Preface:

This should be the most extensive examination of Deuteronomy 5 available, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text.

Outline of Chapter 5:

Preface

Introduction

         vv.     1–

         vv. 

         vv. 

         vv. 

         vv. 

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         The Prequel of Deuteronomy 5

         Introduction         The Principals of Deuteronomy 5

         Introduction         The Places of Deuteronomy 5

         Introduction         Peter Pett Proves a Synopsis of Deuteronomy 5

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Arno Gaebelein Introduces Deuteronomy 5

         v.       1              James Coffman Outlines Moses’ Great Sermon

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v.      28              What God is saying in Deuteronomy 5:28

         v.      28              Why it is a good reason for God to speak to Moses and not to all the people

         Addendum          Why Deuteronomy 5 is in the Word of God

         Addendum          What We Learn from Deuteronomy 5

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          Edersheim Summarizes Deuteronomy 5

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Deuteronomy 5

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Deuteronomy 5

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Deuteronomy 5

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An Introduction to Deuteronomy 5

I ntroduction: Deut. 5

Barnes: [Deut. 5 begins an address which is] 22 chapters, divided into two groups:

(a) Deut. 5–11,

(b) Deut. 12–26. The address was delivered when they had already received the first-fruits of those promises Deut. 4:46, the full fruition of which was to be consequent on their fulfillment of that covenant now again about to be rehearsed to them in its leading features.

The firstfruits of God’s promises are the territories and cities which formerly belonged to Kings Sihon and Og.

Dr. John Gill: [In Deut. 5, Moses] repeats in order the ten precepts, and makes observations on the manner of the delivery of them, and urges obedience to them.

This chapter of Deuteronomy has two reasonably complete manuscripts among the Dead Sea Scrolls, circa 100 b.c. There are some differences—missing words, added words; even missing or added phrases. Making note of these differences takes a great deal of time and effort, whereas the actual doctrinal differences involved are nil. I will note them, but bear in mind as you read through them, that there is not some long-hidden doctrine or doctrinal point which will become known to you as a result of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. What these scrolls actually do is, confirm the present-day text which we use, which has come from 9^th century and later manuscripts. The differences which are noted will not change the interpretation of any passage or chapter.

A logical concern would be, could there be a Jewish Bible and a Catholic Bible, which reveal fundamentally different doctrines? Whereas, in fact, there are Jewish, Catholic and Protestant Bibles, the differences in the texts rarely result in exclusively Jewish (or Catholic or Protestant) doctrines. There may be some notes in Jewish Old Testament which gives a Jewish point of view; and there are certainly notes and outlines and explanations in Protestant Bibles which give a Protestant (and generally correct) point of view. However, the manuscripts that the Biblical texts are based upon are not different; and the English translations which we read rarely have substantive differences in them. One which occurs to me is, some Protestant Bibles may capitalize Old Testament prophecies which refer to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Prophet Who is like unto Moses. A Jewish Bible may not capitalize such references.

Let me offer you a specific example: Isa. 53:2 For He comes up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form nor magnificence that we should see Him; nor form that we should desire Him. (Green’s literal translation). We understand Isa. 53 to refer to the Lord Jesus Christ. A Jewish Bible would not capitalize the pronouns here because they deny that the prophecies of the Messiah necessarily refer to God. Many Jews do not believe that Isa. 53 refers to the Messiah, but that it refers to the nation Israel instead. There are no capital letters in the ancient Hebrew; they did not capitalize words as we do.

My point is, the underlying Hebrew text is the same. There are no ancient Jewish transcripts of the Old Testament text which are fundamentally different from the Protestant texts (we use the exact same texts). The differences in doctrine all come down to interpretation.

This does not mean that you can pick up the Bible and interpret it in anyway that you want. When you read through the interpretations which I lay out, you can look back at the Hebrew text and back at 60 or more other translations, and you can tell that I have done everything possible to give you an accurate explanation. When you are under the teaching by this or that pastor, most of the time you can compare what he says with the text (over a period of time), and you will recognize that he is either carefully interpreting the text or he is not. What you want is a pastor who explains the Bible so that you understand it; and so that you have confidence in his teaching as accurate.

As has been done in previous chapters, a quotation from Moses will be enclosed by only one pair of quotation marks, at the beginning of the discourse and at the end of the chapter. Each new paragraph will not be started with quotation marks.

Insert vv. 44–49 here:

Guzik: As Moses addressed the nation they were on the threshold of the Promised Land. It had been some 38 years since they received the Law of God at Mount Sinai and now Moses reviewed and explained the Law of God with the new generation.

Matthew Henry suggests that they are standing in a valley, opposite the actual temple of the foreign god, which gives his words, warning against idolatry, even greater impact. [They were] over-against Beth-peor, an idol-temple of the Moabites, which perhaps Moses sometimes looked towards, with a particular caution to them against the infection of that and other such like dangerous places.

Furthermore, Matthew Henry suggests, they are standing upon land which they had just conquered, their God defeating hostile armies. It was upon their new conquests, in the very land which they had got out of the hands of Sihon and Og, and were now actually in possession of (Deut. 4:47). Their present triumphs herein were a powerful argument for obedience.

What a backdrop for a sermon! Across the way, they can see the temple of a false god; and they are standing on the ground which God caused them to conquer. In this setting, how could the words of Moses, commending to them obedience to the laws of God, as well as a warning against idolatry, be more powerful?

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The Modern Language Bible: Ch. 5–11 are Moses’ second discourse, introducing ch. 12–26, the Law. For Israel, the acceptance and observance of the Law was the all-important matter, and this discourse prepares the nation to receive and obey it. It stresses as the basis for obedience — love, reverence and loyalty toward God. These chapters reveal a warmth of affection for God, rarely seen elsewhere in the Pentateuch.

Matthew Henry: [Moses] had in general exhorted them to obedience in the former chapter; here he comes to repeat the law which they were to observe, for he demands a universal but not an implicit obedience. How can we do our duty if we do not know it? Here therefore he sets the law before them as the rule they were to work by, the way they were to walk in, sets it before them as the glass in which they were to see their natural face, that, looking into this perfect law of liberty, they might continue therein.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation ; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

These Bibles often fall into more than one category; I placed them where I believed them to have the best fit.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so calls Moses unto all Israel and so he says unto them, “Hear, Israel, the statutes and the judicial verdicts that I am speaking in your ears the day and you have learned them [through repetition and discipline] and kept to do them.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   Then Moses summoned all Israel, and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking in your hearing this day, so that you may learn them, and be sure to carry them out.

Targum of Onkelos                And Mosheh called all Israel, and said to them: Hear, Israel, the statutes and judgments that I speak before you this day, to learn them, and observe to perform them.

Latin Vulgate                          And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the ceremonies and judgments, which I speak in your ears this day: learn them, and fulfil them in work.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    AND Moses called all Israel, and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your presence this day, that you may learn them, and keep and do them.

Septuagint (Greek)                And Moses called all Israel, and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the ordinances and statutes, all that I speak in your ears this day, and you shall learn them, and observe to do them.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Bibles:

Bible in Basic English             And Moses sent for all Israel, and said to them, Give ear, O Israel, to the laws and the decisions which I give you today, and give attention to them so that you may keep and do them.

