Ulangan 4:1-2

The Privileges of the Covenant

4:1 Now, Israel, pay attention to the statutes and ordinances ¹  I am about to teach you, so that you might live and go on to enter and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, ²  is giving you. 4:2 Do not add a thing to what I command you nor subtract from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I am delivering to ³  you.

Ulangan 4:40

4:40 Keep his statutes and commandments that I am setting forth ⁴  today so that it may go well with you and your descendants and that you may enjoy longevity in the land that the Lord your God is about to give you as a permanent possession.

Ulangan 5:32

5:32 Be careful, therefore, to do exactly what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn right or left!

Ulangan 6:3

6:3 Pay attention, Israel, and be careful to do this so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in number ⁵  – as the Lord, God of your ancestors, ⁶  said to you, you will have a land flowing with milk and honey.

Ulangan 6:25

6:25 We will be innocent if we carefully keep all these commandments ⁷  before the Lord our God, just as he demands.” ⁸ 

Ulangan 12:28

12:28 Pay careful attention to all these things I am commanding you so that it may always go well with you and your children after you when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

Ulangan 12:32

Idolatry and False Prophets

12:32 (13:1) ⁹  You ¹⁰  must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it! ¹¹ 

Ulangan 28:1

The Covenant Blessings

28:1 “If you indeed ¹²  obey the Lord your God and are careful to observe all his commandments I am giving ¹³  you today, the Lord your God will elevate you above all the nations of the earth.

[4:1]  ¹ tn These technical Hebrew terms (חֻקִּים [khuqqim] and מִשְׁפָּטִים [mishpatim]) occur repeatedly throughout the Book of Deuteronomy to describe the covenant stipulations to which Israel had been called to subscribe (see, in this chapter alone, vv. 1, 5, 6, 8). The word חֻקִּים derives from the verb חֹק (khoq, “to inscribe; to carve”) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim) from שָׁפַט (shafat, “to judge”). They are virtually synonymous and are used interchangeably in Deuteronomy.

[4:1]  ² tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 31, 37).

[4:2]  ³ tn Heb “commanding.”

[4:40]  ⁴ tn Heb “commanding” (so NRSV).

[6:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “may multiply greatly” (so NASB, NRSV); the words “in number” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 10, 18, 23).

[6:25]  ⁷ tn The term “commandment” (מִצְוָה, mitsvah), here in the singular, refers to the entire body of covenant stipulations.

[6:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “as he has commanded us” (so NIV, NRSV).

[12:32]  ⁹ sn Beginning with 12:32, the verse numbers through 13:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 12:32 ET = 13:1 HT, 13:1 ET = 13:2 HT, 13:2 ET = 13:3 HT, etc., through 13:18 ET = 13:19 HT. With 14:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[12:32]  ¹⁰ tn This verse highlights a phenomenon found throughout Deuteronomy, but most especially in chap. 12, namely, the alternation of grammatical singular and plural forms of the pronoun (known as Numeruswechsel in German scholarship). Critical scholarship in general resolves the “problem” by suggesting varying literary traditions – one favorable to the singular pronoun and the other to the plural – which appear in the (obviously rough) redacted text at hand. Even the ancient versions were troubled by the lack of harmony of grammatical number and in this verse, for example, offered a number of alternate readings. The MT reads “Everything I am commanding you (plural) you (plural) must be careful to do; you (singular) must not add to it nor should you (singular) subtract form it.” Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate suggest singular for the first two pronouns but a few Smr mss propose plural for the last two. What both ancient and modern scholars tend to overlook, however, is the covenantal theological tone of the Book of Deuteronomy, one that views Israel as a collective body (singular) made up of many individuals (plural). See M. Weinfeld, Deuteronomy 1–11 (AB), 15-16; J. A. Thompson, Deuteronomy (TOTC), 21-23.

[12:32]  ¹¹ sn Do not add to it or subtract from it. This prohibition makes at least two profound theological points: (1) This work by Moses is of divine origination (i.e., it is inspired) and therefore can tolerate no human alteration; and (2) the work is complete as it stands (i.e., it is canonical).

[28:1]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “indeed.”

[28:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today” (likewise in v. 15).