The Fifth Book of Moses Called
Author
Deuteronomy identifies the book’s content with Moses: “These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel” (1:1). “Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests” (31:9) may well refer to his writing of the entire book as well. Moses’ name appears nearly forty times in the volume, and the book clearly reflects Moses’ personality. The first person pronoun used freely throughout its pages further supports Mosaic authorship.
Both Jewish and Samaritan tradition are unanimous in identifying Moses as the author. Christ expressly acknowledges Moses as the author of the book’s content as do Peter and Stephen (Matt. 19:7, 8; Mark 10:3, 4; Acts 3:22; 7:37).
The last chapter, which contains the account of Moses’ death, was probably written by his intimate friend Joshua.
Date
Moses and the Israelites began the Exodus from Egypt about 1440 B.C. They arrived on the plains of Moab where Deuteronomy was likely written about 1400 B.C. on the occasion of the speaking of its content to the people “in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month,” of the fortieth year of their wilderness wandering (1:3). This was just before Moses’ death and Joshua’s leading of the Israelites into Canaan. Deuteronomy therefore covers less than a two-month period, which includes the thirty days of mourning for Moses’ death.
Background
Moses was now 120 years old and the Promised Land lay ahead. He had led the Israelites out of captivity from Egypt and through the wilderness to receive God’s Law at Mount Sinai. Because of Israel’s disobedience in refusing to enter the land of Canaan, which God had promised them, they had wandered aimlessly in the desert for thirty-eight years. Now they were camped on the eastern border of Canaan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor in the uplands of Moab overlooking Jericho and the plain of Jordan. As the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land, they faced a turning point in their history—new foes, new temptations, and new leadership. Moses called the people together to remind them of the Lord’s faithfulness and to challenge them to be faithful and obedient to their God as they possessed the Promised Land.
Content
Deuteronomy is a series of farewell addresses by Moses to the Israelites as he prepares to die and as they make ready to enter the Promised Land. Although God had forbidden him to enter Canaan, Moses experiences a strong sense of anticipation for the people. What God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob centuries before is about to come true. Deuteronomy is the proclamation of a second chance for Israel. Israel’s lack of faith and disloyalty had prevented the conquest of Canaan earlier. The majority of the people with Moses at the threshold of the Promised Land had not witnessed the scenes at Sinai; they had been born and reared in the wilderness. Thus Moses exhorts them thirty-five times to “go in and possess” the land. Thirty-four times he reminds them that this is the land that the Lord is giving them.
As this new generation of Israelites poised to enter the Promised Land, Moses vividly recalls with them God’s faithfulness throughout their history and reminds them of their unique covenant relationship with the Lord. Moses realizes that the Israelites’ greatest temptation in the new land will be to forsake God and to take up the worship of the Canaanite idols. Thus he is concerned for the perpetuation of the covenant relationship. To prepare the nation for life in the new land, Moses expounds the commandments and statutes God had given in His covenant. Obedience to God is equated with life, blessing, health, and prosperity. Disobedience is equated with death, cursing, disease, and poverty. The covenant showed God’s children the way to live in fellowship with Him and with each other. So powerful is Deuteronomy’s message that it is quoted over eighty times in the New Testament.
Personal Application
Deuteronomy is characterized by a strong sense of urgency. Even to the contemporary reader the challenge is decisive: “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (30:19). The decision is ours.
Deuteronomy teaches that the relation of God to His people is far more than law. The indispensable conditions of our covenant relationship with God are obedience and loyalty. Our love, affection, and devotion to the Lord must be the true foundation of all our actions. Loyalty to God is the essence of true piety and holiness. Success, victory, prosperity, and happiness all depend upon our obedience to the Father. The book is a plea for our obedience to God based upon the motives of love and fear. “What does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes” (10:12, 13).
Christ Revealed
Moses was the first to prophesy the coming of the Messiah, a Prophet like Moses himself (18:15). Notably, Moses is the only person with whom Jesus ever compared Himself. “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:46, 47). Jesus often quoted from Deuteronomy. When asked to name the most important commandment, He responded with Deuteronomy 6:5. When confronted by Satan at His temptation, He quoted exclusively from Deuteronomy (8:3; 6:16; 6:13; and 10:20). How significant that Christ, who was perfectly obedient to the Father, even unto death, used this book on obedience to demonstrate His submission to the Father’s will.
