Deuteronomy 4:9-11

Reminder of the Horeb Covenant

4:9 Again, however, pay very careful attention, ¹  lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren. 4:10 You ²  stood before the Lord your God at Horeb and he ³  said to me, “Assemble the people before me so that I can tell them my commands. ⁴  Then they will learn to revere me all the days they live in the land, and they will instruct their children.” 4:11 You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain, a mountain ablaze to the sky above it ⁵  and yet dark with a thick cloud. ⁶ 

[4:9]  ¹ tn Heb “watch yourself and watch your soul carefully.”

[4:10]  ² tn The text begins with “(the) day (in) which.” In the Hebrew text v. 10 is subordinate to v. 11, but for stylistic reasons the translation treats v. 10 as an independent clause, necessitating the omission of the subordinating temporal phrase at the beginning of the verse.

[4:10]  ³ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 4:3.

[4:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “my words.” See v. 13; in Hebrew the “ten commandments” are the “ten words.”

[4:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “a mountain burning with fire as far as the heart of the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[4:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “darkness, cloud, and heavy cloud.”