📖 Deuteronomy — Chapter 4 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Deuteronomy 4:1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, Runto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.
Deuteronomy 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Deuteronomy 4:3 Your eyes have seen Rwhat the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you.
Deuteronomy 4:4 But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.
Deuteronomy 4:5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
Deuteronomy 4:6 Keep therefore and do them; for Rthis is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
Deuteronomy 4:7 For Rwhat nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
Deuteronomy 4:8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
Deuteronomy 4:9 Only take heed to thyself, and Rkeep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
Deuteronomy 4:10 Specially Rthe day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
Deuteronomy 4:11 And ye came near and Rstood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the Tmidst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
Deuteronomy 4:12 And Rthe LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; Tonly ye heard a voice.
Deuteronomy 4:13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even Rten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
Deuteronomy 4:14 And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.
Deuteronomy 4:15 RTake ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
Deuteronomy 4:16 Lest ye Rcorrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
Deuteronomy 4:17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
Deuteronomy 4:18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:
Deuteronomy 4:19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and Rwhen thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath Tdivided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
Deuteronomy 4:20 But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of Rthe iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.
Deuteronomy 4:21 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 in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance:
Deuteronomy 4:22 But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land.
Deuteronomy 4:23 Take Rheed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.
Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD Rthy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
Deuteronomy 4:25 When thou shalt Rbeget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger:
Deuteronomy 4:26 RI call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
Deuteronomy 4:27 And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.
Deuteronomy 4:28 And there Rye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
Deuteronomy 4:29 RBut if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Deuteronomy 4:30 When thou art in tribulation, and Rall these things Tare come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
Deuteronomy 4:31 (For Rthe LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
Deuteronomy 4:32 For Rask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?
Deuteronomy 4:33 Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?
Deuteronomy 4:34 Or hath God assayed to go and Rtake him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
Deuteronomy 4:35 Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest Rknow that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.
Deuteronomy 4:36 Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.
Deuteronomy 4:37 And Rbecause he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;
Deuteronomy 4:38 To Rdrive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.
Deuteronomy 4:39 Know therefore this day, Rand consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
Deuteronomy 4:40 Thou shalt Rkeep therefore his statutes, 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 mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.
Deuteronomy 4:41 Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;
Deuteronomy 4:42 That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:
Deuteronomy 4:43 Namely, RBezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites.
Deuteronomy 4:44 RAnd this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:
Deuteronomy 4:45 RThese are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 4:46 ROn this side Jordan, in the valley over against Bethpeor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt:
Deuteronomy 4:47 And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, which were on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;
Deuteronomy 4:48 From RAroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which is Hermon,
Deuteronomy 4:49 And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, Runder the springs of Pisgah.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Deuteronomy 4:1–14 — Hear, obey, and teach
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Moses calls Israel to keep God's statutes without adding to or subtracting from them. Remembering Horeb and teaching children what God did are presented as responsibilities that accompany the gift of his instruction.
Key Truth: God's instruction is to be obeyed, remembered, and passed on.
Check What You Remember
1. Were the people to add to the word Moses commanded them? (Deuteronomy 4:2)
Find it in Deuteronomy 4:2 (KJV).
2. What were the people told to teach to their sons and their sons' sons? (Deuteronomy 4:9)
Find it in Deuteronomy 4:9 (KJV).
3. How many commandments did God declare as his covenant? (Deuteronomy 4:13)
Find it in Deuteronomy 4:13 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Deuteronomy 4:15–31 — Avoid idols and return to the LORD
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Because Israel saw no likeness when God spoke at Horeb, they must not make an image to represent him. Moses warns of scattering and idolatry while also declaring that the merciful LORD can be sought by those who return to him.
Key Truth: The merciful LORD is to be sought wholeheartedly, without replacing him with images.
Check What You Remember
1. What likeness did Israel see when the LORD spoke from the fire? (Deuteronomy 4:15)
Find it in Deuteronomy 4:15 (KJV).
2. What does Moses call the LORD, along with a jealous God? (Deuteronomy 4:24)
Find it in Deuteronomy 4:24 (KJV).
3. With what must Israel seek the LORD to find him? (Deuteronomy 4:29)
Find it in Deuteronomy 4:29 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Deuteronomy 4:32–49 — The LORD alone and cities of refuge
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Moses asks Israel to consider God's unique acts in speaking to them and bringing them out of Egypt. He then names three cities east of Jordan for a person who killed unintentionally, connecting covenant teaching with ordered community life.
Key Truth: The LORD alone is God, and his instruction shapes Israel's public life.
Check What You Remember
1. Besides the LORD, how many other gods are there? (Deuteronomy 4:35)
Find it in Deuteronomy 4:35 (KJV).
2. How many cities did Moses separate east of Jordan? (Deuteronomy 4:41)
Find it in Deuteronomy 4:41 (KJV).
3. Which refuge city was in Bashan among the Manassites? (Deuteronomy 4:43)
Find it in Deuteronomy 4:43 (KJV).
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. Why is neither adding to nor diminishing the commanded word permitted?
2. How does hearing without seeing a likeness shape the warning against images?
3. What responsibility connects personal remembrance with future generations?
4. How do the warnings of scattering and the promise of finding the LORD fit together?
5. What condition defines the protection offered by the three eastern cities?
Notes
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