The Holy Spirit at Work
The unifying theme throughout the Bible is the redemptive activity of God. Deuteronomy reminds the people that the Spirit of God had been with them from the time of their deliverance from Egypt to the present and that He would continue to guide and protect them if only they would be obedient to the stipulations of the covenant.
Second Peter 1:21 clearly describes Moses, “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” As a spokesman for God, Moses demonstrated the presence of the Holy Spirit as he prophesied to the people. Several of his most significant prophecies included the coming of the Messiah (18:15), the dispersion of Israel (30:1), the repentance (30:2) and restoration (30:5) of Israel, Israel’s future national restoration and conversion (30:5, 6), and Israel’s national prosperity (30:9).
Outline of Deuteronomy
I. Moses’ first message 1:1—4:43
A. Introduction 1:1–5
B. The past remembered 1:6—3:29
C. A call of obedience given 4:1–40
D. Cities of refuge appointed 4:41–43
II. Moses’ second message 4:44—26:19
A. Exposition of the Ten Commandments 4:44—11:32
B. Exposition of the ceremonial laws 12:1—16:17
C. Exposition of the civil law 16:18—18:22
D. Exposition of the criminal laws 19:1—21:9
E. Exposition of the social laws 21:10—26:19
III. Moses’ third message 27:1—30:20
A. Ratification ceremony 27:1–26
B. Covenant sanctions 28:1–68
C. The covenant oath 29:1—30:20
IV. Moses’ final words and death 31:1—34:12
A. Perpetuation of the covenant 31:1–29
B. The song of witness 31:30—32:47
C. Moses’ blessing on Israel 32:48—33:29
D. Moses’ death and successor 34:1–12
The Previous Command to Enter Canaan
1 THESE are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel aon this side of the Jordan in the wilderness, in the 1plain opposite 2Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
2 It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir ato Kadesh Barnea.
3 Now it came to pass ain the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him as commandments to them,
4 aafter he had killed Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtaroth bin1 Edrei.
5 On this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying,
6 “The LORD our God spoke to us ain Horeb, saying: ‘You have dwelt long benough at this mountain.
7 ‘Turn and take your journey, and go to the mountains of the Amorites, to all the neighboring places in the 1plain, in the mountains and in the lowland, in the South and on the seacoast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the River Euphrates.
8 ‘See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD 1swore to your fathers—to aAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give to them and their descendants after them.’
Tribal Leaders Appointed
9 “And aI spoke to you at that time, saying: ‘I 1alone am not able to bear you.
10 ‘The LORD your God has multiplied you, aand here you are today, as the stars of *heaven in multitude.
11 a‘May the LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and *bless you bas He has promised you!
12 a‘How can I alone bear your problems and your burdens and your complaints?
13 ‘Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them 1heads over you.’
14 “And you answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have told us to do is good.’
15 “So I took athe heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and 1made them heads over you, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, leaders of tens, and officers for your tribes.
16 “Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your *brethren, and ajudge righteously between a man and his bbrother or the stranger who is with him.
17 a‘You shall not show partiality in *judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for bthe judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, cbring to me, and I will hear it.’
18 “And I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.
Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land
19 “So we departed from Horeb, aand went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the mountains of the Amorites, as the LORD our God had commanded us. Then bwe came to Kadesh Barnea.
20 “And I said to you, ‘You have come to the mountains of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us.
21 ‘Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; ado not fear or be discouraged.’
22 “And every one of you came near to me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, and let them search out the land for us, and bring back word to us of the way by which we should go up, and of the cities into which we shall come.’
23 “The plan pleased me well; so aI took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe.
24 a“And they departed and went up into the mountains, and came to the Valley of Eshcol, and spied it out.
25 “They also took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought back word to us, saying, ‘It is a agood land which the LORD our God is giving us.’
26 a“Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God;
27 “and you acomplained in your tents, and said, ‘Because the LORD bhates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.
28 ‘Where can we go up? Our brethren have 1discouraged our hearts, saying, a“The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the bAnakim there.” ’
29 “Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, aor afraid of them.
30 a‘The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
31 ‘and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a aman carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.’
32 “Yet, for all that, ayou did not believe the LORD your God,
33 a“who went in the way before you bto search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day.
