You must pay his wage that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

For this is no idle word for you – it is your life! By this word you will live a long time in the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.”

The Lord your God is about to go ¹  ahead of you; he will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt ² 

(That also is considered to be a land of the Rephaites. ¹  The Rephaites lived there originally; the Ammonites call them Zamzummites. ² 

Next we set out on ¹  the route to Bashan, ²  but King Og of Bashan and his whole army ³  came out to meet us in battle at Edrei. ⁴ 

Commission ¹  Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, because he will lead these people over and will enable them to inherit the land you will see.”

Today realize and carefully consider that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below – there is no other!

So realize that the Lord your God is the true God, ¹  the faithful God who keeps covenant faithfully ²  with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

You must not bring any abhorrent thing into your house and thereby become an object of divine wrath ¹  along with it. ²  You must absolutely detest ³  and abhor it, ⁴  for it is an object of divine wrath.

Moreover, he said to me, “I have taken note of these people; they are a stubborn ¹  lot!

Therefore Levi has no allotment or inheritance ¹  among his brothers; ²  the Lord is his inheritance just as the Lord your God told him.

He is the one you should praise; ¹  he is your God, the one who has done these great and awesome things for you that you have seen.

However, by no means eat the blood, for the blood is life itself ¹  – you must not eat the life with the meat!

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.

For the Lord your God has chosen them and their sons from all your tribes to stand ¹  and serve in his name ²  permanently.

Moreover, he has raised accusations of impropriety by saying, ‘I discovered your daughter was not a virgin,’ but this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity!” The cloth must then be spread out ¹  before the city’s elders.

You must not hate an Edomite, for he is your relative; ¹  you must not hate an Egyptian, for you lived as a foreigner ²  in his land.

It is not in heaven, as though one must say, “Who will go up to heaven to get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”

And it is not across the sea, as though one must say, “Who will cross over to the other side of the sea and get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”

Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who is going with you. He will not fail you or abandon you!”