5:1 Then Moses called all the people of Israel together and said to them: 1 “Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances that I am about to deliver to you today; learn them and be careful to keep them!
6:1 Now these are the commandments, 2 statutes, and ordinances that the Lord your God instructed me to teach you so that you may carry them out in the land where you are headed 3
19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect
and preserves one’s life. 4
The rules set down by the Lord 5 are reliable 6
and impart wisdom to the inexperienced. 7
19:8 The Lord’s precepts are fair 8
and make one joyful. 9
The Lord’s commands 10 are pure 11
and give insight for life. 12
19:9 The commands to fear the Lord are right 13
and endure forever. 14
The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy
and absolutely just. 15
1 tn Heb “and Moses called to all Israel and he said to them”; NAB, NASB, NIV “Moses summoned (convened NRSV) all Israel.”
2 tn Heb “commandment.” The word מִצְוָה (mitsvah) again is in the singular, serving as a comprehensive term for the whole stipulation section of the book. See note on the word “commandments” in 5:31.
3 tn Heb “where you are going over to possess it” (so NASB); NRSV “that you are about to cross into and occupy.”
4 tn Heb “[it] restores life.” Elsewhere the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) when used with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “life”) as object, means to “rescue or preserve one’s life” (Job 33:30; Ps 35:17) or to “revive one’s strength” (emotionally or physically; cf. Ruth 4:15; Lam 1:11, 16, 19). Here the point seems to be that the law preserves the life of the one who studies it by making known God’s will. Those who know God’s will know how to please him and can avoid offending him. See v. 11a.
5 tn Traditionally, “the testimony of the
6 tn God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.
7 tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly.
8 tn Or “just.” Perhaps the idea is that they impart a knowledge of what is just and right.
9 tn Heb “[they] make happy [the] heart.” Perhaps the point is that they bring a sense of joyful satisfaction to the one who knows and keeps them, for those who obey God’s law are richly rewarded. See v. 11b.
10 tn Heb “command.” The singular here refers to the law as a whole.
11 tn Because they reflect God’s character, his commands provide a code of moral and ethical purity.
12 tn Heb [they] enlighten [the] eyes.
13 tn Heb “the fear of the
14 tn Heb “[it] stands permanently.”
15 sn Trustworthy and absolutely just. The Lord’s commands accurately reflect God’s moral will for his people and are an expression of his just character.