The Penalty for Israel’s Rebellion
34 “And the LORD heard the sound of your words, and was angry, aand took an oath, saying,
35 a‘Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I 1swore to give to your fathers,
36 a‘except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and his children I am giving the land on which he *walked, because bhe 1wholly followed the LORD.’
37 a“The LORD was also angry with me for your sakes, saying, ‘Even you shall not go in there.
38 a‘Joshua the son of Nun, bwho stands before you, he shall go in there. cEncourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
39 a‘Moreover your little ones and your children, who byou say will be victims, who today chave no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.
40 a‘But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.’
41 “Then you answered and said to me, a‘We have sinned against the LORD; we will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.’ And when everyone of you had girded on his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the mountain.
42 “And the LORD said to me, ‘Tell them, a“Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; lest you be defeated before your enemies.” ’
43 “So I spoke to you; yet you would not listen, but arebelled against the command of the LORD, and bpresumptuously1 went up into the mountain.
44 “And the Amorites who dwelt in that mountain came out against you and chased you aas bees do, and drove you back from Seir to Hormah.
45 “Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD would not listen to your voice nor give ear to you.
46 a“So you remained in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you spent there.
The Desert Years
1 “Then we turned and ajourneyed into the wilderness of the Way of the Red Sea, bas the LORD spoke to me, and we 1skirted Mount Seir for many days.
2 “And the LORD spoke to me, saying:
3 ‘You have skirted this mountain along enough; turn northward.
4 ‘And command the people, saying, a“You are about to pass through the territory of byour brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully.
5 “Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, abecause I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
6 “You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink.
7 “For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your *hand. He knows your 1trudging through this great wilderness. aThese forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” ’
8 “And when we passed beyond our brethren, the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir, away from the road of the plain, away from aElath and Ezion Geber, we bturned and passed by way of the Wilderness of Moab.
9 “Then the LORD said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given aAr to bthe descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”
10 a(The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as bthe Anakim.
11 They were also *regarded as 1giants, like the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim.
12 aThe Horites formerly dwelt in Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their 1place, just as Israel did to the land of their possession which the LORD gave them.)
13 “ ‘Now rise and cross over athe 1Valley of the Zered.’ So we crossed over the Valley of the Zered.
14 “And the time we took to come afrom Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the Valley of the Zered was thirty-eight years, buntil all the generation of the men of war 1was consumed from the midst of the camp, cjust as the LORD had sworn to them.
15 “For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp until they 1were consumed.
16 “So it was, when all the men of war had finally perished from among the people,
17 “that the LORD spoke to me, saying:
18 ‘This day you are to cross over at Ar, the boundary of Moab.
19 ‘And when you come near the people of Ammon, do not harass them or meddle with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to athe descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”
20 (That was also *regarded as a land of 1giants; giants formerly dwelt there. But the Ammonites call them aZamzummim,
21 aa people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the LORD destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place,
22 just as He had done for the descendants of Esau, awho dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed bthe Horites from before them. They dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, even to this day.
23 And athe Avim, who dwelt in villages as far as Gaza—bthe Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and dwelt in their place.)
24 “ ‘Rise, take your journey, and across over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand bSihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin 1to possess it, and engage him in battle.
25 a‘This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations 1under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall btremble and be in anguish because of you.’
King Sihon Defeated
26 “And I asent messengers from the Wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon, bwith words of *peace, saying,
27 a‘Let me pass through your land; I will keep strictly to the road, and I will turn neither to the right nor to the left.
28 ‘You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink; aonly let me pass through on foot,
29 a‘just as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar did for me, until I cross the Jordan to the land which the LORD our God is giving us.’
30 a“But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for bthe LORD your God chardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as it is this day.
31 “And the LORD said to me, ‘See, I have begun to agive Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to possess it, that you may inherit his land.’
32 a“Then Sihon and all his people came out against us to fight at Jahaz.
33 “And athe LORD our God delivered him 1over to us; so bwe defeated him, his sons, and all his people.
34 “We took all his cities at that time, and we autterly destroyed the men, women, and little ones of every city; we left none remaining.
35 “We took only the livestock as plunder for ourselves, with the spoil of the cities which we took.
36 a“From Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, and from bthe city that is in the ravine, as far as Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us; cthe LORD our God delivered all to us.
37 “Only you did not go near the land of the people of Ammon—anywhere along the River aJabbok, or to the cities of the mountains, or bwherever the LORD our God had forbidden us.
