Keluaran 39:43

39:43 Moses inspected ¹  all the work – and ²  they had done it just as the Lord had commanded – they had done it exactly – and Moses blessed them. ³ 

Keluaran 40:16

40:16 This is what Moses did, according to all the Lord had commanded him – so he did.

Ulangan 4:2

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 ⁴  you.

Ulangan 12:32

Idolatry and False Prophets

12:32 (13:1) ⁵  You ⁶  must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it! ⁷ 

Ulangan 12:1

The Central Sanctuary

12:1 These are the statutes and ordinances you must be careful to obey as long as you live in the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, ⁸  has given you to possess. ⁹ 

1 Samuel 15:22

15:22 Then Samuel said,

“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as he does in obedience? ¹⁰ 

Certainly, ¹¹  obedience ¹²  is better than sacrifice;

paying attention is better than ¹³  the fat of rams.

[39:43]  ¹ tn Or “examined” (NASB, TEV); NCV “looked closely at.”

[39:43]  ² tn The deictic particle draws attention to what he saw in such a way as to give the reader Moses’ point of view and a sense of his pleasure: “and behold, they…”

[39:43]  ³ sn The situation and wording in Exod 39:43 are reminiscent of Gen 1:28 and 31, with the motifs of blessing people and inspecting what has been made.

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “commanding.”

[12:32]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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).

[12:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “fathers.”

[12:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “you must be careful to obey in the land the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days which you live in the land.” This adverbial statement modifies “to obey,” not “to possess,” so the order in the translation has been rearranged to make this clear.

[15:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the Lord.”

[15:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “look.”

[15:22]  ¹² tn Heb “listening.”

[15:22]  ¹³ tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).