¹⁶ for 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 moreover, you have seen their detestable things and their idols of ^(A)wood, stone, silver, and gold, which they had with them— ^18 (B)lest there be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from Yahweh our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there be among you ^(C)a root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood. ¹⁹ And it will be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will ^[a]bless himself in his heart, saying, ‘I have peace though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order ^[b]to sweep away the watered land with the dry.’ ²⁰ Yahweh shall not be willing to pardon him, but rather the anger of Yahweh and ^(D)His jealousy will ^[c](E)burn against that man, and every curse which is written in this book will ^[d]rest on him, and Yahweh will ^(F)blot out his name from under heaven. ²¹ Then Yahweh will separate him out for ^[e]adversity from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant ^(G)which are written in this book of the law.

²² “And the generation to come, your sons who rise up after you and ^(H)the foreigner who comes from a distant land, shall see the plagues of the land and the diseases with which Yahweh has ^[f]afflicted it, and they will say, ²³ ‘All its land is ^(I)brimstone and salt, ^(J)a burning waste, ^[g]unsown and nothing sprouting, and no grass grows in it, like the overthrow of ^(K)Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.’ ²⁴ And all the nations will say, ‘^(L)Why has Yahweh done thus to this land? Why this great burning anger?’ ²⁵ Then men will say, ‘^(M)Because they forsook the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, which He cut with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. ²⁶ And they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they have not known and whom He had not apportioned to them. ²⁷ Therefore, the anger of Yahweh was kindled against that land, ^(N)to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book; ²⁸ and ^(O)Yahweh uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath, and He cast them into another land, as it is this day.’

²⁹ “^(P)The secret things belong to Yahweh our God, but ^(Q)the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may do all the words of this law.