King Og Defeated
1 “Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan; and aOg king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle bat Edrei.
2 “And the LORD said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to aSihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.’
3 “So the LORD our God also delivered into our hands Og king of Bashan, with all his people, and we 1attacked him until he had no survivors remaining.
4 “And we took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, aall the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
5 “All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many rural towns.
6 “And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king aof Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city.
7 “But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as booty for ourselves.
8 “And at that time we took the aland from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were on this side of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount bHermon
9 “(the Sidonians call aHermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir),
10 a“all the cities of the plain, all Gilead, and ball Bashan, as far as Salcah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
11 a“For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of bthe 1giants. Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead. (Is it not in cRabbah of the people of Ammon?) Nine cubits is its length and four cubits its width, according to the standard cubit.
The Land East of the Jordan Divided
12 “And this aland, which we possessed at that time, bfrom Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, and half the mountains of Gilead and cits cities, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites.
13 a“The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. (All the region of Argob, with all Bashan, was called the land of the 1giants.
14 a“Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, bas far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and ccalled Bashan after his own name, 1Havoth Jair, to this day.)
15 “Also I gave aGilead to Machir.
16 “And to the Reubenites aand the Gadites I gave from Gilead as far as the River Arnon, the middle of the river as the border, as far as the River Jabbok, bthe border of the people of Ammon;
17 “the plain also, with the Jordan as the border, from Chinnereth aas far as the east side of the Sea of the Arabah b(the Salt Sea), below the slopes of Pisgah.
18 “Then I commanded you at that time, saying: ‘The LORD your God has given you this land to possess. aAll you men of valor shall cross over armed before your brethren, the children of Israel.
19 ‘But your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall stay in your cities which I have given you,
20 ‘until the LORD *has given arest to your brethren as to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God is giving them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may breturn to his possession which I have given you.’
21 “And aI commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so will the LORD do to all the kingdoms through which you pass.
22 ‘You must not fear them, for athe LORD your God Himself fights for you.’
Moses Forbidden to Enter the Land
23 “Then aI pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying:
24 ‘O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your servant aYour greatness and Your 1mighty hand, for bwhat god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds?
25 ‘I pray, let me cross over and see athe good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.’
26 “But the LORD awas angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the LORD said to me: ‘Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter.
27 a‘Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan.
28 ‘But acommand1 Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you will see.’
29 “So we stayed in athe valley opposite Beth Peor.
Moses Commands Obedience
1 “Now, O Israel, listen to athe *statutes and the judgments which I *teach you to observe, that you may *live, and go in and 1possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you.
2 a“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the *commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
3 “Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at aBaal Peor; for the LORD your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor.
4 “But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive today, every one of you.
5 “Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess.
6 “Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is ayour *wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
7 “For awhat great nation is there that has bGod1 so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?
8 “And what great nation is there that has such statutes and *righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?
9 “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently akeep *yourself, lest you bforget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And cteach them to your children and your grandchildren,
10 “especially concerning athe day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’
11 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.
12 a“And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no 1form; byou only heard a voice.
13 a“So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, bthe Ten Commandments; and cHe *wrote them on two tablets of stone.
14 “And athe LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might 1observe them in the land which you cross over to possess.
Beware of Idolatry
15 a“Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no bform when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire,
16 “lest you aact corruptly and bmake for yourselves a carved image in the 1form of any figure: cthe likeness of male or female,
17 “the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air,
18 “the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth.
19 “And take heed, lest you alift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, ball the *host of heaven, you feel driven to cworship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has 1given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.
20 “But the LORD has taken you and abrought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be bHis people, an inheritance, as you are this day.
21 “Furthermore athe LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that bI would not cross over the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
22 “But aI must die in this land, bI must not cross over the Jordan; but you shall cross over and 1possess cthat good land.
23 “Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He *made with you, aand make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you.
24 “For athe LORD your God is a consuming fire, ba jealous God.
25 “When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and ado evil in the sight of the LORD your God to provoke Him to anger,
26 a“I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not 1prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed.
27 “And the LORD awill scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you.
28 “And athere you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, awhich neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.
29 a“But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
30 “When you are in 1distress, and all these things come upon you in the alatter days, when you bturn to the LORD your God and obey His voice
31 “(for the LORD your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor adestroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.
32 “For aask now concerning the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God *created *man on the earth, and ask bfrom one end of heaven to the other, whether any great thing like this has happened, or anything like it has been heard.
