Deuteronomy 4:1
Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you.
Study Note
Study Note
Moses' exhortation to 'hearken to the statutes and judgments' in order to 'live and go in and possess the land' establishes the structural logic of Deuteronomy: Torah obedience is not merely commanded but is the condition of life and inheritance. The verb 'hearken' (shema) anticipates the Shema of 6:4 and signals that the listening-obeying complex is the fundamental covenant posture before the commandments are even enumerated. The promised land functions not as a reward for merit but as the covenantal space where the people's identity as YHWH's community is performed and sustained — loss of land is therefore covenant rupture, not merely military defeat. The verse opens one of Deuteronomy's great parenetic sections (4:1–40) which grounds obedience in Sinai memory rather than legal theory.
Other Translations
And now, O Israel, hearken unto the statutes and unto the ordinances, which I teach you, to do them; that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which Jehovah, the God of your fathers, giveth you.
`And now, Israel, hearken unto the statutes, and unto the judgments which I am teaching you to do, so that ye live, and have gone in, and possessed the land which Jehovah God of your fathers is giving to you.
And now give ear, O Israel, to the laws and the decisions which I am teaching you, and do them; so that life may be yours, and you may go in and take for yourselves the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Cross References
Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I …
Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the Lord.
And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you.
Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the Lord.
And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I …
These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they …
And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in …
Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and …
That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, …
All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, …