Easy English                          Chapters 5 6 and 7 - Moses teaches and explains again the 10 special rules that God gave him.

God's 10 special rules

Moses called all the Israelites together and said, `Listen, Israelites, to the rules that I explain to you today. You can hear what I am saying. Learn the rules and obey them.

Easy-to-Read Version            Moses called together all the people of Israel and said to them, “People of Israel, listen to the laws and rules that I tell you today. Learn these laws and be sure to obey them.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Moses called together all the people of Israel and said to them, "People of Israel, listen to all the laws that I am giving you today. Learn them and be sure that you obey them.

The Message                         Moses Teaches Israel on the Plains of Moab

Moses called all Israel together. He said to them,

Attention, Israel. Listen obediently to the rules and regulations I am delivering to your listening ears today. Learn them. Live them.

NIRV                                      The Ten Commandments

Moses sent for all the Israelites. Here is what he said to them.

Israel, listen to me. Here are the rules and laws I'm announcing to you today. Learn them well. Be sure to obey them.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Ten Commandments

Moses called out to all Israel, saying to them: "Israel! Listen to the regulations and the case laws that I'm recounting in your hearing right now. Learn them and carefully do them.

Contemporary English V.       Moses called together the people of Israel and said: Today I am telling you the laws and teachings that you must follow, so listen carefully.

The Living Bible                     Moses continued speaking to the people of Israel and said, "Listen carefully now to all these laws God has given you; learn them, and be sure to obey them!

New Berkeley Version           Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances which I am announcing in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to practice them, keeping ever in mind the covenant which the Lord our God made with us at Horeb.

New Living Translation           Ten Commandments for the Covenant Community

Moses called all the people of Israel together and said, "Listen carefully, Israel. Hear the decrees and regulations I am giving you today, so you may learn them and obey them!

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Then Moses called all of IsraEl and said to them: 'Listen to the rules and decisions. all that I'm going to tell you today! Learn them and obey them, O IsraEl.

International Standard V        The Ten Commandments

(Exodus 20:1-17)

Moses called all of Israel together and told them: "Listen, Israel! Today I'm going to announce God's laws and regulations so that you will learn them and take care to obey them.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Here, then, Moses called the whole of Israel together, and said to them, Listen, Israel, to the observances and the decrees I now proclaim in your hearing; learn them well, and live by them.

Translation for Translators                        Moses repeated for them the Ten Commandments

Moses/I summoned all the people of Israel and said to them,

"You Israeli people, listen to all the rules and regulations that I am giving to you today. Learn them and be sure to obey them.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Moses called to all Israel, and said to them, "Israel, hear the decrees and verdicts which I speak in your ears today to teach you. Keep them and do them.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                                                               Speech II

Upon the Covenant of Sinai

Moses again assembled all Israel and said to them ; -

Listen, Israel, to the constitutions and decrees which I proclaim in your hearing to-day, - both to learn them, and preserve them by practising.

Jubilee Bible 2000                  And Moses called all Israel and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and rights which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them and keep them, to do them.

Lexham English Bible            Basic Stipulations

And then Moses summoned all of Israel and said to them, "Hear, Israel, the rules and the regulations that I am speaking in your ears today [Literally "the day"], and you shall learn them, and you must observe them diligently [Literally "you shall observe them carefully to do them"].

NIV – UK                                The Ten Commandments

Moses summoned all Israel and said:

Hear, Israel, the decrees and the laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  The Ten Commandments

Moses gathered the whole of Israel and said to them: ¡°Listen, Israel, to the laws and norms which I teach you this day. Learn them and be careful to put them into practice.

The Heritage Bible                 And Mosheh called all Yisra'el and said to them, "Hear, Yisra’el, the statutes and judgments that I speak in your ears today that you may learn them and be careful to observe them

New American Bible (2011)              The Covenant at Horeb.

Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances which I proclaim in your hearing this day, that you may learn them and take care to observe them. Dt 4:1, 45; 5:31; 6:1, 17, 20; 11:32; 12:1; 26:16.

New Jerusalem Bible             Moses called all Israel together and said to them, 'Listen, Israel, to the laws and customs that I proclaim to you today. Learn them and take care to observe them.

New RSV                               Moses convened all Israel, and said to them:

Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I am addressing to you today; you shall learn them and observe them diligently.

Revised English Bible            Moses' second discourse

MOSES summoned all Israel and said to them: Israel, listen to the statutes and the laws which I proclaim to you this day. Learn them, and be careful to observe them.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           (A: iv, S: iii) Then Moshe called to all Isra'el and said to them, "Listen, Isra'el, to the laws and rulings which I am announcing in your hearing today, so that you will learn them and take care to obey them.

exeGeses companion Bible   RESUME' OF STATUTES AND JUDGMENTS

And Mosheh calls all Yisra El, and says to them,

Hear, O Yisra El,

the statutes and judgments

I word in your ears this day

- to learn them and guard and work them.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               Va-'ethannan

Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the laws and rules that I proclaim to you this day! Study them and observe them faithfully! .

Kaplan Translation                 Review of the Ten Commandments

Moses summoned [To repeat the Ten Commandments to the younger generation that had not been at Sinai (Chizzkuni; cf. Bachya).] all Israel, and said to them:

Listen, Israel, to the rules and laws that I am publicly [Literally, 'in your ears.' See Genesis 20:8, 23:10.] declaring to you today. Learn them and safeguard them, so that you will be able to keep them.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Moshe called kol Yisroel, and said unto them, Shema, Yisroel, to the chukkim and mishpatim which I speak in your ears today, that ye may learn them, and be shomer to do them.

Restored Names Version       And Mosheh called all Yisra'el and said to them, "Hear, Yisra’el, the statutes and judgments that I speak in your ears today that you may learn them and be careful to observe them.

The Scriptures 1998              And Mosheh called all Yisraʼĕl, and said to them, “Hear, O Yisraʼĕl, the laws and right-rulings which I speak in your hearing today. And you shall learn them, and guard to do them.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Expanded Bible              The Ten Commandments

Moses called all the people of Israel together and said: Listen, Israel, to the ·commands [statutes; requirements; ordinances] and laws I am ·giving you [^Lspeaking in your ears] today. Learn them and obey them carefully.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-21

The Ten Commandments as Given on Sinai

And Moses called all Israel and said unto them, he intended his voice to reach as many as possible and to make the announcement as impressive as possible, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep and do them, watch carefully to perform them. After this brief introduction, Moses immediately launches forth in the repetition of the Decalogue as it was given by the Lord on Mount Sinai, Ex. 20:2-17.

NET Bible®                             The Opening Exhortation

Then Moses called all the people of Israel together and said to them: [Heb "and Moses called to all Israel and he said to them"; NAB, NASB, NIV "Moses summoned (convened NRSV) all Israel."] "Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances that I am about to deliver to you today; learn them and be careful to keep them!. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote. Language footnotes will be placed in the Hebrew exegesis.

