Deuteronomy 1 2 3a 3b 4 5 6 7a 7b 8 9 10 11a 11b 12 13 14 15 16a 16b 17 18 19 20 21a 21b 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29a 29b 30 31 32 33 34
30:1 VE HAYAH CHI YAVO'U ALEYCHA KOL HA DEVARIM HA ELEH HA BERACHAH VE HA KALELAH ASHER NATATI LEPHANEYCHA VA HASHEVOTA EL LEVAVECHA BE CHOL HA GOYIM ASHER HIDICHACHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA SHAMAH
וְהָיָה כִי יָבֹאוּ עָלֶיךָ כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה הַבְּרָכָה וְהַקְּלָלָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ אֶל לְבָבֶךָ בְּכָל הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר הִדִּיחֲךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ שָׁמָּה
BN (BibleNet translation): And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind wherever you are among the nations, to whose lands YHVH your god has driven you...
HASHEVOTA EL LEVAVECHA: Echoes of the Shema. And again, indeed even more so, with its repetition followed by U VE CHOL NAPHSHECHA in the next verse; though note that, yet again, the third phrase, VE CHOL ME'ODECHA, never gets repeated outside the Shema itself.
30:2 VE SHAVTA AD YHVH ELOHEYCHA VE SHAMATA VE KOLO KE CHOL ASHER ANOCHI METSAV'CHA HAYOM ATAH U VANEYCHA BE CHOL LEVAVECH U VE CHOL NAPHSHECHA
וְשַׁבְתָּ עַד יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְשָׁמַעְתָּ בְקֹלוֹ כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם אַתָּה וּבָנֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשֶׁךָ
KJ: And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
BN: And you shall return to YHVH your god, and hearken to his voice according to all that I am instructing you today, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul...
30:3 VE SHAV YHVH ELOHEYCHA ET SHEVUT'CHA VE RICHAMECHA VE SHAV VE KIBETS'CHA MI KOL HA AMIM ASHER HEPHITS'CHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA SHAMAH
וְשָׁב יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת שְׁבוּתְךָ וְרִחֲמֶךָ וְשָׁב וְקִבֶּצְךָ מִכָּל הָעַמִּים אֲשֶׁר הֱפִיצְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ שָׁמָּה
BN: So that YHVH your god will turn around your captivity, and have compassion on you, and return and gather you from among the nations in whose lands YHVH your god has scattered you.
30:4 IM YIHEYEH NIDACHACHA BI KETSEH HA SHAMAYIM MI SHAM YEKABETS'CHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA U MI SHAM YIKACHECHA
אִם יִהְיֶה נִדַּחֲךָ בִּקְצֵה הַשָּׁמָיִם מִשָּׁם יְקַבֶּצְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וּמִשָּׁם יִקָּחֶךָ
BN: If any of yours who are dispersed be in the uttermost parts of the heavens, even from there YHVH your god will gather you, and from there he will fetch you.
So apparently divine law will still apply, even after we begin colonising the moon and Mars.
30:5 VE HEVIY'ACHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA EL HA ARETS ASHER YARSHU AVOTEYCHA VIYRISHTAH VE HEYTIVCHA VE HIRBECHA ME AVOTEYCHA
וֶהֱבִיאֲךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יָרְשׁוּ אֲבֹתֶיךָ וִירִשְׁתָּהּ וְהֵיטִבְךָ וְהִרְבְּךָ מֵאֲבֹתֶיךָ
BN: And YHVH your god will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and he will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers.
Once again it has to be stated: Mosheh cannot possibly have made such a speech. Paraphrased it reads: "in the coming days you will be crossing over the Jordan, where it will take serious military action, and much killing, before you are finally able to possess most but never all of this land. As to the people who live there now, either you will have to wipe them out, and-or enslave them, but even so they will never accept you, and eventually you will be destroyed by them, driven out by them and you will spend a very long time suffering the same fate among the nations. Until eventually you are given a second chance, and you will fail again, because you are a third-rate, mediocre people. But if you passively obey the instructions I am giving you..."
30:6 U MAL YHVH ELOHEYCHA ET LEVAVECHA VE ET LEVAV ZARECHA LE AHAVAH ET YHVH ELOHEYCHA BE CHOL LEVAVECHA U VE CHOL NAPHSHECHA LEMA'AN CHAYEYCHA
וּמָל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת לְבָבְךָ וְאֶת לְבַב זַרְעֶךָ לְאַהֲבָה אֶת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ לְמַעַן חַיֶּיךָ
BN: And YHVH your god will circumcise your heart, and the hearts of your descendants, to love YHVH your god with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.
Again echoing the Shema; again leaving out VE CHOL ME'ODECHA.
