< 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 reflectest on them in thy heart among all the nations, whither the Lord 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 So that thou returnest unto the Lord thy God, and hearkenest unto his voice according to all that I command this day, thou and thy children, with all thy 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 the Lord thy God will restore thy captivity, and have mercy upon thee; and he will again gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.
He will bring you back home, gathering you from all the nations where he scattered you.
4 If thy outcasts be at the outmost parts of heaven, from there will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from there 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 the Lord 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 the Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, in order 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 the Lord thy God will put all these denunciations upon thy enemies, and on those that hate thee, who have 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 wilt return and hearken unto the voice of the Lord, and thou wilt 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 the Lord thy God will make thee pre-eminent in every work of thy hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good; for the Lord 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 wilt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law; if thou wilt return unto the Lord thy God with all thy 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, is not hidden from thee, nor 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 shouldst say, Who will go up for us to heaven, and fetch it down unto us, and cause us to hear it, that we may 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 shouldst say, Who will go over the sea for us, and fetch it unto us, and cause us to hear it, that we may 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 the good, death and the 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 the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances; that thou mayest live and multiply; and that the Lord thy God may 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 thy heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hearken, and thou sufferest thyself to be drawn away, and thou bowest down to other gods, and servest 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 announce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish; ye shall not remain many days upon the land, whither thou passest over the Jordan to go thither 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 as witnesses against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose thou life, in order that thou mayest live, both thou and thy seed;
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 To love the Lord thy God, to hearken to his voice, and to cleave unto him; for he is thy life, and the length of thy days; that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give unto 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.