The Voice                               Moses: Listen, Israel, as I proclaim these rules and decrees directly to you today! Learn them, and put them into practice.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    Moses called to all Israel and said to them: Hear, Israel, the statutes and the judgments that I am speaking in your ears today, that you learn them and observe to obey them.

Context Group Version          And Moses called to all Israel, and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your { pl } ears this day, that you { pl } may learn them, and observe to do them.

English Standard Version      And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           And Moses called unto all Israel and said unto them: Hear Israel the ordinances and laws which I speak in your ears this day, and learn them and take heed that you do them.

Green’s Literal Translation    And Moses called to all Israel and said to them, Hear, Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears today. And you shall learn them, and shall take heed to do them.

NASB                                     The Ten Commandments Repeated

Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them:

"Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing [Lit ears], that you may learn them and observe them [Lit to do them] carefully.

New King James Version       The Ten Commandments Reviewed

And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them.

Updated Bible Version 2.11   And Moses called to all Israel, and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your+ ears this day, that you+ may learn them, and observe to do them.

Young’s Updated LT             And Moses calls unto all Israel, and says unto them, “Hear, Israel, the statutes and the judgments which I am speaking in your ears today, and you [all] have learned them, and have observed to do them.

The gist of this verse: 

Translation: Moses called to all Israel... Moses summoned all Israel to speak to them. This would be his second speech that he makes to them. Chapters 1–4 was the first discourse and this begins the second. We have no idea how this was preserved—did Joshua take copious notes and preserve them? Did Moses write this all out in advance and his notes were preserved? Who wrote the small amount of narrative for Deuteronomy? Did Moses sit down after the fact and correlate his notes with the little narrative found in this chapter? In any case, the text itself was originally written by Moses.

Translation: ...and he said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the judicial applications... We find these words often in Deuteronomy and the rest of the Mosaic Law (which does not include Genesis), as well as in the book of Proverbs.

The word for statutes is chuqqîym (חֻקִּים) [pronounced khook-KEEM], and it means, decrees, those things which are decreed; statutes; boundaries, defined limitations; appointed portions of labor, tasks. These are limitations which Moses is placing upon the behavior of the people of Israel, which information was given him by God. Strong's #2706 BDB #349.

Now, understand that, all of the adults who originally heard the teaching of the Law are now dead (except for Joshua). The people before him heard these things, perhaps, but they were young people at the time. Now they are adults and their children have died the sin unto death for their lack of faith, disobedience and idolatry. Pretty much, whatever Moses told them to do, they did they exact opposite.

The second word is mîsh^epâţîym (מִשְפָּטִים) [pronounced mish^e-paw-TEEM], and it means, laws; judgements; appeals; responsibilities; privileges; customs; justice; verdicts rendered by a judge, judicial decisions, judicial sentences. Often, a law is given, which is general and an overarching concept. This word might be understood to be the day-to-day application of the Law to experience. Strong's #4941 BDB #1048.

Translation: ...that I am teaching you [lit., I am proclaiming in your ears] today. Moses taught these things before to their mothers and fathers; and their mothers and fathers are all dead. This is the generation of promise, those who were younger than age 20 when they exited Egypt.

Translation: Learn them and preserve them [with the intention] to do them. These Israelites were to learn the laws of Moses through repetition and through discipline. You lay down the law in your home. You children disobey those guidelines. You discipline your children and then you lay out the law again for them. That is the idea behind them learning these laws.

They also must preserve these laws to do them. The infinitive construct with the lâmed preposition can indicate something which is intended. They were not simply to learn and memorize and repeat these laws whenever asked; these laws were given to them with the intent that they do them; with the intent that they obey them.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Y^ehowah our Elohim cut with us a covenant in Horeb—not with our fathers—made Y^ehowah the covenant the this, for with us, us—these here the day all of us [who are] alive.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our ancestors, but with us, yes with us who are here today, all of us alive today.

Targum of Onkelos                The Lord our God confirmed a covenant with us in Horeb: not with our fathers did the Lord confirm this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here this day alive and abiding.

Latin Vulgate                          The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. He made not the covenant with our fathers, but with us, who are now present and living.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

Septuagint (Greek)                The Lord your God made a covenant with you in Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with your fathers, but with you: you are all here alive this day.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             The Lord our God made an agreement with us in Horeb. The Lord did not make this agreement with our fathers but with us, who are all living and present here today.

Easy English                          The LORD our God made a special promise to us at Horeb. He did not make this promise to our fathers. He made it to us, to all of us who are alive here today.

Easy-to-Read Version            The Lord our God made an agreement with us at Mount Horeb (Sinai). The Lord did not make this agreement with our ancestors, [24] but with us—yes, with all of us who are alive here today.

The Message                         God, our God, made a covenant with us at Horeb. God didn't just make this covenant with our parents; he made it also with us, with all of us who are alive right now.

Names of God Bible               Yahweh our Elohim made a promise [Or "covenant."] to us at Mount Horeb. Yahweh didn't make this promise to our ancestors, but to all of us who are alive here today.

NIRV                                      The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Mount Horeb. He didn't make it only with our people of long ago. He also made it with us. In fact, he made it with all of us who are alive here today.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Mount Horeb. The Lord didn't make this covenant with our ancestors but with us-all of us who are here and alive right now.

Contemporary English V.       The LORD our God made an agreement with our nation at Mount Sinai. That agreement wasn't only with our ancestors but with us, who are here today.

The Living Bible                     "The Lord our God made a contract with you at Mount Horeb-not with your ancestors, but with you who are here alive today.

New Century Version             The Lord our God made an Agreement with us at Mount Sinai. He did not make this Agreement with our ancestors, but he made it with us, with all of us who are alive here today.

New Life Version                    The Lord our God made an agreement with us at Mount Sinai. The Lord did not make this agreement with our fathers, but with us, all those of us alive here today

New Living Translation           "The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Mount Sinai [Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai]. The Lord did not make this covenant with our ancestors, but with all of us who are alive today.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          For, Jehovah your God made a Sacred Agreement with you at the Dry Place (Horeb)...He didn't make it with your ancestors, but with you...yes you who are all here and living today!

Beck’s American Translation “The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. He didn’t make this covenant with our fathers but with us, the living, every one of us who is here today.

International Standard V        When the LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb, it was not with our ancestors that the LORD made this covenant, but with us-we who are here today-all of us who are now living.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       When we were at Horeb, the Lord our God made a covenant with us, such a covenant as he never made with our fathers, but kept it for us, who stand here, living men, to-day. The sense would seem to be that God's covenant was made for the benefit of Moses' immediate hearers, not for that of their fathers, who were now dead in the wilderness.

Translation for Translators     When we were at Sinai Mountain, Yahweh our God made an agreement with us. But this agreement was not only for our ancestors. He made it also for us who are alive now.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                Our Ever-living God contracted a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the Ever-living contract that covenant, but with us, ourselves ; those in this place, all of us alive to-day.

Lexham English Bible            Yahweh our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. It was not with our ancestors [Or "fathers"] that Yahweh made this covenant, but with these of us who are here alive today.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Yahweh, our God, made a covenant with us in Horeb, and his covenant was not only with our fathers, but with us as well who are all alive here today.

