the city in the river, unto Galaad: there was not one city too strong for us. The Lord our God delivered all unto us: only unto the land of the children of Ammon ye came not, nor unto all the coast of the river Jabock nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the Lord our God forbade us.

 

 

 

The 3rd Chapter

      Then we turned and went up the way to Basan. And Og the king of Basan came out against us: both he and all his people to battle at Edrei. And the Lord said unto me: fear him not, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into thy hand and thou shalt deal with him as thou dealest with Sihon king of the Amorites which dwelt at Hesbon. And so the Lord our God delivered into our hands, Og also the king of Basan and all his folk. And we smote him until nought was left him.
      And we took all his cities the same season (for there was not a city which we took not from them) even three score cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Basan. All these cities were made strong with high walls, gates and bars, beside unwalled towns a great many. And we utterly destroyed them, as we played with Sihon king of Hesbon bringing to nought all the cities with men, women and children. But all the cattle and the spoil of the cities, we caught for ourselves.
      And thus we took the same season, the land out of the hand of two kings of the Amorites on the other side Jordan, from the river of Arnon unto mount Hermon (which Hermon the Sidons call Sirion, but the Amorites call it Senir) all the cities in the plain and all Galaad and all Basan unto Salcha and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Basan. For only Og king of Basan remained of the remnant of the giants: behold, his iron bed is yet at Rabath among the children of Ammon nine cubits long and, four *cubits broad, of the cubits of a man. And when we had conquered this land the same time, I gave from Aroer which is upon the river of Arnon, and half mount Galao and the cities thereof unto the Rubenites, and Gadites. And the rest of Galaad and all Basan the kingdom of Og, I gave unto the half tribe of Manasse: all the region of Argob with all, Basan was called the land of giants. Jair the son of Manasse took all the region of Argob unto the coasts of Gesuri and Maachati, and called them after his own name Basan Havoth Jair unto this day. And I gave half Galaad unto Machir. And unto Ruben and Gad, I gave from Galaad unto the river of Arnon and half the valley and the coast, even unto the river Jabock which is the border of the children of Ammon, and the fields and Jordan with the coast, from Cenereth even unto the sea in the field which is the salt sea under the springs of Phasgah eastward.
      And I commanded you the same time (ye Ruben and Gad) saying: the Lord your God hath given you this land to enjoy it: see that ye go harnessed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are men of war among you. Your wives only, your children and your cattle (for I know that ye have much cattle) shall abide in your cities which I have given you, until the Lord have given rest unto your brethren as well as unto you, and until they also have conquered the land which the Lord your God hath given them beyond Jordan: and then return again every man unto his possession which I have given you.
      And I warned Josua the same time saying: thine eyes have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto these two kings, even so the Lord will do unto all kingdoms whither thou goest. Fear them not, for the Lord your God he it is that fighteth for you.
      And I besought the Lord the same time saying: O' Lord God, thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness and thy mighty hand, for there is no God in heaven nor in earth that can do after thy works and after thy power: let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly high country and Libanon. But the Lord was angry with me for your sakes and would not hear me, but said unto me, be content, and speak henceforth no more unto me of this matter, Get thee up into the top of Phasga and lift up thine eyes west, north, south and east, and behold it with thine eyes for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. Moreover, charge Josua and courage him and bold him. For he shall go over before his people, and he shall divide the land which thou shalt see unto them. And so we abode in the valley beside Bethpheor.


*(cubit = about 18" if based on "modern" lengths. Yet it is possible that lengths were used of giants bing then longer; from the tip of fingers to elbow as was this measure of the cubit )

 

 

 

