¹⁴ I am making this covenant,^(A) with its oath, not only with you ¹⁵ who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today.^(B)

¹⁶ You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries on the way here. ¹⁷ You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold.^{(C) 18} Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns^(D) away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.^(E)

¹⁹ When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing^(F) on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,”^(G) they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. ²⁰ The Lord will never be willing to forgive^(H) them; his wrath and zeal^(I) will burn^(J) against them. All the curses written in this book will fall on them, and the Lord will blot^(K) out their names from under heaven. ²¹ The Lord will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster,^(L) according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.^(M)

²⁹ The secret things belong to the Lord our God,^(A) but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.^(B)