The Heritage Bible                 Jehovah, our God, cut a covenant with us in Horeb. Jehovah did not cut this covenant with our fathers, but with us, us, these here today, all of us living.

New American Bible (2011)   The LORD, our God, made a covenant with us at Horeb; not with our ancestors [Not with our ancestors: in fact, the covenant was made with the ancestors, but these had died out during the "forty" years. The covenant is considered to be ongoing-for Israel in Moab and beyond.] did the LORD make this covenant, but with us, all of us who are alive here this day.

New RSV                               The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. Not with our ancestors did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Adonai our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. Adonai did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us - with us, who are all of us here alive today.

exeGeses companion Bible   Yah Veh our Elohim

cut a covenant with us in Horeb:

Yah Veh cut not this covenant with our fathers

but with us - we here this day - all of us alive.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. It was not with our fathers that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, the living, every one of us who is here today.

Kaplan Translation                 God your Lord made a covenant [See Exodus 19:5, 24:8, 34:27 (cf. Lekach Tov). Also see Deuteronomy 4:23, 28:69.] with you at Horeb. It was not with your ancestors that God made this covenant, but with us - those of us who are still alive here today.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           Hashem Eloheinu made a Brit with us in Chorev. Hashem made not this Brit with Avoteinu, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive today.

Restored Names Version       Yahuwah our Eloah made a covenant with us in Choreb. Yahuwah did not make this covenant with our fathers, and with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.

The Scriptures 1998              “יהוה our Elohim made a covenant with us in Ḥorĕ. יהוה did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Expanded Bible              The Lord our God ·made [^Lcut] an ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] with us at ·Mount Sinai [^LHoreb; 1:6]. He did not ·make [^Lcut] this ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] with our ·ancestors [fathers], but he made it with us, with all of us who are alive here today.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    The Lord, our God, made a covenant with us in Horeb, in the third month after their departure out of Egypt. The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, with the patriarchs, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. The covenant which the Lord made with Israel as a nation differed from those made with Noah and Abraham, especially as to the extent and inclusiveness of the obligations imposed.

NET Bible®                             The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. He [Heb "the Lord." The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.] did not make this covenant with our ancestors [Heb "fathers."] but with us, we who are here today, all of us living now.

The Voice                               The Eternal our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. The Eternal didn't make that covenant just with our parents; He also made it with all of us who are alive here today, because we were included in the covenant when He made it with them.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    Yahweh our Elohim, He contracted a covenant with us at Horeb. Not with our fathers did Yahweh contract this covenant, but with us, us, these here today, all of us who are alive.

Context Group Version          YHWH our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. YHWH did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

Darby Translation                  Jehovah our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did Jehovah make this covenant, but with us, [even] us, those [who are] here alive all of us this day.

Emphasized Bible                  Yahweh our God, solemnised with us a covenant in Horeb: not with our fathers did Yahweh solemnise this covenant,—but with us, ourselves—these here to-day, all of us living.

Green’s Literal Translation    Jehovah your God cut a covenant with us in Horeb. Jehovah did not cut this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, these here today, all of us alive.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           The Lord our God made an appointment with us in Horeb. The Lord made not this bond with our fathers, but with us: we are they, which are all here alive this day.

New European Version          Yahweh our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Yahweh didn't make this covenant with our fathers but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

New King James Version       The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.

World English Bible                Yahweh our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Yahweh didn't make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

Young’s Updated LT             Jehovah our God made with us a covenant in Horeb; not with our fathers has Jehovah made this covenant, but with us; we—these—here to-day—all of us alive.

The gist of this verse: 

Translation: Y^ehowah our Elohim made a covenant with us in Horeb... I am not 100% certain about the way that I interpreted this sentence and broke it up, but I think it still conveys what Moses is saying.

Moses makes a rather startling statement here—Y^ehowah our God made a covenant with us in Horeb (that is, on Mount Sinai). However, the interaction was between God, Moses and the adults of that era, nearly 40 years ago. But Moses tells these young people that God made with covenant with them specifically, even though they may not have even been in attendance at these first meetings, being too young to get it.

Translation: ...—not with our fathers! This might sound a little harsh! God did not make His covenant with our fathers (all of the fathers of the generation of promise are dead!).

God contract is with the Jews who are alive—God has a standing contract with the Jewish people in every generation.

Translation: Y^ehowah made this covenant with us, those [of] us [who are right] here alive today! Moses, in about 5 different ways, says, God made this covenant with us, all of us here; we who are standing here right now. That is who God has a covenant with.

The great point that Moses is making is, this covenant that God made with Israel continues throughout every generation. God’s covenant with Gen X is also His covenant with the generation of promise.

——————————

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Faces in faces spoke Y^ehowah with you [all] in the mountain from a midst of the fire [while] I am standing between Y^ehowah and between you [all] in the time the that to make known to you [all] a word of Y^ehowah, for you were afraid from faces of the fire and you had not gone up into the mountain. He said:...

Dead Sea Scrolls                   The Lord spoke with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. But as for me, I was standing between the Lord and you at that time to declare to you the words of the Lord your God , for you were afraid because of the first and did not go up to the mountain. And He said:...

Targum of Onkelos                Word to word did the Lord speak with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire. I stood between the Word of the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the Word of the Lord, because you were afraid before the voice of the Word of the Lord, which you heard from the midst of the fire; neither did you go up to the mountain while He said :...

Latin Vulgate                          He spoke to us face to face in the mount out of the midst of fire. I was the mediator and stood between the Lord and you at that time, to shew you his words, for you feared the fire, and went not up into the mountain, and he said:...

Peshitta (Syriac)                    The LORD talked with you face to face in the mountain out of the midst of the fire, (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the words of the LORD your God; for you were afraid because of the fire, and did not go up into the mountain), saying,...

Septuagint (Greek)                The Lord spoke to you face to face in the mountain out of the midst of the fire. And I stood between the Lord and you at that time to report to you the words of the Lord, (because you were afraid before the fire, and you went not up to the mountain,) saying,...

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             The word of the Lord came to you face to face on the mountain, out of the heart of the fire, I was between the Lord and you at that time, to make clear to you the word of the Lord: because, through fear of the fire, you did not go up the mountain; saying,...

Easy English                          The LORD turned his face toward your faces and he spoke to you. He spoke out of the fire on the mountain. (At that time, I stood between the LORD and you. I repeated the LORD's words to you. You were afraid of the fire, so you did not go up the mountain.) And God said:...

Easy-to-Read Version            The Lord spoke with you face to face at that mountain. He spoke to you from the fire. But you were afraid of the fire. And you did not go up the mountain. So I stood between the Lord and you to tell you what the Lord said. The Lord said:...

Good News Bible (TEV)         There on the mountain the LORD spoke to you face-to-face from the fire. I stood between you and the LORD at that time to tell you what he said, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain. The LORD said,...

The Message                         God spoke to you personally out of the fire on the mountain. At the time I stood between God and you, to tell you what God said. You were afraid, remember, of the fire and wouldn't climb the mountain. He said:...

NIRV                                      The Lord spoke to you face to face. His voice came out of the fire on the mountain. At that time I stood between the Lord and you. I announced to you the Lord's message. I did it because you were afraid of the fire. You didn't go up the mountain.

