Deuteronomy 4:5

See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land that you are about to enter and possess.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab, instructing the generation about to cross the Jordan after recounting their deliverance from Egypt. He speaks as God's appointed mediator delivering divine law to a nation poised to possess the Promised Land.

The words — The Hebrew root לִמַּדְתִּי (limmadti) declares "I have taught," paired with חֻקִּים (ḥuqqim) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mišpāṭim) for statutes and ordinances. Moses frames this instruction as a direct transmission of commands received from Yahweh.

The thread — The teaching of divine commands links Deuteronomy 4:1, where Moses urges Israel to follow statutes to live, to Matthew 28:20, where Jesus commissions teaching obedience to all he commanded. Paul reinforces this pattern in 1 Thessalonians 4:1 by urging believers to live in a manner pleasing to God.

Why it lands — The text commands immediate obedience to transmitted law as the condition for possessing the promised inheritance. It requires readers to treat divine instruction as authoritative and actionable rather than theoretical.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

רְאֵ֣ה׀re.'Ehsee לִמַּ֣דְתִּיli.Mad.tiI have taught אֶתְכֶ֗ם'et./Khem<obj.>/ you חֻקִּים֙chu.Kimstatutes וּמִשְׁפָּטִ֔יםu./mish.pa.Timand/ judgments כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רka./'a.Sherjust/ as צִוַּ֖נִיtzi.Va./nihe commanded/ me יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahweh אֱלֹהָ֑י'e.lo.Ha/iGod/ my לַעֲשׂ֣וֹתla./'a.Sotto/ do כֵּ֔ןKenthus בְּקֶ֣רֶבbe./Ke.revin/ [the] midst of הָאָ֔רֶץha./'A.retzthe/ land אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhere אַתֶּ֛ם'a.Temyou בָּאִ֥יםba.'Im[are] about to go שָׁ֖מָּהSha.ma/hthere/ towards לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃le./rish.Ta/hto/ take possession of/ it

King James Version

Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.

Cross-references

Matthew 28:20 and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more.
Deuteronomy 4:1 Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Hebrews 3:5 Now Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be spoken later.
Proverbs 22:19 So that your trust may be in the LORD, I instruct you today—yes, you.
Acts 20:27 For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God.
1 Corinthians 15:3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
1 Corinthians 11:28 Each one must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.