COMMENT:

Genesis 15:5 Then the LORD took Abram outside and said, "Look to the heavens. Can you count the stars? That is how many descendants you shall have."

Genesis 22:17 "I will greatly bless you, multiplying your descendants as the stars of the heavens and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies."

Genesis 26:4 "I will multiply your descendants so that they are numbered like the stars of heaven. I will give them all these lands and through them all of the nations of the earth will be blessed."

11 "May the LORD, the God of your fathers, multiply you a thousand fold more, just as He has promised." 12 "How can I alone bear the burden of you and your strivings?" 13 "Choose wise and discerning men, men of experience from each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as rulers over you." 14 "You did as I asked." 15 "So I appointed these men as captains over hundreds, fifties and tens, among your tribes." 16 "I charged your judges at that time to hear the cases and judge righteously between individuals, both countryman and alien." 17 "Do not show partiality in your judgment. Listen to the small and the great alike. Have no fear, for judgment belongs to God. If a case is too difficult for you, then bring it to me." 18 "I explained everything you were to do." 19 "Then we set out from Horeb and passed through the great and terrible wilderness by way of the Amorites. And just as the LORD our God commanded, we came to Kadeshbarnea." 20 "I told you that the LORD was about to give you the hill country of the Amorites." 21 "You were to take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers had told you. You were not to be afraid." 22 "Then you approached me and asked to send men to spy out the land so that we might know the best way to take it." 23 "I agreed and we sent twelve men, one from each tribe." 24 "These men went up to the valley of Eshcol in the hill country to spy it out." 25 "They brought back some of the fruit from the area and reported that it was a good land which the LORD our God was about to give to us." 26 "In spite of this, you were not willing to go, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God." 27 "You murmured in your tents and said that God hated you and brought you from Egypt to be destroyed by the Amorites." 28 "Your hearts melted with fear at the thought of meeting these people who were bigger and taller than you. Their cities were large and well fortified. And the sons of Anakim especially frightened you." 29 "I told you not to be afraid of them." 30 "The LORD your God is the One who goes before you and He will fight for you, just as He did in Egypt." 31 "You saw how He carried you in the wilderness everywhere you went, just as man carries his son." 32 "In spite of this, you did not trust the LORD your God," 33 "who has always gone before you, directing you to your next camp site, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, showing you the way to go."

COMMENT: The fire made it not overly cold in the desert night and during the day they had the shade from the cloud. Both were evidences of God's abiding presence.

34 "When you were afraid to take the land the LORD had given you, He was angry with you, and made a promise, saying," 35 "not one of the men of this generation shall see the good land I promised to your fathers." 36 "The exception will be Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it and to him and his sons I will give the land on which he will walk, because he has followed the LORD fully."

COMMENT: Caleb and Joshua both talked positively of the land they had seen. Both would go in to the land.

37 "The LORD was also angry with me because of you, telling me that I would not enter the land with you." 38 "Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, will enter the land. Encourage him, for he will cause Israel to inherit the land." 39 "And your little ones whom you said would become prey, and your sons, who have no knowledge of good and evil, shall enter the land God will give to them. They will possess it." 40 "You turned and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea."

41 "Then it was that you said, 'We have sinned against the LORD. We will gladly go up and fight, just as the LORD has commanded.' And you took up your weapons of war and thought it would be an easy campaign." 42 "The LORD told me to tell you not to go up and fight because He would not be among you and you would be defeated." 43 "So I warned you but you would not listen. Instead you rebelled against the command of the LORD. You acted with presumption and went up to the hill country." 44 "The Amorites who live there came out against you like bees, chasing you from Seir to Hormah." 45 "Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but He did not listen to you." 46 "So you remained in Kadesh many days."

Deuteronomy 2 - RWB Paraphrase (37 V)
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Moses Continues to Recount the Lord's Leading of Israel
1 "Then we turned toward the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the LORD directed me, and we circled Mount Seir for many days." 2 "And the LORD spoke to me, saying," 3 "you have circled this mountain long enough. Turn north." 4 "He commanded us to pass through the territory of the sons of Esau who lived in Seir. They will be afraid of you but you are to be careful." 5 "Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land because I gave it to Esau as his possession." 6 "You may purchase food and water from them."

7 "For forty years the LORD your God has blessed you in every way through all your wanderings in the wilderness. You have had everything you needed." 8 "So we passed by our brothers the sons of Esau who lived in Seir on our way to the wilderness of Moab." 9 "Then the LORD said to me, 'Do not provoke Moab, for I will not give you any of their land because I have given it to the sons of Lot.'" 10 "The Emim lived there before the Moabites. They were tall like the Anakim, and there were many of them." 11 "Like the Anakim, they were regarded as Rephaim, but the Moabites called them Emim." 12 "The Horites formerly lived in Seir, but the sons of Esau destroyed them and settled in their place."

13 The LORD told us to arise and cross over the brook Zered, and we did. 14 "It took us thirty eight years to come from Kadeshbarnea to the brook Zered. During this time all of the generation of the men of war perished, as the LORD had sworn." 15 "In fact, the hand of the LORD was against them and destroyed them."

16 "So it came about that when all the men of war had finally perished from among our people," 17 "the LORD said to me," 18 "today you shall cross over Ar, the border of Moab." 19 "When you come near the sons of Ammon, do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land because I have given it to the sons of Lot." 20 "It too was regarded as the land of the Rephaim who formerly lived there, but the Ammonites called them Zamzummin." 21 "They were people like the Anakim, but the LORD destroyed them, and settled the Ammonites in their place," 22 "just as He did for the sons of Esau who lived in Seir when He destroyed the Horites from before them. And they have live there to this day." 23 "He destroyed the Avvim who lived in the villages as far as Gaza, and the Caphtorim who came from Caphtor." 24 "Arise, set out and pass through the valley of Arnon. See! I have given Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon and his land to you. Go into battle with him and take possession of his land." 25 "Today I will bring the dread of you upon all the nations under heaven when they hear about you."

26 "So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying," 27 "let us pass through your land. We will stay on the highway and turn neither to the right or the left." 28 "We will pay for food and water. Just let us pass through," 29 "as we did with the sons of Esau and the Moabites who live in Ar, so that we may cross over the Jordon into the land which the LORD our God is giving to us." 30 "But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing to let us pass through his land, for the LORD hardened his heart, in order to deliver him into your hand." 31 "The LORD told me He was doing this so that you might possess his land."

32 "Then Sihon came out to meet us in battle with all his people at Jahaz." 33 "The LORD our God delivered him to us and we defeated him and all his people." 34 "We captured his cities and utterly destroyed the men, women and children of every city. We left no survivors." 35 "We took only the animals as our booty and the spoil of the cities which we captured." 36 "From Aroer on the edge of the valley of Arnon all the way to Gilead there was no city too strong for us. The LORD our God delivered all of them unto us." 37 "Only you did not go near the land of the sons of Ammon along the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, just as the LORD had commanded us."

Deuteronomy 3 - RWB Paraphrase (29 V)
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The Lord Told Moses That He Could Not Enter Canaan
1 "Then we turned up the road to Bashan and all his people came out to battle with us." 2 "But the LORD said not to fear Bashan, for He would delivered him and all his people into your hand, just as He delivered Sihon king of the Amorites at Heshbon to you." 3 "So the LORD our God delivered Og also, king of Bashan, with all his people and we left no survivors." 4 "We captured all the region of Argob. There were sixty cities in his kingdom." 5 "All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates and bars. There were also a great many unwalled towns." 6 "We destroyed every man, woman and child in every city, as we did with Sihon king of Heshbon." 7 "But we kept the animals and spoil of the cities."

8 "Thus we took the land at that time from the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan, from Arnon to Mount Hermon." 9 "The Sidonians call Hermon Sirion and the Amorites call it Senir." 10 You were given all the cities of the plain, and all of Gilead, all of Bashan, as far as Salchah and Edrei which belonged to Og in Bashan. 11 Only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bedstead was made of iron. It is in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon and is nine cubits long and four cubit wide.

COMMENT: That is about 13 1/2 feet long and 6 feet wide. Many of us prefer a wide bed.

12 "At that time we took possession of the land, from Aroer in the valley of Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead and its cities which I gave to the tribes of Reuben and Gad." 13 And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half tribe of Manasseh. This was all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants. 14 "Jair the Son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites and changed its name from Bashan to Havothjair after himself." 15 "To Machir I gave Gilead." 16 "To the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave Gilead from the middle of the valley of Arnon to the river Jabbok on the border of the sons of Ammon." 17 "I also gave them the plain and the coast from Chinnereth to the plain of the Salt Sea, at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah on the east." 18 "At that time I told you that the LORD your God has given you this land to possess. But all of your valiant men shall cross the Jordan armed for war to help your brothers." 19 "But your wives and little ones, your livestock shall remain in the cities which I have given you." 20 "You are to help your brothers until the LORD has given them rest beyond the Jordan. Then you may return to the possession I have given you."

21 "I commanded Joshua at that time, saying to him, 'Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. So the LORD shall do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross.'" 22 "Do not fear them, for the LORD your God shall fight for you."

23 "At that time I also pleaded with the LORD, saying," 24 "'O LORD God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strength. What god is there who can do the things You do?'" 25 "Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon." 26 "But the LORD was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. Enough! He said. Speak no more about this to Me." 27 "Go to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes looking to the west, the north, the south and the east. There you will see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross over the Jordan." 28 "Charge Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go across at the head of this people. From Pisgah you will see the land I am giving to them." 29 "So we remained in the valley opposite Bethpeor."

Deuteronomy 4 - RWB Paraphrase (49 V)
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You Will Find the Lord When You Seek for Him with All Your Heart
1 "Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and judgments which I am teaching you to do that you may live and take possession of the land the LORD God of your fathers is giving you." 2 "You shall not add to My words or take away from them, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God." 3 "You have seen what the LORD did at Baalpeor and how He destroyed some from among you." 4 "But those of you who held fast to the LORD are alive today." 5 "See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the LORD has commanded that you should do in the land you are about to possess." 6 "So remember and do them, that your wisdom and understanding may be a byword to the nations around you." 7 "For what other nation has a god so near as the LORD is to you whenever we call on Him?" 8 "Or what great nation has statutes and judgments as righteous as the law I am setting before you?" 9 "Only give heed and be diligent to not forget what you have seen and make this known to your sons and daughters."