30:7 VE NATAN YHVH ELOHEYCHA ET KOL HA ALOT HA ELEH AL OYEVEYCHA VE AL SONEYCHA ASHER REDAPHUN
וְנָתַן יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֵת כָּל הָאָלוֹת הָאֵלֶּה עַל אֹיְבֶיךָ וְעַל שֹׂנְאֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר רְדָפוּךָ
BN: And YHVH your god will put all these curses on your enemies, and on those who hate you, and who have persecuted you.
REDAPHUN: LIRDOPH is sometimes translated as "to pursue", but here as "to persecute", which is actually the same meaning, and probably from the same Latin root, just more intense.
30:8 VE ATAH TASHUV VE SHAMATA BE KOL YHVH VE ASITA ET KOL MITSVOTAV ASHER ANOCHI METSAV'CHA HAYOM
וְאַתָּה תָשׁוּב וְשָׁמַעְתָּ בְּקוֹל יְהוָה וְעָשִׂיתָ אֶת כָּל מִצְוֹתָיו אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם
KJ: And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
BN: And you shall return and hearken to the voice of YHVH, and carry out all his instructions which I am giving you today.
TASHUV: The concept of Ba'al Teshuvah is implicit here, the return to the political homeland paralleled in the return to the spiritual one.
30:9 VE HOTIR'CHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA BE CHOL MA'ASEH YADECHA BI PHERI VITNECHA U VI PHERI VEHEMTECHA U VI PHERI ADMAT'CHA LE TOVAH KI YASHUV YHVH LASUS ALEYCHA LE TOV KA ASHER SAS AL AVOTEYCHA
KJ: And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:
BN: And YHVH your god will make you over-abundant in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, for good; for YHVH will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers.
30:8 VE ATAH TASHUV VE SHAMATA BE KOL YHVH VE ASITA ET KOL MITSVOTAV ASHER ANOCHI METSAV'CHA HAYOM
וְאַתָּה תָשׁוּב וְשָׁמַעְתָּ בְּקוֹל יְהוָה וְעָשִׂיתָ אֶת כָּל מִצְוֹתָיו אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם
BN: And you shall return and hearken to the voice of YHVH, and carry out all his instructions which I am giving you today.
TASHUV: The concept of Ba'al Teshuvah is implicit here, the return to the political homeland paralleled in the return to the spiritual one.
30:9 VE HOTIR'CHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA BE CHOL MA'ASEH YADECHA BI PHERI VITNECHA U VI PHERI VEHEMTECHA U VI PHERI ADMAT'CHA LE TOVAH KI YASHUV YHVH LASUS ALEYCHA LE TOV KA ASHER SAS AL AVOTEYCHA
וְהוֹתִירְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכֹל מַעֲשֵׂה יָדֶךָ בִּפְרִי בִטְנְךָ וּבִפְרִי בְהֶמְתְּךָ וּבִפְרִי אַדְמָתְךָ לְטֹבָה כִּי יָשׁוּב יְהוָה לָשׂוּשׂ עָלֶיךָ לְטוֹב כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׂשׂ עַל אֲבֹתֶיךָ
BN: And YHVH your god will make you over-abundant in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, for good; for YHVH will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers.
HOTIR'CHA: See my note to Deuteronomy 28:11.
30:10 KI TISHMA BE KOL YHVH ELOHEYCHA LISHMOR MITSVOTAV VE CHUKOTAV HA KETUVAH BE SEPHER HA TORAH HA ZEH KI TASHUV EL YHVH ELOHEYCHA BE CHOL LEVAVECHA U VE CHOL NAPHSHECHA
כִּי תִשְׁמַע בְּקוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לִשְׁמֹר מִצְוֹתָיו וְחֻקֹּתָיו הַכְּתוּבָה בְּסֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה כִּי תָשׁוּב אֶל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשֶׁךָ
KJ: If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
BN: If you will indeed hearken to the voice of YHVH your god, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this scroll of the law; if you return to YHVH your god with all your heart, and with all your soul.
TASHUV: Not "turn" but "return"; see my note to verse 8.
KETUVAH: As previously, this should be KETUVOT in the plural.
And still the third phrase of the Shema is not restated: U VE CHOL ME'ODECHA - "all your might".
samech break
30:11 KI HA MITSVAH HA ZOT ASHER ANOCHI METSAV'CHA HAYOM LO NIPHLET HI MIM'CHA VE LO RECHOKAH HI
כִּי הַמִּצְוָה הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם לֹא נִפְלֵאת הִוא מִמְּךָ וְלֹא רְחֹקָה הִוא
BN: For this instruction which I am giving you today, it is not too hard for you, neither is it far off.
This should really be in the plural, but like Torah it is treated as a singular. And perhaps it would simplify matters if we were to translate HA MITZVOT as "The Commandments", but HA MITZVAH as "The Constitution".
