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Rewards for Obedience

11 “You shall therefore love the Lord your God, and keep his charge, his statutes, his ordinances, and his commandments always. And consider this day (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline[a] of the Lord your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, his signs and his deeds which 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; how he made the water of the Red Sea overflow them as they pursued after you, and how the Lord has destroyed them to this day; and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place; and what he did to Dathan and Abi′ram the sons of Eli′ab, 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 all the great work of the Lord which he did.

“You shall therefore keep all the commandment which I command you this day, that you may be strong, and go in and take possession of the land which you are going over to possess, and that you may live long in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land which 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 watered it with your feet, like a garden of vegetables; 11 but the land which you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, 12 a land which the Lord your God cares for; 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 obey my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 he[b] will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15 And he[c] will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you shall eat and be full. 16 Take heed lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, 17 and the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and he shut up the heavens, so that there be no rain, and the land yield no fruit, and you perish quickly off the good land which the Lord gives you.

18 “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 And 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 And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates, 21 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 long as the heavens are above the earth. 22 For if you will be careful to do all this commandment which I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and cleaving to him, 23 then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves. 24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours; your territory shall be from the wilderness and Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphra′tes, to the western sea. 25 No man shall be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that you shall tread, as he promised you.

26 “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day, 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods which you have not known. 29 And when the Lord your God brings you into the land which you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set the blessing on Mount Geri′zim 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 Arabah, over against Gilgal, beside the oak[d] of Moreh? 31 For you are to pass over the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land which the Lord your God gives you; and when you possess it and live in it, 32 you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the ordinances which I set before you this day.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 11:2 Or instruction
  2. Deuteronomy 11:14 Sam Gk Vg: Heb I
  3. Deuteronomy 11:15 Sam Gk Vg: Heb I
  4. Deuteronomy 11:30 Gk Syr: See Gen 12.6. Heb oaks or terebinths

Love and Obedience Rewarded

11 “Therefore you shall love the Lord your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always. Know today that I do not speak with your children, who have not known and who have not seen the [a]chastening of the Lord your God, His greatness and His mighty hand and His outstretched arm— His signs and His acts which He did in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to all his land; what He did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and their chariots: (A)how He made the waters of the Red Sea overflow them as they pursued you, and how the Lord has destroyed them to this day; what He did for you in the wilderness until you came to this place; and (B)what He did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, their households, their tents, and all the substance that was [b]in their possession, in the midst of all Israel— but your eyes have (C)seen every great [c]act of the Lord which He did.

“Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may (D)be strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess, and (E)that you may prolong your days in the land (F)which the Lord [d]swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, (G)‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 10 For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; 11 (H)but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, 12 a land for which the Lord your God cares; (I)the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.

13 ‘And it shall be that if you earnestly [e]obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 then (J)I[f] will give you the rain for your land in its season, (K)the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. 15 (L)And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may (M)eat and be [g]filled.’ 16 Take heed to yourselves, (N)lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and (O)serve other gods and worship them, 17 lest (P)the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He (Q)shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and (R)you perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.

18 “Therefore (S)you shall [h]lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your (T)soul, and (U)bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 (V)You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20 (W)And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that (X)your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like (Y)the days of the heavens above the earth.

22 “For if (Z)you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do—to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and (AA)to hold fast to Him— 23 then the Lord will (AB)drive out all these nations from before you, and you will (AC)dispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves. 24 (AD)Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: (AE)from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the [i]Western Sea, shall be your territory. 25 No man shall be able to (AF)stand [j]against you; the Lord your God will put the (AG)dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you.

26 (AH)“Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 (AI)the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; 28 and the (AJ)curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known. 29 Now it shall be, when the Lord your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the (AK)blessing on Mount Gerizim and the (AL)curse on Mount Ebal. 30 Are they not on the other side of the Jordan, toward the setting sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the plain opposite Gilgal, (AM)beside the terebinth trees of Moreh? 31 For you will cross over the Jordan and go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you will possess it and dwell in it. 32 And you shall be careful to observe all the statutes and judgments which I set before you today.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 11:2 discipline
  2. Deuteronomy 11:6 at their feet
  3. Deuteronomy 11:7 work
  4. Deuteronomy 11:9 promised
  5. Deuteronomy 11:13 Lit. listen to
  6. Deuteronomy 11:14 So with MT, Tg.; Sam., LXX, Vg. He
  7. Deuteronomy 11:15 satisfied
  8. Deuteronomy 11:18 Lit. put
  9. Deuteronomy 11:24 Mediterranean
  10. Deuteronomy 11:25 before