Great Things Israel Saw

11 Love the Lord your God and always obey his orders, ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements], laws, and commands. ² ·Remember [^LYou know] today it was not your children who saw and ·felt [experienced; knew] the ·correction [discipline] of the Lord your God. They did not see his ·majesty [greatness], his ·power [^Lstrong hand], his ·strength [^Loutstretched arm], ³ or his signs and the things he did in Egypt to Pharaoh, the king, and his whole country. ⁴ They did not see what he did to the Egyptian army, its horses and chariots, when he drowned them in the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [Ex. 10:19] as they were chasing you. The Lord ·ruined [destroyed] them forever. ⁵ They did not see what he did for you in the ·desert [wilderness] until you arrived here. ⁶ They did not see what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the ground opened ·up [^Lits mouth] and swallowed them, their ·families [^Lhouses], their tents, and everyone who stood ·with them in Israel [^Lon their feet in all Israel; Num. 16]. ⁷ It was ·you who [^Lyour eyes that] saw all these great things the Lord has done.

⁸ So ·obey [keep] all the commands I am ·giving [commanding] you today so that you will be strong and can go in and ·take [possess] the land you are ·going to take as your own [^Lcrossing over to possess]. ⁹ Then you will live a long time in the land that the Lord ·promised [swore] to give to your ·ancestors [fathers] and their ·descendants [^Lseed], a ·fertile land [^Lland flowing with milk and honey; Ex. 3:8]. ¹⁰ The land you are going to take is not like Egypt, where you were. There you had to plant your seed and water it, like a vegetable garden, by using your feet. ¹¹ But the land that you will soon cross ·the Jordan River [^Lthere] to ·take [possess] is a land of hills and valleys, ·a land that drinks [watered by] rain from heaven. ¹² It is a land the Lord your God ·cares for [looks after]. His eyes are on it continually, and he watches it from the beginning of the year to the end.

¹³ If you carefully ·obey [^Llisten to] the commands I am ·giving [commanding] you today and love the Lord your God and serve him with ·your whole being [^Lall your heart/mind and all your soul], ¹⁴ then he^[a] will send rain on your land at the right time, in the ·fall [^Learly rain] and ·spring [^Llate rain], and you will be able to gather your grain, new wine, and oil. ¹⁵ He^[b] will put grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will have plenty to eat.

¹⁶ Be careful, or you will be ·fooled [tricked; deceived; seduced] and will turn away to serve and worship other gods. ¹⁷ If you do, the Lord will become angry with you and will ·shut [close up] the heavens so it will not rain [1 Kin. 17:1]. Then the land will not ·grow [produce] crops, and you will soon ·die [perish] in the good land the Lord is giving you. ¹⁸ ·Remember my words with your whole being [^LPut these words of mine on your hearts/minds and on your soul]. ·Write them down and tie [^LBind] them to your hands as a sign; tie them ·on your foreheads [^Lbetween your eyes] ·to remind you [as an emblem/headband/frontlet; 6:8]. ¹⁹ Teach them well to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ²⁰ Write them on ·your doors [^Lthe lintels/doorposts of your house] and gates ²¹ so that both you and your children will live a long time in the land the Lord promised your ·ancestors [fathers], as long as the ·skies [heavens] are above the earth.

²² If you are careful to obey every command I am ·giving you to follow [^Lcommanding you to do], and love the Lord your God, and ·do what he has told you to do [^Lwalk on all his ways/paths], and ·are loyal [cling] to him, ²³ then the Lord will ·force [dispossess] all those nations out of the land ahead of you, and you will ·take [possess] the land from nations that are bigger and stronger than you. ²⁴ Everywhere ·you step [^Lthe heel of your foot treads] will be yours. Your land will go from the ·desert [wilderness] to Lebanon and from the Euphrates River to the ·Mediterranean [^LGreat] Sea. ²⁵ No one will be able to ·stop [stand against] you. The Lord your God will ·do what he promised and will make the people afraid everywhere you go [^Lput the dread and fear of you on all the land on which you tread as he promised].

²⁶ See, today I am ·letting you choose [setting before you] a blessing or a curse. ²⁷ You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am ·giving [commanding] you today. ²⁸ But you will be cursed if you ·disobey [^Ldo not listen to] the commands of the Lord your God. So do not ·disobey the commands [^Lturn aside from the way] I am ·giving [commanding] you today, and do not ·worship [go after] other gods you do not know. ²⁹ When the Lord your God brings you into the land you will ·take as your own [possess], you are to announce the blessings from Mount Gerizim and the curses from Mount Ebal [27–28; Josh. 8:30–35]. ³⁰ (·These mountains are [^LAre they not…?] ·on the other side of [beyond] the Jordan River, to the west, toward the sunset. They are near the great trees of Moreh [Gen. 12:6] in the land of the Canaanites who live in the ·Jordan Valley [^LArabah] opposite Gilgal.) ³¹ You will soon cross the Jordan River to enter and ·take [possess] the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you ·take it over [possess it] and live there, ³² be careful to obey all the commands and ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements] I am giving you today.