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Deuteronomy 5 - New English Translation (NET)

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The Opening Exhortation

5 Then Moses called all the people of Israel together and said to them:[a] “Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances that I am about to deliver to you today; learn them and be careful to keep them! 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 He[b] did not make this covenant with our ancestors[c] but with us, we who are here today, all of us living now. 4 The Lord spoke face to face with you at the mountain, from the middle of the fire. 5 (I was standing between the Lord and you at that time to reveal the Lord’s message to you, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.) He said:

The Ten Commandments

6 “I am the Lord your God—he who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery.

7 “You must not have any other gods[d] besides me.[e]

8 “You must not make for yourself an image[f] of anything in heaven above, on earth below, or in the waters beneath.[g] 9 You must not worship or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I punish[h] the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons for the sin of the fathers who reject[i] me,[j] 10 but I show covenant faithfulness[k] to the thousands[l] who choose[m] me and keep my commandments.

11 “You must not make use of the name of the Lord your God for worthless purposes,[n] for the Lord will not exonerate anyone who abuses his name that way.[o]

12 “Be careful to observe[p] the Sabbath day just as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 You are to work and do all your tasks in six days, 14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath[q] of the Lord your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the resident foreigner who lives with you,[r] so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest. 15 Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there by strength and power.[s] That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe[t] the Sabbath day.

16 “Honor[u] your father and your mother just as the Lord your God has commanded you to do, so that your days may be extended and that it may go well with you in the land that he[v] is about to give you.

17 “You must not murder.[w]

18 “You must not commit adultery.

19 “You must not steal.

20 “You must not offer false testimony against another.[x] 21 You must not desire[y] another man’s[z] wife, nor should you crave his[aa] house, his field, his male and female servants, his ox, his donkey, or anything else he owns.”[ab]

