Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

11 Moses: So love the Eternal your God and always obey His requirements, regulations, judgments, and commands. ² Now keep this in mind: it was you, not your children, who saw and experienced firsthand all the lessons the Eternal your God taught you. You saw how He demonstrated His majesty and His overwhelming power. ³ You saw the signs He performed in Egypt^[a] and everything He sent against Pharaoh the king and everyone in the country. ⁴ You saw what He did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and its chariots, right when they were chasing you: He drowned them in the Red Sea!^[b] The Eternal destroyed them all,^[c] and the Egyptian army still hasn’t recovered. ⁵ You saw how He took care of you in the wilderness and brought you safely to this place. ⁶ But remember what happened when people rebelled against Him: you saw what He did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab from the tribe of Reuben—how the earth opened up, right in our midst, and swallowed them, their families, their tents, and their livestock!^[d]

⁷ Therefore, as eyewitnesses of all the great things the Eternal did, ⁸ carefully obey all the commands I’m giving you today. Then you’ll be strong enough to go and take possession of the land you’re about to enter, ⁹ and you’ll live long, healthy lives there. This is what the Eternal promised your ancestors: He’d give this land flowing with milk and honey to them and to their descendants. ¹⁰ The land where you’re going to live when you cross the Jordan isn’t like the land of Egypt where you came from. When you sowed seeds there, you could water all of your land as if it were nothing more than a small vegetable garden, transporting the water yourselves. ¹¹ But in the land where you’re going to live, the hills and valleys drink water right out of the sky! ¹² He takes care of this land; He’s always looking after it, all throughout the year.

Eternal One: ¹³ If you carefully obey My commands which I’m giving you today, and if you love Me and serve Me with your whole heart and soul, ¹⁴ then I’ll send rain on your land when it’s needed, in the autumn and the spring. You’ll have an abundant harvest of grain and wine and olive oil. ¹⁵ I’ll make grass grow in the fields for your cattle. You’ll eat all you need and be totally satisfied.

Moses: ¹⁶ But watch out! Don’t be seduced, so that you turn away from the Lord. Don’t abandon Him to worship other gods or bow down to them! ¹⁷ If you do, the Eternal’s fiery anger will result in a deadly drought. He won’t let any rain fall from the sky, and the ground won’t produce any crops. Then you won’t last very long in the good land the Eternal One is giving you.