⁹ Only be careful,^(A) and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach^(B) them to your children^(C) and to their children after them.

²³ Be careful not to forget the covenant^(A) of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol^(B) in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. ²⁴ For the Lord your God is a consuming fire,^(C) a jealous God.^(D)

²⁵ After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt^(E) and make any kind of idol,^(F) doing evil^(G) in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, ²⁶ I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses^(H) against you^(I) this day that you will quickly perish^(J) from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. ²⁷ The Lord will scatter^(K) you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive^(L) among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. ²⁸ There you will worship man-made gods^(M) of wood and stone,^(N) which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.^{(O) 29} But if from there you seek^(P) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart^(Q) and with all your soul.^{(R) 30} When you are in distress^(S) and all these things have happened to you, then in later days^(T) you will return^(U) to the Lord your God and obey him. ³¹ For the Lord your God is a merciful^(V) God; he will not abandon^(W) or destroy^(X) you or forget^(Y) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

The Day and Hour Unknown

³² “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.^{(A) 33} Be on guard! Be alert^[a]!^(B) You do not know when that time will come. ³⁴ It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants^(C) in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

³⁵ “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. ³⁶ If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”^(D)