38. When you moved forward, he forced out nations that were greater and more powerful than you. And he led you into their land. He gave you their land to live in, as he is still doing today.
39. “So today you must remember and accept that the Lord is God. He is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other god!
40. And you must obey his laws and commands that I give you today. Then everything will go well with you and your children who live after you. And you will live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving you—it will be yours forever.”
41. Then Moses chose three cities on the east side of the Jordan River.
42. Any person who killed someone by accident and not out of hate could run away to one of these three cities and not be put to death.
43. The three cities that Moses chose were Bezer in the high plains for the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead for the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan for the tribe of Manasseh.
44. Moses gave God’s law to the Israelites.
45. Moses gave these teachings, laws, and rules to the people after they came out of Egypt.
46. He gave them these laws while they were on the east side of the Jordan River, in the valley across from Beth Peor. They were in the land of Sihon, the Amorite king who lived at Heshbon. Moses and the Israelites had defeated Sihon when they came out of Egypt.
47. They took Sihon’s land to keep. They also took the land of King Og of Bashan. These two Amorite kings lived on the east side of the Jordan River.
48. This land goes from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley all the way to Mount Sirion, that is, Mount Hermon.
49. This land also included the whole Jordan Valley on the east side of the Jordan River. To the south, this land reached to the Dead Sea. To the east, it reached to the foot of Mount Pisgah.