10 "Remember the day you stood before your God at Mount Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Assemble the people, that I may let them hear My words so that they may learn to fear Me all the days of their lives and teach My words to their children.'" 11 "You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain. The mountain burned with fire and there were dark clouds and a thick gloom." 12 "Then the LORD spoke to you from the midst of the fire. You heard His words, though you did not see His form." 13 "He declared His covenant and commanded you to perform it, that is the Ten Commandments. He wrote them on two tablets of stone."

COMMENT: Because God wrote them on stone it signified that they were to be remembered forever.

14 "At that time the LORD commanded me to teach you the statutes and judgments so that you might perform them in the land you are going over to possess."

COMMENT: They must not neglect these as times got much better.

15 "So watch yourselves carefully, though you did not see the LORD's form in the midst of the fire at Horeb," 16 "see that you do not act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, male or female," 17 "or any likeness of any animal, or bird," 18 "or anything resembling anything that creeps on the ground, or like any fish in the water." 19 "Beware that you do not lift up your eyes to worship the sun, the moon or the stars." 20 "The LORD has brought you out of the iron furnace of Egypt to be His own possession."

21 "Now the LORD was angry with me because of you and swore that I would not cross the Jordon and enter the good land with you which He is giving you for an inheritance." 22 "I am going to die in this land. I will not cross over the Jordon, but you will." 23 "So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you. The LORD has commanded you to not make for yourselves a graven image of anything." 24 "For the LORD your God is a consuming fire and a jealous God."

25 "When you have children, and grandchildren, and have remained in the land for a long time, and act corruptly by making a graven image in the form of anything, provoking God to anger," 26 "I call heaven and earth to witness against you, that you will surely perish quickly from the land you are about to possess. You will be utterly destroyed." 27 "The LORD will scatter you among the nations and you will be left few in number where you are driven." 28 "There you will serve gods which are the work of a man's hands, made of wood and stone. They will neither see, hear, eat or smell."

29 "But at that time and from that place you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and soul." 30 "When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice." 31 "For the LORD your God is compassionate. He will not fail you or forget the covenant He made with your fathers."

32 "You may look to the former days and see that since creation nothing like this has ever happened." 33 "Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, and survived?" 34 "Has any god ever taken for himself a nation from within another nation, using trials and wonders and a mighty hand as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt?" 35 "You were shown these things that you might know that the LORD is God and there is none other like Him." 36 "He let you hear His voice from the heavens to teach you, showing you His great fire as He spoke His words from its midst." 37 "He loved your fathers and personally brought you out of Egypt by His great power." 38 "He drove nations out before you that were mightier than you, in order to bring you into this land as your inheritance." 39 "Know today and take it to heart, that the LORD is the God of heaven above and the earth below, and there is no other god." 40 "So you are to keep His statutes which I am giving you today, that it may be well with you and your children after you, and that you may live long in the land which the LORD your God is giving to you forever."

41 Then Moses set apart three cities across the Jordon to the east, 42 places where a manslayer might flee if he had unintentionally killed his neighbor. In one of these cities he would be able to find refuge. 43 Bezer in the wilderness of the plain of the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead of the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan of the Manassites.

44 Now this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel. 45 These are the testimonies, statutes and ordinances which Moses spoke to the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt, 46 while the children of Israel were across the Jordan, in the valley opposite Bethpeor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel defeated when they came out of Egypt. 47 They also took the land of Og king of Bashan. These were the two kings of the Amorites, who were across the Jordan to the east. 48 Their land was from Aroer on the edge of the valley of Arnon to Mount Seir, that is, Mount Hermon, 49 with all of Arabah east of the Jordan and as far as the sea of Arabah at the foot of Pisgah.

Deuteronomy 5 - RWB Paraphrase (33 V)
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The Ten Commandments
1 Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances which I giving you today. Be careful to observe them." 2 "The LORD God made a covenant with us at Horeb." 3 "The LORD did not make the covenant with our fathers but to us who are alive today." 4 He spoke to you face to face from the midst of the fire. 5 "I stood between the LORD and you, declaring His words, for you were afraid because of the fire and stayed away from the mountain. On that day He said," 6 "I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of slavery."

7 "You shall have no other gods before Me."

8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth." 9 "You shall not worship them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me," 10 "but showing lovingkindness to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments."

11 "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain."

COMMENT: Taking His name in vain includes more than swearing. If we claim to belong to God and do not properly represent Him, that will call for punishment from Him. We may not take the name of Christian lightly.

12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy as the LORD your God has commanded you." 13 "Six day you are to labor and do all your work," 14 "but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work. This includes you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, even your ox and your donkey, your cattle and any stranger who may stay with you. Your servants need rest, too."

COMMENT: The wife is not mentioned in this commandment because husband wife are one. Any man or woman is subject to God's commands.

15 "Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God brought you out with a mighty hand outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day."

16 "Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God has commanded, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you in the land which the LORD your God gives you."

17 "You shall not murder."

18 "You shall not commit adultery."

19 "You shall not steal."

20 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."

21 "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or desire his house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

22 "These words the LORD spoke with a great voice to your assembly at the mountain from within the fire of the cloud and thick gloom. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me." 23 "And when you had heard His voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain burned with fire, the heads of your tribes and your elders came near to me." 24 "You said to me, 'Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and greatness. We have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. He has spoken with us and yet we are still alive.'" 25 "We fear that the fire will consume us and if we continue to hear His voice we will die," 26 "for who can continue to hear His voice and live?" 27 "You go near and hear what the LORD has to say and then tell us all that the LORD has said, and we will listen and do it."

28 "The LORD heard your request, and said, 'I have heard the words of this people and they have spoken well.'" 29 "Oh that they had a heart to always fear Me and keep all My commandments. Then it would be well for them and their children, forever!" 30 "Tell them to return to their tents." 31 "But as for you, stand here by Me, that I may tell you of all the commandments, statutes and judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am giving to them."

32 "So you must be careful to do just as the LORD your God has commanded. Do not turn aside to the right or the left." 33 "You shall walk in all the ways the LORD your God has commanded, that you may live and that it may be well with you. This will prolong your days in the land which you will possess."

Deuteronomy 6 - RWB Paraphrase (25 V)
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You Shall Love the Lord Your God with All Your Heart
1 "Now here are the commandments, the statutes and judgments which the LORD has commanded me to teach to you, that you might do them in the land you are about to possess," 2 "so that your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, that your days may be prolonged." 3 "O Israel, be careful and listen that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD your God has promised."

4 "Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God is one!" 5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your might."

COMMENT: The first and greatest commandment:

Joshua 22:5 "Only be careful to observe the commandments of the law which Moses, the LORD's servant, gave to you, to love the LORD your God, walking in His ways, keeping His commandments and holding fast to Him with all your heart and soul."

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind."

6 "These words, which I am commanding you, shall be in your heart." 7 "You shall diligently teach them to your children when you sit in your house, when you walk along the path, when you lie down and when you rise up." 8 "You shall bind them for a sign on your hand in your mind."

COMMENT: Everything you do, and even think about, is to be controlled by your knowledge of God's law.

9 "Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

COMMENT: These are to serve the same function as the blood on the doorposts, to save you and keep you from forgetting Who it is that saves you. All those who come near your home should be able to recognize God's influence on your family.

10 "Then when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He promised to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you splendid cities that you did not build," 11 "and houses already full of good things, like hewn cisterns you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied," 12 "then beware lest you forget that it was the LORD who brought you out from the house of slavery in Egypt."

13 "You shall fear only the LORD your God. You shall worship Him and take your oaths in His name." 14 "Do not follow the other gods of the people who surround you." 15 "For the LORD your God is a jealous God. You do not want to kindle His anger against you lest He wipe you from the face of the earth."

16 "You shall not put the LORD your God to the test as you did at Massah." 17 "You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God and His testimonies and statutes which He has commanded you." 18 "You shall do what is right and good in His sight so that you may go in and possess the good land that He swore to give to your fathers," 19 "by driving out all your enemies as He has promised."

20 "In times to come, when your son asks you, 'What do the testimonies, statutes and judgments mean which the LORD commanded you?'" 21 "Then you shall say to your son, 'We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.'" 22 "Moreover, we watched the LORD show great signs and wonders against Egypt and Pharaoh." 23 "He brought us up out of Egypt in order to give us the land He swore to our fathers." 24 "So the LORD commanded us to observe all His statutes for our own good." 25 "If we are careful to observe the LORD's commandments it will result in righteousness for us."

Deuteronomy 7 - RWB Paraphrase (26 V)
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Be Careful to Have Nothing to Do with Strange gods
1 "When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are about to possess, and clears out the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations stronger than you," 2 "and the LORD delivers them into your hand you shall utterly destroy them making no covenant with them." 3 "You are not to intermarry with them." 4 "They will turn your sons away from Me and this will kindle the LORD's anger against you causing Him to destroy you."

5 "You shall tear down their altars, sacred pillars and Asherim and burn their graven images." 6 "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God. He has chosen you as His own possession from among all the peoples on the face of the earth." 7 "The LORD did not choose you because there were so many of you. In fact, you were the fewest of all peoples." 8 "The LORD chose you because of His oath to your forefathers. He brought you out with a mighty hand, redeeming you from the house of slavery at the hand of Pharaoh in Egypt." 9 "Know that the LORD your God is faithful to keep His covenant and mercy with those who love Him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations." 10 "He will repay those who hate Him. He will not delay in destroying them." 11 "Therefore, you shall keep the commandment, statutes and judgments of the LORD." 12 "Then it will come to pass, if you listen to these judgments and keep them, that the LORD your God will keep His covenant which He swore to your forefathers." 13 "He will love, bless and multiply you, blessing the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain, your new wine and oil. He will increase your herds and flocks in the land which He swore to your forefathers." 14 "You shall be blessed above all peoples. None of your animals shall be barren." 15 "The LORD will remove sickness from among you." 16 "You shall consume all those the LORD shall deliver to you. You must show no pity on them, nor serve their gods."