The Narrative of the Sinai Revelation and Israel’s Response

22 The Lord said these things to your entire assembly at the mountain from the middle of the fire, the cloud, and the darkness with a loud voice, and that was all he said.[ac] Then he inscribed the words[ad] on two stone tablets and gave them to me. 23 Then, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness while the mountain was ablaze, all your tribal leaders and elders approached me. 24 You said, “The Lord our God has shown us his great glory,[ae] and we have heard him speak from the middle of the fire. It is now clear to us[af] that God can speak to human beings and they can keep on living. 25 But now, why should we die, because this intense fire will consume us? If we keep hearing the voice of the Lord our God we will die! 26 Who is there from the entire human race[ag] who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the middle of the fire as we have, and has lived? 27 You go near so that you can hear everything the Lord our God is saying and then you can tell us whatever he[ah] says to you; then we will pay attention and do it.” 28 When the Lord heard you speaking to me, he[ai] said to me, “I have heard what these people have said to you—they have spoken well. 29 If only it would really be their desire to fear me and obey[aj] all my commandments in the future, so that it may go well with them and their descendants forever. 30 Go and tell them, ‘Return to your tents!’ 31 But as for you, remain here with me so I can declare to you all the commandments,[ak] statutes, and ordinances that you are to teach them, so that they can carry them out in the land I am about to give them.”[al] 32 Be careful, therefore, to do exactly what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn right or left! 33 Walk just as he[am] has commanded you so that you may live, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long[an] in the land you are going to possess.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 5:1 tn Heb “and Moses called to all Israel and he said to them”; NAB, NASB, NIV “Moses summoned (convened NRSV) all Israel.”
  2. Deuteronomy 5:3 tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
  3. Deuteronomy 5:3 tn Heb “fathers.”
  4. Deuteronomy 5:7 tn Heb “there must not be for you other gods.” The expression “for you” indicates possession.
  5. Deuteronomy 5:7 tn Heb “upon my face,” or “before me” (עַל־פָּנָיַ, ʿal panaya). Some understand this in a locative sense: “in my sight.” The translation assumes that the phrase indicates exclusion. The idea is that of placing any other god before the Lord in the sense of taking his place. Contrary to the view of some, this does not leave the door open for a henotheistic system where the Lord is the primary god among others. In its literary context the statement must be taken in a monotheistic sense. See, e.g., 4:39; 6:13-15.
  6. Deuteronomy 5:8 tn Heb “an image, any likeness.”
  7. Deuteronomy 5:8 tn Heb “under the earth” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV); NCV “below the land.”
  8. Deuteronomy 5:9 tn In the Hebrew text the form is a participle, which is subordinated to what precedes. For the sake of English style, the translation divides this lengthy verse into two sentences.
  9. Deuteronomy 5:9 tn Heb “who hate” (so NAB, NIV, NLT). Just as “to love” (אָהֵב, ʾahev) means in a covenant context “to choose, obey,” so “to hate” (שָׂנֵא, saneʾ) means “to reject, disobey” (cf. the note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37; see also 5:10).
  10. Deuteronomy 5:9 tn Heb “visiting the sin of fathers upon sons and upon a third (generation) and upon a fourth (generation) of those who hate me.” God sometimes punishes children for the sins of a father (cf. Num 16:27, 32; Josh 7:24-25; 2 Sam 21:1-9). On the principle of corporate solidarity and responsibility in OT thought see J. Kaminsky, Corporate Responsibility in the Hebrew Bible (JSOTSup). In the idiom of the text, the father is the first generation and the “sons” the second generation, making grandsons the third and great-grandsons the fourth. The reference to a third and fourth generation is a way of emphasizing that the sinner’s punishment would last throughout his lifetime. In this culture, where men married and fathered children at a relatively young age, it would not be unusual for one to see his great-grandsons. In an Aramaic tomb inscription from Nerab dating to the seventh century b.c., Agbar observes that he was surrounded by “children of the fourth generation” as he lay on his death bed (see ANET 661). The language of the text differs from Exod 34:7, the sons are the first generation, the grandsons (literally, “sons of the sons”) the second, great-grandsons the third, and great-great-grandsons the fourth. One could argue that formulation in Deut 5:9 (see also Exod 20:5) is elliptical/abbreviated or that the text suffers from an accidental scribal omission (the repetition of the words “sons” would invite accidental omission).
  11. Deuteronomy 5:10 tn This theologically rich term (חֶסֶד, khesed) describes God’s loyalty to those who keep covenant with him. Sometimes it is used synonymously with בְּרִית (berit, “covenant”; Deut 7:9), and sometimes interchangeably with it (Deut 7:12). See H.-J. Zobel, TDOT 5:44-64.
  12. Deuteronomy 5:10 tc By a slight emendation (לֲאַלֻּפִים [laʾallufim] for לַאֲלָפִים [laʾalafim]) “clans” could be read in place of the MT reading “thousands.” However, no ms or versional evidence exists to support this emendation.tn Another option is to understand this as referring to “thousands (of generations) of those who love me” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). See Deut 7:9.
  13. Deuteronomy 5:10 tn Heb “love.” See note on the word “reject” in v. 9.
  14. Deuteronomy 5:11 tn Heb “take up the name of the Lord your God to emptiness”; KJV “take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” The idea here is not cursing or profanity in the modern sense of these terms, but rather the use of the divine Name for unholy, mundane purposes, that is, for meaningless (Hebrew שָׁוְא [shavʾ]) and empty ends. In ancient Israel this would include using the Lord’s name as a witness in vows one did not intend to keep.
  15. Deuteronomy 5:11 tn Heb “who takes up his name to emptiness.”
  16. Deuteronomy 5:12 tn Heb “to make holy,” that is, to put to special use, in this case, to sacred purposes (cf. vv. 13-15).
  17. Deuteronomy 5:14 tn There is some degree of paronomasia (wordplay) here: “the seventh (הַשְּׁבִיעִי, hasheviʿi) day is the Sabbath (שַׁבָּת, shabbat).” Otherwise, the words have nothing in common, since “Sabbath” is derived from the verb שָׁבַת (shavat, “to cease”).
  18. Deuteronomy 5:14 tn Heb “in your gates”; NRSV, CEV “in your towns”; TEV “in your country.”
  19. Deuteronomy 5:15 tn Heb “by a strong hand and an outstretched arm,” the hand and arm symbolizing divine activity and strength. Cf. NLT “with amazing power and mighty deeds.”
  20. Deuteronomy 5:15 tn Or “keep” (so KJV, NRSV).
  21. Deuteronomy 5:16 tn The imperative here means, literally, “regard as heavy” (כַּבֵּד, kabbed). The meaning is that great importance must be ascribed to parents by their children.
  22. Deuteronomy 5:16 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “He” in 5:3.
  23. Deuteronomy 5:17 tn Traditionally “kill” (so KJV, ASV, RSV, NAB). The verb here (רָצַח, ratsakh) is generic for homicide but in the OT both killing in war and capital punishment were permitted and even commanded (Deut 13:5, 9; 20:13, 16-17), so the technical meaning here is “murder.”
  24. Deuteronomy 5:20 tn Heb “your neighbor.” Clearly this is intended generically, however, and not to be limited only to those persons who live nearby (frequently the way “neighbor” is understood in contemporary contexts). So also in v. 20.
  25. Deuteronomy 5:21 tn The Hebrew verb used here (חָמַד, khamad) is different from the one translated “crave” (אָוַה, ʾavah) in the next line. The former has sexual overtones (“lust” or the like; cf. Song of Sol 2:3) whereas the latter has more the idea of a desire or craving for material things.
  26. Deuteronomy 5:21 tn Heb “your neighbor’s.” See note on the term “fellow man” in v. 19.
  27. Deuteronomy 5:21 tn Heb “your neighbor’s.” The pronoun is used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  28. Deuteronomy 5:21 tn Heb “or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
  29. Deuteronomy 5:22 tn Heb “and he added no more” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NLT “This was all he said at that time.”
  30. Deuteronomy 5:22 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the words spoken by the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  31. Deuteronomy 5:24 tn Heb “his glory and his greatness.”
  32. Deuteronomy 5:24 tn Heb “this day we have seen.”
  33. Deuteronomy 5:26 tn Heb “who is there of all flesh.”
  34. Deuteronomy 5:27 tn Heb “the Lord our God.” See note on “He” in 5:3.
  35. Deuteronomy 5:28 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “He” in 5:3.
  36. Deuteronomy 5:29 tn Heb “keep” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
  37. Deuteronomy 5:31 tn Heb “commandment.” The MT actually has the singular (הַמִּצְוָה, hammitsvah), suggesting perhaps that the following terms (חֻקִּים [khuqqim] and מִשְׁפָּטִים [mishpatim]) are in epexegetical apposition to “commandment.” That is, the phrase could be translated “the entire command, namely, the statutes and ordinances.” This would essentially make מִצְוָה (mitsvah) synonymous with תּוֹרָה (torah), the usual term for the whole collection of law.
  38. Deuteronomy 5:31 tn Heb “to possess it” (so KJV, ASV); NLT “as their inheritance.”
  39. Deuteronomy 5:33 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
  40. Deuteronomy 5:33 tn Heb “may prolong your days”; NAB “may have long life”; TEV “will continue to live.”

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