The 4th Chapter

      And now hearken Israel unto the ordinances and laws which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live and go and conquer the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall put nothing unto the word which I command you neither do ought therefrom, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did unto Baal Peor: for all the men that followed Baal Peor, the Lord your God hath destroyed from among you. But ye that cleaved unto the Lord your God, are alive every one of you this day. Behold, I have taught you ordinances and laws, such as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do even so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
      Keep them therefore and do them, for that is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the nations: which when they have heard all these ordinances, shall say: O' what a wise and understanding people is this great nation. For what nation is so great that hath gods so nigh unto him: as the Lord our God is nigh unto us, in all things, when we call unto him? Yea, and what nation is so great that hath ordinances and laws so righteous, as all this law which I set before you this day.
      Take heed to thyself therefore only and keep thy soul diligently, that thou forget not the things which thine eyes have seen, and that they depart not out of thine heart, all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons sons. The day that I stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when he said unto me, gather me the people together, that I may make them hear my words that they may learn to fear me as long as they live upon the earth and that they may teach their children: ye came and stood also under the hill, and the hill burnt with fire: even unto the midst of heaven, and there was darkness, clouds and mist. And the Lord spake unto you out of the fire and ye heard the voice of the words: But saw no image, save heard a voice only.
      And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to do, even ten verses and wrote them in two tables of stone. And the Lord commanded me the same season to teach you ordinances and laws, for to do them in the land whither ye go to possess it.
      Take heed unto yourselves diligently as pertaining unto your souls, for ye saw no manner of image the day when the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the fire lest ye marre yourselves and make you graven images after whatsoever likeness it be: whether after the likeness of man or woman or any manner beast that is on the earth or of any manner feathered fowl that flyeth in the air, or of any manner worm that creepeth on the earth or of any manner fish that is in the water beneath the earth: Yea and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the *son and the moon and the stars and whatsoever is contained in heaven, shouldest be deceived and shouldest bow thyself unto them and serve the things which the Lord thy God hath distributed unto all nations that are under all quarters of heaven.
      For the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron furnace of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as it is come to pass this day. Furthermore, the Lord was angry with me for your sakes and sware, that I should not go over Jordan and that I should not go unto that good land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to inheritance. For I must die in this land, and shall not go over Jordan: But ye shall go over and conquer that good land.
      Take heed unto yourselves therefore, that ye forget not the appointment of the Lord your God which he made with you, and that ye make you no graven image of whatsoever it be that the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee. For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, and a jealous God.
      If after thou hast gotten children and childrens children and hast dwelt long in the land, ye shall marre yourselves and make graven images after the likeness of whatsoever it be, and shall work wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him. I call heaven and earth to record unto you this day, that ye shall shortly perish from off the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it: Ye shall not prolong your days therein, but shall shortly be destroyed. And the Lord shall scatter you among nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the people whither the Lord shall bring you: and there ye shall serve gods which are the works of mans hand, wood and stone which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. Neverthelater ye shall seek the Lord your God even there, and shalt find him if thou seek him with all thine heart and with all thy soul. In thy tribulation and when all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, thou shalt turn unto the Lord thy God, and shalt hearken unto his voice. For the Lord thy God is a pitiful God: he will not forsake thee neither destroy thee, nor forget the appointment made with thy fathers which he sware unto them.
      For ask pray thee of the days that are past which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth and from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether anything hath been like unto this great thing or whether any such thing hath been heard as it is, that a nation hath heard the voice of God speaking out of fire as thou hast heard, and yet lived? either whether God assayed to go and take him a people from among nations, through temptations and signs and wonders and through war and with a mighty hand and a stretched out arm and with mighty terrible sights, according unto all that the Lord your God did unto you in Egypt before your eyes.
      Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know, how that the Lord he is God and that there is none but he. Out of heaven he made thee hear his voice to nurture thee, and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire, and thou heardest his words out of the fire. And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them and brought thee out with his presence and with his mighty power of Egypt: to thrust out nations greater and mightier than thou before thee, to bring thee in and to give thee their land to inheritance: as it is come to pass this day. Understand therefore this day and turn it to thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath there is no more: keep therefore his ordinances, and his commandments which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee and with thy children after thee and that thou mayst prolong thy days upon the earth which the Lord thy God giveth thee thy life long.
      Then Moses severed three cities on the other side Jordan toward the *son rising, that he should flee thither which had killed his neighbor unwares and hated him not in time past, and therefore should flee unto one of the same cities and live: Bezer in the wilderness even in the plain country among the Rubenites: and Ramoth in Galaad among the Gadites and Solan in Basan among the Manassites.
      This is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel, and these are the witnesses, ordinances and statutes which Moses told the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt, on the other side Jordan in the valley beside Beth Pheor in the land of Sehon king of the Amorites which dwelt at Hesbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote after they were come out of Egypt, and conquered his land and the land of Og king of Basan two kings of the Amorites on the other side Jordan toward the *son rising: from Aroer upon the bank of the river Arnon, unto Mount Sion which is called Hermon and all the fields on the other side Jordan eastward: even unto the sea in the field under the springs of Phasgah.

 

Chapters 1-4 | 5-10 | 11-16 | 17-23 | 24-28 | 29-34 | Next Book


 

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