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From: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9

Faithfulness to the Law: God’s Closeness to His People

(Moses said to the people:) [1] “And now, O Israel, give heed to the statutes and
the ordinances which I teach you, and do them; that you may live, and go in and
take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, gives you.
[5] Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, as the Lord my God com-
manded me, that you should do them in the land which you are entering to take
possession of it. [6] Keep them and do them; for that will be your wisdom and
your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these
statutes will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
[7] For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our
God is to us, whenever we call upon him? [8] And what great nation is there, that
has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you
this day?

The Revelation at Horeb

[9] “Only take heed, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things
which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of
your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.”

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Commentary:

4:1-8. Having recalled the main events in Israel’s journey from Sinai-Horeb on-
wards, in which God’s special providence was evident, the text now stresses the
privileged position of the Hebrew people, chosen as they are by God from among
all the nations of the earth, and enabled to draw near to him in a close relation-
ship quite beyond the experience of the Gentiles.

The passage acts as an advance exhortation to fidelity to the Law, the core of
which will be recorded later on (5:1-6; 6; 12:1-28:68); it may have been inserted
in the course of a revision of the book. The main argument it makes in favor of
keeping the Law is the fact that God is so near his people and so accessible to
them (vv. 7-8).

4:6-8. The theme of these verses is typical of Wisdom writing. The very life of
Israel, shaped as it is by obedience to the Law, will be an eloquent lesson for all
other nations. This message, open and out-reaching, implies a universal mission
for the chosen people, a message which looks far ahead and will find its fulfill-
ment in the future spread of the Church throughout the world.

4:9-14. This section concentrates on a line of teaching found throughout holy
Scripture: salvation history is based on the will of God who on his own initiative
offers a Covenant to the chosen people. The key points in this Covenant have to
do with Abraham (Gen 17:1-14) and Moses (Ex 19-24) and they culminate in the
future New Covenant in Jesus Christ (Mt 26:28; Mk 14:24; Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25).
The promulgation of the Law on Sinai-Horeb is a product of the Covenant: God
promises the people of Israel protection, a land of their own, etc. Because a co-
venant or pact is involved, certain things are laid down that the people must do:
these are contained in the precepts of the Law. God will be true to the promises
he makes, but the people never decide whether to be faithful or unfaithful. Accor-
ding to this passage the Law consists in the Ten Commandments (v. 13).

On the events of Baal-Peor, cf. Num 25:1-18.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 5
17.	Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.	Nolite putare quoniam veni solvere legem, aut prophetas : non veni solvere, sed adimplere.	μη νομισητε οτι ηλθον καταλυσαι τον νομον η τους προφητας ουκ ηλθον καταλυσαι αλλα πληρωσαι
18.	For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled.	Amen quippe dico vobis, donec transeat cælum et terra, jota unum aut unus apex non præteribit a lege, donec omnia fiant.	αμην γαρ λεγω υμιν εως αν παρελθη ο ουρανος και η γη ιωτα εν η μια κεραια ου μη παρελθη απο του νομου εως αν παντα γενηται
19.	He therefore that shall break one of these least commandments, and shall so teach men, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.	Qui ergo solverit unum de mandatis istis minimis, et docuerit sic homines, minimus vocabitur in regno cælorum : qui autem fecerit et docuerit, hic magnus vocabitur in regno cælorum.	ος εαν ουν λυση μιαν των εντολων τουτων των ελαχιστων και διδαξη ουτως τους ανθρωπους ελαχιστος κληθησεται εν τη βασιλεια των ουρανων ος δ αν ποιηση και διδαξη ουτος μεγας κληθησεται εν τη βασιλεια των ουρανων