Deuteronomy 11
Expanded Bible
Great Things Israel Saw
11 Love the Lord your God and always obey his orders, ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements], laws, and commands. 2 ·Remember [L You 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 [L strong hand], his ·strength [L outstretched 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 [L its mouth] and swallowed them, their ·families [L houses], their tents, and everyone who stood ·with them in Israel [L on their feet in all Israel; Num. 16]. 7 It was ·you who [L your 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 [L crossing 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 [L seed], a ·fertile land [L land 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 [L there] 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 [L listen to] the commands I am ·giving [commanding] you today and love the Lord your God and serve him with ·your whole being [L all your heart/mind and all your soul], 14 then he[a] will send rain on your land at the right time, in the ·fall [L early rain] and ·spring [L late 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 [L Put these words of mine on your hearts/minds and on your soul]. ·Write them down and tie [L Bind] them to your hands as a sign; tie them ·on your foreheads [L between 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 [L the 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 [L commanding you to do], and love the Lord your God, and ·do what he has told you to do [L walk 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 [L the 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 [L Great] 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 [L put 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 [L do not listen to] the commands of the Lord your God. So do not ·disobey the commands [L turn 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 [L Are 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 [L Arabah] 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.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 11:14 he Some Greek and Latin copies read “he.” The Hebrew text has “I.”
- Deuteronomy 11:15 he Some Greek and Latin copies read “he.” The Hebrew text has “I.”
Deuteronomy 11
Amplified Bible
Rewards of Obedience
11 “Therefore you shall love the Lord your God, and always keep His charge, His statutes, His precepts, and His commandments [it is your obligation to Him]. 2 Know this day that I am not speaking to your children who have not known [by personal experience] and who have not seen [firsthand] the instruction and discipline of the Lord your God—His greatness, His mighty hand and His outstretched arm; 3 and His signs and His works which He did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land; 4 and what He did to the army of Egypt, to its horses and its chariots, when He made the water of the [a]Red Sea engulf them as they pursued you, and how the Lord [b]completely destroyed them; 5 and what He did to you in the wilderness until you came to this place; 6 and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that [c]followed them, in the midst of all Israel.(A) 7 For your eyes have seen all the great work of the Lord which He did.
8 “Therefore, you shall keep all the commandments which I am commanding you today, so that you may be strong and go in and take possession of the land which you are crossing over [the Jordan] to possess; 9 so that you may live long on the land which the Lord swore (solemnly promised) to your fathers to give to them and to their descendants, a land [of great abundance,] [d]flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land which you are entering to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered [e]it with your foot like a garden of vegetables. 11 But the land into which you are about to cross to possess, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, 12 a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
13 “It shall come about, if you listen obediently and pay attention to My commandments which I command you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul [your choices, your thoughts, your whole being]— 14 that [f]He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early [fall] rain and the late [spring] rain, so that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your [olive] oil. 15 And [g]He will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. 16 Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away [from the Lord] and serve other gods and worship them, 17 or [else] the Lord’s anger will be kindled and burn against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the land will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.
18 “Therefore, you shall impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul, and tie them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as [h]bands (frontals, frontlets) on your forehead. 19 You shall teach them [diligently] to your [i]children [impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths], speaking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. 20 You shall write them on the [j]doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as [k]long as the heavens are above the earth. 22 For if you are careful to keep all this commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love the Lord your God, to walk [that is, to live each and every day] in all His ways and to hold tightly to Him— 23 then the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall become yours; your territory shall be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as the western sea (the Mediterranean). 25 No man will be able to stand before you; the Lord your God will lay the fear and the dread of you on all the land on which you set foot, just as He has spoken to you.
26 “Behold, today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse— 27 the blessing, if you listen to and obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today; 28 and the curse, if you do not listen to and obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following (acknowledging, worshiping) other gods which you have not known.
29 “It shall come about, when the Lord your God brings you into the land which you are entering to possess, that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.(B) 30 Are they not across the Jordan, west of the road, toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh? 31 For you are about to cross the Jordan to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall possess it and live in it, 32 and you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the judgments which I am setting before you today.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 11:4 Lit Sea of Reeds.
- Deuteronomy 11:4 Lit to this day.
- Deuteronomy 11:6 Lit was at their feet.
- Deuteronomy 11:9 This phrase referred to the abundant fertility of the land of Canaan. Milk (typically that of goats and sheep) was associated with abundance; “honey” referred mainly to syrups made from dates or grapes and was the epitome of sweetness. Bees’ honey was very rare and was considered the choicest of foods.
- Deuteronomy 11:10 Egyptian crops were watered by irrigation, so this may refer to a simple irrigation device that was operated by the foot, or to the practice of opening and closing small water channels with the foot.
- Deuteronomy 11:14 So some ancient versions; MT reads I.
- Deuteronomy 11:15 So some ancient versions; MT reads I.
- Deuteronomy 11:18 See note 6:8.
- Deuteronomy 11:19 Lit sons, also v 21.
- Deuteronomy 11:20 See note 6:9.
- Deuteronomy 11:21 Lit the days of.
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