Context
In Deuteronomy 4, Moses exhorts Israel to covenant obedience by grounding them in what the Lord actually commanded and revealed. Verse 2 stands near the front of that appeal and guards the integrity of God's word itself.
Common Interpretations
A common interpretation of this section is that Israel's obedience depends on receiving God's commands as given, without inflation or subtraction. Verse 2 is therefore often read as a foundational warning against altering the word of God. Read in context, the point is not abstract textualism but covenant fidelity: the people must not improve upon God's words or cut them down to fit themselves.
Current Position
This site's current position is that Deuteronomy 4:2 states a principle that matters far beyond ancient Israel's immediate setting: God's word is not ours to edit. The command forbids both addition and subtraction because both corrupt what God actually said. That does not mean every translation choice is equally corrupt in the same way, but it does mean every handling of Scripture must be tested with seriousness. The burden is always to receive the word faithfully rather than reshape it to inherited preference.