Deuteronomy 11
English Standard Version
Love and Serve the Lord
11 (A)“You shall therefore love the Lord your God and (B)keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. 2 And consider today (since I am not speaking to (C)your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline[a] of the Lord your God, (D)his greatness, (E)his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, 3 (F)his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, 4 and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, (G)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, 5 and (H)what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place, 6 and (I)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. 7 For your eyes have seen (J)all the great work of the Lord that he did.
8 “You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may (K)be strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess, 9 and (L)that you may live long in the land (M)that the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, (N)a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it,[b] like a garden of vegetables. 11 (O)But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, 12 a land that the Lord your God cares for. (P)The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
13 “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, (Q)to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 (R)he[c] will give the rain for your land in its season, (S)the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15 (T)And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and (U)you shall eat and be full. 16 Take care (V)lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and (W)serve other gods and worship them; 17 then (X)the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he (Y)will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and (Z)you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.
18 (AA)“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and (AB)you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 20 (AC)You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 (AD)that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, (AE)as long as the heavens are above the earth. 22 For if (AF)you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and (AG)holding fast to him, 23 then the Lord (AH)will drive out all these nations before you, and you will (AI)dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24 (AJ)Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be (AK)from the wilderness to[d] the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea. 25 (AL)No one shall be able to stand against you. The Lord your God will lay (AM)the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread, (AN)as he promised you.
26 (AO)“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 (AP)the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, 28 and (AQ)the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, (AR)to go after other gods that you have not known. 29 And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set (AS)the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30 Are they not beyond the Jordan, west of the road, toward the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the (AT)Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside (AU)the oak[e] of Moreh? 31 For you are (AV)to cross over the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you. And when you possess it and live in it, 32 you shall be careful (AW)to do all the statutes and the rules that I am setting before you today.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 11:2 Or instruction
- Deuteronomy 11:10 Hebrew watered it with your feet
- Deuteronomy 11:14 Samaritan, Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew I; also verse 15
- Deuteronomy 11:24 Hebrew and
- Deuteronomy 11:30 Septuagint, Syriac; see Genesis 12:6. Hebrew oaks, or terebinths
Deuteronomy 11
Christian Standard Bible
Remember and Obey
11 “Therefore, love the Lord your God and always keep his mandate and his statutes, ordinances, and commands. 2 Understand today that it is not your children who experienced or saw the discipline of the Lord your God:
His greatness, strong hand, and outstretched arm;(A) 3 his signs and the works he did in Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt and all his land;(B) 4 what he did to Egypt’s army, its horses and chariots, when he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued you, and he destroyed them(C) completely;[a] 5 what he did to you in the wilderness until you reached this place; 6 and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when in the middle of the whole Israelite camp the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing with them.(D)
7 Your own eyes have seen(E) every great work the Lord has done.
8 “Keep every command I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to cross into and possess the land you are to inherit, 9 and so that you may live long(F) in the land the Lord swore to your ancestors to give them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.(G) 10 For the land you are entering to possess is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated by hand[b] as in a vegetable garden. 11 But the land you are entering to possess is a land of mountains and valleys, watered by rain from the sky. 12 It is a land the Lord your God cares for. He is always watching over it(H) from the beginning to the end of the year.
13 “If you carefully obey my commands I am giving you today, to love the Lord your God and worship him with all your heart and all your soul, 14 I[c] will provide rain for your land in the proper time, the autumn and spring rains,(I) and you will harvest your grain, new wine, and fresh oil.(J) 15 I[d] will provide grass in your fields for your livestock. You will eat and be satisfied.(K) 16 Be careful(L) that you are not enticed to turn aside, serve, and bow in worship to other gods.(M) 17 Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you.(N) He will shut the sky, and there will be no rain;(O) the land will not yield its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land(P) the Lord is giving you.
18 “Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol[e] on your foreheads.[f] 19 Teach them to your children,(Q) talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates,(R) 21 so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.(S) 22 For if you carefully observe every one of these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, and remain faithful[g] to him— 23 the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will drive out nations greater and stronger than you are.(T) 24 Every place the sole of your foot treads will be yours.(U) Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon and from the Euphrates River[h] to the Mediterranean Sea.(V) 25 No one will be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will put fear and dread of you in all the land where you set foot, as he has promised you.(W)
A Blessing and a Curse
26 “Look, today I set before you a blessing and a curse:(X) 27 there will be a blessing, if you obey the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you today, 28 and a curse, if you do not obey the commands of the Lord your God and you turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods you have not known. 29 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal. 30 Aren’t these mountains across the Jordan, beyond the western road in the land of the Canaanites, who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, near the oaks[i] of Moreh? 31 For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you possess it and settle in it, 32 be careful to follow all the statutes and ordinances I set before you today.
Footnotes
- 11:4 Lit to this day
- 11:10 Lit foot
- 11:14 DSS, Sam, LXX read he
- 11:15 DSS, Sam, LXX read He
- 11:18 Or phylactery; Mt 23:5
- 11:18 Lit symbol between your eyes; Ex 13:16; Dt 6:8
- 11:22 Lit and hold on
- 11:24 Some Hb mss, LXX, Tg, Vg read the great river, the river Euphrates
- 11:30 Sam, LXX, Syr, Aq, Sym read oak; Gn 12:6
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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