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Yahweh Will Take You Back

30 “So it will be, when all of these things have come upon you, (A)the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you cause these things to return to your heart (B)in all the nations where Yahweh your God has banished you, and you (C)return to Yahweh your God and listen to His voice (D)with all your heart and soul according to all that I am commanding you today, you and your sons, then Yahweh your God will [a](E)return [b]you from captivity and return His compassion on you, and He (F)will gather you again from all the peoples where Yahweh your God has (G)scattered you. If those of you who are banished are at the ends of the sky, (H)from there Yahweh your God will gather you, and from there He will take you back. (I)And Yahweh your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and (J)multiply you more than your fathers.

“Moreover (K)Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed, (L)to love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. (M)And Yahweh your God will [c]inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. And you shall return and listen to the voice of Yahweh, and you shall do all His commandments which I am commanding you today. (N)Then Yahweh your God will [d]prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the [e]offspring of your [f]body and in the [g]offspring of your cattle and in the [h]produce of your ground, for (O)Yahweh will return to rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers, 10 [i]when you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which (P)are written in this book of the law, [j]when you return to Yahweh your God (Q)with all your heart and soul.

11 “For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far from you. 12 It is not in heaven, [k]that you should say, ‘(R)Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us and make us hear it, that we may do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, [l]that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us and get it for us and make us hear it, that we may do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

Choose Life

15 “See, (S)I have set before you today life and [m]prosperity, and death and [n]calamity; 16 in that I am commanding you today (T)to love Yahweh your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you (U)may live and multiply, and that Yahweh your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. 17 But if your heart turns away and you will not listen, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that (V)you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter [o]and possess it. 19 (W)I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, (X)the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your seed, 20 (Y)by loving Yahweh your God, by listening to His voice, and (Z)by holding fast to Him; (AA)for [p]this is your life and the length of your days, [q]that you may live in (AB)the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 30:3 Or restore
  2. Deuteronomy 30:3 Lit your captivity
  3. Deuteronomy 30:7 Lit put
  4. Deuteronomy 30:9 Lit make you have excess for good
  5. Deuteronomy 30:9 Lit fruit
  6. Deuteronomy 30:9 Lit womb
  7. Deuteronomy 30:9 Lit fruit
  8. Deuteronomy 30:9 Lit fruit
  9. Deuteronomy 30:10 Or for you will
  10. Deuteronomy 30:10 Or for you will
  11. Deuteronomy 30:12 Lit to say
  12. Deuteronomy 30:13 Lit to say
  13. Deuteronomy 30:15 Lit good
  14. Deuteronomy 30:15 Lit evil
  15. Deuteronomy 30:18 Lit to
  16. Deuteronomy 30:20 Lit that
  17. Deuteronomy 30:20 Lit to dwell

30 Now, once all these things happen to you, the blessing and the curse that I’m setting before you, you must call them to mind as you sit among the various nations where the Lord your God has driven you; and you must return to the Lord your God, obeying his voice, in line with all that I’m commanding you right now—you and your children—with all your mind and with all your being. Then the Lord your God will restore you as you were before and will have compassion on you, gathering you up from all the peoples where the Lord your God scattered you. Even if he has driven you to the far end of heaven, the Lord your God will gather you up from there; he will take you back from there. The Lord your God will bring you home to the land that your ancestors possessed; you will possess it again. And he will do good things for you and multiply you—making you more numerous even than your ancestors!

Then the Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants so that you love the Lord your God with all your mind and with all your being in order that you may live. The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you and chase you. But you will change and obey the Lord’s voice and do all his commandments that I’m commanding you right now. The Lord your God will help you succeed in everything you do—in your own fertility, your livestock’s offspring, and your land’s produce—everything will be great! Because the Lord will once again enjoy doing good things for you just as he enjoyed doing them for your ancestors, 10 and because you will be obeying the Lord your God’s voice, keeping his commandments and his regulations that are written in this Instruction scroll, and because you will have returned to the Lord your God with all your heart and all your being.

11 This commandment that I’m giving you right now is definitely not too difficult for you. It isn’t unreachable. 12 It isn’t up in heaven somewhere so that you have to ask, “Who will go up for us to heaven and get it for us that we can hear it and do it?” 13 Nor is it across the ocean somewhere so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the ocean for us and get it for us that we can hear it and do it?” 14 Not at all! The word is very close to you. It’s in your mouth and in your heart, waiting for you to do it.

Life and death

15 Look here! Today I’ve set before you life and what’s good versus death and what’s wrong. 16 If you obey the Lord your God’s commandments that[a] I’m commanding you right now by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments, his regulations, and his case laws, then you will live and thrive, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and so are misled, worshipping other gods and serving them, 18 I’m telling you right now that you will definitely die. You will not prolong your life on the fertile land that you are crossing the Jordan River to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth as my witnesses against you right now: I have set life and death, blessing and curse before you. Now choose life—so that you and your descendants will live— 20 by loving the Lord your God, by obeying his voice, and by clinging to him. That’s how you will survive and live long on the fertile land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors: to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 30:16 LXX; MT lacks if you obey the Lord your God’s commandments.