Deuteronomy 30
New King James Version
The Blessing of Returning to God
30 “Now (A)it shall come to pass, when (B)all these things come upon you, the blessing and the (C)curse which I have set before you, and (D)you [a]call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, 2 and you (E)return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 (F)that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and (G)gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 (H)If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. 5 Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 And (I)the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
7 “Also the Lord your God will put all these (J)curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 And you will (K)again obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you today. 9 (L)The Lord your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the [b]fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the Lord will again (M)rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, 10 if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
The Choice of Life or Death
11 “For this commandment which I command you today (N)is [c]not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 (O)It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, (P)in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
15 “See, (Q)I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 (R)I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 19 (S)I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that (T)I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your (U)life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 30:1 Lit. cause them to return to your heart
- Deuteronomy 30:9 offspring
- Deuteronomy 30:11 not hidden from
Deuteronomy 30
English Standard Version
Repentance and Forgiveness
30 (A)“And (B)when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and (C)you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and (D)return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God (E)will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will (F)gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 (G)If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. 5 And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. (H)And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 And (I)the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, (J)so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 7 And the Lord your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. 8 And you shall again obey the voice of the Lord and keep all his commandments that I command you today. 9 (K)The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. (L)For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, 10 when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
The Choice of Life and Death
11 “For this commandment that I command you today (M)is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 (N)It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
15 “See, (O)I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God[a] that I command you today, (P)by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules,[b] then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if (Q)your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 (R)I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, (S)blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice (T)and holding fast to him, for (U)he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in (V)the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 30:16 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God
- Deuteronomy 30:16 Or his just decrees
Deuteronomy 30
Easy-to-Read Version
The Israelites Will Return to Their Land
30 “Everything that I have mentioned will happen to you—both the blessings and the curses. And you will remember these words when the Lord your God sends you away to other nations. 2 Then you and your descendants will turn back to the Lord your God. You will follow him with all your heart and completely obey all his commands that I have given you today. 3 Then the Lord your God will be kind to you. The Lord your God will make you free again! He will bring you back from the nations where he sent you. 4 Even if you were sent to the farthest parts of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back. 5 The Lord your God will bring you into the land your ancestors had, and the land will become yours. He will do good to you, and you will have more than your ancestors had. You will have more people in your nation than they ever had. 6 The Lord your God will make you and your descendants want to obey him.[a] Then you will love the Lord your God with all your heart. And you will live!
7 “Then the Lord your God will make all these bad things happen to your enemies, who hate you and cause you trouble. 8 And you will again obey the Lord. You will obey all his commands that I give you today. 9 The Lord your God will make you successful in everything you do. He will bless you with many children. He will bless your cows—they will have many calves. He will bless your fields—they will grow many good crops. He will be good to you. The Lord will again enjoy doing good for you, the same as he enjoyed doing good for your ancestors. 10 But you must do what the Lord your God tells you to do. You must obey his commands and follow the rules that are written in this Book of Teachings. You must obey the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Then these good things will happen to you.
Life or Death
11 “This command that I give you today is not too hard for you. It is not a secret hidden in some far away land. 12 This command is not in heaven so that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it to us, so that we can hear and do it?’ 13 This command is not on the other side of the sea so that you should say, ‘Who will go across the sea for us and bring it to us, so that we can hear it and do it?’ 14 No, the word is very near to you. It is in your mouth and in your heart. So you can obey it.
15 “Today I have given you a choice between life and death, success and disaster.[b] 16 I command you today to love the Lord your God. I command you to follow him and to obey his commands, laws, and rules. Then you will live, and your nation will grow larger. And the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take for your own. 17 But if you turn away from your God and refuse to listen, if you are led away to worship and serve other gods, 18 you will be destroyed. I am warning you today, if you turn away from God, you will not live long in that land across the Jordan River that you are ready to enter and take for your own.
19 “Today I am giving you a choice of two ways. And I ask heaven and earth to be witnesses of your choice. You can choose life or death. The first choice will bring a blessing. The other choice will bring a curse. So choose life! Then you and your children will live. 20 You must love the Lord your God and obey him. Never leave him, because he is your life. And he will give you a long life in the land that he, the Lord, promised to give to your ancestors—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 30:6 make you … obey him Literally, “circumcise the hearts of you and your seed.”
- Deuteronomy 30:15 success and disaster Or “good and evil.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International