Deuteronomy study section

Deuteronomy chapter summaries

A one-line summary of every chapter, with the period it covers. Open any chapter for the full study.

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Chapter list

Chapters 1–4

Looking Back

Moses’ first address, retracing the wilderness journey and urging wholehearted obedience.

  • Chapter 1 (c. 1406 BC): Moses reviews the journey from Horeb, the appointing of leaders, and the rebellion of the spies at Kadesh.
  • Chapter 2 (c. 1406 BC): The journey around Edom, Moab, and Ammon, and the beginning of the conquest with Sihon.
  • Chapter 3 (c. 1406 BC): The defeat of Og, the land given to the eastern tribes, and Moses forbidden to cross the Jordan.
  • Chapter 4 (c. 1406 BC): A call to obey and not forget, to make no idols, for the LORD alone is God in heaven and on earth.

Chapters 5–26

The Law Rehearsed

Moses’ second address — the Ten Commandments restated and the covenant laws expounded.

  • Chapter 5 (c. 1406 BC): Moses restates the Ten Commandments and recalls the people’s fear at Horeb.
  • Chapter 6 (c. 1406 BC): The Shema: love the LORD with all your heart, and teach His words diligently to your children.
  • Chapter 7 (c. 1406 BC): Israel is chosen not for its size but by God’s love; they must drive out the nations and shun their idols.
  • Chapter 8 (c. 1406 BC): Remember the wilderness, that man lives by God’s word, and do not forget the LORD when prosperous.
  • Chapter 9 (c. 1406 BC): The land is given not for Israel’s righteousness; Moses recalls the golden calf and his intercession.
  • Chapter 10 (c. 1406 BC): What the LORD requires: to fear, love, and serve Him, and to circumcise the heart and love the sojourner.
  • Chapter 11 (c. 1406 BC): Love and obey the LORD; the land drinks rain from heaven; a blessing and a curse are set before Israel.
  • Chapter 12 (c. 1406 BC): Worship only at the place the LORD chooses, and destroy every site of Canaanite worship.
  • Chapter 13 (c. 1406 BC): Warnings against anyone, even a prophet or family member, who entices Israel to serve other gods.
  • Chapter 14 (c. 1406 BC): Israel as God’s holy people: clean and unclean foods, and the yearly and third-year tithes.
  • Chapter 15 (c. 1406 BC): The sabbatical release of debts, the freeing of servants, and open-handed generosity to the poor.
  • Chapter 16 (c. 1406 BC): The three annual feasts, and the appointment of just judges: “Justice, justice you shall pursue.”
  • Chapter 17 (c. 1406 BC): Laws for judges, the high court, and the king, who must fear God and write out the law for himself.
  • Chapter 18 (c. 1406 BC): The provision for priests and Levites, a ban on the occult, and the promise of a prophet like Moses.
  • Chapter 19 (c. 1406 BC): Cities of refuge, the sanctity of boundaries, and the requirement of two or three witnesses.
  • Chapter 20 (c. 1406 BC): Laws of warfare, exemptions from battle, and the treatment of distant cities and the Canaanite nations.
  • Chapter 21 (c. 1406 BC): Atonement for an unsolved murder, and various laws; “cursed is everyone hanged on a tree.”
  • Chapter 22 (c. 1406 BC): Laws of neighborly duty, purity, and marriage that protect life, property, and the vulnerable.
  • Chapter 23 (c. 1406 BC): Rules for the assembly of the LORD, the holiness of the camp, and just dealings.
  • Chapter 24 (c. 1406 BC): Laws on marriage, kidnapping, pledges, and justice for the poor, the sojourner, orphan, and widow.
  • Chapter 25 (c. 1406 BC): Fair measures, levirate marriage, and the command to remember and blot out Amalek.
  • Chapter 26 (c. 1406 BC): The confession over the firstfruits and tithe: “A wandering Aramean was my father.”

Chapters 27–30

Blessings and Curses

The covenant ratified, with its blessings for obedience and curses for rebellion.

  • Chapter 27 (c. 1406 BC): The covenant to be written on stones at Mount Ebal, with the Levites pronouncing the curses.
  • Chapter 28 (c. 1406 BC): The blessings for obedience and the extended, dreadful curses for disobedience, ending in exile.
  • Chapter 29 (c. 1406 BC): The covenant renewed in Moab; the secret things belong to God, the revealed things to His people.
  • Chapter 30 (c. 1406 BC): The promise of restoration and circumcised hearts; the word is near; “choose life.”

Chapters 31–34

Moses’ Farewell

The commissioning of Joshua, the Song and blessing of Moses, and his death.

  • Chapter 31 (c. 1406 BC): Joshua is commissioned, the law is written and to be read publicly, and a song is given as a witness.
  • Chapter 32 (c. 1406 BC): The Song of Moses, celebrating God the Rock and warning of Israel’s future unfaithfulness.
  • Chapter 33 (c. 1406 BC): Moses blesses the tribes: “There is none like God... the eternal God is your dwelling place.”
  • Chapter 34 (c. 1406 BC): Moses views the land from Mount Nebo, dies at 120, and is mourned; no prophet like him has arisen.

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