17 "If you should think that these nations are too great for you to dispossess," 18 "you shall not be afraid of them. Remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt." 19 "You witnessed great signs in the LORD's mighty outstretched arm as He brought you out of Egypt, and He will do the same to all those you are afraid of." 20 "Moreover, the LORD will send the hornet against them until they all perish." 21 "You shall not dread them, for the LORD your God is with you. He is a great and awesome God." 22 "He will clear out the nations before you little by little. It will not happen quickly lest the wild beasts overrun the land." 23 "The LORD your God will deliver them before you and destroy all of them." 24 "He will deliver their kings into your hand so that their names perish from under heaven. No one will be able to stand before you." 25 "Burn their graven images with fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, or it will be a snare to you." 26 "You shall not bring any of these abominations into your house. You shall utterly abhor them, for these things are to be banned."

COMMENT: We brought home certain artifacts from Africa and were then impressed to rid our house of these things which might have been used in cult like activities.

Deuteronomy 8 - RWB Paraphrase (20 V)
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Remember the Lord's Commandments Or You Will Perish
1 "Be careful to do all the commandments I am giving you today. If you do this you will live and multiply, and possess the land which the LORD swore to your forefathers." 2 "You must always remember all the ways the LORD has led you in the wilderness these forty years. He was testing and humbling you, to see if you would keep His commandments." 3 "He humbled you, letting you be hungry and then feeding you manna, something none of you had ever had before. He wanted you to understand that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

COMMENT: Jesus used this verse to combat the Devil during the first temptation.

Matthew 4:4 But Jesus answered and said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from God."

4 "For forty years your clothing did not wear out and your feet did not swell." 5 "By this you may understand that the LORD your God disciplined you the same way a man disciplines his son." 6 "Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and fear Him." 7 "For the LORD is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks, water, fountains and springs flowing in the hills and valleys," 8 "a land of wheat, barley, grape vines, fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey." 9 "A land where you will have plenty of food, lacking for nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you will dig copper." 10 "When you have eaten and been satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land He has given you." 11 "Beware lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, ordinances and statutes which I am commanding this day." 12 "Otherwise when you have become well situated with food and houses," 13 "and when your herds and flocks have multiplied and you have silver and gold," 14 "then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out of slavery in Egypt." 15 "He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and its waterless wastes. He brought water out of the rock for you." 16 "He fed you with manna, something unknown to your fathers. He humbled you to test you and in the end you were better off." 17 "Otherwise you might have thought that you did it in your own strength." 18 "But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers." 19 "Should you ever forget the LORD your God and worship and serve other gods, I tell you today, you will perish." 20 "Just as the LORD is removing nations before you, so you shall be removed if you do not listen to the voice of the LORD your God."

Deuteronomy 9 - RWB Paraphrase (29 V)
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Moses Smashed the Two Tablets of Stone
1 "Hear, O Israel! You are crossing over the Jordan today to dispossess well fortified nations that are mightier than you." 2 "These are sons of the Anakim, a tall people. You have heard it said that no one can stand up to them." 3 "Remember that the LORD your God is crossing over before you and He is a consuming fire. He will destroy these people for you so that you may drive them out quickly, just as He has promised." 4 "When you possess the land never think that the LORD did this because of your righteousness. The LORD is doing this because of their wickedness."

COMMENT: The same is true about our salvation. We have no righteousness. None! We are saved as we trust in Christ's righteousness! And the blessings we enjoy are according to His goodness and not ours.

5 "Your righteousness has nothing to do with you possessing the land. These people are wicked and the LORD is confirming His oath to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." 6 "It is not because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people." 7 "Never forget how you provoked the LORD your God in the wilderness. This went on from Egypt even until you arrived at this place." 8 "Even at Horeb the LORD was angry with you and would have destroyed you." 9 "Remember how I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone containing the covenant the LORD made with you, and I was on the mountain for forty days and nights, without food and water?" 10 "The LORD gave me the two tablets of stone, containing all the words He spoke to you and wrote with His finger. He spoke these word to you from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly." 11 "When the forty days and nights had ended, the LORD gave me the two tables of stone containing the covenant." 12 "Then the LORD said to me, 'Arise and go down to the camp quickly, for the people you brought out of Egypt have turned aside from what I commanded them. They have made a molten image for themselves.'" 13 "The LORD spoke further to me, saying, 'I see that these people are indeed stubborn.'" 14 "Let me destroy them and I will make of you a nation mightier that they."

15 "So I came down from the mountain while it burned with fire, as I carried the two tables of stone." 16 "And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God, making for yourselves a molten calf. You had turned from the LORD so quickly." 17 "I threw the two tables of stone down and smashed them before your eyes." 18 "Then I fell down before the LORD for another forty days and nights. I did not eat bread or drink water because of all the evil you did in the sight of the LORD by provoking Him to anger."

COMMENT: Does this make a total of eighty days of fasting?

19 "I was afraid of His anger against you when He said He would destroy you. But I interceded and the LORD listened to me." 20 "He was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him and I prayed for him at the same time."

COMMENT: Scripture does not record God's anger against Aaron until after he had died.

21 "I took the calf which you had made and burned it with fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to dust and threw the dust into the brook coming down from the mountain."

COMMENT:

Exodus 32:20 He took the calf they had made and burned it with fire. Then grinding it to powder, he scattered it on the surface of the water and made the people drink it.

22 "Again at Taberah and Massah, as well as at Kibroth-Hattaavah you provoked the LORD to wrath." 23 "When the LORD sent you from KadeshBarnea to possess the land He was giving to you, you rebelled against His command. You did not believe Him or listen to His voice." 24 "You have been rebellious against the LORD from the first day I knew you."

25 "So I fell down before the LORD the forty days and nights because the LORD said He would destroy you." 26 "I prayed to the LORD, and said, 'O LORD God, do not destroy Your people, Your inheritance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.'"

COMMENT: To become the Lord's inheritance means to become His children. And children can rebell.

27 "Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Do not look at the stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness or sin."

COMMENT: For the sake of the parents remember the children. Can we not pray this prayer.

28 "Otherwise the land from which You brought us may say, 'The LORD was not able to bring them into the land He promised to give them. So He slew them in the wilderness.'" 29 "Yet they are Your people, Your inheritance brought out of Egypt by Your great power and Your outstretched arm."

Deuteronomy 10 - RWB Paraphrase (22 V)
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Moses Cut Out Two New Tablets of Stone
1 "At that time the LORD told me to cut out two more tables of stone, like the ones I had smashed, and bring them up the mountain to Him. I was also to make an ark of wood." 2 He said, "I will write the same things on these tables that I wrote on the other ones which you shattered. You are to put these into the ark." 3 "So I made an ark of acacia wood and cut out two tables of stone like the former ones, and went up the mountain with them." 4 "He wrote the Ten Commandments on the tables, using the same words He spoke from the mountain in the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. Then He gave these tables to me." 5 "I came down from the mountain and put the tables in the ark I had made. And there they have remained just as the LORD commanded."

6 "You will recall that Israel set out from Beeroth Jaakan to Mosera. It was there that Aaron died and was buried. Then Eliezer his son ministered as priest in his place." 7 "From there Israel set out for Gudgodah and then to Jotbathah, a land of brooks of water." 8 "At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to stand before the LORD to serve Him and bless His name."

COMMENT: Blessing the name of the Lord is what pastors are to do. In fact, everyone is to bless the name of the Lord.

9 "For this reason Levi does not have a portion or inheritance with his brothers. The LORD is his inheritance."

COMMENT: Is the Lord to be the inheritance of pastors?

10 "I stayed on the mountain forty days and nights, like the first time, and the LORD listen to me and did not destroy you." 11 "Then the LORD told me to arise and go ahead of the people that they might go in and possess the land that He swore to their fathers."

12 "Now Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and soul,"

COMMENT: Jesus asserted this as the greatest commandment.

Matthew 22:35-38 A lawyer among them put this question to Jesus: [36] "teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" [37] Jesus said to him, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind." [38] "This is the greatest commandment."

13 "and to keep the LORD's commandments and statutes which I am commanding you today for your good." 14 "Behold, the heavens and the earth, and everything in them belong to the LORD your God." 15 "Yet the LORD delighted in your fathers and loved them. He chose their seed after them, even you, above all people on the earth." 16 "So circumcise your heart, and be stiff necked no longer." 17 "For the LORD your God is the God above all gods and Lord of lords, who does not show partiality nor take a bribe." 18 "He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing." 19 "So show your love for the alien, for you too were aliens in Egypt." 20 "You shall fear the LORD your God, serving Him and clinging to Him, swearing by His name." 21 "He is your praise and He is your God, Who has done great and awesome things before your own eyes." 22 "Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy persons in all, and now the LORD has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven."

Deuteronomy 11 - RWB Paraphrase (32 V)
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A Blessing and a Curse
1 "You shall therefore love the LORD your God, always keeping His statutes, ordinances and commandments." 2 "I recognize that I am speaking to those who have seen the LORD's discipline, His greatness and His mighty outstretched arm," 3 "his signs and the works He did in Egypt to Pharaoh and all the land." 4 "You saw what He did to Egypt's army, it horses and chariots, when He made the Red Sea flow over them while they were pursuing you. Egypt has never recovered." 5 "You witnessed what He did for you in the wilderness until you came to this place," 6 "and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, when the earth opened up its mouth and swallowed them, their households, and all their possessions, right in front of your eyes."

7 "Your own eyes have seen the great work the LORD has done." 8 "You shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today, so that you may be strong and possess the land which you are about to enter." 9 "If you keep every commandment you will prolong your days in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey." 10 "The land you are about to possess is not like Egypt from where you came. You used to plant and then carry water for your vegetable garden." 11 "But the land you are about to possess has hills and valleys and is watered from heaven." 12 "The eyes of the LORD are on this land all year long." 13 "If you listen and obey my commandments, and love and serve the LORD with all your heart and soul," 14 "then He will give you the early and later rain for your land so that you may gather in your grain, wine and oil." 15 "He will provide grass for your cattle and you will eat and be satisfied." 16 "Beware that you are not deceived and turn away to serve and worship other gods." 17 "Or else the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and He will stop the rain from watering the ground, and you will perish quickly from the land the LORD is giving you."

COMMENT: One time this happened was during the reign of Ahab when there was no rain.

1 Kings 17:1 Elijah the Tishbite from among the settlers of Gilead, said to ahab, "as the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither dew or rain except by my word."

