< Deuteronomy 29 >

1 These [are] the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which he made with them in Choreb.
The following are the terms of the agreement that the Lord ordered Moses to make with the Israelites in the country of Moab This was in addition to the agreement he had made with them at Horeb.
2 And Moses called all the sons of Israel and said to them, You have seen all things that the Lord did in the land of Egypt before you to Pharao and his servants, and all his land;
Moses called all the Israelites together and announced to them, You saw with your own eyes everything the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his whole country.
3 the great temptations which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders.
You saw with your own eyes the amazing tests, and those great signs and miracles.
4 Yet the Lord God has not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, until this day.
But up to now the Lord has not given you minds that understand, or eyes that see, or ears that hear, saying,
5 And he led you forty years in the wilderness; your garments did not grow old, and your sandals were not worn away off your feet.
For forty years I led you through the desert, but your clothes and sandals didn't wear out.
6 You did not eat bread, you did not drink wine or strong drink, that you might know that I [am] the Lord your God.
You didn't have bread to eat, or wine or alcohol to drink in order that you would realize that I am the Lord your God.
7 And you came as far as this place; and there came forth Seon king of Esebon, and Og king of Basan, to meet us in war.
When we arrived here, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan marched out to fight us in battle, but we defeated them.
8 And we struck them and took their land, and I gave it for an inheritance to Ruben and Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasse.
We took their land and gave it to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh to own.
9 And you shall take heed to do all the words of this covenant, that you may understand all things that you shall do.
So make sure you keep and follow the terms of this agreement in order that you may be successful in everything you do.
10 You all stand today before the Lord your God, the heads of your tribes, and your elders, and your judges, and your officers, every man of Israel,
Every one of you is stand here today before the Lord your God: you tribal leaders, officials, and all the men of Israel,
11 your wives, and your children, and the stranger who is in the midst of your camp, from your hewer of wood even to your drawer of water,
your children and wives, and the foreigners in your camps who cut your firewood and carry your water.
12 that you should enter into the covenant of the Lord your God and into his oaths, as many as the Lord your God appoints you this day;
You're here so you can enter into the agreement of the Lord your God, which he is making with you today, and accept his solemn promise,
13 that he may appoint you to himself for a people, and he shall be your God, as he said to you, and as he sware to your fathers, Abraam, and Isaac, and Jacob.
and so he can confirm you today as his people. He will be your God as he told you and as he promised your forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
14 And I do not appoint to you alone this covenant and this oath;
It's not only with you that the Lord is making this agreement and solemn promise,
15 but to those also who are here with you today before the Lord your God, and to those who are not here with you today.
those who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God, but also with those who are not here today.
16 For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, how we came through the midst of the nations through whom you came.
You know very well what it was like when we lived in the land of Egypt and our experiences as we passed through the nations on the way here.
17 And you saw their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which are amongst them.
You saw their disgusting religious practices and their idols of wood and stone, and silver and gold.
18 Lest there be amongst you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart has turned aside from the Lord your God, having gone to serve the gods of these nations; lest there be in you a root springing up with gall and bitterness.
You need to make sure today that there's no man or woman, family or tribe of yours who wants to turn from the Lord our God and go and worship the gods of these nations. Make sure there is nothing like that among you that would produce such poison and bitterness.
19 And it shall be if one shall hear the words of this curse, and shall flatter himself in his heart, saying, Let good happen to me, for I will walk in the error of my heart, lest the sinner destroy the guiltless with [him]:
For when someone like that hears the words of this solemn promise, they think they'll still receive a blessing, telling themselves, “I'll be safe, even though I'll go on doing whatever I feel like.” Such an attitude would destroy good and bad alike.
20 God shall by no means be willing to pardon him, but then the wrath of the Lord and his jealousy shall flame out against that man; and all the curses of this covenant shall attach themselves to him, which are written in this book, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.
The Lord would never want to pardon them. In fact, his passionate anger will burn against them, and every curse written in this book will fall on them. The Lord will erase their name from the earth,
21 And the Lord shall separate that man for evil of all the children of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in the book of this law.
and punish them as an example of them for all the Israelite tribes, in accordance with all the curses of the agreement written in this Book of the Law.
22 And another generation shall say—even your sons who shall rise up after you, and the stranger who shall come from a land afar off, and shall see the plagues of that land and their diseases, which the Lord has sent upon it,
Later generations, your descendants and foreigners from far away, will see how the Lord has brought disaster on the country and devastated it.
23 brimstone and burning salt, (the whole land shall not be sown, neither shall any green thing spring, nor rise upon it, as Sodom and Gomorrha were overthrown, Adama and Seboim, which the Lord overthrew in his wrath and anger: )—
The whole country will be burning wasteland of sulfur and salt. Nothing is sown; it's totally unproductive; no plant grows there—just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his furious anger.
24 and all the nations shall say, Why has the Lord done thus to this land? what [is] this great fierceness of anger?
Everyone everywhere will ask, “Why did the Lord do this to the country? Why did he get so terribly angry?”
25 And [men] shall say, Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, the things which he appointed to their fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt:
The people will answer, “It's because they abandoned the agreement of the Lord, the God of their forefathers, which he made with them when he led them out of Egypt.
26 and they went and served other gods, which they knew not, neither did he assign [them] to them.
They went off and worshiped other gods, bowing down to gods they'd never heard of—gods that the Lord had not given to them.
27 And the Lord was exceedingly angry with that land to bring upon it according to all the curses which are written in the book of this law.
That's why the Lord was so angry with this land, and he rained down on it every curse written in this book.
28 And the Lord removed them from their land in anger, and wrath, and very great indignation, and cast them out into another land as at present.
The Lord uprooted them from their country in his anger, rage, and fury, and he threw them out, leaving them in another land, where they are to this day.”
29 The secret things [belong] to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed [belong] to us and to our children for ever, to do all the words of this law.
The Lord our God has secrets that belong to him, but what has been revealed belong to us and to our descendants forever, so that we may follow everything in this law.

< Deuteronomy 29 >