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

29 These are the devarei HaBrit, which Hashem commanded Moshe to cut with the Bnei Yisroel in Eretz Moav, besides the Brit which He cut with them in Chorev.

(1) And Moshe called unto kol Yisroel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that Hashem did before your eyes in Eretz Mitzrayim unto Pharaoh, and unto all his avadim, and unto all his land;

(2) The massot hagedolot (great trials) which thine eyes have seen, the otot, and those mofetim hagedolim;

(3) V’lo natan Hashem lakhem lev lada’at v’einayim lirot v’ozna’im lishmoa ad hayom hazeh (Yet Hashem hath not given you a lev for da’as, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day.)

(4) And I have led you arba’im shanim in the midbar; your clothes are not worn out upon you, and thy sandal is not worn out upon thy foot.

(5) Ye have not eaten lechem, neither have ye drunk yayin or shekhar; that ye might have da’as that Ani Hashem Eloheicha.

(6) And when ye came unto this place, Sichon Melech Cheshbon, and Og Melech HaBashan, came out against us unto milchamah, and we defeated them:

(7) And we took their land, and gave it for a nachalah unto the Reuveni, and to the Gadi, and to the half tribe of Menasheh.

[NITZAVIM]

(8) Therefore be shomer over the divrei HaBrit hazot, and do them, lema’an (in order that) ye may prosper in all that ye do.

10 (9) Ye stand today all of you before Hashem Eloheichem; your rashei shvatim (heads of tribes), your zekenim, and your shoterim, with kol Ish Yisroel,

11 (10) Your little ones, your nashim, and the ger that is in thy machaneh, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy mayim;

12 (11) That thou shouldest enter into Brit with Hashem Eloheicha, and into His alah (oath, imprecation) which Hashem Eloheicha cuts with thee today:

13 (12) In order that He may establish thee today for a people unto Himself, and that He may be unto thee Elohim, as He hath said unto thee, and as He hath sworn unto Avoteicha, to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Ya’akov.

14 (13) Neither with you only do I cut this Brit and this alah (oath, imprecation);

15 (14) But with him that standeth here with us today before Hashem Eloheinu, and also with him that is not here with us today;

16 (15) For ye know how we have dwelt in Eretz Mitzrayim; and how we came through the Goyim which ye passed by;

17 (16) And ye have seen their shikkutzim (abominations), and their gillulim (idols), etz va’even, kesef and zahav, which were among them:

18 (17) Lest there should be among you ish, or isha, or mishpochah, or shevet, whose lev turneth away today from Hashem Eloheinu to go and serve the elohei hagoyim hahem (the g-ds of these Goyim); lest there should be among you a shoresh that beareth bitter poison and wormwood [MJ 12:15];

19 (18) And it come to pass, when he heareth the divrei haalah (words of this oath, imprecation) that he bless himself in his lev, saying, Shalom be with me, though I walk in the stubbornness of mine lev—thus bringing disaster on both the watered and the thirsty.

20 (19) Hashem will not spare him, but then the wrath of Hashem and His kina (jealousy) shall burn against that ish, and kol haalah (all the curses) that are written in this sefer shall fall upon him, and Hashem shall blot out shmo from under Shomayim.

21 (20) And Hashem shall him separate out for disaster from all the Shivtei Yisroel, according to all the curses of HaBrit that are written in Sefer HaTorah Hazeh;

22 (21) So that the dor ha’acharon (later generation) to come of your banim that shall rise up after you, and the ger that shall come from an eretz rechokah (a far land), shall say, when they see the makkot of that land, and the diseases which Hashem hath laid upon it;

23 (22) And that the whole land thereof is gofrit (sulfur), and melach (salt), and serefah (burning), that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any esev groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Amora, Admah, and Tzvoyim, which Hashem overthrew in His anger, and in His wrath:

24 (23) Even Kol HaGoyim shall say, Why hath Hashem done thus unto this land? What meaneth the heat of this af hagadol (great anger)?

25 (24) Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the Brit Hashem Elohei Avotam, which He cut with them when He brought them forth out of Eretz Mitzrayim;

26 (25) For they went and served elohim acherim, and worshiped them, elohim whom they knew not, and whom He had not allotted unto them;

27 (26) And the Af Hashem was kindled against this land, to bring upon it kol hakelalah that are written in this sefer;

28 (27) And Hashem uprooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is yom hazeh.

29 (28) The nistarot (secret things) belong unto Hashem Eloheinu: but the niglot (those things which are revealed) belong unto us and to baneinu ad olam, that we may do all the divrei haTorah hazot.