30:12 LO VA SHAMAYIM HI LEMOR MI YA'ALEH LANU HASHAMAYIMAH VE YIKACHEYHA LANU VA YASHMI'EYNU OTAH VE NA'ASEH
לֹא בַשָּׁמַיִם הִוא לֵאמֹר מִי יַעֲלֶה לָּנוּ הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וְיִקָּחֶהָ לָּנוּ וְיַשְׁמִעֵנוּ אֹתָהּ וְנַעֲשֶׂנָּה
KJ: It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
BN: It does not come from the heavens if you say: Who shall go up for us to the heavens, and bring it to us, and make us hear it, that we may do it?
LO VA SHAMAYIM: Hugely important statement: the knowledge of how to live a full and meaningful life is not something that can be brought down "from the heavens", let alone found "in Heaven", which most translators ideologically-theologically impose: individual responsibility, albeit within the given laws. And the confirmation of this lies in each of the following two verses, the first paralleling what is merely geographical, the second defining the locations of the abstract-metaphysical. Really this should be translated as "from the skies", so that the ambiguity of "heaven/heavens" is removed entirely.
30:13 VE LO MEY EVER LA YAM HI LEMOR MI YA'AVAR LANU EL EVER HA YAM VE YIKACHEYHA LANU VA YASHMI'EYNU OTAH VE NA'ASEH
וְלֹא מֵעֵבֶר לַיָּם הִוא לֵאמֹר מִי יַעֲבָר לָנוּ אֶל עֵבֶר הַיָּם וְיִקָּחֶהָ לָּנוּ וְיַשְׁמִעֵנוּ אֹתָהּ וְנַעֲשֶׂנָּה
BN: Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say: Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, and make us hear it, that we may do it?
30:14 KI KAROV ELEYCHA HA DAVAR ME'OD BE PHICHA U VI LEVAVECHA LA'ASOTO
כִּי קָרוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָּבָר מְאֹד בְּפִיךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ לַעֲשֹׂתוֹ
KJ: But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
BN: But the word is very close to you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may do it.
And actually even closer than "close", but English does not have a word equivalent to KAROV, which means "near", but also "relatives", as in family members, and thence your own body-members. But relatives in English are only relatively near, as Einstein might phrase it. Where your heart and mond and body-members are much closer than that. Integral and intrinsic indeed.
samech break
30:15 RE'EH NATATI LEPHANEYCHA HAYOM ET HA CHAYIM VE ET HA TOV VE ET HA MAVET VE ET HA RA
רְאֵה נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַיּוֹם אֶת הַחַיִּים וְאֶת הַטּוֹב וְאֶת הַמָּוֶת וְאֶת הָרָע
BN: See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil...
Which appears to infer "free will" and "free choice", but it has been so deeply prepared with threats that a believer no longer has anything resembling these two humanistic idealisms. "Take it or leave it" is closer.
30:16 ASHER ANOCHI METSAV'CHA HAYOM LE AHAVAH ET YHVH ELOHEYCHA LALECHET BI DERACHAV VE LISHMOR MITSVOTAV VE CHUKOTAV U MISHPATAV VE HAYITAH VE RAVITA U VERACHECHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA BA ARETS ASHER ATAH VA SHAMAH LERISHTAH
אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם לְאַהֲבָה אֶת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לָלֶכֶת בִּדְרָכָיו וְלִשְׁמֹר מִצְוֹתָיו וְחֻקֹּתָיו וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו וְחָיִיתָ וְרָבִיתָ וּבֵרַכְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה בָא שָׁמָּה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ
BN: In that I instruct you this day to love YHVH your god, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances; then you shall live and multiply, and YHVH your god shall bless you in the land to which you are going, to take possession of it.
LE'AHAVAH: Love, not fear. I have commented on several occasions that the Shema opens with love, but all of Mosheh's statements after that insist on fear.
METSAVCHA: I have not commented on this since early in the Book of Exodus, but it is appropriate to do so now, as we approach the end of the Torah. MITSVAH is traditionally rendered as "commandment", both the Ten and the 613, and the Tseva is the military, where orders are orders. So we are given "commandments", and it really doesn't matter if they are in our hearts, or our souls, or our minds, whether they come from the heavens or beyond the seas, so long as we are carrying them out, on pain of court martial. "Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die" et cetera.
BUT...
The Book in which all these "orders" are recorded is not called the Sepher Mitsvot, but the Sepher Torah, and Torah comes from the root OR, meaning "light", whence "enlightenment", whence MOREH for a teacher, or MORAH in the feminine: "The Book of Enlightenment". But that throws everything back on the human individual, bestowing intellectual autonomy and free will, the capacity to refuse bad orders. Mid-way between the two then: "instruction". But mid-way is ambiguous, because it tells us to passively obey, while also telling us to think for ourselves. Just as it cannot be both love and fear.