18 "Impress these words on your heart and soul. Bind them as a memorial on your hand. Keep them in the front of your thoughts." 19 "Teach them to your sons. Talk about them when you sit together in your house, when you go for a walk and when you lie down or rise up." 20 "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates," 21 "so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers for as long as the heavens remain." 22 "For if you are careful to keep these commandments which I am giving to you, and love the LORD, walking in His ways and holding fast to Him," 23 "then the LORD will drive out all of the nations before you, and you will dispossess nations mightier than you." 24 "Every place you walk will be yours. Your borders will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river Euphrates all the way to the western sea." 25 "No man will be able to stand up to you because the LORD your God will lay the dread of you on all the places where you place your foot."

26 "Today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse." 27 "A blessing if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God." 28 "And a curse if you do not listen to them, but turn aside to follow other gods which you have not known."

COMMENT: One wonders if they had a procivity to worship other gods? Do all of us have the same tendency if we do not follow the Bible carefully?

29 "When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are about to possess, you shall place a blessing on Mount Gerizim and a curse on Mount Ebal." 30 "They are across the Jordan toward the sunset in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh." 31 "You are about to possess the land the LORD your God is giving you." 32 "And you shall be careful to do all the statutes and judgments I am setting before you today."

Deuteronomy 12 - RWB Paraphrase (32 V)
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Do Not Add to My Words Or Take Away From Them
1 "Here are the statutes and judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you as a possession." 2 "You shall completely destroy those places where the nations you are dispossessing served their gods, places on high mountains, hills and under green trees." 3 "Tear them down and smash their sacred pillars. Burn their groves and cut down their carved images. Obliterate the name of each place."

4 "You shall not act toward your God as they did toward their gods." 5 "Instead, you must seek the LORD at the place the LORD your God will choose from among your tribes, and establish His name and dwelling in that place." 6 "There you shall bring your burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, contributions, votive offerings and the firstborn of your herds and flocks." 7 "In that place you and your household shall eat before the LORD, rejoicing in what you have been able to do because of the LORD's blessings on you." 8 "No longer shall every man do what is right in his own eyes," 9 "for you have not yet come to the resting place and inheritance which the LORD is giving you."

10 "When you cross the Jordan, and live in the land He is giving you, He will give you rest from all your enemies and you will live securely." 11 "Then it shall come to pass that the LORD will choose the place where you are to bring all your burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, contributions and votive offerings for the vows you have made to the LORD." 12 "And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no inheritance with you." 13 "See that you do not offer your burnt offering in a cultic place," 14 "but instead in the place the LORD chooses in one of your tribes. There you shall offer your burnt offerings and do all that I command." 15 "However, you may slaughter and eat within your own gates, according to the blessing of the LORD your God. The unclean and the clean may eat of it." 16 "But you must not eat the blood. Pour it out on the ground." 17 "You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine, or oil, or firstborn of your herds or flocks, or any votive offering, freewill offering or contribution." 18 "These you shall eat before the LORD in the place He will choose. And all of your household shall eat there with you, family members, slaves and Levites staying with you. You shall rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you do." 19 "Be careful that you do not forget the Levite as long as you live in the land."

20 "When the LORD extends your border as He has promised, you may eat meat whenever you wish." 21 "If the place the LORD your God has chosen to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter and eat within your gates whenever you desire." 22 "Just as a gazelle or deer is eaten, so you will eat it. The unclean and the clean may both eat of it." 23 "Only be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life and you shall not eat the life with the flesh." 24 "You shall pour it out on the ground." 25 "You shall not eat it so that it may be well with you and your sons after you, for you will be doing what is right in the sight of the LORD." 26 "Only your holy things such as your votive offerings you are to take to the place the LORD chooses." 27 "And you shall offer the flesh and the blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD your God. The blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the LORD, and you shall eat the flesh."

COMMENT: At the last supper Jesus said, "Eat My flesh."

John 6:54-56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life. I will raise him up on the last day." [55] "My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink." [56] "By eating my flesh and drinking My blood a person abides in Me and I in Him."

28 "Be careful to listen to everything I have commanded you, so that it may be well with you and your sons forever, for you will be doing what is right in the LORD's sight." 29 "When the LORD your God cuts off the nations which you will dispossess, and you dwell in their land," 30 "be careful to not be ensnared in their practices after they are gone. Do not inquire after their gods out of curiosity." 31 "You shall not do any of their abominable acts which the LORD hates, for they even burned their children in the fire to their gods."

32 "Be careful to do what I have commanded and do not add to my words or take away from them."

Deuteronomy 13 - RWB Paraphrase (18 V)
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How to Identify a True Prophet
1 "If a prophet or dreamer arises among you and shows you a sign or a wonder," 2 "and the sign or wonder comes true, and he has encouraged you to serve other gods," 3 "you shall not listen to the words he speaks, for the LORD your God is testing you to see if you will serve Him with all your heart and soul." 4 "You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him, keeping His commandments, listening to His voice, serving and clinging to Him." 5 "And that prophet or dreamer shall be put to death, because he gave a council of rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from slavery. You shall purge the evil from among you."

6 "If a family member or friend secretly entices you to serve other gods whom you have never heard of," 7 "or the gods of the nations around you, whether far or near," 8 "you shall not listen to him. Have no pity on him or shield him." 9 "You shall surely kill him. Your hand shall be first against him, along with all the people when putting him death." 10 "So you shall stone him to death because he sought to seduce you from the LORD your God Who brought you out of slavery in Egypt." 11 "Then all Israel will hear and be afraid to do such a wicked thing."

12 "If you hear of someone in one of your cities, which the LORD will give you," 13 "who is seducing the inhabitants of the city, getting them to serve other gods," 14 "then you shall investigate thoroughly. If it is determined to be true," 15 "you shall surely strike the inhabitants of the city with the sword, utterly destroying it and all its holdings." 16 "Gather and burn all its belongings in the middle of the city square as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. And that city shall never be built again." 17 "Nothing from that city shall remain in the hand of anyone, so that the burning anger of the LORD may be turned to compassion towards you and make you increase just as He has sworn to your fathers,"

COMMENT: No one is to profit from the destruction of that city.

18 "if you listen to the voice of the LORD your God, keeping all of His commandments which I have given you today, and continue to do right in His sight."

Deuteronomy 14 - RWB Paraphrase (29 V)
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Which Meats Are Clean and Which Are Not
1 "You are God's children. You shall not cut yourselves or shave your forehead for the sake of the dead." 2 "For you are a holy people to the LORD and He has chosen you out of all the people on earth to be His own special possession."

3 "You shall not eat any detestable thing." 4 "These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat," 5 "the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep." 6 "Any animal that divides the hoof and chews the cud may be eaten."

7 "However, you are not to eat of those that only chew the cud, or only divide the hoof: the camel, the rabbit, the coney, all chew the cud but do not divide the hoof. Therefore, they are not clean." 8 "The pig divides the hoof but does not chew the cud. So it is unclean to you. Do not eat it or even touch its carcass."

9 "You may eat anything from the water that has fins and scales." 10 "But anything from the water that does not have both fins and scales is unclean to you."

11 "You may eat any clean bird," 12 "but these are the ones you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture and the buzzard," 13 "any of the kinds of kite, the falcon and the vulture," 14 "and every kind of raven," 15 "the ostrich, the owl, the sea gull and every kind of hawk," 16 "the little owl, the great owl, the swan," 17 "the pelican, the carrion vulture, the cormorant," 18 "the stork, every kind of heron, the hoopee and the bat."

COMMENT: The hoopee is a colorful bird found across Afro-Eurasia, notable for its distinctive "Crown" of feathers. Included in the same classification are the kingfishers and bee-eaters.

19 "All of these are unclean and shall not be eaten." 20 "You may eat any clean bird."

21 "You shall not eat anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the foreigner who is in your town, but you are a holy people to the LORD your God. Neither shall you boil a young goat in its mother's milk."

22 "You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow year by year." 23 "You shall eat the tithe in the presence of the LORD at the place He chooses to establish His name. Your tithe is to include your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your flocks and herds, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God." 24 "If the distance is so great that you are unable to bring the tithe to the place the LORD chooses to establish His name," 25 "then you shall exchange it for money and take the money to the place the LORD your God chooses." 26 "There you may spend the money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, or whatever else you would like. You shall eat and drink in the presence of the LORD and rejoice with your household."

27 "You shall not neglect the Levite who is in your town, for he has no inheritance among you." 28 "At the end of every third year you shall deposit in your town all the tithe you produce in that year." 29 "The Levite, who has no inheritance among you, the alien, the orphan and the widow shall come and eat and be satisfied. This way the LORD may bless you in all that you do."

Deuteronomy 15 - RWB Paraphrase (23 V)
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Forgiveness of Debts
1 "At the end of every seven years you shall forgive all debts." 2 "Here is what is to be done: every creditor shall forgive what he has loaned to his neighbor. This is called the LORD's release." 3 "You may exact the debt from a foreigner, but not from your brother." 4 "There will be no poor among you for the LORD will surely bless the land which He is giving to you as an inheritance," 5 "if only you listen and obey His voice, being careful to observe all His commandments which I am giving you today." 6 "For the LORD will bless you as He has promised and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. In this way you will rule over them and will not be ruled by them." 7 "You shall not close your hand to a poor brother in your town." 8 "You shall freely open you hand to him, generously lending him whatever he lacks."

9 "Beware that you do not use the approach of the seventh year of release to withhold from your poor brother. If you do this and he cries to the LORD against you, it will be a sin in you." 10 "You shall be happy to generously give to him because this will bring the LORD's blessing on everything you undertake." 11 "The poor will always be in the land. You are to freely open you hand to your needy brother." 12 "If your kinsman, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, and serves you six years, on the seventh year you shall let him go free." 13 "And do not send him away empty handed." 14 "You shall furnish him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and wine vat. You shall give to him as the LORD has blessed you." 15 "Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you. This is why I am commanding you to do this." 16 "If the time comes to release him and he wants to stay with you because he loves you and your household, having fared well with you," 17 "then you shall take an awl and pierce his ear through into the door post, and he shall be your servant forever. It is to be the same for a maidservant."

18 "When you set him free you must not think of it as a hardship, for he has given you six years and has been worth more than two hired men. When you do this the LORD will bless you."