33 a“Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?
34 “Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, aby trials, bby signs, by wonders, by war, cby a mighty hand and dan outstretched arm, eand by great 1terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
35 “To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; athere is none other besides Him.
36 a“Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire.
37 “And because aHe loved your fathers, therefore He chose their 1descendants after them; and aHe brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power,
38 a“driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day.
39 “Therefore *know this day, and consider it in your heart, that athe LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.
40 a“You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that 1it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may 2prolong your days in the land which the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”
Cities of Refuge East of the Jordan
41 Then Moses aset apart three cities on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun,
42 athat the manslayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without having hated him in time past, and that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live:
43 aBezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.
Introduction to God’s Law
44 Now this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel.
45 These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which Moses spoke to the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt,
46 on this side of the Jordan, ain the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel bdefeated1 after they came out of Egypt.
47 And they took possession of his land and the land aof Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, who were on this side of the Jordan, toward the 1rising of the sun,
48 afrom Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, even to Mount 1Sion (that is, bHermon),
49 and all the plain on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the aslopes of Pisgah.
The Ten Commandments Reviewed
1 And Moses *called all Israel, and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them.
2 a“The LORD our God *made a covenant with us in Horeb.
3 “The LORD adid not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.
4 a“The LORD talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.
5 a“I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD; for byou were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said:
6 a‘I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of 1bondage.
7 a‘You shall have no other gods 1before Me.
8 a‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
9 you shall not abow1 down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, 2visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
10 abut showing *mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and 1keep My commandments.
11 a‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him 1guiltless who takes His name in vain.
12 a‘Observe the Sabbath day, to 1keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.
13 aSix days you shall labor and do all your work,
14 but the seventh day is the aSabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
15 aAnd remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there bby a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16 a‘Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, bthat your days may be long, and that it may be well with cyou in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
17 a‘You shall not murder.
18 a‘You shall not commit adultery.
19 a‘You shall not steal.
20 a‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
21 a‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’
22 “These words the LORD spoke to all your *assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And aHe wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
The People Afraid of God’s Presence
23 a“So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders.
24 “And you said: ‘Surely the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and awe have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he bstill lives.
25 ‘Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; aif we hear the voice of the LORD our God anymore, then we shall die.
26 a‘For who is there of all *flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
27 ‘You go near and hear all that the LORD our God may say, and atell us all that the LORD our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’
28 “Then the LORD heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the LORD said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. aThey are right in all that they have spoken.
29 a‘Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and aalways keep all My commandments, bthat it might be well with them and with their children forever!
30 ‘Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.”
31 ‘But as for you, stand here by Me, aand I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall *teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’
32 “Therefore you shall 1be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; ayou shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
33 “You shall walk in aall the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live band that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
The Greatest Commandment
1 “Now this is athe commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess,
2 a“that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, band that your days may be prolonged.
3 “Therefore hear, O Israel, and 1be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may amultiply greatly bas the LORD God of your fathers has promised you—c‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’
4 a“Hear, O Israel: 1The LORD our *God, the LORD is one!
5 a“You shall *love the LORD your God with all your heart, bwith all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And athese words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
7 a“You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
8 a“You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
9 a“You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Caution Against Disobedience
10 “So it shall be, when the LORD your God brings you into the land of which He 1swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities awhich you did not build,
11 “houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—awhen you have eaten and are full—
12 “then beware, lest you forget the aLORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
13 “You shall afear the LORD your God and serve Him, and bshall take oaths in His name.
14 “You shall not go after other gods, athe gods of the peoples who are all around you
15 “(for athe LORD your God is a jealous God bamong you), lest the *anger of the LORD your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.
16 a“You shall not 1tempt* the LORD your God bas you 2tempted Him in Massah.
17 “You shall adiligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you.
18 “And you ashall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the LORD swore to your fathers,
19 a“to cast out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has spoken.
20 a“When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the LORD our God has commanded you?’
21 “then you shall say to your son: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out of Egypt awith a mighty hand;
22 ‘and the LORD showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household.
23 ‘Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He 1swore to our fathers.
24 ‘And the LORD commanded us to 1observe all these 2statutes, ato fear the LORD our God, bfor our good always, that cHe might preserve us alive, as it is 3this day.
25 ‘Then ait will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us.’
