The Covenant in Moab

29 [a](A)These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the (B)covenant which He had made with them at Horeb.

[b]And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants, and to all his land; (C)the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders. Yet to this day (D)the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear. And I have led you in the wilderness for forty years; (E)your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. (F)You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or other strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the Lord your God. (G)When you [c]reached this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out to meet us for battle, but we [d]defeated them; and we took their land and (H)gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. (I)So you will keep the words of this covenant and do them, (J)in order that you may be successful in everything that you do.

10 “You stand today, all of you, before the Lord your God: your heads, your tribes, your elders and your officers, that is, all the men of Israel, 11 your little ones, your wives, and the stranger who is within your camps, from (K)the one who gathers your firewood to the one who draws your water, 12 so that you may enter into the covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath which the Lord your God is making with you today, 13 in order that He may establish you today as His people, and that (L)He may be your God, just as He spoke to you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

14 “Now it is not with you alone that I am (M)making this covenant and this oath, 15 (N)but both with those who stand here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God, and with those who are not with us here today 16 (for you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we passed through the midst of the nations through which you passed; 17 moreover, you have seen their abominations and their idols made of (O)wood and stone, silver and gold, which they had with them); 18 (P)so that there will not be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; that there will not be among you (Q)a root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood. 19 And it shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will consider himself fortunate in his heart, saying, ‘I will do well though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order [e]to destroy the watered land along with the dry.’ 20 The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and (R)His wrath will [f](S)burn against that person, and every curse that is written in this book will lie upon him, and the Lord will (T)wipe out his name from under heaven. 21 Then the Lord will single him out for disaster from all the tribes of Israel, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant (U)which is written in this Book of the Law.

22 “Now the future generation, your sons who rise up after you and (V)the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of that land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it, will say, 23 ‘All its land is (W)brimstone and salt, (X)burned debris, [g]unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows on it, like the overthrow of (Y)Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.’ 24 All the nations will say, ‘(Z)Why has the Lord done all this to this land? Why this great [h]outburst of anger?’ 25 Then people will say, ‘It is (AA)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 they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they have not known and whom He had not [i]assigned to them. 27 Therefore, the anger of the Lord burned against that land, (AB)to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book; 28 and (AC)the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, fury, and in great wrath, and hurled them into another land, as it is this day.’

29 (AD)The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but (AE)the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, so that we may [j]follow all the words of this Law.

Restoration Promised

30 “So it will be when all of these things have come upon you, (AF)the blessing and the curse which I have placed before you, and you [k]call them to mind (AG)in all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you, and you (AH)return to the Lord your God and [l]obey Him (AI)with all your heart and soul in accordance with everything that I am commanding you today, you and your sons, then the Lord your God will (AJ)restore [m]you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and (AK)will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has (AL)scattered you. If any of your scattered countrymen are at the [n]ends of the earth, (AM)from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will [o]bring you back. (AN)The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will be good to you and (AO)make you more numerous than your fathers.

“Moreover, (AP)the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your [p]descendants, (AQ)to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, so that you may live. (AR)And the Lord your God will [q]inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. And you will again [r]obey the Lord, and [s]follow all His commandments which I am commanding you today. (AS)Then the Lord your God will prosper you [t]abundantly in every work of your hand, in the [u]children of your womb, the [v]offspring of your cattle, and in the [w]produce of your ground, for (AT)the Lord will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; 10 [x]if you [y]obey the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which (AU)are written in this Book of the Law, [z]if you turn to the Lord your God (AV)with all your heart and soul.

11 “For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far away. 12 It is not in heaven, [aa]that you could say, ‘(AW)Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us, and proclaim it to us, so that we may [ab]follow it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, [ac]that you could say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us and get it for us and proclaim it to us, so that we may [ad]follow it?’ 14 On the contrary, the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may [ae]follow it.

Choose Life

15 “See, (AX)I have placed before you today life and [af]happiness, and death and [ag]adversity, 16 in that I am commanding you today (AY)to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, so that you (AZ)may live and become numerous, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but allow yourself to be led astray and you worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that (BA)you will certainly perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter [ah]and take possession of it. 19 (BB)I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, (BC)the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your [ai]descendants, 20 (BD)by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and (BE)by holding close to Him; (BF)for [aj]this is your life and the length of your days, [ak]so that you may live in (BG)the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 29:1 Ch 28:69 in Heb
  2. Deuteronomy 29:2 Ch 29:1 in Heb
  3. Deuteronomy 29:7 Lit came to
  4. Deuteronomy 29:7 Lit struck
  5. Deuteronomy 29:19 I.e., to destroy everything
  6. Deuteronomy 29:20 Lit smoke
  7. Deuteronomy 29:23 Lit it is not sown and does not make plants sprout
  8. Deuteronomy 29:24 Lit heat
  9. Deuteronomy 29:26 Lit apportioned
  10. Deuteronomy 29:29 Lit perform
  11. Deuteronomy 30:1 Lit return them to your heart
  12. Deuteronomy 30:2 Lit listen to His voice
  13. Deuteronomy 30:3 Lit your captivity
  14. Deuteronomy 30:4 Lit end of the sky
  15. Deuteronomy 30:4 Lit take you
  16. Deuteronomy 30:6 Lit seed
  17. Deuteronomy 30:7 Lit give
  18. Deuteronomy 30:8 Lit listen to the voice of
  19. Deuteronomy 30:8 Lit perform
  20. Deuteronomy 30:9 Lit for good
  21. Deuteronomy 30:9 Lit fruit
  22. Deuteronomy 30:9 Lit fruit
  23. Deuteronomy 30:9 Lit fruit
  24. Deuteronomy 30:10 Or for you will
  25. Deuteronomy 30:10 Lit listen to the voice of
  26. Deuteronomy 30:10 Or for you will
  27. Deuteronomy 30:12 Lit to say
  28. Deuteronomy 30:12 Lit perform
  29. Deuteronomy 30:13 Lit to say
  30. Deuteronomy 30:13 Lit perform
  31. Deuteronomy 30:14 Lit perform
  32. Deuteronomy 30:15 Lit good
  33. Deuteronomy 30:15 Lit evil
  34. Deuteronomy 30:18 Lit to
  35. Deuteronomy 30:19 Lit seed
  36. Deuteronomy 30:20 Lit that
  37. Deuteronomy 30:20 Lit to dwell

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