The Lord said,...

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           The Lord spoke with you face-to-face on the mountain from the very fire itself. At that time, I was standing between the Lord and you, declaring to you the Lord's word, because you were terrified of the fire and didn't go up on the mountain."

The Lord said:...

Contemporary English V.       The LORD himself spoke to you out of the fire, but you were afraid of the fire and refused to go up the mountain. So I spoke with the LORD for you, then I told you that he had said:...

The Living Bible                     He spoke with you face to face from the center of the fire, there at the mountain. 5 I stood as an intermediary between you and Jehovah, for you were afraid of the fire and did not go up to him on the mountain. He spoke to me and I passed on his laws to you. This is what he said:...

New Living Translation           At the mountain the Lord spoke to you face to face from the heart of the fire. I stood as an intermediary between you and the Lord, for you were afraid of the fire and did not want to approach the mountain. He spoke to me, and I passed his words on to you. This is what he said:...

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Jehovah spoke to you face to face at the mountain from the midst of the fire. 5 And I stood between Jehovah and you at that time, and reported the words of Jehovah to you, because you were afraid of the fire and you didn't want to get close to the mountain. And [there He] said:...

Beck’s American Translation The LORD talked to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. At that time I stood between the LORD and you to tell you what the LORD was saying, because you were afraid of the fire and didn’t go up on the mountain.

International Standard V        The LORD spoke to you face to face on the mountain from the fire. I stood at that time as mediator [The Heb. lacks as mediator] between the LORD and you to declare his [Lit. the LORD's] message to you, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain. He said:...

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Face to face he spoke with us on the mountain, out of the flames; and yet I must be your representative all the while, a mediator between the Lord and you to tell you what his commands were, such dread of those fires kept you back from the hill-side...

Today’s NIV                          (At that time I stood between [Gal 3:19] the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid [S Ge 3:10 ; Heb 12:18-21 ; Ex. 20:18,21 ] of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:.

Translation for Translators     Yahweh spoke with us face-to-face on that mountain, from the middle of the fire. On that day, I stood between your ancestors and Yahweh to tell them what he said, because they were afraid of the fire, and they did not climb up the mountain. This is what Yahweh said:...

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Yahweh spoke with you face to face in the mount from amidst the fire, (I stood between Yahweh and you in that period, to tell you the word of Yahweh. For you feared the face of the fire, and never ascended the mount.) saying,...

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                The Ever-living spoke face to face with you at the Hill, from the midst of the fire. I stood between the Ever-living and you at that time to report to you the dictation of the Ever-living, for you were afraid at the presence of the fire, and could not ascend to Him, and He said ; -...

HCSB                                     The LORD spoke to you face to face from the fire on the mountain. At that time I was standing between the LORD and you to report the word of the LORD to you, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain. And He said:...

Jubilee Bible 2000                  The LORD spoke with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to show you the word of the LORD, for ye were afraid by reason of the fire and did not climb the mount), saying,...

Lexham English Bible            Face to face [Literally "Faces to faces"] Yahweh spoke with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire. I was standing between Yahweh and you [Literally "between Yahweh and between you"] at that time to report [Or "declare"] to you the word of Yahweh, for you were afraid because of the presence of [Literally "the faces of"] the fire, and so you did not go up the mountain. He said [Literally "To say"],...

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Yahweh spoke with us face to face from the midst of the fire in the mountain. And I stood between Yahweh and you to transmit his word to you, since you could not go up the mountain for fear of the great fire. These were his words: ...

The Heritage Bible                 Jehovah spoke with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire - I stood between Jehovah and you at that time to make the word of Jehovah stand out boldly to you, because you were afraid of the face of the fire, and did not go up into the mount - saying,...

New American Bible (2011)   Face to face, the LORD spoke with you on the mountain from the midst of the fire, while I was standing between the LORD and you at that time, to announce to you these words of the LORD, since you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain:... [5:4-5] Ex 19:3-25; 20:18-19; 24:2. [5:4] Dt 34:10; Nm 12:8.

New Jerusalem Bible             On the mountain, from the heart of the fire, Yahweh spoke to you face to face, while I stood between you and Yahweh to let you know what Yahweh was saying, since you were afraid of the fire and had not gone up the mountain. He said:.

New RSV                               The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the fire. (At that time I was standing between the Lord and you to declare to you the words [Q Mss Sam Gk Syr Vg Tg: MT word] of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:...

Revised English Bible            The LORD spoke with you face to face on the mountain out of the heart of the fire. I stood between the LORD and you at that time to report the words of the LORD; for you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain. The LORD said:...

This is the very peculiar circumstance where v. 6 is a continuation of v. 5 (we have that God is speaking in v. 5; and then His words begin with v. 6); however, for many, v. 6 is a new section—the Ten Commandments. For this reason, I will include v. 6 below in many of the translations; and repeat it again when vv. 6–7 are presented as a unit.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Adonai spoke with you face to face from the fire on the mountain. At that time I stood between Adonai and you in order to tell you what Adonai was saying; because, on account of the fire, you were afraid and wouldn't go up onto the mountain. He said,

א "`I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves. V. 6 is included for context.

exeGeses companion Bible   Yah Veh worded face to face with you

in the mount from midst the fire,

I stood between Yah Veh and you at that time,

to tell you the word of Yah Veh:

for you awed at the face of the fire

and ascended not into the mount;

saying,...

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               Face to face the Lord spoke to you on the mountain out of the fire- I stood between the Lord and you at that time to convey the Lord`s words to you, for you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain-saying:

I the Lord am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: You shall have no other gods beside Me. Vv. 6–7 are included for context.

Kaplan Translation                 On the mountain, God spoke to you face to face [See Exodus 33:11 (Bachya).] out of the fire. I stood between you and God at that time, to tell you God's words, since you were afraid [See Exodus 20:15,16.] of the fire, and did not go up on the mountain.

[God then] declared [the Ten Commandments] [Given earlier in Ex. 20:2-14.].

The First Two Commandments

I am God your Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, from the place of slavery. V. 6 is included for context.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           Hashem talked with you panim b'panim in the har out of the midst of the eish, (I stood between Hashem and you at that time, to show you the Devar Hashem; for ye were afraid by reason of the eish, and went not up into the har) saying:

I am Hashem Eloheicha, Which brought thee out of Eretz Mitzrayim, from the bais avadim. V. 6 is included for context.

Restored Names Version       Yahuwah talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. I stood between Yahuwah and you at that time to declare to you the word of Yahuwah for you were afraid because of the fire and you did not go up the mountain. He said, 'I am Yahuwah your Eloah who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of slaves. V. 6 is included for context.

The Scriptures 1998              “יהוה spoke with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.

“I stood between יהוה and you at that time, to declare to you the Word of יהוה – for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain – saying:...

