Deuteronomy 29

1 These are the words of the covenant which the Lord instructed Moses to form with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, beside that covenant which he struck with them at Horeb.

These are the things that the Israelis were required to do to keep the agreement that Yahweh was making with them. Moses/I commanded them to keep this agreement [when they/we were] in the Moab region [on the east side of the Jordan River]. This was in addition to the agreement that Yahweh had made with them/us at Sinai [Mountain].

2 And Moses called all of Israel, and he said to them: “You have seen all the things that the Lord has done in your sight in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to his entire land:

Moses/I summoned all the Israeli people and said to them, “You saw [SYN] for yourselves what Yahweh did to the king of Egypt and to his officials and to his entire country.

3 the great trials, which your eyes have seen, those immense signs and wonders.

You [SYN] saw all the plagues [that Yahweh caused them to experience], and all the various miracles [DOU] [that Yahweh performed].

4 But the Lord has not given you an understanding heart, and seeing eyes, and ears that are able to hear, even to this present day.

But until now, Yahweh has not enabled you to understand [the meaning of] all that you have seen and heard.

5 He led you for forty years through the desert. Your garments have not been worn out, nor have the shoes on your feet been consumed by age.

For 40 years Yahweh has led you while you traveled/walked through the desert. During that time, your clothes and your sandals have not worn out.

6 You did not eat bread, nor did you drink wine or liquor, so that you would know that I am the Lord your God.

You did not have bread to eat or wine or other fermented/strong drinks to drink, but Yahweh [took care of you], in order that you would know that he is your God.

7 And you arrived at this place. And Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, went out to meet us in battle. And we struck them down.

“And when we came to this place, Sihon, the king who ruled in Heshbon [city], and Og, the king who ruled the Bashan [region], came [with their armies] to attack us, but we defeated them.

8 And we took their land and delivered it as a possession to Ruben and to Gad, and to half of the tribe of Manasseh.

We took/conquered their land and divided it among the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh.

9 Therefore, keep the words of this covenant, and fulfill them, so that you may understand all that you are doing.

“So faithfully keep all of this agreement, in order that you will be successful in everything that you do.

10 Today, you all stand in the sight of the Lord your God: your leaders, and tribes, and those greater by birth, and teachers, all the people of Israel,

Today all of us are standing in the presence of Yahweh our God. The leaders of all our tribes, our elders, our officials, all you Israeli men,

11 your children and wives, and the new arrival who dwells with you in the camp, aside from those who cut wood, and those who bring water,

your wives, your children, and the foreigners who live among you and cut wood for you and carry water for you, are here.

12 so that you may cross into the covenant of the Lord your God, and into the oath which the Lord your God strikes with you today.

[We are here] today to promise to keep this solemn agreement with Yahweh.

13 So shall he raise you up as a people to himself, and so shall he be your God, just as he has spoken to you, and just as he swore to your fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

[He is making this agreement with you] in order to confirm that you are his people, and that he is your God. This agreement is what he promised you, and which is what he vowed to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

14 And I am not forming this covenant and confirm these oaths with you alone,

This agreement is not only with you.

15 but with all those who are present as well as those who are absent.

He is making this agreement with us [who are here today] and also with our descendants who are not yet born.

16 For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we passed through the midst of nations. And when passing through them,

“You remember [the things that our ancestors suffered] in Egypt, and how they traveled through the land that belonged to other nations [after they came out of Egypt].

17 you saw their abominations and filth, that is, their idols of wood and of stone, of silver and of gold, which they worshipped,

In those countries they saw those disgusting idols made of wood and stone and [decorated with] silver and gold.

18 so that there would not be among you man or woman, family or tribe, whose heart has been turned away this day from the Lord our God, so as to go and serve the gods of those nations. For then there would be among you a root springing forth gall and bitterness.

So be sure that no man or woman or family or tribe that is here [today] turns away from Yahweh our God, to worship/serve the gods of those nations. Doing that would be like a root [of a plant that would grow] among you and bear poisonous and bitter fruit [MET].

19 And if he were to hear the words of this oath, he would bless himself in his own heart saying: ‘There will be peace for me, and I will walk in the depravity of my heart.’ And so, the one who is inebriated would consume the one who is thirsty.

“Be sure that no one here today who hears this agreement thinks, ‘Everything will go well with me, even if I stubbornly do what I want to.’ If you are stubborn like that, the result will be that Yahweh will eventually get rid of all of you, both good people and evil people [MET].

20 But the Lord would not ignore him. Instead, at that time, his fury and zealousness would be very greatly enflamed against that man, and all the curses which have been written in this volume would settle upon him. And the Lord would abolish his name from under heaven,

Yahweh will not forgive anyone who is [stubborn] like that. Instead, he will be extremely angry [DOU] with that person, and that person will experience all the curses that I have told you about, until Yahweh gets rid of that person and his family [IDM].

21 and consume him unto perdition out of all the tribes of Israel, according to the curses which are contained in the book of this law and in the covenant.

From all the tribes of Israel, Yahweh will separate that individual. Yahweh will cause him to experience all the disasters that I have listed in the agreement that states the things that Yahweh will do to curse [those who disobey] the laws [that I have written] in this scroll/book.

22 And the subsequent generation would speak out, along with the sons who will be born afterward. And the sojourners, who will arrive from far away, will see the plagues of that land and the infirmities with which the Lord will have afflicted it,

“In the future, your descendants and people from other countries will see the disasters and the illnesses that Yahweh has caused to happen to you.

23 having burned it with sulphur and molten salt, so that it can no longer be sown. And certainly no greenery would spring up, as in the example of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overturned with his wrath and fury.

They will see that all your land has been ruined by burning sulfur and salt. Nothing will have been planted. Not even weeds will grow there. Your land will resemble Sodom and Gomorrah [cities], and Admah and Zeboiim [cities], which Yahweh destroyed when he was very angry [DOU] [with the people who lived there].

24 And so, all the nations would say: ‘Why has the Lord acted this way toward this land? What is this immense wrath of his fury?’

And the people from those other nations will ask, ‘Why did Yahweh do this to this land? Why was he very angry [with the people who lived here]?’

25 And they will respond: ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, which he formed with their fathers, when he led them away from the land of Egypt.

“Then other people will reply, ‘It is because they refused to keep the agreement that Yahweh, the God whom their ancestors [worshiped], had made with them when he brought them out of Egypt.

26 And they have served foreign gods, and adored them, though they did not know them, and though they had not been allotted to them.

Instead, they served/worshiped other gods that they had never worshiped before, gods that Yahweh had told them not to worship.

27 For this reason, the fury of the Lord was enraged against this land, so as to lead over it all the curses which have been written in this volume.

So, Yahweh became very angry with the Israeli people in this land, and he caused them to experience all the disasters that their leader warned them about.

28 And he has cast them out of their own land, with anger and fury, and with a very great indignation, and he has thrown them into a strange land, just as has been proven this day.’

Yahweh became extremely angry [DOU] with them and took/yanked them [MET] out of their land and banished them into another land, and they are still there.’

29 These hidden things of the Lord our God have been revealed to us and to our sons in perpetuity, so that we may accomplish all the words of this law.”

“[There are some] things that Yahweh our God has (kept secret/not revealed), but he has revealed his laws to us, and [he expects] us and our descendants to obey them forever.”