A Chosen People
1 “When the LORD your God brings you into the land which you go to apossess, and has cast out many bnations before you, cthe Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you,
2 “and when the LORD your God delivers athem over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. bYou shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them.
3 a“Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son.
4 “For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; aso the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly.
5 “But thus you shall deal with them: you shall adestroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their 1wooden images, and burn their carved images with fire.
6 “For you are a 1holy* people to the LORD your God; athe LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a *special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.
7 “The LORD did not set His alove on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were bthe least of all peoples;
8 “but abecause the LORD loves you, and because He would keep bthe oath which He swore to your fathers, cthe LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and *redeemed you from the house of 1bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 “Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, athe faithful God bwho keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
10 “and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not 1be aslack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face.
11 “Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them.
Blessings of Obedience
12 “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers.
13 “And He will alove you and bless you and 1multiply you; bHe will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He 2swore to your fathers to give you.
14 “You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female abarren among you or among your livestock.
15 “And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the aterrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.
16 “Also you shall 1destroy all the peoples whom the LORD your God delivers over to you; your eye shall have no pity on them; nor shall you serve their gods, for that will abe a snare to you.
17 “If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’—
18 “you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall aremember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt:
19 a“the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.
20 a“Moreover the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed.
21 “You shall not be terrified of them; for the LORD your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.
22 “And the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you alittle by little; you will be unable to 1destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.
23 “But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed.
24 “And aHe will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; bno one shall be able to stand 1against you until you have destroyed them.
25 “You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not acovet1 the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the LORD your God.
26 “Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, afor it is an 1accursed thing.
Remember the LORD Your God
1 “Every commandment which I command you today ayou must 1be careful to observe, that you may live and bmultiply,2 and go in and possess the land of which the LORD 3swore to your fathers.
2 “And you shall remember that the LORD your God aled you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and btest you, cto know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
3 “So He humbled you, aallowed you to hunger, and bfed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall cnot live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
4 a“Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.
5 a“You should 1know in your heart that as a man *chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you.
6 “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, ato walk in His ways and to fear Him.
7 “For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, aa land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills;
8 “a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey;
9 “a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.
10 a“When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.
11 “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today,
12 a“lest—when you have eaten and are 1full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them;
13 “and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are 1multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied;
14 a“when your heart 1is lifted up, and you bforget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
15 “who aled you through that great and terrible wilderness, bin which were *fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; cwho brought water for you out of the flinty rock;
16 “who fed you in the wilderness with amanna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, bto do you good in the end—
17 “then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’
18 “And you shall remember the LORD your God, afor it is He who gives you power to get wealth, bthat He may 1establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
19 “Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, aI testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.
20 “As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, aso you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God.
Israel’s Rebellions Reviewed
1 “Hear, O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven,
2 “a people great and tall, the adescendants of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?’
3 “Therefore understand today that the LORD your God is He who agoes over before you as a bconsuming fire. cHe will destroy them and bring them down before you; dso you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the LORD has said to you.
4 a“Do not think in your heart, after the LORD your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land’; but it is bbecause of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out from before you.
5 a“It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God drives them out from before you, and that He may 1fulfill the bword which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
6 “Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a astiff-necked1 people.
7 “Remember! Do not forget how you aprovoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. bFrom the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD.
8 “Also ain Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry enough with you to have destroyed you.
9 a“When I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I stayed on the mountain forty days and bforty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water.
10 a“Then the LORD delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them were all the words which the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire bin1 the day of the assembly.
11 “And it came to pass, at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant.
12 “Then the LORD said to me, a‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly; they have bquickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made themselves a molded image.’
13 “Furthermore athe LORD spoke to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed bthey are a 1stiff-necked people.
14 a‘Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and bblot out their name from under heaven; cand I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’
15 a“So I turned and came down from the mountain, and bthe mountain burned with fire; and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands.
16 “And aI looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God—had made for yourselves a molded calf! You had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you.
17 “Then I took the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and abroke them before your eyes.
18 “And I afell1 down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you committed in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.
19 a“For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the LORD was angry with you, to destroy you. bBut the LORD listened to me at that time also.
20 “And the LORD was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him; so I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.
21 “Then I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it and ground it very small, until it was as fine as dust; and I athrew its dust into the brook that descended from the mountain.