19 "You shall consecrate all the firstborn males born of your herds and flocks. You shall not work with or shear them." 20 "Instead, you and your household shall eat it before the LORD every year in the place the LORD your God chooses." 21 "But if any of the firstborn has a defect, such as lameness or blindness, or any other serious defect, it shall not be sacrificed to the LORD your God." 22 "You shall eat it within your gates. Both the unclean and the clean may eat it, the same as a gazelle or a deer." 23 "Only you shall not eat its blood. Poor the blood on the ground like water."

Deuteronomy 16 - RWB Paraphrase (22 V)
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Celebration of the Three Main Feasts Each Year
1 "Celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God in the month of Abib, the same month the LORD brought you out of Egypt." 2 "You shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD from your flocks and herds in the place the LORD will choose." 3 "You shall not eat leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, so that you may always remember that you came out of Egypt."

COMMENT: The bread of affliction was like the bread they ate when they left Egypt, for they did not have time for the bread to rise. They left hurriedly.

4 "For seven days no leaven bread shall be seen in all your territory. Neither shall any part of the sacrifice remain overnight until morning." 5 "You are not allowed to sacrifice the Passover in any of the towns which the LORD your God is giving you." 6 "But at the place the LORD shall choose for Himself you shall sacrifice the Passover at sunset, remembering that you came out of Egypt." 7 "You shall cook and eat it in the place the LORD chooses and in the morning you are to return to your tents." 8 "Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh there shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD. You shall do no work on that day." 9 "Count seven weeks from the time you begin harvesting the standing grain." 10 "At that time you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a freewill offering to the LORD Who blesses you." 11 "You shall rejoice before the LORD with your son and daughter, your male and female servants, the Levite in your town, the alien, the orphan and the widow in your midst, in the place the LORD your God chooses to establish His name."

COMMENT: No one was to be left out.

12 "You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes." 13 "Celebrate the feast of Booths seven days after you have gathered from your threshing floor," 14 "and you shall rejoice in your feast with your son and daughter, your servants, the Levite, the alien, the orphan and widow who is within your gates." 15 "Seven days you shall celebrate a feast in the place the LORD chooses and He will bless you in all you produce, so that you may be altogether joyful."

16 "Three times in each year all your males shall appear before the LORD at the place He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths. Do not to come before the LORD empty handed." 17 "Every man shall give as he is able, according the blessings the LORD has given him."

18 "You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns which the LORD is giving you, according to your tribes. They shall execute righteous judgment." 19 "You shall not distort justice or be partial in any way. Do not take a bribe which blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous." 20 "Pursue only justice that you may live and possess the land the LORD your God gives you." 21 "Do not plant a grove of trees near the altar of the LORD your God," 22 "and dO not set up for yourself a sacred pillar which the LORD hates."

Deuteronomy 17 - RWB Paraphrase (20 V)
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Justice and Purity
1 "You shall not sacrifice to the LORD any animal with a blemish or defect. This is an abomination to the LORD your God."

2 "If a man or woman is found in any of your towns, which the LORD is giving to you, who has transgressed the LORD's covenant," 3 "worshiping other gods, or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly hosts which I have commanded you not to do," 4 "after thoroughly inquiring, if it proves to be true," 5 "then you shall bring that man or woman who has done this evil deed out of your gates and you shall stone them to death."

6 "A person may be put to death on the evidence of two or three witnesses. One witness is not enough for capital punishment." 7 "The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the rest of the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst."

8 "If a case is too difficult for you to decide, then you shall go to the place the LORD your God chooses." 9 "The Levitical priest, or the judge who is in office in those days, shall give a verdict." 10 "You shall follow the verdict declared in that place which the LORD shall choose. You are to be careful to do whatever they have decided." 11 "Follow the terms of the law which they teach you and the verdict which they shall give. Do not turn either to the right or the left of what they declare to you." 12 "The man who acts presumptuously by not listening to the priest who is serving the LORD, or to the judge, shall die. Thus you shall purge the evil from Israel." 13 "Then all the people will hear of it and be afraid to act with any presumption."

14 "When you enter and possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and you ask for a king to be set over you that you may be like other nations," 15 "you shall surely set up a king whom the LORD chooses. He must be one of your countryman and not a foreigner." 16 "He shall not multiply horses for himself or send people to get horses from Egypt, because the LORD has said that you shall never return to Egypt."

COMMENT: And yet, Solomon did this.

1 Kings 10:28 He imported horses from Egypt.

2 Chronicles 1:16-17 Solomon imported horses from Egypt and from Kue for a price. [17] Chariots were imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver apiece and horses for 150 apiece. These he then exported to the kings of the Hittites and Aram.

2 Chronicles 9:28 They brought to Solomon horses from Egypt and every other country.

17 "He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will be turned away. Neither shall he collect much silver and gold for himself."

COMMENT: Solomon did these thing as well.

1 Kings 11:2 These were nations the LORD had told Israel it should not take wives from, lest their hearts be turned after their gods. But Solomon continued to love women from these nations.

18 "When he sits on his throne, he shall write a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests."

COMMENT: We should write out scripture and then it may stick with us longer.

19 "It shall remain with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all the words of this law," 20 "that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn to the right of left from the commandment. In this way he will prolong the days of his kingdom in the midst of Israel."

Deuteronomy 18 - RWB Paraphrase (22 V)
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What to Do for the Levite
1 "The Levitical priests and the rest of the tribe of Levi shall have no inheritance with Israel. Their income is the LORD's offerings by fire and His portion." 2 "The LORD is to be their inheritance." 3 "This is what shall be done for the priests. When the people offer a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep, they shall give the priest the shoulder, the two cheeks and the stomach." 4 "You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, your oil and the first shearing of your sheep." 5 "For the LORD your God has chosen him and his sons from all the tribes, to stand serve in the name of the LORD forever." 6 "If the Levites from one of your towns throughout Israel comes whenever he desires to the place the LORD chooses," 7 "then he shall serve in the name of the LORD his God, like his fellow Levites who stand before the LORD." 8 "They shall eat equal portions, besides what comes from the sale of their fathers' estates."

Do None of the Evil Practices of the Nations You Are Driving Out
9 "When you enter the land which the LORD is giving to you, do not learn the detestable ways of the nations your are dispossessing." 10 "There shall be no one among you who makes one of his children pass through the fire, or practices divination, interprets omens or is a sorcerer," 11 "or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead." 12 "All of these things are an abomination to the LORD. It is because of these detestable practices that the LORD is driving these nations out before you." 13 "You shall be blameless before the LORD your God." 14 "Remember that the LORD has not allowed you to practice any of these things." 15 "The LORD will raise up a Prophet from among you who is like me. Listen to Him."

COMMENT: This will be Jesus.

16 "This is what you asked of the LORD your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly when you asked that you not have to hear His voice, or see the great fire any more, lest you die." 17 "The LORD told me that you had spoken well." 18 "He said that He would raise up a prophet from among you like me, and He would put His words in His mouth. He shall speak everything the LORD commands Him."

COMMENT: And yet the leaders would not listen to Jesus.

John 8:45-46 "I am speaking the truth, but you do not believe Me." [46] "Which one of you can point out where I am wrong? And if I am right, why don't you believe Me?"

John 8:38 "I speak those things I have seen in My Father's presence. And you do the things you've heard from your father."

19 "It shall come about that whoever will not listen to the LORD's words, that one will be called to give an account for not having listened." 20 "But the prophet who speaks presumptuously in the LORD's name, saying what He did not command, or if he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die."

How to Know a True Prophet
21 "You may be thinking, how will we know if the word is from the LORD?" 22 "When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not comes true, the LORD has not spoken through him. The prophet has spoken presumptuously and you shall not be afraid of him."

Deuteronomy 19 - RWB Paraphrase (21 V)
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Cities of Refuge
1 "When the LORD your God has cut off the nations whose land He is giving to you, and you have settled in their cities and houses," 2 "you shall set aside three cities for yourself in the midst of the land." 3 "Divide the land into three parts and prepare roads so that any manslayer may more easily flee to one of Theudas cities."

COMMENT: Three cities were also set apart east of the Jordan.

4 "When a manslayer has killed a friend unintentionally, not having had a previous grudge against him," 5 "such as when two men go into a forest and one swings an axe to cut down a tree, and the iron head slips off and strikes his friend, killing him, he may flee to one of these cities and live." 6 "Otherwise the avenger of blood may purse the manslayer in the heat of his anger and catch up to him because the way is long, and take his life, though he did not deserve death." 7 "Therefore, I am commanding you to set aside three cities for this purpose."

8 "If the LORD your God increases your territory, as He has sworn to your fathers, giving you all the land He has promised," 9 "and you carefully observe all the commands I am giving you today, to love the LORD, always walking in His ways, you shall add three more cities in addition to the first three." 10 "This way innocent blood will not be shed in this land which the LORD has given to you and you will not be guilty of shedding blood when you should not have." 11 "But if a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait to rise up against him and kill him, and he then flees to one of these cities," 12 "the elders of his city shall take him from that city and deliver him to the avenger of blood, that he may die." 13 "You shall not pity him. You must purge Israel of those who shed innocent blood."

14 "You shall not move your neighbor's boundary mark which was set by a previous generation."

15 "A single witness shall not rise up against a man accusing him of iniquity. Two or three witnesses are needed to confirm the matter." 16 "If a false witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing," 17 "then both men having the dispute shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and judges who are in office at the time." 18 "The judges shall investigate the matter thoroughly, and if the accuser has falsely accused his brother," 19 "then you shall do to him as he intended to do to the brother he accused. Thus you shall purge Israel of evil." 20 "Others will hear of it and be afraid to do such a thing." 21 "And you shall not show pity. It is to be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand foot for foot."

Deuteronomy 20 - RWB Paraphrase (20 V)
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Remember That It Is the Lord Who Goes Before You into Battle
1 "When you go out to battle and see horses and chariots more numerous than you, do not be afraid. The LORD your God Who brought you up from Egypt is with you." 2 "As you approach the battle, the priest shall come near and encourage the people." 3 "He shall say, 'Hear, O Israel, as you approach your enemies in battle, do not fear them or tremble before them,'" 4 "For the LORD your God goes ahead of you to fight for you and save you." 5 "The officers shall also speak to the people to determine who has built a new home and not dedicated it? Let him return home lest he die in battle and another man dedicate his house." 6 "Who has planted a vineyard and not yet begun to eat its fruit? Let him go home lest he die and another man enjoy his fruit." 7 "And who has been engaged to a woman but has not yet married her? Let him go home lest he die in battle and another man marry her." 8 "Then the officers shall ask who is afraid? Let him depart and return to his house so that he will not have an influence on the hearts of his brothers." 9 "When the officers have finished speaking to the people, they shall appoint commanders of armies to lead the people."

