Charles Ellicott Commentary Deuteronomy 4:1

"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." — Deuteronomy 4:1 (ASV)

Now therefore hearken. —The whole point of the exhortation in this chapter is the same which we find in Joshua’s address to the people (Joshua 24), that they should serve Jehovah. And the ground of the exhortation is His revelation of Himself in Horeb as their God.

The statutes ... and the judgments. —Perhaps we should say “institutions and requirements” in modern language. For “judgments,” see Exodus 21-23.

That ye may live, and go in. — Life is put before possession. The penalty of the broken law is death.