Print
Word
PDF
|
King James Bible - Old Testament Deuteronomy
In the fortieth year of their wandering, Moses told the people to go to Canaan and be fruitful. He advised the judges to be fair and not value one man's word over another. He feared that they would turn against God and warned them not to interfere with the children of Esau. Messengers were sent out to secure a passage through Moab and Moses warned the people not to add to the commandments given to them by God. He admonished them to remember the covenant and warned that they would be consumed by fire if they did not. He also told them to love God and be good people and not to seek other gods. Marriages were not to be made among the foreign people. Moses warned them to remember that God fed them in the desert and to remember to destroy the false images of other gods. He continually reminded them of their covenant and all the things done by God. Men were to remember to make sacrifices and the Levites were always to remain priests.
Anyone who worshiped other gods or tried to corrupt the Israelites was to die. They were to eat clean animals and kill them in temples. God commanded all the feasts to be kept. Men or women who were found worshiping other gods were to be put to death by stoning. God promised to give them a king who would garner no wealth and not take multiple wives. All judgements made by the Levites were to be made "eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." Deuteronomy, 19:21. God promised to fight with them and ordered them to kill every male in every city taken. If a woman was captured and a man planned to make her his wife, she was to mourn for a month and shave her head. A rebellious son could be stoned. A man who accused his wife of not being a virgin and was wrong had to pay a penalty to her father. If he was right, the woman could be stoned. If a man forced a betrothed woman to have sex he was to be stoned, if she was not betrothed he had to marry her.
God commanded the Israelites to hate neither Edomites nor Egyptians and to harbor escaped slaves. A man could divorce a wife and she could marry another. A newlywed man was free from military service for a year. A widow was to marry her husband's brother if she had no children. God commanded them to place the tablets of law in front of an altar once they crossed the river Jordan.
Moses spoke again of their great journey and miracles. He promised that everything he foresaw would come to pass and that God would always forgive them and curse their enemies. The greatest commandment, he said, was to love God. He told the assembled people that he was old and ready to die. Turning to Joshua, he told him to be strong and to teach the people the laws. Moses sang and told the people that his words would fall to them as dew. God told him to ascend the mountain to die. Moses blessed the people and exhorted the Levites to serve them. After addressing each of the twelve tribes, he climbed the mountain and died. All the tribes wept. "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face...." Deuteronomy, 34:10