10 "When you approach a city to fight against it, first offer it terms of peace." 11 "If the city agrees to your terms, then all the people in it shall serve you as forced labor." 12 "If the city does not agree to your terms, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege that city." 13 "And when the LORD your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men of it with a sword." 14 "Only the women, children, animals and all the spoil of that city shall you take for yourself." 15 "Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you. This does not pertain to those cities in the nearby nations." 16 "Of those cities that Lord your God is giving to you as an inheritance, you shall not let anything that breathes live." 17 "You shall utterly destroy the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as the LORD your God has commanded," 18 "so that you will not learn their detestable practices, or serve their gods, and sin against the LORD your God."

19 "When you besiege a city for a long time, you shall not cut down its trees, for you will eventually eat from them. You are not besieging the trees." 20 "Only those trees that do not bear fruit may be cut down to make siege works against that city."

Deuteronomy 21 - RWB Paraphrase (23 V)
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How to Determine Justice without a Witness
1 "If a person is found dead in a field and no one knows how he died," 2 "then the leaders and judges in the area shall determine which city is closest to where the person was slain." 3 "The elders of the closest city shall take a heifer which has never pulled a yoke or been worked in any way." 4 "They shall take it down to a valley with running water, to a place that has never been plowed or sown, and break the heifer's neck in that valley." 5 "Then the priests who are sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD has chosen them to serve Him and settle every dispute." 6 "All the elders of that city shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley," 7 "and they shall declare, 'Our hands did not shed this blood. Neither did we see it happen.'" 8 "Forgive Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O LORD. Do not place the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of Your people. And the blood guiltiness shall be forgiven them." 9 "So you shall remove the guilt of innocent blood from your midst when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD."

10 "When you go out to battle against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands so that you take them away captive," 11 "and you see among the captives a beautiful woman and wish to take her as your wife," 12 "you shall bring her home to your house and she shall shave her head and trim her nails." 13 "She shall remove the clothes in which she was captured, and remain in your house while she mourns her father and mother for a full month. After that you may become her husband she shall become your wife." 14 "It shall be that if you are not pleased with her, then you shall let her go wherever she desires, but you must not sell her for money, or mistreat her, for you have humbled her."

15 "If a man has two wives, loving one and not the other, and both have borne him sons, if the firstborn belongs to the unloved wife," 16 "then it shall be that when he wills what is his to his sons, he cannot make the son of the loved wife's firstborn to be before the firstborn son of the unloved wife." 17 "But he shall acknowledge the firstborn son of the unloved wife by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength and to him belongs the right of the firstborn."

18 "If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother when they chastise him, nor will he listen to them," 19 "then his father and mother shall seize him and bring him out to the elders at the gate of his city." 20 "They shall explain to the elders of his city that their son is stubborn and rebellious, and will not obey. He is a glutton and a drunkard." 21 "Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death. In this manner you will remove evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear."

22 "If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, you shall put him to death by hanging him on a tree." 23 "His corpse shall not hang all night. He that is hanged is accursed of God. You shall surely bury him the same day so that the land that the LORD your God has given to you is not defiled."

Deuteronomy 22 - RWB Paraphrase (30 V)
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You Shall Watch Out for Your Neighbor
1 "You shall not watch your brother's ox or his sheep go astray and pretend you did not see this. You are to bring them back to him." 2 "If they are far from where they belong, or you do not know where they belong, take them home and care for them until your brother comes looking for them."

COMMENT: The brother referred to here is a Hebrew brother.

3 "You shall do the same with his donkey, or his garment, or anything that is lost by your brother. Do not to neglect to do this." 4 "If your brother's donkey or ox falls in a pit, you must help it get out."

5 "A woman shall not wear men's clothing. Neither shall a man wear women's clothing. This is an abomination to the LORD your God."

COMMENT: Any confusion of gender is especially bad for children. Both men and women should celebrate their God given uniqueness. Both sexes demonstrate godlike qualities.

6 "If you come upon a bird's nest in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young." 7 "You shall let the mother go, but you may take the young, that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days."

8 "When you build a new house you shall make a low wall around the roof's edge so that you are not guilty of bloodshed because someone falls from the roof."

9 "You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed lest the fruit becomes weakened."

10 "You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together." 11 "You shall not wear material with wool and linen woven together." 12 "You shall make tassels on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself."

What a New Husband May Do If He Has Been Wronged by His New Wife
13 "If any man takes a wife and consummates the marriage, and then afterwards turns against her," 14 "publicly shaming her by claiming that she was not a virgin," 15 "then the girl's father and mother shall bring evidence of the girl's virginity to the elders at the city gate." 16 "The girl's father shall say, 'I gave my daughter to this man for a wife and he has turned against her.'" 17 "Behold, he has charged her with not being a virgin. Here is the evidence of her virginity, and they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city." 18 "So the elders of the city shall chastise the man," 19 "and fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give it to the girl's father because he has publicly defamed a virgin in Israel. And she shall remain his wife. He cannot divorce her." 20 "But if the charge proves to be true, and the girl is found to not be a virgin," 21 "then they shall bring the girl out of her father's house and the men of the city shall stone her to death, because she has committed an act of folly in Israel by playing the harlot while in her father's house. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you."

22 If a man is found lying with a married woman, both shall die. Thus you shall purge Israel of evil.

23 "If there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with her," 24 "both of them shall be stoned outside the city gate, the girl because she did not cry out, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. Thus you shall purge Israel of evil." 25 "But if the act occurred in the field where no one could hear, and the man forces her, then only the man who lies with her shall die." 26 "But you shall do nothing to the girl. She is not worthy of death for she could do nothing to stop him." 27 "When he found her in the field, she cried out but there was no one to save her."

28 "If a man finds a girl who is a virgin who is not engaged, and he seizes her and lies with her and they are discovered," 29 "then the man who lay with her shall give the girl's father fifty shekels of silver and she shall become his wife. And he cannot divorce her."

30 "A man shall not take his father's wife so as to dishonor her who is his father's."

Deuteronomy 23 - RWB Paraphrase (25 V)
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Who May Enter the Assembly of the Lord
1 "He who is emasculated or has his male organ cut off shall not enter the assembly of the LORD." 2 "Neither shall anyone of illegitimate birth enter the assembly of the LORD, nor any of his descendants even to the tenth generation." 3 "No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the LORD. Neither shall their descendants, even to the tenth generation," 4 "because they did not meet you with food and water when you came from Egypt, and because they hired Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia to curse you." 5 "But the LORD would not listen to Balaam but turned his curse into a blessing because He loves you." 6 "You shall never seek their peace or prosperity."

COMMENT: And yet Ruth, a Moabitess, was welcomed by Boaz. We see over and over that foreign women made acceptable wives.

Numbers 31:18 "The women who have not known a man intimately you may spare for yourselves."

7 "You shall not detest an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not detest an Egyptian, for you were an alien in his land." 8 "The children that are born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the LORD."

9 "When you go out as an army against your enemies, you shall keep yourself from every evil thing."

10 "If any man is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he must go outside the camp." 11 "When evening approaches he shall bathe himself with water and at sundown he may reenter camp."

12 "You shall have a place outside the camp to relieve yourself," 13 "and you shall have a shovel with you to dig a hole and cover up your excrement." 14 "Since the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp to protect you and defeat your enemies, your camp must be holy and free of defilement."

15 "You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has escaped to you." 16 "He shall live in your midst in a place he has chosen in one of your towns, and you shall not mistreat him."

17 "Neither the daughters or the sons of Israel shall be cult prostitutes." 18 "You shall not bring a female prostitute's wages or a male prostitute's earnings into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow. This is an abomination to the LORD your God."

Do Not Charge Your Brother Interest
19 "You shall not lend and then charge interest of your brother for money, food or anything else." 20 "You may charge interest to a foreigner, but not of your countrymen. This way the LORD your God will bless you in all that you undertake in the land you are about to enter."

Making and Keeping Vows
21 "When you make a vow to the LORD, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin to do this and the LORD your God will surely require it of you." 22 "However, if you refrain from making a vow, it is not a sin." 23 "Be careful to perform what you say you will do when you make a vow to the LORD."

24 "When you enter your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat grapes until you are satisfied, but you may not put any in your basket." 25 "When you enter your neighbor's standing grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in the standing grain."

Deuteronomy 24 - RWB Paraphrase (22 V)
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Rules of Divorce and Marrying Again
1 "When a man marries a wife and she does not find favor with him, and he writes a certificate of divorce and sends her away," 2 "and she then becomes another man's wife," 3 "if the next husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and sends her away, or if he dies and she is free," 4 "then the former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again. This would be an abomination before the LORD. You shall not bring sin on the land the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance."

5 "When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army nor be charged with any duty. He shall be free at home for one year and shall bring happiness to the wife he has taken."

6 "No one shall take a handmill or an upper millstone in pledge, for this is the same as taking a life in pledge."

7 "If a man is caught kidnapping any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and deals violently with him, or sells him, then he shall die. So you shall purge Israel of this evil from among you."

8 "Take care against an infection of leprosy. Follow all that the Levitical priests teach you, for I have commanded them what to do." 9 "Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the way from Egypt."

10 "When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not enter his house to get a pledge." 11 "You shall remain outside and the man to whom you are making the loan shall bring the pledge out to you." 12 "If he is a poor man, you shall not keep his pledge over night." 13 "When the sun goes down you shall surely return the pledge that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. This will be righteousness on your part before the LORD your God."

Paying Wages on Time
14 "You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or not." 15 "You shall give him his wages on the same day before the sun sets, for he is poor and has set his heart on getting them, lest he cry to the LORD against you and it become sin on your part."

16 "Fathers shall not be put to death for the sins of the sons, nor the sons for their fathers. Everyone shall be put to death for his own sin."

