Deuteronomy 17:11

17:11 You must do what you are instructed, and the verdict they pronounce to you, without fail. Do not deviate right or left from what they tell you.

Deuteronomy 17:1

17:1 You must not sacrifice to him ¹  a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive ²  to the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 13:13-14

13:13 some evil people ³  have departed from among you to entice the inhabitants of their cities, ⁴  saying, “Let’s go and serve other gods” (whom you have not known before). ⁵  13:14 You must investigate thoroughly and inquire carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done among you, ⁶ 

Deuteronomy 15:23

15:23 However, you must not eat its blood; you must pour it out on the ground like water.

Deuteronomy 15:1

Release for Debt Slaves

15:1 At the end of every seven years you must declare a cancellation ⁷  of debts.

Deuteronomy 11:12-13

11:12 a land the Lord your God looks after. ⁸  He is constantly attentive to it ⁹  from the beginning to the end of the year. ¹⁰  11:13 Now, if you pay close attention ¹¹  to my commandments that I am giving you today and love ¹²  the Lord your God and serve him with all your mind and being, ¹³ 

Deuteronomy 11:1

Reiteration of the Call to Obedience

11:1 You must love the Lord your God and do what he requires; keep his statutes, ordinances, and commandments ¹⁴  at all times.

Deuteronomy 11:1-2

Reiteration of the Call to Obedience

11:1 You must love the Lord your God and do what he requires; keep his statutes, ordinances, and commandments ¹⁵  at all times. 11:2 Bear in mind today that I am not speaking ¹⁶  to your children who have not personally experienced the judgments ¹⁷  of the Lord your God, which revealed ¹⁸  his greatness, strength, and power. ¹⁹ 

Deuteronomy 10:1

The Opportunity to Begin Again

10:1 At that same time the Lord said to me, “Carve out for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up the mountain to me; also make for yourself a wooden ark. ²⁰ 

Psalms 19:11

19:11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there; ²¹ 

those who obey them receive a rich reward. ²² 

Psalms 132:12

132:12 If your sons keep my covenant

and the rules I teach them,

their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”

Proverbs 27:24

27:24 for riches do not last ²³  forever,

nor does a crown last ²⁴  from generation to generation.

Ecclesiastes 8:13

8:13 But it will not go well with the wicked,

nor will they ²⁵  prolong their ²⁶  days like a shadow, ²⁷ 

because they ²⁸  do not stand in fear ²⁹  before God.

[17:1]  ¹ tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[17:1]  ² tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “an abomination”; cf. NAB) describes persons, things, or practices offensive to ritual or moral order. See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:314-18; see also the note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

[13:13]  ³ tn Heb “men, sons of Belial.” The Hebrew term בְּלִיַּעַל (bÿliyya’al) has the idea of worthlessness, without morals or scruples (HALOT 133-34 s.v.). Cf. NAB, NRSV “scoundrels”; TEV, CEV “worthless people”; NLT “worthless rabble.”

[13:13]  ⁴ tc The LXX and Tg read “your” for the MT’s “their.”

[13:13]  ⁵ tn The translation understands the relative clause as a statement by Moses, not as part of the quotation from the evildoers. See also v. 2.

[13:14]  ⁶ tc Theodotian adds “in Israel,” perhaps to broaden the matter beyond the local village.

[15:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטָּת (shÿmittat), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the cancellation of the debt and even pledges for the debt of a borrower by his creditor. This could be a full and final remission or, more likely, one for the seventh year only. See R. Wakely, NIDOTTE 4:155-60. Here the words “of debts” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. Cf. NAB “a relaxation of debts”; NASB, NRSV “a remission of debts.”

[11:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “seeks.” The statement reflects the ancient belief that God (Baal in Canaanite thinking) directly controlled storms and rainfall.

[11:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it” (so NIV); NASB, NRSV “always on it.”

[11:12]  ¹⁰ sn From the beginning to the end of the year. This refers to the agricultural year that was marked by the onset of the heavy rains, thus the autumn. See note on the phrase “the former and the latter rains” in v. 14.

[11:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “if hearing, you will hear.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute to emphasize the verbal idea. The translation renders this emphasis with the word “close.”

[11:13]  ¹² tn Again, the Hebrew term אָהַב (’ahav) draws attention to the reciprocation of divine love as a condition or sign of covenant loyalty (cf. Deut 6:5).

[11:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.

[11:1]  ¹⁴ tn This collocation of technical terms for elements of the covenant text lends support to its importance and also signals a new section of paraenesis in which Moses will exhort Israel to covenant obedience. The Hebrew term מִשְׁמָרוֹת (mishmarot, “obligations”) sums up the three terms that follow – חֻקֹּת (khuqot), מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishppatim), and מִצְוֹת (mitsot).

[11:1]  ¹⁵ tn This collocation of technical terms for elements of the covenant text lends support to its importance and also signals a new section of paraenesis in which Moses will exhort Israel to covenant obedience. The Hebrew term מִשְׁמָרוֹת (mishmarot, “obligations”) sums up the three terms that follow – חֻקֹּת (khuqot), מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishppatim), and מִצְוֹת (mitsot).

[11:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “that not.” The words “I am speaking” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[11:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “who have not known and who have not seen the discipline of the Lord.” The collocation of the verbs “know” and “see” indicates that personal experience (knowing by seeing) is in view. The term translated “discipline” (KJV, ASV “chastisement”) may also be rendered “instruction,” but vv. 2b-6 indicate that the referent of the term is the various acts of divine judgment the Israelites had witnessed.

[11:2]  ¹⁸ tn The words “which revealed” have been supplied in the translation to show the logical relationship between the terms that follow and the divine judgments. In the Hebrew text the former are in apposition to the latter.

[11:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “his strong hand and his stretched-out arm.”

[10:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “chest” (so NIV, CEV); NLT “sacred chest”; TEV “wooden box.” This chest was made of acacia wood; it is later known as the ark of the covenant.

[19:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “moreover your servant is warned by them.”

[19:11]  ²² tn Heb “in the keeping of them [there is] a great reward.”

[27:24]  ²³ tn Heb “riches are not forever” (so KJV, NASB); TEV “wealth is not permanent.” The term “last” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[27:24]  ²⁴ tn The conjunction and the particle indicate that the same nuance continues here in the second colon, and so “last” has been supplied here as well.

[8:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he.”

[8:13]  ²⁶ tn The word “their” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[8:13]  ²⁷ tn The phrase “like a shadow” (כַּצֵּל, katsel) modifies the verb (“prolong”) rather than the noun (“days”). Several English versions misconstrue the line: “he will not prolong his days, [which are] like a shadow” (KJV, ASV); “the man who does not fear God is like a shadow” (NEB); and “he will not prolong his shadowy days” (NAB). It should be rendered “he will not prolong his days like a shadow” (RSV, NRSV, NASB, MLB, NIV). Unlike a shadow that lengthens at sunset, the wicked do not normally live long.

[8:13]  ²⁸ tn Heb “he.”

[8:13]  ²⁹ tn Heb “they do not fear.”