E-32 Just try to know about the past, about what was long before you, from the very day that God created man on earth; Inquire everywhere, from one end of heaven to the other, has there ever been anything so great, has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 And what other people happened to hear the voice of God cry out of the fire, and after that to remain alive? 34Has it ever happened that a god tried to take a people for himself, freeing them from the power of another people by the power of calamities, signs, wonders, and war, by his mighty hand, stretched out, causing great terror, in short, by all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes?

35It has been given to you, O Israel, to see all these things, that you may understand that the Lord is God, and there is none else besides him. 36He has made you hear His voice from heaven to instruct you. And on earth He hath shown thy sight a great fire, and again thou hast heard His words, this time out of the fire. 37And because he loved your forefathers, he chose you, their descendants, and brought you himself, with his great power, out of Egypt, 38driving out before you nations that are stronger and more numerous than you, to bring you into their land and give it to you as an inheritance, as is the case now.

39Know this firmly, take it to heart: the Lord is God in heaven above, and on earth below, and there is no other! 40Be obedient to His statutes and His commandments, which I am setting forth to you this day, so that you and your descendants may prosper and enjoy a long life on earth, which the Lord your God will give you forever."

About Sanctuary Cities

41 At the same time, on the east bank of the Jordan, Moses singled out three cities, 42 in which anyone who unintentionally killed his neighbor, one who had not been his enemy before, could hide. If the perpetrator of such a murder flees to one of these cities, he will save his life. 43These cities are Bezer, the one in the wilderness, on the plateau, for the descendants of Reuben; Ramoth, who is in Gilad, is for the descendants of Gad; The Golan in Bashan is for the descendants of Manasseh.

Introduction to the Second Speech

44This is the Law which Moses set forth to the children of Israel: 45 These are the commandments,1197 and the statutes and rules which were determined by the covenant, which he declared to them when they came out of Egypt,46 and were still on the other side of the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon. (Moses and the children of Israel fought with him and defeated him after they came out of Egypt. 47 And they took possession of the land of Sihon and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites on the east side of the Jordan. 48 Those possessions stretched from Aroer, which stood on the banks of the Arnon River, to Mount Zion, also known as Hermon, 49 and encompassed the whole of Araba on the east bank of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Plain1198 and the spurs of Pisgah.)

Decalogue

5 Moses called all the Israelites together, and said, "Hear, O Israel, by the covenant certain statutes and rules, which I declare to you this day! You must learn them and live by them!

2The Lord our God has made His covenant with us at Horeb. 3He did not make this covenant with our forefathers who were far off, but with all of us who are still alive here. 4The LORD spoke to you face to face, spoke on the mountain, out of the fire, 5 and I stood between you and the LORD, telling you his words, because the fire terrified you, and you did not go up to the mountain. And this is what He said[1199]:

6"I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; 7Thou shalt have no other gods before me. [1200]

8You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth. 9You shall not worship them or serve them. For I am the Lord your God, a jealous God, punishing the children to the third and fourth generation who hate me because of the guilt of the fathers, 10 and showing mercy to a thousand generations to those who love me and keep my commandments. [1201]

11Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the Lord will not leave without punishment the one who uses His name in vain. [1202]

12Thou shalt observe the Sabbath day, that thou mayest keep it holy, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. 13 Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, and the 14th day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not do any work therein, neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy manservant, nor thy ox, nor thy ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is with thee, that thy servant and thy servant as thou wilt rest. 15Remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, but the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and a high arm, wherefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. [1203]