Deuteronomy 11
New American Standard Bible
Rewards of Obedience
11 “You shall therefore (A)love the Lord your God, and always (B)keep His directive, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments. 2 Know this day (C)that I am not speaking with your sons who have not known and who have not seen the [a]discipline of the Lord your God—His greatness, His mighty hand, His outstretched arm, 3 and (D)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 Egypt’s army, to its horses and its chariots, (E)when He made the water of the [b]Red Sea [c]engulf them while they were pursuing you, and the Lord [d]completely eliminated them; 5 and what He did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place; 6 and (F)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 (G)every living thing that [e]followed them, among all Israel— 7 but your own eyes have seen all the great work of the Lord which He did.
8 “You shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today, (H)so that you may be strong and go in and take possession of the land into which you are about to cross to possess it; 9 and (I)so that you may prolong your days on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their [f]descendants, (J)a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land, into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it [g]by your foot like a vegetable garden. 11 But (K)the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, 12 a land for which the Lord your God cares; (L)the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it, from the [h]beginning even to the end of the year.
13 “And it shall come about, (M)if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, (N)to love the Lord your God and to serve Him (O)with all your heart and all your soul, 14 that [i](P)He will provide rain for your land in its season, the [j](Q)early and [k]late rain, so that you may gather your grain, your new wine, and your oil. 15 [l](R)He will also provide grass in your field for your cattle, and (S)you will eat and be satisfied. 16 [m](T)Beware that your hearts are not easily deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods, and worship them. 17 Otherwise, (U)the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will (V)shut up the sky (W)so that there will be no rain, and the ground will not yield its produce; then (X)you will quickly perish from the good land which the Lord is giving you.
18 “(Y)You shall therefore take these words of mine to [n]heart and to soul; and you shall tie them as a sign on your [o]hand, and they shall be as [p]frontlets [q]on your forehead. 19 (Z)You shall also teach them to your sons, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. 20 (AA)And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that (AB)your days and the days of your sons may be increased on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as [r](AC)long as the heavens are above the earth. 22 For if you are (AD)careful to keep all of this commandment which I am commanding you to do, (AE)to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and (AF)cling to Him, 23 then the Lord will [s](AG)dispossess all these nations from you, and you will [t](AH)dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24 (AI)Every place on which the sole of your foot steps shall be yours; (AJ)your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as [u]the western sea. 25 (AK)No one will be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will [v]instill the dread of you and the fear of you in all the land on which you set foot, just as He has spoken to you.
26 “(AL)See, I am placing before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the (AM)blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today; 28 and the (AN)curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, [w]by following other gods which you have not known.
29 “And it shall come about, when the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, (AO)that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 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 (AP)Gilgal, beside (AQ)the [x]oaks of Moreh? 31 For you are about to cross the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and (AR)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 placing before you today.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 11:2 Or instruction
- Deuteronomy 11:4 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Deuteronomy 11:4 Lit flow over their faces
- Deuteronomy 11:4 Lit to this day
- Deuteronomy 11:6 Lit was at their feet
- Deuteronomy 11:9 Lit seed
- Deuteronomy 11:10 I.e., use of foot to facilitate irrigation
- Deuteronomy 11:12 Lit beginning of the year
- Deuteronomy 11:14 As in some ancient versions; MT I
- Deuteronomy 11:14 I.e., autumn
- Deuteronomy 11:14 I.e., spring
- Deuteronomy 11:15 As in some ancient versions; MT I
- Deuteronomy 11:16 Lit Watch yourselves
- Deuteronomy 11:18 Lit your heart
- Deuteronomy 11:18 Or forearm
- Deuteronomy 11:18 Or phylacteries
- Deuteronomy 11:18 Lit between your eyes
- Deuteronomy 11:21 Lit the days of the heavens
- Deuteronomy 11:23 Or drive out
- Deuteronomy 11:23 Or drive out
- Deuteronomy 11:24 I.e., the Mediterranean
- Deuteronomy 11:25 Lit give...over all
- Deuteronomy 11:28 Lit to follow
- Deuteronomy 11:30 Or terebinths
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.
Deuteronomy 11
The Message
11 So love God, your God;
guard well his rules and regulations;
obey his commandments for the rest of time.
2-7 Today it’s very clear that it isn’t your children who are front and center here: They weren’t in on what God did, didn’t see the acts, didn’t experience the discipline, didn’t marvel at his greatness, the way he displayed his power in the miracle-signs and deeds that he let loose in Egypt on Pharaoh king of Egypt and all his land, the way he took care of the Egyptian army, its horses and chariots, burying them in the waters of the Red Sea as they pursued you. God drowned them. And you’re standing here today alive. Nor was it your children who saw how God took care of you in the wilderness up until the time you arrived here, what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab son of Reuben, how the Earth opened its jaws and swallowed them with their families—their tents, and everything around them—right out of the middle of Israel. Yes, it was you—your eyes—that saw every great thing that God did.
8-9 So it’s you who are in charge of keeping the entire commandment that I command you today so that you’ll have the strength to invade and possess the land that you are crossing the river to make your own. Your obedience will give you a long life on the soil that God promised to give your ancestors and their children, a land flowing with milk and honey.
10-12 The land you are entering to take up ownership isn’t like Egypt, the land you left, where you had to plant your own seed and water it yourselves as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are about to cross the river and take for your own is a land of mountains and valleys; it drinks water that rains from the sky. It’s a land that God, your God, personally tends—he’s the gardener—he alone keeps his eye on it all year long.
13-15 From now on if you listen obediently to the commandments that I am commanding you today, love God, your God, and serve him with everything you have within you, he’ll take charge of sending the rain at the right time, both autumn and spring rains, so that you’ll be able to harvest your grain, your grapes, your olives. He’ll make sure there’s plenty of grass for your animals. You’ll have plenty to eat.
16-17 But be vigilant, lest you be seduced away and end up serving and worshiping other gods and God erupts in anger and shuts down Heaven so there’s no rain and nothing grows in the fields, and in no time at all you’re starved out—not a trace of you left on the good land that God is giving you.
18-21 Place these words on your hearts. Get them deep inside you. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder. Teach them to your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning until you fall into bed at night. Inscribe them on the doorposts and gates of your cities so that you’ll live a long time, and your children with you, on the soil that God promised to give your ancestors for as long as there is a sky over the Earth.
22-25 That’s right. If you diligently keep all this commandment that I command you to obey—love God, your God, do what he tells you, stick close to him—God on his part will drive out all these nations that stand in your way. Yes, he’ll drive out nations much bigger and stronger than you. Every square inch on which you place your foot will be yours. Your borders will stretch from the wilderness to the mountains of Lebanon, from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. No one will be able to stand in your way. Everywhere you go, God-sent fear and trembling will precede you, just as he promised.
26 I’ve brought you today to the crossroads of Blessing and Curse.
27 The Blessing: if you listen obediently to the commandments of God, your God, which I command you today.
28 The Curse: if you don’t pay attention to the commandments of God, your God, but leave the road that I command you today, following other gods of which you know nothing.
29-30 Here’s what comes next: When God, your God, brings you into the land you are going into to make your own, you are to give out the Blessing from Mount Gerizim and the Curse from Mount Ebal. After you cross the Jordan River, follow the road to the west through Canaanite settlements in the valley near Gilgal and the Oaks of Moreh.
31-32 You are crossing the Jordan River to invade and take the land that God, your God, is giving you. Be vigilant. Observe all the regulations and rules I am setting before you today.
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