Circumcise Your Heart

12 “And now, Israel, (A)what does the Lord your God require of you, but (B)to fear the Lord your God, (C)to walk in all his ways, (D)to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and (E)to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today (F)for your good? 14 Behold, (G)to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, (H)the earth with all that is in it. 15 Yet (I)the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. 16 Circumcise therefore (J)the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer (K)stubborn. 17 For the Lord your God is (L)God of gods and (M)Lord of lords, (N)the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is (O)not partial and takes no bribe. 18 (P)He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. 19 (Q)Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 20 (R)You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and (S)hold fast to him, and (T)by his name you shall swear. 21 (U)He is your praise. He is your God, (V)who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt (W)seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you (X)as numerous as the stars of heaven.

Love and Serve the Lord

11 (Y)“You shall therefore love the Lord your God and (Z)keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. And consider today (since I am not speaking to (AA)your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline[a] of the Lord your God, (AB)his greatness, (AC)his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, (AD)his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, (AE)how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the Lord has destroyed them to this day, and (AF)what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place, and (AG)what he did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel. For your eyes have seen (AH)all the great work of the Lord that he did.

“You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may (AI)be strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess, and (AJ)that you may live long in the land (AK)that the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, (AL)a land flowing with milk and honey.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 11:2 Or instruction

Fear the Lord

12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you(A) but to fear(B) the Lord your God, to walk(C) in obedience to him, to love him,(D) to serve the Lord(E) your God with all your heart(F) and with all your soul,(G) 13 and to observe the Lord’s commands(H) and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?(I)

14 To the Lord your God belong the heavens,(J) even the highest heavens,(K) the earth and everything in it.(L) 15 Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved(M) them, and he chose you,(N) their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today.(O) 16 Circumcise(P) your hearts,(Q) therefore, and do not be stiff-necked(R) any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods(S) and Lord of lords,(T) the great God, mighty and awesome,(U) who shows no partiality(V) and accepts no bribes.(W) 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow,(X) and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.(Y) 19 And you are to love(Z) those who are foreigners,(AA) for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.(AB) 20 Fear the Lord your God and serve him.(AC) Hold fast(AD) to him and take your oaths in his name.(AE) 21 He is the one you praise;(AF) he is your God, who performed for you those great(AG) and awesome wonders(AH) you saw with your own eyes. 22 Your ancestors who went down into Egypt were seventy in all,(AI) and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.(AJ)

Love and Obey the Lord

11 Love(AK) the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.(AL) Remember today that your children(AM) were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God:(AN) his majesty,(AO) his mighty hand, his outstretched arm;(AP) the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country;(AQ) what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots,(AR) how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea[a](AS) as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them. It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the wilderness until you arrived at this place, and what he did(AT) to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened(AU) its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.(AV)

Observe therefore all the commands(AW) I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,(AX) and so that you may live long(AY) in the land the Lord swore(AZ) to your ancestors to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.(BA)

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 11:4 Or the Sea of Reeds