You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.

But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.

This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.

“If a person is illegitimate by birth, neither he nor his descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.

“No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.

I am making this covenant both with you who stand here today in the presence of the Lord our God, and also with the future generations who are not standing here today.

“Then the generations to come, both your own descendants and the foreigners who come from distant lands, will see the devastation of the land and the diseases the Lord inflicts on it.

Remember the days of long ago; think about the generations past. Ask your father, and he will inform you. Inquire of your elders, and they will tell you.