Deuteronomy 30

1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither Yhwh thy God hath driven thee,

One day after you experience all this, the blessings and curses I've told you about, you'll think about them, living in all the different nations where the Lord your God has exiled you.

2 And shalt return unto Yhwh thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;

When that happens, and when you and your children come back to the Lord your God, and when you do what he says with all your mind and all your being in accordance with everything I'm telling you today, then the Lord your God will be merciful to you.

3 That then Yhwh thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither Yhwh thy God hath scattered thee.

He will bring you back home, gathering you from all the nations where he scattered you.

4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will Yhwh thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:

Even if you were exiled to the ends of the earth, will gather you from there and bring you back.

5 And Yhwh thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

The Lord your God will bring you home to the country that belonged to your forefathers and you will own it again. He will make you successful, and you will have even more descendants than your forefathers.

6 And Yhwh thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love Yhwh thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

The Lord your God will make you and your descendants his again, and you will love him with all your mind and with all your being, so that you'll live.

7 And Yhwh thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.

Then the Lord your God will place all these curses upon your enemies instead, on those who hate and persecute you.

8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of Yhwh, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.

You will once again do what the Lord tells you and follow all his commandments that I'm giving you today.

9 And Yhwh thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for Yhwh will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:

The Lord your God will make you successful in everything you do, you will have children, your livestock will be productive, and you will have good harvests. The Lord will once again be happy to do you good, as he did to your forefathers,

10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of Yhwh thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto Yhwh thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

if you obey the Lord your God by keeping his commandments and regulations written in this book of the Law, and if you come back to him with all your mind and with all your being.

11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.

The instruction I'm giving you today isn't too difficult for you to follow. It's not as if it's so far from you that it's impossible to achieve.

12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

It's not in heaven so you have to ask, “Who is going to go up to heaven get it for us and let us know what it says so we can obey it?”

13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

It's not across the ocean not beyond the sea so you have to ask, “Who is going to cross the ocean to get it for us and let us know what it says so we can obey it?”

14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

No—you have this instruction is right there with you. It's in your mouth and in your mind so you can obey it.

15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

Listen! Today I've placed a choice before you: life and what's good, or death and what's evil.

16 In that I command thee this day to love Yhwh thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: And Yhwh thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

I'm telling you today to love the Lord your God, to follow his ways, and to keep his commandments, rules, and regulations, so you can live and grow in number, and so the Lord your God may bless you in the country that you are entering and will own.

17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

If you disregard this and you refuse to listen, if you're lured into bowing down to other gods and worshiping them,

18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

then I warn you right now that you will definitely die. You won't live long in the country that you're going to own after you cross the Jordan.

19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

I call on heaven and earth to be my witnesses against you today that I have placed before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life, so you and your descendants will live,

20 That thou mayest love Yhwh thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which Yhwh sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

so you will love the Lord your God, obey him, and hold onto him. For he is your life, and he will give you long lives in the country that the Lord promised to give your forefathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.