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Expanded Bible              The Lord spoke to you face to face from the fire on the mountain [Ex. 19]. (At that time I stood between you and the Lord in order to tell you what the Lord said; you were afraid of the fire, so you would not go up on the mountain.) The Lord said:

"I am the Lord your God; I brought you out of the land of Egypt ·where you were slaves [^Lfrom the house of bondage]. V. 6 is included for context.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    The Lord talked with you face to face, as one Person might talk with another, but not in visible form, in the mount out of the midst of the fire, Ex. 20:22, (I stood between the Lord and you at that time, Ex. 20:21, in the capacity of mediator, to show you the word of the Lord, that is, to make it known to them; for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, Ex. 20:18, and went not up into the mount,) saying, I am the Lord, thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. There is here a reminder both of the fact that they were a peculiar people to the Lord and that a typical part of His redemptive work had been accomplished in delivering them out of their position as slaves.

NET Bible®                             The Lord spoke face to face with you at the mountain, from the middle of the fire. (I was standing between the Lord and you at that time to reveal to you the message [Or "word" (so KJV, NASB, NIV); NRSV "words."] of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.) He said:

The Ten Commandments

"I am the Lord your God, he who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery. V. 6 is included for context.

The Voice                               The Eternal tried to talk to you directly at that mountain from inside the fire that rose up into the sky. But you were afraid of the fire and wouldn't go up the mountain, so I stood between you and the Eternal and told you what He was saying.

Eternal One (speaking to the people of Israel through Moses): I am the Eternal. I am your True God. I led you out of Egypt where you were slaves. V. 6 is included for context.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    Face to face Yahweh spoke with you at the mount from the midst of the fire (I was standing between Yahweh and you at that time, to tell you the word of Yahweh, for you were fearful because of the presence of the fire and did not ascend onto the mountain), saying.

Context Group Version          YHWH spoke with you { pl } face to face in the mountain out of the midst of the fire, ( I stood between YHWH and you { pl } at that time, to show you { pl } the word of YHWH: for you { pl } were afraid because of the fire, and didn't go up into the mountain; ) saying, I am YHWH your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves. V. 6 is included for context.

Darby Translation                  Face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire Jehovah spoke with you (I stood between Jehovah and you at that time, to declare to you the word of Jehovah; for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up to the mountain), saying, I am Jehovah thy God who have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. V. 6 is included for context.

Emphasized Bible                  Face to face, spake Yahweh with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire, (I was standing between Yahweh and you, at that time, to declare unto you the word of Yahweh,—for ye shrank with fear from the presence of the fire, and went not up in the mount) saying:—...

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the fire. And I stood between the Lord and you the same time, to show you the saying of the Lord. For you were afraid of the fire and therefore went not up into the mount and he said. I am the Lord your God which brought you out of the land of Egypt the house of bondage. V. 6 is included for context.

NASB                                     The Lord spoke to you face to face at the mountain from the midst of the fire, while I was standing between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain. He said [Lit saying],

`I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery [Lit slaves]. V. 6 is included for context.

New King James Version       The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said:

`I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. V. 6 is included for context.

Updated Bible Version 2.11   Yahweh spoke with you+ face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, (I stood between Yahweh and you+ at that time, to show you+ the word of Yahweh: for you+ were afraid because of the fire, and didn't go up into the mount;) saying,...

Webster’s Bible Translation  The LORD talked with you face to face on the mount, from the midst of the fire, (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to show you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up upon the mount;) saying, I [am] the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. V. 6 is included for context.

Young’s Updated LT             Face to face has Jehovah spoken with you, in the mount, out of the midst of the fire; I am standing between Jehovah and you, at that time, to declare to you the word of Jehovah, for you [all] have been afraid from the presence of the fire, and you [all] have not gone up into the mount; saying:...

The gist of this verse: 

Translation: Y^ehowah spoke face to face with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire... The events are not completely clear, but they seem to be as follows: God gave the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel so that they could hear His voice. However, because of the fire and the foreboding clouds, they were frightened, and it does not appear that they heard all of the Ten Commandments. They were so frightened by the circumstances, that they knew God was speaking to them, but they did not really want that. There seems to be a lot of cowering involved here on the part of the people of Israel.

Moses does not often differentiate between the two generations, but there are two generations of Israelites who came into the land: Gen X were those who were 20 and older when they left Egypt. They had been slaves in Egypt; and God did some tremendous miracles before them. However, even though they believed in the God of Abraham, they were not willing to let their faith take them any further than that. As a result, they heard the Ten Commandments (which is what Moses is speaking of here); they heard the Law of God, as Moses declared to them, but they were negative to it. The complained while in the desert, they rejected the demands of God, and God eventually killed them—and that generation died in the desert, never to enter the Land of Promise. This is what happened for the 40 years that Moses was in the desert with the people. He was not leading them about trying to figure out how to go from point A to point B. He was being guided by God; and periodically, God would wipe out large portions of that generation.

The generation which followed them—the people to whom Moses is speaking to in Deuteronomy—is the generation of promise. They were under 20 years old when leaving Egypt or they were born while the sons of Israel were in the desert. This people will go into the land under Joshua and they will conquer it. They are the generation of promise.

Most of the time, Moses does not distinguish between these two groups of Israelites; but they are very different generations.

Translation: ...[while] I stood between you and Y^ehowah at that time,... So, God is speaking from the mountain, and there is fire, and they are covered with a thick darkness, but the fire from the mountain.

Translation: ...to make known to you the declaration of Y^ehowah,... The people did not want to hear the voice of God. They were afraid of Him. They asked for Moses to be the mediator between them. They asked for him to tell them what God was saying.

Translation: ...for you were afraid because of the fire,... Moses told the people what God was saying, because they were filled with fear. When a person is afraid, they cannot think; they cannot reason; they cannot process new information. Everything about hearing God’s voice frightened them.

Translation: ...and you did not go up the mountain. Moses would go up the mountain. Moses would somehow record the Word of God and come back down and communicate it to the people. They were filled with fear and would not go up that mountain.

Translation: He said [the following]:... These are God’s words. God originally spoke these words to all of the people of Israel. Whether He repeated them or not to Moses is not clear to me. However, Moses heard these words and he remembered them. Furthermore, God wrote these words in stone with His finger.

——————————

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        I [am] Y^ehowah your Elohim, Who brought you out of a land of Egypt out from a house of bondage. [There] is not to you elohim others upon My faces.

Targum of Onkelos                Sons of Israel, My people, I am the Lord your God, who made and led you out free from the land of Mizraim, from the house of the bondage of slaves. Sons of Israel, My people, no other god shall you have beside Me.

Latin Vulgate                          I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange gods in my sight.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods besides me.

Septuagint (Greek)                I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             I am the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the prison-house.

You are to have no other gods but me.

Easy English                          "I am the LORD your God. I brought you out of Egypt, the country where you were slaves.

You will have no other gods except Me.

Easy-to-Read Version            I am the Lord your God. I led you out of Egypt where you were slaves. {So you must obey these commands:}

“You must not worship any other gods except me.

Good News Bible (TEV)         'I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves.

" 'Worship no god but me.

The Message                         I am God, your God,

who brought you out of the land of Egypt,

out of a house of slaves.

No other gods, only me.

Names of God Bible               "I am Yahweh your Elohim, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt.

"Never have any other gods.

NIRV                                      The Lord said,

"I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt. That is the land where you were slaves.

