Hendiadys

The Word:  hendiadys

This phrase found in Exodus 15:25 “a statute and regulation” is called a “hendiadys”.

Exodus 15:25 – and showing various translation of this verse:

Exodus 15:25(ESV)
²⁵And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log,^£and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord^£made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, 

 Exodus 15:25 (NASB95)

          ²⁵ Then he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.  There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them.

YLT – ²⁵and he crieth unto Jehovah, and Jehovah sheweth him a tree, and he casteth unto the waters, and the waters become sweet. There He hath made for them a statute, and an ordinance, and there He hath tried them,

LEB– ²⁵ And he cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh showed him a piece of wood, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There he made a rule and regulation for them, and there he tested them.

NKVJ– ²⁵ So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.  There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them,

NIV(1984)- ²⁵ Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them.

NIV(2011)- ²⁵ Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.

KJV (1900)  ²⁵ And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

In Exodus 15:25 and the ESV used “a statute and regulation”  is does not refer to two things but to one.  This is a classic case of “hendiadys” where the expression of a single concept by two or more words used in grammatical parallel.

This phrase was repeated in 1 Samuel 30:25

1 Samuel 30:25 (NASB95)

          ²⁵ So it has been from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

1 Samuel 30:25(ESV)
                ²⁵ And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.

To “pay attention to all his commands and keep all his decrees”

The next verse it would be phrases that are basically the same, but stresses different aspects or stated together for clarification.

Exodus 15:26 (NASB95)

          26      And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.”

Exodus 15:26(ESV)
²⁶saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”

Other Scriptural references to similar samples of paying attention to all his commands and keeping all his decrees:

Deuteronomy 15:5 (NASB95)
⁵ if only you listen obediently to the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all this commandment which I am commanding you today.

Deuteronomy 15:5(ESV)
⁵if only you will strictly obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today. 

 Deuteronomy 4:40(ESV)
⁴⁰Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

Deuteronomy 30:10(ESV)
¹⁰when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

 1 Kings 2:3(ESV)
³and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, 

Kings 8:58(ESV)
⁵⁸that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. 

2 Kings 23:3(ESV)
³And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.

2 Chronicles 34:31(ESV)
³¹And the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. 

In verse 26 – The expression of “loyalty and obedience”  – A  loyalty in the sense of a willingness to pay close attention to God’s will and word.    To have a desire above all else to please him by doing what he thinks is right.  NKJV – “I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you,” 

We need to not misunderstand that as a general guarantee that faithful believers cannot get sick or if so they would be healed in this life. 

Exodus 15:26(ESV)
²⁶saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”

 The best translation of these sentences probably would be: “Any illness I brought on the Egyptians, I will not bring on you. For I am Yahweh, your doctor.”

The promise here was that the Israelites would be free from worry about the plagues occurring to them.    God’s promise was that he would not become angry at them in such a way as to subject them to the miseries he had subjected the Egyptians to.  All they had to do was to remain loyal and obedient.  It was a promise that we must turn for healing if we find ourselves afflicted as a result of sin.    (Principle found in Numbers 21:1-9 of the story of healing from snakebites.)