Deuteronomy 5:32

Hebrew Bible

31 But as for you, remain here with me so I can declare to you all the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that you are to teach them, so that they can carry them out in the land I am about to give them.” 32 Be careful, therefore, to do exactly what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn right or left! 33 Walk just as he has commanded you so that you may live, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land you are going to possess.

4 Baruch 7:12

Paralipomena of Jeremiah
Pseudepigrapha

12 Even if all the birds of heaven surround you and seek to fight with you, persevere! May the Lord give you strength! And do not turn to the right or to the left, but go straight as an arrow. Go in the might of God, and the glory of the Lord will be with you in every path you take.” 13 Then the eagle flew off, having the letter around his neck, and he went away to Babylon; and he came to rest upon a wooden post outside of the city, in a deserted place. But he remained silent until Jeremiah and others of the people (of Israel) came along.

 Notes and References

"... The imperative not to turn to the right or the left is distinctively biblical; cf. LXX Deut 5:32 (οὐκ ἐκκλινεῖτε εἰς δεξιὰ οὐδὲ εἰς ἀριστερά); Josh 1:7 (οὐκ ἐκκλινεῖς … εἰς δεξιὰ οὐδὲ εἰς ἀριστερά); 23:6 (μὴ ἐκκλίντε εἰς δεξιὰν ἢ εὐώνυμα). Indeed, the precise Greek equivalent (with μήδε instead of μήτε) occurs in LXX Prov 4:27 (the parallel is all the more notable in that LXX Prov 4:27 is not only preceded and followed by imperatives to go “straight” (25: ὀρθά; 26: ὀρθάς; 27b: ὀρθάς) but also accompanied by a promise that God will “guide your journeys ἐν εἰρήνῃ” (27b). 4 Baruch has evidently imitated Proverbs, and an intertextually astute audience might have recalled the end of Proverbs 4 ..."

Allison, Dale C. 4 Baruch: Paraleipomena Jeremiou (pp. 418-419) De Gruyter, 2019

 User Comments
No comments currently available.

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.