"Do not put any other gods in place of me. A portion of v. 5 is included for context.

New Simplified Bible              »‘I am Jehovah your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

»‘Do not have any other god but me.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       I am the LORD your God, the one who brought you out of Egypt where you were slaves. Do not worship any god except me.

New Century Version             "I am the Lord your God; I brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.

"You must not have any other gods except me.

New Life Version                    'I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house where you were servants. 'Have no other gods except Me.

New Living Translation           "I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

"You must not have any other god but me.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          'I am Jehovah your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of slavery. So you must have no gods other than Me.

Beck’s American Translation “ ‘I the LORD am your God.’ He said, ‘who took you out of Egypt, where you were slaves. Don’t have any other gods besides Me.

International Standard V        א [5:6-21 The Heb. letters to the left denote numbers 1-10]

“‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt—from the house of slavery [Lit. slaves].

ב

“‘You are to have no other gods besides me.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       And thus he spoke: I am the Lord thy God, it was I who rescued thee from the land of Egypt, where thou didst dwell in slavery. Thou shalt not defy me by making other gods thy own.

Today’s NIV                          "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt [S Ex 13:3 ; S 29:46], out of the land of slavery [Lev 26:1 ; Dt 6:4 ; Ps 81:10]. "You shall have no other gods before [Or "besides"] me.

Translation for Translators     `I am Yahweh your God, the one you worship. I am the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt. I am the one who freed you from being slaves there.

You must worship only me; you must not worship any other god.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      "I, Yahweh your God, proceeded you from the servant's house in the land of Egypt." Have no other gods for you toward my face.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                I. " I am your Ever-living God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, - from the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods in My place.

NIV – UK                                `I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

`You shall have no other gods before [Or besides] me.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

The Heritage Bible                 I am Jehovah, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude. There shall not be other gods to you before my face.

New American Bible (2002)   'I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me.

New American Bible (2011)   The Decalogue.

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. [5:6] Ex 20:2; Ps 81:11.

You shall not have other gods beside me. [5:7-10] Dt 4:23-24, 31; 6:4-5; 7:9-10; 12:2-13:18; 17:3; 18:20; 24:16; 27:15; Ex 20:3-6; 34:6-7, 14; Lv 26:1; Nm 14:18; Ps 81:10; 97:7; Jer 7:9; 31:29-30; 32:18-19; Ez 18:1-24. [5:6-21] Ex 20:2-17.

New Jerusalem Bible             ' "I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the place of slave-labour.

' "You will have no gods other than me.

New RSV                               I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before [Or besides] me.

Revised English Bible            I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of that land where you lived as slaves. You must have no other gods beside me.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

exeGeses companion Bible   ...- Yah Veh your Elohim,

who brought you from the land of Misrayim,

from the house of servants.

Have no other elohim in front of me.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               I the Lord am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: You shall have no other gods beside Me.

Judaica Press Complete T.    "I am the Lord your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall not have the gods of others in My presence.

Kaplan Translation                          [God then] declared [the Ten Commandments [Given earlier in Deuteronomy 20:2-14.]].

The First Two Commandments

I am God your Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, from the place of slavery.

Do not have any other gods before Me. A portion of v. 5 is included for context.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           I am Hashem Eloheicha, Which brought thee out of Eretz Mitzrayim, from the bais vadim. Thou shalt have no elohim acharim before Me.

Restored Names Version       'I am Yahuwah your Eloah who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of slaves. You will have no other Elohim before Me.

The Scriptures 1998              ‘I am יהוה your Elohim who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of bondage.

‘You have no other mighty ones against My face.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Expanded Bible              "I am the Lord your God; I brought you out of the land of Egypt ·where you were slaves [^Lfrom the house of bondage].

"You must not have any other gods ·except [or before] me.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    I am the Lord, thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. There is here a reminder both of the fact that they were a peculiar people to the Lord and that a typical part of His redemptive work had been accomplished in delivering them out of their position as slaves. Thou shalt have none other gods before Me, either over and above Him, or by His side, or beneath Him, as subordinate gods; He is the one and only God.

NET Bible®                             The Ten Commandments

"I am the Lord your God, he who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery. You must not have any other gods [Heb "there must not be for you other gods." The expression "for you" indicates possession.] besides me.

The Voice                               Eternal One (speaking to the people of Israel through Moses): I am the Eternal. I am your True God. I led you out of Egypt where you were slaves.

You are to worship no other gods before me-My presence is enough.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    I, Yahweh, am your Elohim Who brought you forth from the country of Egypt, from the house of servants.

You shall not come to have other elohim in preference to Me.

Context Group Version          I am YHWH your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves.

You shall have no other gods before me.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           I am the Lord your God which brought you out of the land of Egypt the house of bondage.

You shall have therefore none other gods in my presence.

New European Version          I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You must have no other gods before Me.

New King James Version       `I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery [Lit slaves].

`You shall have no other gods before [Or besides] Me.

Updated Bible Version 2.11   I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves.

You will have no other gods before me.

Webster’s Bible Translation  I [am] the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Young’s Updated LT             “I Jehovah am your God, who has brought you out from the land of Egypt, from a house of servants. You have no other gods in My presence.

The gist of this verse: 

Translation: I [am] Y^ehowah your Elohim, Who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out [and away] from a house of slavery. God identifies Himself to this people. He is their God. He led them out of Egypt. He led them out of slavery. They called upon God, begging Him to remove their chains, and God came to them and did this.

There is an oddity here in this text. When the relative pronoun is used, often the verb associated with it is a 3^rd person masculine singular. Here, according to Owens, it is the 1^st person singular. I don’t have all my resources with me to check this for myself. If this is the 1^st person singular, then the relative pronoun is unnecessary. It would read, instead, I am Y^ehowah your Elohim; I brought you out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of slavery.

Translation: You will not have other gods [= elohim] before Me. These people are to have no gods in front of their God; they are to have no gods in addition to Him; they are to have no gods who are before Him.

The NET Bible: Heb “upon my face,” or “before me” (עַל־פָּנָיַ, ’al-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.

Exclusivity is a theme throughout Scripture. At no time is the God of the Jews said to be identical to the God of Moab. At no time does Jesus say, “You worship your Greek gods? You have done well.” God is very specific; God is very God.

With this, we also set up the general formula for the commandments—the negation followed by the imperfect of the verb which is not supposed to be done. They Ten Commandments do not use imperatives. However, the sense of the negative + the imperfect is like that of an imperative.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        You will not make for yourself a graven image, anything of a likeness which [is] in the [two] heavens above and which [is] in the earth below and which [is] in the waters under the earth. You will not bow down to them and you will not be caused to serve them, for I Y^ehowah your Elohim[am] a God [= ʾÊl] jealous, visiting iniquity of fathers upon sons and upon thirds and upon fourths to those hating Me; and producing grace to thousands to those loving Me and to those keeping My commandments.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   “You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them—for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the parents on the children, to the third and fourth generation of those who reject Me, showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Targum of Onkelos                You shall not make to you an image or the likeness of anything which is in the heavens above, or in the earth below, or in the waters under the earth: thou shalt not worship them or do service before them; for I am the Lord your God, a jealous and avenging God, taking vengeance in jealousy; remembering the sins of wicked fathers upon rebellious children to the third genera-tion and to the fourth of them that hate Me, when the children complete to sin after their fathers; but keeping mercy and bounty for a thousand generations of the righteous who love Me and keep My mandates and My laws.

