Deuteronomy 4:5-31

5I have taught you laws and rules as the Lord my God commanded me. You must obey them when you’ve entered the land and taken possession of it.

6Faithfully obey these laws. This will show the people of the world your wisdom and insight. When they hear about all these laws, they will say, “What wise and insightful people there are in this great nation!”

7What great nation ever had their gods as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we pray to him?

8Or what other great nation has such fair laws and rules as all these teachings I am giving you today?

9However, be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you don’t forget the things which you have seen with your own eyes. Don’t let them fade from your memory as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.

10Never forget the day you stood in front of the Lord your God at Mount Horeb. The Lord had said to me, “Assemble the people in front of me, and I will let them hear my words. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live on earth, and they will teach their children the same thing.”

11So you came and stood at the foot of the mountain, which was on fire with flames shooting into the sky. It was dark, cloudy, and gloomy.

12The Lord spoke to you from the fire. You heard a voice speaking but saw no one. There was only a voice.

13The Lord told you about the terms of his promise, the ten commandments, which he commanded you to do. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets.

14The Lord also commanded me to teach you the laws and rules you must obey after you cross ⌞the Jordan River⌟ and take possession of the land.

15You didn’t see the Lord the day he spoke to you from the fire at Mount Horeb. So be very careful

16that you don’t become corrupt and make your own carved idols. Don’t make statues that represent men or women,

17any animal on earth, any creature with wings that flies,

18any creature that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the water.

19Don’t let yourselves be tempted to worship and serve what you see in the sky—the sun, the moon, the stars, or anything else. The Lord your God has given them to all people everywhere.

20But you are the people the Lord brought out of Egypt, the iron smelter, in order to make you his own people as you still are today.

21The Lord was angry with me because of you. So the Lord your God took an oath that I wouldn’t cross the Jordan River and enter the good land he is giving you as your property.

22I’m going to die in this land and not cross the Jordan River, but you’re going to go across and take possession of that good land.

23Be careful that you don’t forget the promise  that the Lord your God made to you. Don’t make your own carved idols or statues that represent anything the Lord your God has forbidden.

24The Lord your God is a raging fire, a God who does not tolerate rivals.

25Even when you have children and grandchildren and have grown old in that land, don’t become corrupt and make carved idols or statues that represent anything. I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today:  If you do this thing that the Lord your God considers evil, making him furious,

26you will quickly disappear from the land you’re going to possess on the other side of the Jordan River. You won’t live very long there. You’ll be completely wiped out.

27The Lord will scatter you among the people of the world, and only a few of you will be left among the nations where the Lord will force you to live.

28There you will worship wooden and stone gods made by human hands. These gods can’t see, hear, eat, or smell.

29But if you look for the Lord your God when you are among those nations, you will find him whenever you search for him with all your heart and with all your soul.

30When you’re in distress and all these things happen to you, then you will finally come back to the Lord your God and obey him.

31The Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not abandon you, destroy you, or forget the promise to your ancestors that he swore he would keep.