Deuteronomy 11
11
Rewards for Obedience
1You shall love the Lord your God, therefore, and keep his charge, his decrees, his ordinances, and his commandments always. 2Remember today that it was not your children (who have not known or seen the discipline of the Lord your God), but it is you who must acknowledge his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, 3his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to all his land; 4what he did to the Egyptian army, to their horses and chariots, how he made the water of the Red Sea#11.4 Or Sea of Reeds flow over them as they pursued you, so that the Lord has destroyed them to this day; 5what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place; 6and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab son of Reuben, how in the midst of all Israel the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, along with their households, their tents, and every living being in their company; 7for it is your own eyes that have seen every great deed that the Lord did.
8Keep, then, this entire commandment that I am commanding you today, so that you may have strength to go in and occupy the land that you are crossing over to occupy, 9and so that you may live long in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give them and to their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10For the land that you are about to enter to occupy is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sow your seed and irrigate by foot like a vegetable garden. 11But the land that you are crossing over to occupy is a land of hills and valleys, watered by rain from the sky, 12a land that the Lord your God looks after. The eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
13If you will only heed his every commandment#11.13 Compare Gk: Heb my commandments that I am commanding you today—loving the Lord your God, and serving him with all your heart and with all your soul— 14then he#11.14 Sam Gk Vg: MT I will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil; 15and he#11.15 Sam Gk Vg: MT I will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you will eat your fill. 16Take care, or you will be seduced into turning away, serving other gods and worshiping them, 17for then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain and the land will yield no fruit; then you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.
18You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them as an emblem#11.18 Or as a frontlet on your forehead. 19Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 20Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.
22If you will diligently observe this entire commandment that I am commanding you, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, 23then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and mightier than yourselves. 24Every place on which you set foot shall be yours; your territory shall extend from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the Western Sea. 25No one will be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will put the fear and dread of you on all the land on which you set foot, as he promised you.
26See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today; 28and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn from the way that I am commanding you today, to follow other gods that you have not known.
29When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that you are entering to occupy, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30As you know, they are beyond the Jordan, some distance to the west, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the oak#11.30 Gk Syr: Compare Gen 12.6; Heb oaks or terebinths of Moreh.
31When you cross the Jordan to go in to occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and when you occupy it and live in it, 32you must diligently observe all the statutes and ordinances that I am setting before you today.
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Deuteronomy 11: NRSV
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Deuteronomy 11
11
1Love the Lord your God, and do what he wants you to do. Always obey his laws, rules, and commands. 2Remember today the discipline you learned from the Lord your God. (⌞I’m not talking⌟ to your children. They didn’t see or experience any of this.) You saw and experienced his great power—his mighty hand and powerful arm. 3You saw the miraculous signs and deeds he did in Egypt to Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) and to his whole country. 4You saw what he did to the Egyptian army, its horses and chariots. He drowned them in the Red Sea when they pursued you. So the Lord destroyed them forever. 5You saw what he did for you in the desert until you came here. 6You also saw what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, from the tribe of Reuben. In the middle of all the Israelites the ground opened up and swallowed them, their families, their tents, and every living creature with them. 7You saw with your own eyes all these spectacular things that the Lord did.
8Obey all the commands I’m giving you today. Then you will have the strength to enter and take possession of the land once you’ve crossed ⌞the Jordan River⌟. 9Then you will also live for a long time in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors and their descendants—a land flowing with milk and honey.
10The land you’re about to enter and take possession of isn’t like the land you left in Egypt. There you used to plant your seed, and you had to water it like a vegetable garden. 11The land you’re about to enter is a land with hills and valleys, watered by rain from the sky. 12It is a land the Lord your God cares about. He watches over it all year long.
13If you faithfully obey the commands that I’m giving you today, love the Lord your God, and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14I will send rain on your land at the right time, both in the fall and in the spring. Then you will gather your own grain, new wine, and olive oil. 15I will provide grass in the fields for your animals, and you will be able to eat all you want.
16Be careful, or you’ll be tempted to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17The Lord will become angry with you. He’ll shut the sky so that there’ll be no rain. Then the ground won’t grow any crops, and you’ll quickly disappear from this good land the Lord is giving you.
18Take these words of mine to heart and keep them in mind. ⌞Write them down,⌟ tie them around your wrist, and wear them as headbands as a reminder. 19Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you’re at home or away, when you lie down or get up. 20Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 21Then you and your children will live for a long time in this land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors—as long as there’s a sky above the earth.
22Faithfully obey all these commands I’m giving you. Love the Lord your God, follow all his directions, and be loyal to him. 23Then the Lord will force all these people out of your way. Then you will take possession of ⌞the land belonging to⌟ people taller and stronger than you. 24I will give you every place on which you set foot. Your borders will be from the desert to Lebanon, from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. 25No one will be able to stop you. As the Lord your God promised, he will make people terrified of you wherever you go in this land.
Choose the Blessing or the Curse
26Today I’m giving you the choice of a blessing or a curse. 27You’ll be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I’m giving you today. 28You’ll be cursed if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God, if you turn from the way I’m commanding you to live today, and if you worship other gods you never knew. 29When the Lord your God brings you into the land you’re about to enter, recite the blessing from Mount Gerizim and the curse from Mount Ebal. 30(These mountains are on the west side of the Jordan, beyond the road that goes west, in the region of the Canaanites who live on the plains facing Gilgal, next to the oak trees of Moreh.) 31You’re about to cross the Jordan River to enter and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and live there, 32be careful to obey all the laws and rules I’m giving you today.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.