Study Desk

^[a]These are the words of the covenant^(a) the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant He had made with them at Horeb.

^[b]Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "You have seen with your own eyes everything the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his entire land.

You saw with your own eyes the great trials and those great signs and wonders.^(b)

Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.^(c)

I led you 40 years in the wilderness; your clothes and the sandals on your feet did not wear out;

you did not eat bread or drink wine or beer—so that you might know that I am Yahweh your God.

When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us in battle, but we defeated them.

We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh.^(d)

Therefore, observe the words of this covenant^(e) and follow them, so that you will succeed in everything you do.

"All of you are standing today before the Lord your God—your leaders, tribes, elders, officials, all the men of Israel,

your children, your wives, and the foreigners in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water—

so that you may enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, which He is making with you today, so that you may enter into His oath

and so that He may establish you today as His people and He may be your God as He promised you and as He swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

I am making this covenant and this oath not only with you,

but also with those who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God and with those who are not here today.

"Indeed, you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and passed through the nations where you traveled.

You saw their detestable images and idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold, which were among them.

Be sure there is no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Be sure there is no root among you bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.^(f)

When someone hears the words of this oath, he may consider himself exempt,^[c] thinking, ‘I will have peace even though I follow my own stubborn heart.' This will lead to the destruction of the well-watered land as well as the dry land.

The Lord will not be willing to forgive him. Instead, His anger and jealousy will burn against that person, and every curse written in this scroll will descend on him. The Lord will blot out his name under heaven,

and single him out for harm from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the law.

"Future generations of your children who follow you and the foreigner who comes from a distant country will see the plagues of the land and the sicknesses the Lord has inflicted on it.

All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown, producing nothing, with no plant growing on it, just like the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord demolished in His fierce anger.^(g)

All the nations will ask, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?'

Then people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, which He had made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

They began to worship other gods, bowing down to gods they had not known—gods that the Lord had not permitted them to worship.^(h)

Therefore the Lord 's anger burned against this land, and He brought every curse written in this book on it.

The Lord uprooted them from their land in His anger, rage, and great wrath, and threw them into another land where they are today.'

The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.

"When all these things happen to you—the blessings and curses I have set before you—and you come to your senses while you are in all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you,

and you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and all your soul by doing^[a] everything I am giving you today,

then He will restore your fortunes,^[b] have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.^(a)

Even if your exiles are at the ends of the earth,^[c] He will gather you and bring you back from there.^(b)

The Lord your God will bring you into the land your fathers possessed, and you will take possession of it.^(c) He will cause you to prosper and multiply you more than He did your fathers.

The Lord your God will circumcise your heart^(d) and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live.

The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you.

Then you will again obey Him and follow all His commands I am giving you today.

The Lord your God will make you prosper abundantly in all the work of your hands^(e) with children,^[d] the offspring of your livestock, and your land's produce. Indeed, the Lord will again delight in your prosperity, as He delighted in that of your fathers,

when you obey the Lord your God by keeping His commands and statutes that are written in this book of the law and return to Him with all your heart and all your soul.

"This command that I give you today is certainly not too difficult or beyond your reach.

It is not in heaven so that you have to ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?'

And it is not across the sea so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?'

But the message is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may follow it.^(f)

See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity.^(g)

For^[e] I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live^[f] and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

But if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow down to other gods and worship them,

I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not live long in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan.

I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life^(h) so that you and your descendants may live,

love the Lord your God, obey Him, and remain faithful^[g] to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land the Lord swore to give to your fathers⁽ⁱ⁾ Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."