17 "You shall not pervert justice because someone is an alien or an orphan. Neither shall you take a widow's garment in pledge." 18 "You must remember that you were a slave in Egypt and that the LORD your God redeemed you from that country. You must do what is right."

Leave Some of the Harvest for the Poor
19 "As you reap your harvest and see that you have forgotten a sheaf in the field, do not go back for it. It shall be for the alien, the orphan and the widow, in order that the LORD may bless all that you do."

COMMENT: I am reminded of Ruth gleaning in Boaz's field and how generous he was toward her because of Naomi.

20 When you beat your olive tree, do not go over the boughs again. It shall be for the alien, the orphan and the widow.

COMMENT: What a great way to care for the poor. Instead of taxing everyone and then giving the poor a hand out, let them work for their food. This fosters industry on their part and philanthropy on the part of the land owner.

21 "When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not go over it again. It too shall be for the alien, the orphan and the widow." 22 "You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. I am commanding you to do this thing."

Deuteronomy 25 - RWB Paraphrase (19 V)
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Rules for the Community
1 "If there is a dispute between men and they come to court, the judges deciding the case must justify the righteous and condemn the wicked." 2 "And if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of stripes stipulated." 3 "No more than forty stripes may be given to him so that he is not degraded in your eyes."

4 "You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing."

5 "When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not marry outside the family. Her husband's brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother." 6 "Then the firstborn shall assume the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from among Israel." 7 "And if the man does not wish to take his dead brother's wife, then the wife shall go up to the elders and present to them the unwillingness of the brother to perform the duty of a husband's brother to her." 8 "Then the elders of his city shall summon him, and if he persists in his refusal," 9 "then his brother's wife shall come to him in the sight of the elders, pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. She shall then say, 'Thus it is done to the man who does not build up his brother's house.'" 10 "In Israel his name shall be, 'The house of him whose sandal is removed.'"

11 "If two men of Israel struggle together, and the wife of one of them comes near to deliver her husband by seizing the other man's genitals," 12 "then you shall show no pity and cut off her hand."

13 "You shall not be dishonest in the weights with which you measure, having one smaller and one greater." 14 "You shall not have different size measures in your house, one smaller and one larger." 15 "You shall have full and just weights and measures, that your days may be prolonged in the land the LORD your God is giving you." 16 "Those who act unjustly are an abomination to the LORD."

17 "Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt," 18 "when he attacked the stragglers at the rear who were faint and weary, and how he did not fear God." 19 "Therefore it shall come about that when the LORD has given you rest from all your enemies in the land He is giving to you for an inheritance, you must wipe out the memory of Amalek. Do not forget this."

Deuteronomy 26 - RWB Paraphrase (19 V)
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First Fruits and Tithe
1 "When you come into the land the LORD is giving you as an inheritance to possess and live in," 2 "you shall take some of the first of the produce of the ground that the LORD your God gives you, put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD chooses to establish His name." 3 "You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, 'I declare this day unto the LORD my God that I have entered the land which He swore to give to our fathers.'" 4 "Then the priest shall take the basket from you and set it down before the altar of the LORD." 5 "You shall say to the LORD, 'My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt and stayed there a while. They were few in number but became a great and mighty nation.'" 6 "The Egyptians afflicted us and treated us harshly. They imposed hard labor." 7 "We cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and He heard our voice. He saw our toil and oppression." 8 "The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand an outstretched arm, and with signs and wonders." 9 "He has brought us to this place and given us a land that flows with milk and honey." 10 "And now, I have brought the first of the produce from the ground which You, O LORD, have given to me. I am here to worship You."

11 "You and the Levite, and the alien who is among you shall rejoice in all the good the LORD has done for you and your household." 12 "When you have finished paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the orphan and the widow that they may eat and be satisfied within your gates." 13 "You shall say before the LORD, 'I have removed the sacred portion from my house and given it to those You have instructed me to give it to. I have not forgotten or transgresses any of your commandments.'"

COMMENT: So the tithe could be used to support the needy.

14 "I have not eaten of it while mourning, or when I was unclean. Neither have I offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the LORD my God and done all that He has commanded." 15 "Look down from your holy habitation and bless your people, and the ground which You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey."

16 "This day the LORD your God commands you to be careful to do these statutes and ordinances with all your heart." 17 "Today you have declared Him to be your God, that you may walk in His ways, keeping His statutes, commandments and ordinances, and listening to His voice." 18 "And today the LORD has declared you to be His people, as He promised you, so that you should keep all His commandments." 19 "Then He will set you high above the nations for praise, fame and honor. And you shall be a holy people unto the LORD."

Deuteronomy 27 - RWB Paraphrase (26 V)
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How Israel Was to Worship the Lord When Then Entered Canaan
1 Then Moses and the elders charged the people, saying, "Keep all the commandments which I command you today." 2 "And on the day you cross the Jordan into the land the LORD is giving to you, you shall set up large stones and coat them with lime." 3 "Write the words of the law on them so that you may enter the land flowing with milk and honey which the LORD your God promised to your fathers." 4 You shall set up these stones on Mount Ebal and coat them with lime. 5 "And you shall build an altar there to the LORD your God. You shall build it with stones which no iron tool has touched." 6 "You are to offer burnt offerings on this alter of uncut stones to the LORD your God," 7 "and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and eat there, and rejoice before the LORD." 8 "You shall write all the words of this law on the stones making them very legible."

9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying, "Be silent and listen, O Israel! Today you have become the people of the LORD your God." 10 "For this reason you shall obey Him and do His commandments and statutes." 11 Moses also charged the people, saying, 12 "When you cross the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin." 13 "For the curse, these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali." 14 "The Levites shall then answer the men of Israel with a loud voice, saying:"

15 "cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image. These are an abomination to the LORD. These are the work of a man's hands and are done in secret. And all the people shall say, Amen."

16 "Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother. And all the people shall say, Amen."

17 "Cursed is he who moves his neighbor's boundary mark. And all the people shall say, Amen."

18 "Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road. And all the people shall say, Amen."

19 "Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, orphan or widow. And all the people shall say, Amen."

20 "Cursed is he who lies with his father's wife, because he has uncovered his father's marriage bed. And all the people shall say, Amen."

21 "Cursed is he who lies with any animal. And all the people shall say, Amen."

22 "Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen."

23 "Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law. And all the people shall say, Amen."

24 "Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret. And all the people shall say, Amen."

25 "Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen." 26 "Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them. And all the people shall say, Amen."

Deuteronomy 28 - RWB Paraphrase (68 V)
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Blessings
1 "If you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to obey His commandments which I command you today, He will set you on high above the nations of the earth." 2 "By obeying Him, all of these blessings will be yours." 3 "You will be blessed in the city and the country." 4 "Your offspring will be blessed and so will your ground, and the offspring of your herds and flocks." 5 "Your basket and your kneading bowl shall be blessed." 6 "You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out." 7 "The LORD will cause the defeat of your enemies who rise up against you. They will flee in seven directions before you." 8 "The LORD will command this blessing on your barns and everything you put your hand to throughout the land He is giving to you." 9 "He will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep His commandments and walk in His ways." 10 "Then all the people of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you." 11 "The LORD will give you prosperity in your offspring, your beasts and your ground." 12 "He will open His storehouse from heaven to give you rain in season and bless the work of your hands. You shall lend to many nations and you shall not borrow." 13 "The LORD will make you the head and not the tail. Listen to the commandments the LORD is giving you today. Observe them carefully." 14 "Do not turn aside from any of the words He is commanding. Turn neither to the right or the left, and to go after other gods."

Curses
15 "But if you do not obey the LORD your God, observing His commandments and statutes, all these curses shall come upon you." 16 "You will be cursed in the city and the country." 17 "Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed." 18 "Your offspring will be cursed as will the produce of your ground and the increase of your herd and your flock." 19 "You will be cursed as you come in and cursed as you go out." 20 "The LORD will send curses, confusion and rebuke on all that you do until you are destroyed. This will be the result of your evil deeds and it will happen quickly because you have forsaken Me." 21 "The LORD will consume you with pestilence." 22 "He will smite you with consumption, fever, inflammation, fiery heat, the sword, blight and mildew. These will pursue you until you perish." 23 "The heaven over your head shall turn to bronze and the earth to iron." 24 "The LORD will make the rain to be dust and powder until you are destroyed." 25 "The LORD shall cause your enemies to defeat you. You will flee seven ways before them and all the kingdoms of the earth will witness this." 26 "Your carcasses will be food for birds and beasts and no one will frighten them away." 27 "The LORD will smite you with the boils of Egypt and scabs and an itch which will not heal." 28 "The LORD will smite you with madness, blindness and bewilderment of the heart." 29 "You will grope at noon like blind men. You will not prosper. You will be oppressed and robbed continually with no one to come to your aid." 30 "You shall betroth a wife and another man shall violate her. You will build a house but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but you will not enjoy its fruit." 31 "Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, though you will not eat of it. Your donkey shall be taken from you and you will not get it back. Your sheep will be given to your enemies and no one will rescue you." 32 "While you watch your sons and daughters shall be given to another people. And there will be nothing you can do about it." 33 "A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land. You will be oppressed and crushed continually." 34 "What you see will drive you mad." 35 "The LORD will strike you on the knees with boils that do not heal. They will spread from the sole of your foot to the top of your head." 36 "The LORD will bring you and your king to a nation neither you or your fathers knew of, and there you shall serve other gods made of wood and stone." 37 "You will become a horror and a proverb among the people where the LORD will drive you." 38 "You will plant much seed and harvest little after the locust eat it." 39 "You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will not gather the grapes or drink the wine, because it will be devoured by worms." 40 "You shall have olive trees throughout your land but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for the olives will drop off." 41 "You shall have sons and daughters but they will be taken from you into captivity." 42 "The cricket shall possess all your trees and the produce of your ground." 43 "The alien among you shall rise above you and you will keep going lower." 44 "He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He shall be the head and you will be the tail." 45 "So all of these curses will come upon you and overcome you, if you disobey the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and statutes." 46 "This outcome will be a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever." 47 "This will happen if you do not serve the LORD your God with joy and a heart that is grateful for everything His hand has provided." 48 Instead you will serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you. You will be hungry, thirsty, naked and lack all things. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until you are destroyed. 49 "The LORD will bring a nation against you from far off, even the ends of the earth. It will be a nation whose language you do not understand." 50 "This nation will be fierce, having no respect for the old, nor showing favor to the young." 51 "This nation shall eat the offspring of your herds and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed. You will be left without grain, new wine, oil or the increase of your herds and flocks. Everything you have will perish at their hand." 52 "This nation will besiege your towns and well fortified cities throughout your land which the LORD has given you." 53 "Your distress will be so great that you will eat the flesh of your sons and daughters." 54 "The refined man will become hostile toward his brother, and even toward his wife whom he has cherished and any of his children who survive." 55 "He will not share with then any of the flesh of his children since it is all that he has during this siege of the enemy who is oppressing all of your towns." 56 "The refined and delicate woman among you, who would not even let the sole of her foot touch the ground, shall be hostile toward her husband whom she has cherished and toward her son and daughter," 57 "toward her afterbirth and her children whom she has born. She will eat them secretly for lack of anything else. Such will be the great distress brought on by the enemy." 58 "If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear and honor the awesome name of the LORD your God," 59 "then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants. They will be severe and lasting plagues of miserable and chronic sickness." 60 "He will bring on you all the diseases you feared in Egypt and you shall not be able to get rid of them." 61 "The LORD will bring diseases and plagues, not even mentioned in this book of the law. You will be destroyed." 62 "Then you shall be left few in number, rather than being as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the LORD your God."