30:17 VE IM YIPHNEH LEVAVECHA VE LO TISHMA VE NIDACHTA VE HISHTACHAVITA LE ELOHIM ACHERIM VA AVADETAM
וְאִם יִפְנֶה לְבָבְךָ וְלֹא תִשְׁמָע וְנִדַּחְתָּ וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתָ לֵאלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וַעֲבַדְתָּם
KJ: But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
BN: But if your heart turns away, and you will not pay heed, but beome distracted, and worship other gods, and serve them...
30:18 HIGADETI LACHEM HAYOM KI AVOD TOVEDUN LO TA'ARICHUN YAMIM AL HA ADAMAH ASHER ATAH OVER ET HA YARDEN LAVO SHAMAH LERISHTAH
KJ: I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.
BN: I declare to you this day, that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days upon the land, to which you are crossing over the Yarden to go in to take possession of it.
Odd use of "denounce" in the KJ.
30:19 HA'IDOTI VACHEM HAYOM ET HA SHAMAYIM VE ET HA ARETS HA CHAYIM VE HA MAVET NATATI LEPHANEYCHA HA BERACHAH VE HA KELALAH U VACHARTA BA CHAYIM LEMA'AN TICHEYEH ATAH VE ZARECHA
KJ: I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
BN: I call on the heavens and the Earth to bear witness today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your seed...
VACHARTA: The illusion of free choice now confirmed.Or is it simply a recognition of the inexorability of death? Do what I require or you will die... eventually... and see, you did, so there's the proof of it.
30:20 LE AHAVAH ET YHVH ELOHEYCHA LISHMO'A BE KOLO U LE DAVKAH-VO KI HU CHAYEYCHA VE ORECH YAMEYCHA LASHEVET AL HA ADAMAH ASHER NISHBA YHVH LA AVOTEYCHA LE AV-RAHAM LE YITSCHAK U LE YA'AKOV LATET LAHEM
KJ: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
BN: To love YHVH your god, to hearken to his voice, and to cleave to him; for that is your life, and the length of your days; that you may dwell in the land which YHVH promised to your ancestors, to Av-Raham, to Yitschak, and to Ya'akov, to give it to them.
pey break
30:17 VE IM YIPHNEH LEVAVECHA VE LO TISHMA VE NIDACHTA VE HISHTACHAVITA LE ELOHIM ACHERIM VA AVADETAM
KJ: But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
BN: But if your heart turns away, and you will not pay heed, but beome distracted, and worship other gods, and serve them...
30:18 HIGADETI LACHEM HAYOM KI AVOD TOVEDUN LO TA'ARICHUN YAMIM AL HA ADAMAH ASHER ATAH OVER ET HA YARDEN LAVO SHAMAH LERISHTAH
הִגַּדְתִּי לָכֶם הַיּוֹם כִּי אָבֹד תֹּאבֵדוּן לֹא תַאֲרִיכֻן יָמִים עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה עֹבֵר אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן לָבוֹא שָׁמָּה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ
KJ: I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.
BN: I declare to you this day, that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days upon the land, to which you are crossing over the Yarden to go in to take possession of it.
Odd use of "denounce" in the KJ.
30:19 HA'IDOTI VACHEM HAYOM ET HA SHAMAYIM VE ET HA ARETS HA CHAYIM VE HA MAVET NATATI LEPHANEYCHA HA BERACHAH VE HA KELALAH U VACHARTA BA CHAYIM LEMA'AN TICHEYEH ATAH VE ZARECHA
הַעִדֹתִי בָכֶם הַיּוֹם אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ הַחַיִּים וְהַמָּוֶת נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַבְּרָכָה וְהַקְּלָלָה וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה אַתָּה וְזַרְעֶךָ
BN: I call on the heavens and the Earth to bear witness today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your seed...
VACHARTA: The illusion of free choice now confirmed.Or is it simply a recognition of the inexorability of death? Do what I require or you will die... eventually... and see, you did, so there's the proof of it.
30:20 LE AHAVAH ET YHVH ELOHEYCHA LISHMO'A BE KOLO U LE DAVKAH-VO KI HU CHAYEYCHA VE ORECH YAMEYCHA LASHEVET AL HA ADAMAH ASHER NISHBA YHVH LA AVOTEYCHA LE AV-RAHAM LE YITSCHAK U LE YA'AKOV LATET LAHEM
לְאַהֲבָה אֶת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקֹלוֹ וּלְדָבְקָה בוֹ כִּי הוּא חַיֶּיךָ וְאֹרֶךְ יָמֶיךָ לָשֶׁבֶת עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע יְהוָה לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב לָתֵת לָהֶם
BN: To love YHVH your god, to hearken to his voice, and to cleave to him; for that is your life, and the length of your days; that you may dwell in the land which YHVH promised to your ancestors, to Av-Raham, to Yitschak, and to Ya'akov, to give it to them.
pey break
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