The Covenant Renewed in Moab

29 [a] These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel (A)in the land of Moab, besides (B)the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.

[b] And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: (C)“You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, the great (D)trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. But to this day (E)the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. (F)I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. (G)You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. And when you came to this place, (H)Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out against us to battle, but we defeated them. We took their land and (I)gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. (J)Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper[c] in all that you do.

10 “You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God: the heads of your tribes,[d] your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, 11 your little ones, your wives, and the (K)sojourner who is in your camp, from (L)the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, 12 so that you may enter into the (M)sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today, 13 that he may (N)establish you today as his people, and that (O)he may be your God, as he promised you, and (P)as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 14 It is not with you alone (Q)that I am making this sworn covenant, 15 but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, (R)and with whoever is not here with us today.

16 “You know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. 17 And you have seen their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them. 18 Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you (S)a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, 19 one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. 20 The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather (T)the anger of the Lord and (U)his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord (V)will blot out his name from under heaven. 21 And the Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law. 22 And the next generation, your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, (W)will say, when they see the afflictions of that land and the sicknesses with which the Lord has made it sick— 23 the whole land burned out with brimstone and (X)salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, (Y)an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, (Z)Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath— 24 all the nations (AA)will say, (AB)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ 25 Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, 26 and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them. 27 Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, (AC)bringing upon it all the curses written in this book, 28 and the Lord (AD)uprooted them from their land in anger and fury and great wrath, and (AE)cast them into another land, as they are this day.’

29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 29:1 Ch 28:69 in Hebrew
  2. Deuteronomy 29:2 Ch 29:1 in Hebrew
  3. Deuteronomy 29:9 Or deal wisely
  4. Deuteronomy 29:10 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew your heads, your tribes

The third heading: The new covenant at Moab

29 [a] These are the words of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb. [b] Moses summoned all Israel, saying to them:

You’ve seen with your own eyes everything the Lord did in Egypt, to Pharaoh, his servants, and all his land— the great trials your eyes witnessed, those awesome signs and wonders! But until this very moment, the Lord hasn’t given you insight to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear. I’ve led you in the wilderness forty years now; neither the clothes on your back nor the sandals on your feet have worn out. Neither have you eaten bread nor drunk wine or beer during this time—so that you would know that I am the Lord your God.[c] When you arrived here, Sihon, Heshbon’s king, and Og, Bashan’s king, marched out to fight against us, but we defeated them. We took possession of their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half of Manasseh’s tribe. So then keep the words of this covenant and do them so you can succeed in all you do.

10 Right now, all of you are in the presence of the Lord your God—the leaders of your tribes,[d] your elders, and your officials, all the Israelite males, 11 your children, your wives, and the immigrants who live with you in your camp, the ones who chop your wood and those who draw your water— 12 ready to enter into the Lord your God’s covenant and into the agreement that the Lord your God is making with you right now. 13 That means the Lord will make you his own people right now—he will be your God just as he promised you and just as he swore to our ancestors: to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 14 But I’m not making this covenant and this agreement with you alone 15 but also with those standing here with us right now before the Lord our God, and also with those who aren’t here with us right now.

16 You know firsthand how we used to live in Egypt and how we passed right through the nations that you passed through. 17 You saw the horrific things, the filthy idols of wood and stone, silver and gold, that they had with them. 18 Make sure there isn’t any one among you right now—male or female, clan or tribe—whose mind is turning from being with the Lord our God in favor of going to serve these nations’ gods. Make sure there isn’t any root among you that is sprouting poison and bitterness. 19 When that kind of person hears the words of this agreement, they congratulate themselves, thinking: I’ll be fine even though I insist on being stubborn. This would cause something wet to dry up and become like something parched.[e] 20 The Lord won’t be willing to forgive that kind of person; instead, the Lord’s anger and passion will smolder against that person. Every curse written in this scroll will stretch out over them, and the Lord will wipe out their name from under the heavens. 21 Out of all Israel’s tribes, the Lord will single them out for disaster in compliance with all the covenant curses that are written in this Instruction scroll.

22 Future generations, your children after you, or foreigners from distant lands will say: Look[f] at all that land’s plagues and the sicknesses that the Lord laid on it! 23 Look at all its land burned by sulfur and salt, unsuitable for planting, unable to grow or produce any vegetation, as devastated as Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord devastated in anger and wrath! 24 Indeed, all nations will ask: Why did the Lord do this to this land? What led to this terrible display of anger? 25 They will deduce: It was because those people abandoned the covenant of the Lord, their ancestors’ God, which he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. 26 They followed other gods, serving them and worshipping them—other gods that they hadn’t experienced before and that the Lord hadn’t designated for them. 27 Then the Lord’s anger burned against that land, and he brought against it every curse written in this scroll. 28 The Lord ripped them off their land in anger, wrath, and great fury. He threw them into other lands, and that’s how things still stand today.

29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God. The revealed things belong to us and to our children forever: to keep all the words of this covenant.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 29:1 28:69 in Heb
  2. Deuteronomy 29:2 29:1 in Heb
  3. Deuteronomy 29:6 Or that I, the Lord, am your God.
  4. Deuteronomy 29:10 LXX, Syr; MT your leaders, your tribes
  5. Deuteronomy 29:19 Heb uncertain; perhaps the agricultural imagery of 29:18 is continued here or the terms are metaphors for human states.
  6. Deuteronomy 29:22 Or after they see