63 "It shall come to pass that if you obey, and the LORD delights over you to make you prosper, so He shall also make you perish and tear you from the land if you do not obey Him." 64 He will scatter you among the nations from one end of the earth to the other. There you will serve other gods of wood and stone that you and your fathers did not know. 65 "You will find no rest among those nations. Your heart will tremble, your eyes will fail and your soul will despair." 66 "Doubt and dread will hang over you day and night. You will have no assurance of life." 67 "In the morning your dread will make you wish it were evening and in the evening you will wish it were morning." 68 "The LORD will bring you by ship to Egypt never to see your homeland again. You will try to sell yourselves as slaves to your enemies, but no one will buy you."

COMMENT: A very dismal picture.

Deuteronomy 29 - RWB Paraphrase (29 V)
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Keep Your Covenant with the Lord
1 These are the words of the covenant the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab. This was in addition to the covenant He had made with them at Horeb. 2 Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "You have seen all that the LORD has done before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and his servants and all his land." 3 "You witnessed great trials and have seen the LORD's signs and wonders." 4 "Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to know, or eyes to see neither has He given you ears to hear." 5 "I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out, and neither have your sandals worn out on your feet." 6 "You have not eaten bread, nor drunk wine or strong drink, in order that you might know the LORD your God."

COMMENT: Here is a strong declaration against the consumption of liquor.

7 "When you reached this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out to battle against you, but we defeated them." 8 "We took their land, and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh." 9 "So keep the words of this covenant that you may prosper in everything you do." 10 "Today you stand before the LORD your God, the chiefs of your tribes, your elders and your officers of the men of Israel," 11 "your little ones and your wives, as well as the aliens, those who chop wood and those who draw water," 12 "that you may enter into the covenant that the LORD your God is making with you today," 13 "in order to establish you as His people and Himself as your God, just as He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." 14 "I am not making this covenant and oath with you alone," 15 "but with those standing in God's presence today as well as those who are not yet born." 16 "For you know how we lived in Egypt and our journey through the nations in order to arrive here today." 17 "You have seen their abominations, their idols of wood, stone, silver and gold, things that they made with their own hands." 18 "Because of all that you have seen, none of you must turn away from the LORD your God to serve these other gods."

19 "If someone who has heard the words of this curse and believes that he can walk stubbornly and yet have peace in his heart," 20 "then the LORD shall be unwilling to forgive him. His anger will burn against that man and he will experience every curse written in this book. The LORD will blot out his name forever." 21 "He will be singled out for adversity." 22 "Generations who rise up after you, as well as the foreigner who comes from a distant land. These will see the plagues and diseases with which the LORD has afflicted the land, and will say," 23 "all the land is brimstone and salt, unproductive and without even grass, overthrown, just like Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger." 24 "All the nations will say, 'Why has the LORD done the same thing to this land? Why so much anger?'" 25 "Then men will say, 'Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of Egypt.'" 26 "They served other gods." 27 "Therefore the anger of the LORD burned against their land brought on them every curse written in this book." 28 "And in anger and fury the LORD uprooted them from their land cast them into another land."

29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that have been revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may observe the words of this law."

COMMENT: We must not neglect that which has been revealed. We are responsible for what we have been shown.

Deuteronomy 30 - RWB Paraphrase (20 V)
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When You Return From Captivity
1 "So it shall be when all these things have come upon you, the blessings and the curses which I have set before you, then you shall call them to mind in all the nations where the LORD has banished you." 2 "When you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all I am commanding you and your children today," 3 "then the LORD your God will have compassion on you and restore you from captivity in the places He has scattered you." 4 "Even those living at the ends of the earth will be gathered." 5 "The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed and He will prosper and multiply you." 6 Moreover, the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, so that you love the LORD with all your heart and soul, that you may live.

COMMENT:

Deuteronomy 10:16 "So circumcise your heart, and be stiff necked no longer."

Jeremiah 4:4 "Circumcise yourselves to the LORD and remove the foreskins of your heart, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or else your evil deeds will cause My wrath to go forth like unquenchable fire."

Acts 7:51 "You men are stiff necked and your hearts have not been circumcised. Your ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing just as your fathers did."

7 "The LORD will inflict all these curses on your enemies, those who hate and persecute you." 8 "And you shall again obey the LORD, observing the commandments I am giving you today." 9 "The LORD will prosper you abundantly in your work, your offspring, your herds and flocks, as well as the produce of your ground, for the LORD will rejoice over you the way He rejoiced over your fathers," 10 "if you obey the LORD your God and keep His commandments and statutes which are written in this book of the law, and turn to the LORD with all your heart and soul."

11 The commandment I am giving you today is not too difficult for you. 12 "It is not far from you so that someone else needs to make you hear it." 13 "It is not beyond the sea so that someone needs to go across to make you understand it." 14 "This word is very near to you, in your mouth and heart, that you may observe it." 15 "See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, or death and adversity." 16 "I have commanded you to love the LORD your God, walking in His ways and to keep His commandments, statutes and judgments, that you may live and multiply, and be blessed by the LORD who is giving you this land to possess."

COMMENT: In fact this generation of the children of Israel did remember.

Joshua 24:31 Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua and had known the deeds the LORD had done for Israel.

17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not obey, but worship other gods, serving them, 18 "you shall surely perish. Your days will not be prolonged in the land across Jordan you are about to possess."

COMMENT: Daniel recognized why Israel was is captivity in Babylon.

Daniel 9:11 "For all of Israel has transgressed Your law by disobeying Your voice. So the curse has been poured out on us, just as it was written in the law of Moses Your servant. We have sinned against You."

19 "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your children," 20 "as you love the LORD your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him. For in this is life and length of days, that you may live in the land which He swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."

Deuteronomy 31 - RWB Paraphrase (30 V)
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Moses Is About Just About Finished
1 Moses continued to speak to Israel, saying, 2 "I am a hundred and twenty years old today. I am no longer able to come and go and the LORD has told me that I will not cross over this Jordan." 3 "The LORD your God will cross before you and He will destroy the nations. The LORD has said that Joshua will cross over ahead of you." 4 "The LORD will do just as He did to Sihon and Og and to their lands." 5 He will deliver the nations up before you and you shall do to them as I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be afraid, for the LORD your God will go with you. He will never fail or forsake you.

7 Then, in the presence of all Israel, Moses called Joshua and said to him, "Be strong and of good courage, for you shall go with this people into the land the LORD has sworn to their fathers. You shall give it to them as an inheritance." 8 "The LORD is the One who goes ahead of you. He will be with you and He will not fail you. Do not fear or be dismayed."

9 So Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all of the elders. 10 Then Moses commanded them, saying, "At the end of every seven years, at the time of the year of remission of debts, at the Feast of Booths," 11 "when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place He will choose, you shall read this law in front of all Israel." 12 "Assemble all the men, women and children as well as the alien in your midst, so that everyone may hear and learn to fear the LORD, and be careful to observe all the words of this law." 13 "Children who have not heard will learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live on the land which you are about to cross over the Jordan to possess."

14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, the time for you to die is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may commission him." So Moses and Joshua presented themselves at the tabernacle of the congregation. 15 The LORD appeared in a pillar of cloud that stood over the doorway of the tabernacle.

16 The LORD said to Moses, "Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. And this people will arise and play the harlot with strange gods in the land to which they are going. They will forsake Me and break My covenant which I made with them." 17 "In that day My anger will be kindled against them, and I will forsake them, hiding My face from them. They will be consumed by many evils. When troubles engulf them, they will say, 'It seems that our God is no longer with us because of the evil we have done.'" 18 "And I will surely hide My face from them because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods." 19 "Now write this song and teach it to the children of Israel. Put it on their lips that it may be My witness against them." 20 "For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and are satisfied and prosperous, they will then turn to other gods and serve them while they spurn Me and break My covenant." 21 "Then when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song will testify to them, for I know their intention, which they are developing even today before they enter the land." 22 So Moses wrote the song that same day and taught it to the children of Israel.

23 Then he commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and speaking for the LORD, said to him, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and I will be with you." 24 When Moses finished writing the words of this law in a book, they were complete. 25 Then Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, 26 "Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may remain there as a witness against you." 27 "For I know your rebellion and stubbornness. While I lived with you, you were rebellious against the LORD. How much more, then, after my death?" 28 "Assemble all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and call on heaven and earth as a witness against them." 29 "For I know that after my death you will act corruptly and turn from the way I have commanded. Evil will befall you in the latter days, for you will provoke the LORD by doing what is evil in His sight." 30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly the words of this entire song.

Deuteronomy 32 - RWB Paraphrase (52 V)
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The Lord's Song to Israel
1 "Give ear, O heavens, and let Me speak, and let the earth hear the words of My mouth."
2 "Let My teaching drop as rain, my speech as the dew, as droplets on the fresh grass and as showers on the herb."
3 "For I proclaim the name of the LORD, and ascribe greatness to our God!"