Israel Told Never to Forget God

8 Be careful to obey every command I give you today. Then you will live, and your population will increase. You will enter and take possession of the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors with an oath.

² Remember that for 40 years the Lord your God led you on your journey in the desert. He did this in order to humble you and test you. He wanted to know whether or not you would wholeheartedly obey his commands. ³ So he made you suffer from hunger and then fed you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had seen before. He did this to teach you that a person cannot live on bread alone but on every word that the Lord speaks. ⁴ Your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t swell these past 40 years. ⁵ Learn this lesson by heart: The Lord your God was disciplining you as parents discipline their children. ⁶ Obey the commands of the Lord your God. Follow his directions, and fear him.

⁷ The Lord your God is bringing you into a good land. It is a land with rivers that don’t dry up. There are springs and underground streams flowing through the valleys and hills. ⁸ The land has wheat and barley, grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates. The land has honey and olive trees for olive oil. ⁹ The land will have enough food for you, and you will have everything you need. The land has rocks with iron ore, and you will be able to mine copper ore in the hills. ¹⁰ When you have eaten all you want, thank the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

¹¹ Be careful that you don’t forget the Lord your God. Don’t fail to obey his commands, rules, and laws that I’m giving you today. ¹² You will eat all you want. You will build nice houses and live in them. ¹³ Your herds and flocks, silver and gold, and everything else you have will increase. ¹⁴ When this happens, be careful that you don’t become arrogant and forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. ¹⁵ He was the one who led you through that vast and dangerous desert—a thirsty and arid land, with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He was the one who made water come out of solid rock for you. ¹⁶ He was the one who fed you in the desert with manna, which your ancestors had never seen. He did this in order to humble you and test you. But he also did this so that things would go well for you in the end. ¹⁷ You may say to yourselves, “I became wealthy because of my own ability and strength.” ¹⁸ But remember the Lord your God is the one who makes you wealthy. He’s confirming the promise ^[a] which he swore to your ancestors. It’s still in effect today.

¹⁹ I warn you today that if you forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, and if you serve them and bow down to them, you will certainly be destroyed. ²⁰ The Lord is going to destroy other nations as you enter the land. You will be destroyed like them if you don’t obey the Lord your God.

Israel Told Never to Forget God

8 Be careful to obey every command I give you today. Then you will live, and your population will increase. You will enter and take possession of the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors with an oath.

² Remember that for 40 years the Lord your God led you on your journey in the desert. He did this in order to humble you and test you. He wanted to know whether or not you would wholeheartedly obey his commands. ³ So he made you suffer from hunger and then fed you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had seen before. He did this to teach you that a person cannot live on bread alone but on every word that the Lord speaks. ⁴ Your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t swell these past 40 years. ⁵ Learn this lesson by heart: The Lord your God was disciplining you as parents discipline their children. ⁶ Obey the commands of the Lord your God. Follow his directions, and fear him.

⁷ The Lord your God is bringing you into a good land. It is a land with rivers that don’t dry up. There are springs and underground streams flowing through the valleys and hills. ⁸ The land has wheat and barley, grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates. The land has honey and olive trees for olive oil. ⁹ The land will have enough food for you, and you will have everything you need. The land has rocks with iron ore, and you will be able to mine copper ore in the hills. ¹⁰ When you have eaten all you want, thank the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

¹¹ Be careful that you don’t forget the Lord your God. Don’t fail to obey his commands, rules, and laws that I’m giving you today. ¹² You will eat all you want. You will build nice houses and live in them. ¹³ Your herds and flocks, silver and gold, and everything else you have will increase. ¹⁴ When this happens, be careful that you don’t become arrogant and forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. ¹⁵ He was the one who led you through that vast and dangerous desert—a thirsty and arid land, with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He was the one who made water come out of solid rock for you. ¹⁶ He was the one who fed you in the desert with manna, which your ancestors had never seen. He did this in order to humble you and test you. But he also did this so that things would go well for you in the end. ¹⁷ You may say to yourselves, “I became wealthy because of my own ability and strength.” ¹⁸ But remember the Lord your God is the one who makes you wealthy. He’s confirming the promise ^[a] which he swore to your ancestors. It’s still in effect today.

¹⁹ I warn you today that if you forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, and if you serve them and bow down to them, you will certainly be destroyed. ²⁰ The Lord is going to destroy other nations as you enter the land. You will be destroyed like them if you don’t obey the Lord your God.

²⁴ “A student is not better than his teacher. Nor is a slave better than his owner. ²⁵ It is enough for a student to become like his teacher and a slave like his owner. If they have called the owner of the house Beelzebul,^[a] they will certainly call the family members the same name. ²⁶ So don’t be afraid of them. Nothing has been covered that will not be exposed. Whatever is secret will be made known. ²⁷ Tell in the daylight what I say to you in the dark. Shout from the housetops what you hear whispered. ²⁸ Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.

²⁹ “Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s permission. ³⁰ Every hair on your head has been counted. ³¹ Don’t be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows.

³² “So I will acknowledge in front of my Father in heaven that person who acknowledges me in front of others. ³³ But I will tell my Father in heaven that I don’t know the person who tells others that he doesn’t know me.

³⁴ “Don’t think that I came to bring peace to earth. I didn’t come to bring peace but conflict. ³⁵ I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ A person’s enemies will be the members of his own family.

³⁷ “The person who loves his father or mother more than me does not deserve to be my disciple. The person who loves a son or daughter more than me does not deserve to be my disciple. ³⁸ Whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow me doesn’t deserve to be my disciple. ³⁹ The person who tries to preserve his life will lose it, but the person who loses his life for me will preserve it.

⁴⁰ “The person who welcomes you welcomes me, and the person who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹ The person who welcomes a prophet as such will receive a prophet’s reward. The person who welcomes a godly person as such will receive a godly person’s reward. ⁴² I can guarantee this truth: Whoever gives any of my humble followers a cup of cold water because that person is my disciple will certainly never lose his reward.”

²⁴ “A student is not better than his teacher. Nor is a slave better than his owner. ²⁵ It is enough for a student to become like his teacher and a slave like his owner. If they have called the owner of the house Beelzebul,^[a] they will certainly call the family members the same name. ²⁶ So don’t be afraid of them. Nothing has been covered that will not be exposed. Whatever is secret will be made known. ²⁷ Tell in the daylight what I say to you in the dark. Shout from the housetops what you hear whispered. ²⁸ Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.

²⁹ “Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s permission. ³⁰ Every hair on your head has been counted. ³¹ Don’t be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows.

³² “So I will acknowledge in front of my Father in heaven that person who acknowledges me in front of others. ³³ But I will tell my Father in heaven that I don’t know the person who tells others that he doesn’t know me.

³⁴ “Don’t think that I came to bring peace to earth. I didn’t come to bring peace but conflict. ³⁵ I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ A person’s enemies will be the members of his own family.

³⁷ “The person who loves his father or mother more than me does not deserve to be my disciple. The person who loves a son or daughter more than me does not deserve to be my disciple. ³⁸ Whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow me doesn’t deserve to be my disciple. ³⁹ The person who tries to preserve his life will lose it, but the person who loses his life for me will preserve it.

⁴⁰ “The person who welcomes you welcomes me, and the person who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹ The person who welcomes a prophet as such will receive a prophet’s reward. The person who welcomes a godly person as such will receive a godly person’s reward. ⁴² I can guarantee this truth: Whoever gives any of my humble followers a cup of cold water because that person is my disciple will certainly never lose his reward.”