Latin Vulgate                          Thou shalt not make to thy self a graven thing, nor the likeness of any things, that are in heaven above, or that are in the earth beneath, or that abide in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them, and thou shalt not serve them. For I am the Lord thy God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon their children unto the third and fourth generation, to them that hate me, And shewing mercy unto many thousands, to them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    You shall not make for yourself any graven image 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; You shall not worship them, nor serve them; for I the LORD your God am a zealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, But showing mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Septuagint (Greek)                You shall not make to yourself an image, nor likeness of anything, whatever things are in the heaven above, and whatever are in the earth below, and whatever are in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor shall you serve them; for I am the Lord your God, a jealous God, visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation to them that hate Me, and doing mercifully to thousands of them that love Me, and that keep My commandments.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             You may not make for yourselves an image in the form of anything in heaven or on earth or in the waters under the earth: You may not go down on your faces before them or give them worship: for I, the Lord your God, am a God who will not give his honour to another; and I will send punishment on the children for the wrongdoing of their fathers, to the third and fourth generation of my haters; And I will have mercy through a thousand generations on those who have love for me and keep my laws.

Easy English                          You will not make a false god for yourself. Do not make the shape of anything that is in the sky above nor on the earth beneath. Do not make the shape of anything that lives in the water. You must not bend down to them or obey them. I, the LORD your God, love you with a powerful love. I cannot let you love any other god. I punish children because of the bad things that their fathers have done. I do this to the grandchildren and to their children of everyone who hates me. But I show my love to thousands (1000s) of families who love me. These families will obey me.

Easy-to-Read Version            “You must not make any idols [Statues of false gods that people worshiped.]. Don’t make any statues or pictures of anything up in the sky or of anything on the earth or of anything down in the water. Don’t worship or serve idols of any kind. Why? Because I am the Lord your God. I hate for my people to worship other gods [Or, "I am El Kanah--the Jealous God."]. People who sin against me become my enemies. And I will punish those people. And I will punish their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren. But I will be very kind to people who love me and obey my commands. I will be kind to their families for thousands of generations [Or, "I will show mercy to thousands of people who love me and obey my commandments."]!

The Message                         No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don't bow down to them and don't serve them because I am God, your God, and I'm a most jealous God. I hold parents responsible for any sins they pass on to their children to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation. But I'm lovingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keep my commandments.

Names of God Bible               "Never have any other gods. Never make your own carved idols or statues that represent any creature in the sky, on the earth, or in the water. Never worship them or serve them, because I, Yahweh your Elohim, am El Kanna. I punish children for their parents' sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. But I show mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my commandments. V. 7 is included for context.

NIRV                                      "Do not make statues of gods that look like anything in the sky or on the earth or in the waters. Do not bow down to them or worship them. I am the Lord your God. I want you to worship only me. I cause the sins of the parents to affect their children. I will cause the sins of those who hate me to affect even their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But for all time to come I show love to all those who love me and keep my commandments.

New Simplified Bible              »‘Do not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above, or on the earth below, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:

»‘Do not bow down to them. Do not serve them! For I Jehovah your God am a totally demanding zealous God. I require exclusive devotion and punish the fathers and children who hate me to the third and fourth generation.

»‘I show loving kindness to thousands of generations who love me and obey my commandments.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Do not make an idol for yourself-no form whatsoever-of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow down to them or worship them because I, the Lord your God, am a passionate God. I punish children for their parents' sins-even to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. But I am loyal and gracious to the thousandth generation [Or to thousands] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Contemporary English V.       Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. Don't bow down and worship idols. I am the LORD your God, and I demand all your love. If you reject me and worship idols, I will punish your families for three or four generations. But if you love me and obey my laws, I will be kind to your families for thousands of generations.

The Living Bible                     "`Never make idols; don't worship images, whether of birds, animals, or fish. You shall not bow down to any images nor worship them in any way, for I am the Lord your God. I am a jealous God, and I will bring the curse of a father's sins upon even the third and fourth generation of the children of those who hate me; but I will show kindness to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

New Berkeley Version           You shall not make for yourself an image or the likeness of anything in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters lower than the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am God who brooks no rival, bringing home to the children the iniquities of their fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, and bestowing loving kindness on thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

New Century Version             "You must not make for yourselves any idols or anything to worship that looks like something in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land. You must not worship or serve any idol, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. If people sin against me and hate me, I will punish their children, even their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But I will be very kind for a thousand lifetimes to those who love me and obey my commands.

New Life Version                    'Do not make a false god for yourselves, or anything that is like what is in heaven above or on the earth below or in the water under the earth. Do not bow down to them or serve them. I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I punish the children, the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren for the sins of their fathers who hate Me. But I show loving-kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Laws.

New Living Translation           "You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected-even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those [Hebrew for thousands of those] who love me and obey my commands.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          'You must not make images for yourselves of anything in the skies above, on the ground below, or of things that live in the water under the ground. You must not bow before them or serve them, for I (Jehovah your God) am a zealous God, and I bring the sins of the ancestors upon the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of those who hate Me, while I am merciful to the thousands who love Me and keep My Commandments.

Beck’s American Translation Don’t make an idol for yourself or any likeness of anything in heaven above, on the earth below, or in the water below ground level. Don’t worship them or serve them, because I the LORD your God am a jealous God; for their fathers’ sins I punish children, if they hate Me too, to the third and fourth generation, but if they love Me and do what I order, I am kind to them to the thousandth generation.”

International Standard V        ב

“‘You are to have no other gods besides me “You are not to make for yourselves a carved image resembling any form in the heavens above, on earth below, or in the waters under the earth. You are not to bow down to them in worship or serve them, because I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children [Or sons] for the iniquity of their parents [Or fathers] to the third and fourth generations [So LXX. The Heb. lacks generations] of those who hate me, but showing gracious love to the thousandth [Lit. to the thousands] generation [The Heb. lacks generation] of those who love me and keep my [So LXX. Lit. his; cf. Exod 20:6] commandments.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Thou shalt not carve thyself images, or fashion the likeness of anything in heaven above, or on earth beneath, or in the waters at the roots of earth, to bow down and worship it. I, thy God, the Lord Almighty, am jealous in my love; be my enemy, and thy children, to the third and fourth generation, shall make amends; love me, keep my commandments, and mercy shall be thine a thousand-fold.

Translation for Translators              You must not carve/make for yourselves any idol that represents anything in the sky or anything that is on the ground or anything that is in the water under the ground/earth.

You must not bow down to any idol and worship it, because I am Yahweh God, and I ◂am very jealous/want you to worship me only►. I punish those who sin and hate me. I punish not only them, but I will punish ◂their descendants, down to the third and fourth generation/their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren►. But I will steadfastly love ◂thousands of generations/all the descendants► of those who love me and obey my commandments (OR, I will love for thousands of generations).

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):