22 “Also at aTaberah and bMassah and cKib-roth Hattaavah you 1provoked the LORD to wrath.
23 “Likewise, awhen the LORD sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and byou did not believe Him nor obey His voice.
24 a“You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.
25 a“Thus I 1prostrated myself before the LORD; forty days and forty nights I kept prostrating myself, because the LORD had said He would destroy you.
26 “Therefore I prayed to the LORD, and said: ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people and aYour inheritance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
27 ‘Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look on the stubbornness of this people, or on their wickedness or their sin,
28 ‘lest the land from which You brought us should say, “Because the LORD was not able to bring them to the land which He promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.”
29 ‘Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm.’
The Second Pair of Tablets
1 “At that time the LORD said to me, 1‘Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain and make yourself an aark of wood.
2 ‘And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and ayou shall put them in the ark.’
3 “So I made an ark of acacia wood, hewed two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand.
4 “And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten 1Commandments, awhich the LORD had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the LORD gave them to me.
5 “Then I turned and acame down from the mountain, and bput the tablets in the ark which I had made; cand there they are, just as the LORD commanded me.”
6 (Now the children of Israel journeyed from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah, where Aaron adied, and where he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his 1stead.
7 aFrom there they journeyed to Gud-godah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of 1rivers of water.
8 At that time athe LORD 1separated the tribe of Levi bto bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, cto stand before the LORD to minister to Him and dto bless in His name, to this day.
9 aTherefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, just as the LORD your God promised him.)
10 “As at the first time, aI stayed in the mountain forty days and forty nights; bthe LORD also heard me at that time, and the LORD chose not to destroy you.
11 a“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, begin your journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.’
The Essence of the Law
12 “And now, Israel, awhat does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to blove Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
13 “and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today afor your 1good?
14 “Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the aLORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it.
15 “The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their 1descendants after them, you above all *peoples, as it is this day.
16 “Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your aheart, and be bstiff-necked1 no longer.
17 “For the LORD your God is aGod of gods and bLord of lords, the great God, cmighty and awesome, who dshows no partiality nor takes a bribe.
18 a“He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.
19 “Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
20 a“You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name.
21 “He is your *praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.
22 “Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude.
Love and Obedience Rewarded
1 “Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always.
2 “Know today that I do not speak with your children, who have not known and who have not seen the 1chastening of the LORD your God, His greatness and His mighty hand and His outstretched arm—
3 “His signs and His acts which He did in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to all his land;
4 “what He did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and their chariots: ahow He made the waters of the Red Sea overflow them as they pursued you, and how the LORD has destroyed them to this day;
5 “what He did for you in the wilderness until you came to this place;
6 “and awhat He did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, their households, their tents, and all the substance that was 1in their possession, in the midst of all Israel—
7 “but your eyes have aseen every great 1act of the LORD which He did.
8 “Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may abe* strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess,
9 “and athat you may prolong your days in the land bwhich the LORD 1swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, c‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’
10 “For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden;
11 a“but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven,
12 “a land for which the LORD your God cares; athe eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.
13 ‘And it shall be that if you earnestly 1obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul,
14 ‘then aI1 will give you the rain for your land in its season, bthe early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.
15 a‘And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may beat and be 1filled.’
16 “Take heed to yourselves, alest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and bserve* other gods and worship them,
17 “lest athe LORD’s anger be aroused against you, and He bshut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and cyou perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you.
18 “Therefore ayou shall 1lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your bsoul, and cbind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
19 a“You shall *teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
20 a“And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,
21 “that ayour days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like bthe days of the heavens above the earth.
22 “For if ayou carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do—to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and bto hold fast to Him—
23 “then the LORD will adrive out all these nations from before you, and you will bdispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves.
24 a“Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: bfrom the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the 1Western Sea, shall be your territory.
25 “No man shall be able to astand 1against you; the LORD your God will put the bdread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you.
26 a“Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse:
27 a“the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today;
28 “and the acurse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.
29 “Now it shall be, when the LORD your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the ablessing on Mount Gerizim and the bcurse on Mount Ebal.
30 “Are they not on the other side of the Jordan, toward the setting sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the plain opposite Gilgal, abeside the terebinth trees of Moreh?
31 “For you will cross over the Jordan and go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and you will possess it and dwell in it.
32 “And you shall be careful to observe all the statutes and judgments which I set before you today.
A Prescribed Place of Worship