Add parallel Print Page Options

29 These be the words of the bond of peace, which the Lord commanded to Moses, that he should make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the bond of peace, which he covenanted with them in Horeb. (These be the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded to Moses, that he should make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant which he made with them on Mount Sinai.)

And Moses called all Israel, and said to them, Ye have seen all (the) things which the Lord did before you in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land;

the great temptations which thine eyes have seen (the great plagues which thou hast seen), (and) those signs, and the great wonders.

And the Lord gave not to you an heart understanding, and eyes seeing, and ears that may hear, till into this present day. (But unto this present day, the Lord hath not given you a heart to understand with, or eyes to see with, or ears to hear with.)

He led you by forty years through desert; your clothes were not broken, neither the shoes of your feet were wasted by eldness; (He led you for forty years through the wilderness; yet your clothes did not wear out, nor were your shoes wasted with oldness;)

ye ate not bread, neither ye drank wine and cider, that ye should know that he is your Lord God. (ye ate no bread, and ye drank no wine or cider, but ye survived through his provision, so that ye would know that he is the Lord your God.)

And ye came to this place; and Sihon, the king of Heshbon went out, and Og, the king of Bashan, and they came to us to battle. And we smote them, (And ye came to this place; and Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, came out, and they went against us in battle. And we struck them down,)

and we took away their land, and we gave it to possession, to Reuben, and to Gad, and to the half lineage of Manasseh. (and we took away their land, and we gave it for a possession to Reuben, and to Gad, and to half of the tribe of Manasseh.)

Therefore keep ye the words of this covenant, and fulfill ye them, that ye understand all things which ye shall do. (And so keep ye the words of this covenant, and fulfill ye them, so that ye shall prosper in everything which ye shall do.)

10 All ye stand today before your Lord God, your princes, and lineages, and the greater men in birth, and your teachers or doctors, (with) all the people of Israel, (Ye all stand here today before the Lord your God, yea, the leaders of the tribes, and the men of great age, that is, the elders, and your officers, with all the people of Israel,)

11 your free children, and your wives, and the comelings that dwell with thee in the tents, besides the hewers of wood, and besides they that bear water; (yea, your children, and your wives, and the newcomers who live with thee in the tents, as well as the hewers of wood, and the bearers of water;)

12 that thou go into the bond of peace of thy Lord God, and in the oath which thy Lord God smiteth with thee, (that thou enter into the covenant of the Lord thy God, and accept the oath which the Lord thy God striketh with thee,)

13 that he raise thee up into a people to himself, and that he be thy Lord God, as he spake to thee, and as he swore to thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (so that he can raise thee up into a people unto himself, and that he be the Lord thy God, as he promised thee, and as he swore to thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.)

14 And not to you alone I make this bond of peace, and confirm these oaths, (And it is not with you alone do I make this covenant, and confirm this oath,)

15 but to all men (but with all Israelites), present and absent.

16 For ye know how we dwelled in the land of Egypt, and how we passed by the midst of nations; which ye passed (by), (For ye know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how, when we passed through the midst of the nations,)

17 and saw abominations and filths, that is, their idols, (of) wood and stone, silver and gold, which they worshipped. (we saw their abominations and filths, that is, their idols, and false gods, made out of wood and stone, and silver and gold, which they worshipped.)

18 Lest peradventure among you be man either woman, family either lineage, whose heart is turned away today from your Lord God, that he go, and serve the gods of those folks; and a root burgeoning gall and bitterness be among you; (Lest there be among you a man or a woman, a family or a tribe, whose heart today is turned away from the Lord your God, so that they go, and serve the gods of those nations; and there be a root burgeoning gall and bitterness among you;)

19 and when he hath heard the words of this oath, he bless himself in his heart, and say, Peace shall be to me, and I shall go in the depravity of mine heart; and lest the drunken take the thirsty, (and so when he hath heard the words of this oath, he bless himself in his heart, and say, There shall still be peace for me, yea, even though I go in the depravity of my heart; but such thinking shall destroy everything;)

20 and the Lord forgive not to him, but then full greatly his strong vengeance be fierce, and his fervour burst out against that man, and all the curses that be written in this book rest upon him; and the Lord do away his name from under heaven, (for the Lord shall not forgive him, but his strong vengeance shall be greatly fierce, and his fervour shall burst out against that person, and all the curses that be written in this book shall rest upon him; and the Lord shall do away his name from under heaven,)

21 and waste him into perdition from all the lineages of Israel, by the curses that be contained in the book of this law, and of the bond of peace. (yea, he shall bring him out of all the tribes of Israel, and shall bring him down into perdition, according to all the curses of the covenant, that be contained in this Book of the Law.)

22 And the generation following shall see, and the sons that shall be born afterward, and pilgrims that shall come from [a]far, seeing the vengeances of that land, and the sicknesses by which the Lord tormented that land, (And the generation following, and the descendants who shall be born afterward, and the foreigners who shall come from afar, shall all see the plagues that be in the land, and the sicknesses with which the Lord hath tormented it,)

23 burning that land with brimstone, and heat of the sun, so that it be no more sown, neither bring forth any green thing, into ensample of [the] destroying of Sodom, and Gomorrah, of Admah, and of Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his wrath, and strong vengeance. (burning up that land with brimstone, and the heat of the sun, so that it can no more be sown, nor bring forth any green thing, following the examples of the destruction of Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboiim, all of which the Lord destroyed in his anger, and his strong vengeance.)

24 And all folks shall say, Why did the Lord so to this land? What is the great wrath of his strong vengeance? (And all the nations shall say, Why hath the Lord done so to this land? What is the reason for his great anger and strong vengeance?)

25 and they shall answer, For they forsook the covenant of the Lord, which he covenanted with their fathers, when he led them out of the land of Egypt,

26 and they served alien gods, and worshipped them, which they knew not, and to which they were not given; (and they served foreign, or other, gods, and worshipped them, which they knew not, and which he had not given them;)

27 therefore the strong vengeance of the Lord was wroth against this land, that he brought in upon it all the curses that be written in this book; (and so with strong vengeance the Lord was angry against this land, and he brought in on it all the curses that be written in this book;)

28 and he casted them out of their land, in wrath and strong vengeance, and in full great indignation; and he casted forth them into an alien land, as it is proved today. (and he threw them out of their land, in his anger and strong vengeance, and very great indignation; and he threw them forth into a foreign land, where they still be today.)

29 Diverse things be hid, or privy, of our Lord God, that is, in his before-knowing, which things be showed to us, and to our sons (into) without end, that we do all the words of this law. (Some things be hid, or known only, by the Lord our God, that is, in his foreknowing, but other things be shown to us, and to our descendants into without end, so that we can do all the words of this law.)

29 These are the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.

And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;

The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:

Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.

Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the Lord your God.

And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them:

And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.

Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.

10 Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,

11 Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water:

12 That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day:

13 That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

14 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath;

15 But with him that standeth here with us this day before the Lord our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:

16 (For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;

17 And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)

18 Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;

19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:

20 The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.

21 And the Lord shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:

22 So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the Lord hath laid upon it;

23 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

24 Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?

25 Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:

26 For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:

27 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:

28 And the Lord rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.

29 The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

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