Deuteronomy 11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Rewards for Obedience
11 “You shall love the Lord your God, therefore, and keep his charge, his decrees, his ordinances, and his commandments always.(A) 2 Remember today that it was not your children (who have not known or seen the discipline of the Lord your God), but it is you who must acknowledge his greatness, his mighty hand, and his outstretched arm,(B) 3 his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to all his land; 4 what he did to the Egyptian army, to their horses and chariots, how he made the water of the Red Sea[a] flow over them as they pursued you, so that the Lord has destroyed them to this day;(C) 5 what he did to you in the wilderness until you came to this place; 6 and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab son of Reuben, how in the midst of all Israel the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, along with their households, their tents, and every living being in their company;(D) 7 for it is your own eyes that have seen every great deed that the Lord did.
8 “Keep, then, the entire commandment that I am commanding you today, so that you may have strength to go in and occupy the land that you are crossing over to occupy(E) 9 and so that you may live long in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give them and to their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.(F) 10 For the land that you are about to enter to occupy is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sow your seed and irrigate by foot like a vegetable garden. 11 But the land that you are crossing over to occupy is a land of hills and valleys watered by rain from the sky,(G) 12 a land that the Lord your God looks after. The eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
13 “If you will only heed his every commandment[b] that I am commanding you today—loving the Lord your God and serving him with all your heart and with all your soul(H)— 14 then he[c] will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil,(I) 15 and he[d] will give grass in your field for your livestock, and you will eat your fill.(J) 16 Take care, or you will be seduced into turning away, serving other gods and worshiping them,(K) 17 for then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will not yield its produce; then you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.(L)
18 “You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and fix them as an emblem on your forehead.(M) 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise up.(N) 20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,(O) 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.
22 “If you will diligently observe this entire commandment that I am commanding you, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him,(P) 23 then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and mightier than you.(Q) 24 Every place on which you set foot shall be yours; your territory shall extend from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River, the River Euphrates, to the Western Sea.(R) 25 No one will be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will put the fear and dread of you on all the land on which you set foot, as he promised you.(S)
26 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:(T) 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today;(U) 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God but turn from the way that I am commanding you today, to follow other gods that you have not known.(V)
29 “When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that you are entering to occupy, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.(W) 30 As you know, they are beyond the Jordan, some distance to the west, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the oak[e] of Moreh.(X)
31 “When you cross the Jordan to go in to occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you and when you occupy it and live in it,(Y) 32 you must diligently observe all the statutes and ordinances that I am setting before you today.
Deuteronomy 11
International Standard Version
Remember God’s Power
11 “Therefore love the Lord your God and be very careful to keep his injunctions, statutes, ordinances, and commands all the time.[a] 2 Keep in mind today that I am not speaking to your children, who neither were aware of nor did they witness the discipline of the Lord your God—that is, his great and far-reaching power, 3 including: the signs and works that he did within Egypt to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and to all his land; 4 what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses, and to its chariots, when he caused the water of the Reed[b] Sea to engulf them as they pursued you; how the Lord destroyed them, even to this day; 5 what he did for you in the desert until you came to this place; 6 and what he did to Eliab’s sons Dathan and Abiram, descendants of Reuben, when the ground opened up and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing belonging to them in the full sight[c] of Israel. 7 Your very own eyes saw all the great things that the Lord did.”
Possessing a Fertile Land
8 “Keep all the commands that I’m giving[d] you today, so you can be strong enough to enter and possess the land that you are crossing over to inherit 9 and so you’ll live long in the land that the Lord your God promised by an oath to give your ancestors and their descendants—a land flowing with milk and honey, 10 since the land that you are about to enter to inherit isn’t like the land of Egypt that you just left, where you plant a seed and irrigate it with your feet like a vegetable garden. 11 Instead, the land that you are crossing over to inherit is a land of hills and valleys that drinks water supplied by rain from heaven, 12 a land about which the Lord your God is always concerned, because the eyes of the Lord are continuously on it throughout the entire year.”[e]
Delights of a Bountiful Land
13 “If you carefully observe the commands that I’m giving you today—that is, to love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and soul— 14 then he[f] will send rain on the land in its season (the early and latter rains)[g] and you’ll gather grain, new wine, and oil. 15 He[h] will provide grass in the fields for your livestock, and you’ll eat and be satisfied. 16 Be careful! Otherwise, your hearts will deceive you and you will turn away to serve other gods and worship them. 17 The wrath of God will burn against you so that he will restrain the heavens and it won’t rain. The ground won’t yield its produce and you’ll be swiftly destroyed from the good land that the Lord is about to give you. 18 Take these commands to heart and keep them in mind, tying them as reminders on your arm and as bands on your forehead. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them while sitting in your house, walking on the road, or when you are about to lie down or get up. 20 Also write them upon the doorposts of your house and gates,[i] 21 so that you and your children may live a long time in the land that the Lord promised to give your ancestors—as long as the sky remains above the earth.”
Boundaries of the Land
22 “If you carefully observe all of these commands that I’m giving you to do—to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cling to him— 23 then the Lord will dispossess all these nations before you and you’ll dispossess nations that are even greater and stronger than you. 24 Every place upon which the soles of your feet tread will be yours as boundaries—from the desert to Lebanon and from the River (that is, from the Euphrates) to the Mediterranean[j] Sea. 25 No one will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God will instill terror and fear of you throughout the entire land wherever you go, just as he promised you. 26 Look! I’m about to grant you a blessing and a curse— 27 a blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I’m giving you today, 28 or a curse if you don’t obey the commands of the Lord your God, by turning from the way that I’m commanding you today and following other gods whom you have not known.”
Declaration of the Blessings and Curses
29 “When the Lord brings you to the land that you are about to enter to inherit, repeat the blessings on Mount Gerizim and the curses on Mount Ebal. 30 They’re across the Jordan River to the west in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah opposite Gilgal near the Oak of Moreh, aren’t they? 31 For you are about to cross the Jordan River to go in and possess the land that the Lord your God is about to give you to inherit and live in. 32 Be careful to obey all the statutes and ordinances that I’m placing before you today.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 11:1 Lit. days
- Deuteronomy 11:4 So MT; LXX reads Red
- Deuteronomy 11:6 Lit. the middle
- Deuteronomy 11:8 Lit. commanding
- Deuteronomy 11:12 Lit. on it from the beginning of the year until the end of the year
- Deuteronomy 11:14 So with LXX, SP, V; MT reads I
- Deuteronomy 11:14 I.e. winter and spring rains
- Deuteronomy 11:15 So with LXX, SP, V; MT reads I
- Deuteronomy 11:20 cf. Deut 6:7-8
- Deuteronomy 11:24 Lit. Western
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