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: beside that covenant which he made with them in Horeb.

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 Israel, and said to them: You have seen all the things that the Lord did before you in the land of Egypt to Pharao, and to all his servants, and to his whole 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 thy eyes have seen, those mighty signs and wonders,

You saw with your own eyes the amazing tests, and those great signs and miracles.

4 And the Lord hath not given you a heart to understand, and eyes to see, and ears that may hear, unto this present day.

But up to now the Lord has not given you minds that understand, or eyes that see, or ears that hear, saying,

5 He hath brought you forty years through the desert: your garments are not worn out, neither are the shoes of your feet consumed with age.

For forty years I led you through the desert, but your clothes and sandals didn't wear out.

6 You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk 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 to this place: sand Sehon king of Hesebon, and Og king of Basan, came out against us to fight. And we slew them.

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 took their land, and delivered it for a possession to Ruben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses.

We took their land and gave it to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh to own.

9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and fulfill them: that you may understand all that you 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 this day before the Lord your God, your princes, and tribes, and ancients, and doctors, all the people 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 children and your wives, and the stranger that abideth with thee in the camp, besides the hewers of wood, and them that bring water:

your children and wives, and the foreigners in your camps who cut your firewood and carry your water.

12 That thou mayst pass in the covenant of the Lord thy God, and in the oath which this day the Lord thy God maketh with thee.

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 raise thee up a people to himself, and he may be thy God as he hath spoken to thee, and as he swore to thy fathers Abraham, 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 Neither with you only do I make this covenant, and confirm these oaths,

It's not only with you that the Lord is making this agreement and solemn promise,

15 But with all that are present and that are absent.

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 dwelt in the land of Egypt, and how we have passed through the midst of nations, and passing through them,

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 You have seen their abominations and filth, that is to say, their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which they worshipped.

You saw their disgusting religious practices and their idols of wood and stone, and silver and gold.

18 Lest perhaps there should be among you a man or a woman, a family or a tribe, whose heart is turned away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of those nations: and there should be among you a root bringing forth 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 when he shall hear the words of this oath, he should bless himself in his heart saying: I shall have peace, and will walk on in the naughtiness of my heart: and the drunken may consume the thirsty,

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 And the Lord should not forgive him: but his wrath and jealousy against that man should be exceedingly enkindled at that time, and all the curses that are written in this volume should light upon him: and the Lord should 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 utterly destroy him out of all the tribes of Israel, according to the curses that are contained in the book of this law and covenant:

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 the following generation shall say, and the children that shall be born hereafter, and the strangers that shall come from afar, seeing the plagues of that land and the evils wherewith the Lord hath afflicted 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 Burning it with brimstone, and the heat of salt, so that it cannot be sown any more, nor any green thing grow therein, after the example of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha, Adama and Seboim, which the Lord destroyed in his wrath and indignation:

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 hath the Lord done thus to this land? what meaneth this exceeding great heat of his wrath?

Everyone everywhere will ask, “Why did the Lord do this to the country? Why did he get so terribly angry?”

25 And they shall answer: Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord, which he made with 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 have served strange gods, and adored them, whom they knew not, and for whom they had not been assigned:

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 Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this volume:

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 he hath cast them out of their land, in anger and in wrath, and in very great indignation, and hath thrown them into a strange land, as it is seen this day.

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 Secret things to the Lord our God: things that are manifest, to us and to our children for ever, that we may 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.