Deuteronomy 8
1 “You must faithfully obey all the commandments that I am giving you today. If you do that, you will live [a long time], you will become very numerous, and you will occupy the land that Yahweh solemnly promised your ancestors that he would give [to you].
'All the command which I am commanding thee to-day ye observe to do, so that ye live, and have multiplied, and gone in, and possessed the land which Jehovah hath sworn to your fathers;
2 And do not forget how Yahweh our God led us as we traveled through the desert during these past 40 years. He [caused you to have many problems/difficulties], because he wanted to cause you to realize that you needed to trust him and not yourselves. And he wanted to test you, to find out what you intended to do [IDM], whether you would obey his commandments or not.
and thou hast remembered all the way which Jehovah thy God hath caused thee to go these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble thee to try thee, to know that which [is] in thy heart, whether thou dost keep His commands or not.
3 So he caused you to have/experience difficulties. He allowed you to become hungry. Then he gave you manna [food from heaven], food that you and your ancestors had never eaten before. He did that to teach you that people need food [for their bodies]; but [they also need food for their spirits, which comes from paying attention to] everything that Yahweh says [MTY].
'And He doth humble thee, and cause thee to hunger and doth cause thee to eat the manna (which thou hast not known, even thy fathers have not known), in order to cause thee to know that not by bread alone doth man live, but by every produce of the mouth of Jehovah man doth live.
4 During those 40 years [of walking through the desert], our clothes did not wear out and our feet did not swell [from walking a very long way through the desert].
'Thy raiment hath not worn out from off thee, and thy foot hath not swelled these forty years,
5 Do not forget that Yahweh our God disciplines us, like parents discipline their children.
and thou hast known, with thy heart, that as a man chastiseth his son Jehovah thy God is chastising thee,
6 “Do obey the commandments of Yahweh our God, and conduct your lives as he wants you to do, and revere him.
and thou hast kept the commands of Jehovah thy God, to walk in His ways, and to fear Him.
7 He is about to bring you into a good/fertile land, which has streams which flow down from the hills and pour/flow out of springs in the valleys.
'For Jehovah thy God is bringing thee in unto a good land, a land of brooks of waters, of fountains, and of depths coming out in valley and in mountain:
8 It is a land on which wheat and barley grow, a land where there are fig trees and pomegranates, and a land where there are olive trees and honey.
a land of wheat, and barley, and vine, and fig, and pomegranate; a land of oil olive and honey;
9 It is a land where there will be plenty of food for you, where you will (not lack anything/have everything that you need) [LIT], a land which has iron [ore] in its rocks and from which you can dig copper [ore] from its hills.
a land in which without scarcity thou dost eat bread, thou dost not lack anything in it; a land whose stones [are] iron, and out of its mountains thou dost dig brass;
10 [Every day] you will eat until your stomachs are full, and you will thank Yahweh our God for the fertile/good land that he has given you.
and thou hast eaten, and been satisfied, and hast blessed Jehovah thy God, on the good land which he hath given to thee.
11 But, [when that happens], be sure not to forget Yahweh our God by disobeying his commandments and rules and regulations that I am giving to you today.
'Take heed to thyself, lest thou forget Jehovah thy God so as not to keep His commands, and His judgments, and His statutes which I am commanding thee to-day;
12 When your stomachs are full [every day], and when you have built good houses and are living in them,
lest thou eat, and hast been satisfied, and good houses dost build, and hast inhabited;
13 and when the number of your cattle and sheep has greatly increased, and when you have accumulated a large amount of silver and gold, and the amount of all your other possessions has greatly increased,
and thy herd and thy flock be multiplied, and silver and gold be multiplied to thee; and all that is thine be multiplied:
14 be sure that you do not become proud [IDM] and forget Yahweh our God, who rescued your ancestors from being slaves in Egypt and brought them out from there.
'And thy heart hath been high, and thou hast forgotten Jehovah thy God (who is bringing thee out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants;
15 Do not forget that he led them [while they traveled] through that huge and terrible desert, where there were poisonous snakes and scorpions. And do not forget that where the ground was very dry and there was no water, he caused water to flow for them out of (solid/very hard) rock.
who is causing thee to go in the great and the terrible wilderness — burning serpent, and scorpion, and thirst — where there is no water; who is bringing out to thee waters from the flinty rock;
16 Do not forget that in that desert he gave your ancestors manna to eat, food that they had never eaten before. He [caused them to have/experience many problems/difficulties], because he wanted them to realize that they needed to trust him and not themselves. And he wanted to test them, to find out whether they intended to obey him, in order that when [those difficulties] ended, he would do many good things for them.
who is causing thee to eat manna in the wilderness, which thy fathers have not known, in order to humble thee, and in order to try thee, to do thee good in thy latter end),
17 Be sure that you do not think to yourselves, ‘I have acquired all these things by my own power [MTY] and ability.’
and thou hast said in thy heart, My power, and the might of my hand, hath made for me this wealth:
18 Do not forget that it is Yahweh our God who has enabled you to become rich. He does this because he faithfully does what he solemnly promised our ancestors that he would do.
'And thou hast remembered Jehovah thy God, for He it [is] who is giving to thee power to make wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He hath sworn to thy fathers as [at] this day.
19 “solemnly warn you that if you forget Yahweh our God and turn to other gods and start to serve them and worship them, you will certainly be destroyed.
'And it hath been — if thou really forget Jehovah thy God, and hast gone after other gods, and served them, and bowed thyself to them, I have testified against you to-day that ye do utterly perish;
20 If you do not obey Yahweh our God, he will certainly destroy you just like he will destroy the people-groups that you will fight against.”
as the nations whom Jehovah is destroying from your presence, so ye perish; because ye hearken not to the voice of Jehovah your God.
