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.
Deuteronomy 11
11
If You Are Loyal to the Lord, He Will Bless You
Moses said to Israel:
1The Lord is your God, so you must always love him and obey his laws and teachings. 2Remember, he corrected you and not your children. You are the ones who saw the Lord use his great power 3#Ex 7.8—12.13. when he worked miracles in Egypt, making terrible things happen to the king and all his people. 4#Ex 14.28. And when the Egyptian army chased you in their chariots, you saw the Lord drown them and their horses in the Red Sea.#11.4 Red Sea: Hebrew yam suph, “Sea of Reeds,” one of the marshes or fresh water lakes near the eastern part of the Nile Delta. This identification is based on Exodus 13.7—14.9, which lists towns on the route of the Israelites before crossing the sea. In the Greek translation of the Scriptures made about 200 b.c., the “Sea of Reeds” was named “Red Sea.” Egypt still suffers from that defeat!
5You saw what the Lord did for you while you were in the desert, right up to the time you arrived here. 6#Nu 16.31-33. And you saw how the Lord made the ground open up in the middle of our camp underneath the tents of Dathan and Abiram,#11.6 Dathan and Abiram: Hebrew “Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab from the Reuben tribe.” who were swallowed up along with their families, their animals, and their tents.
7With your own eyes, you saw the Lord's mighty power do all these things.
8Soon you will cross the Jordan River, and if you obey the laws and teachings I'm giving you today, you will be strong enough to conquer the land 9that the Lord promised your ancestors and their descendants. It's rich with milk and honey, and you will live there and enjoy it for a long time. 10It's better land than you had in Egypt, where you had to struggle just to water your crops.#11.10 where … crops: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. 11But the hills and valleys in the promised land are watered by rain from heaven,#11.10,11 to water your crops … rain from heaven: Egypt was flat and had very little rain. All water for crops had to come from the Nile River. 12because the Lord your God keeps his eye on this land and takes care of it all year long.
13 #
Lv 26.3-5; Dt 7.12-16; 28.1-14. The Lord your God commands you to love him and to serve him with all your heart and soul. If you obey him, 14-15he will send rain at the right seasons,#11.14,15 rain … seasons: In Palestine, almost all the rain for the year comes during the months from October through April. so you will have more than enough food, wine, and olive oil, and there will be plenty of grass for your cattle.
16But watch out! You will be tempted to turn your backs on the Lord. And if you worship other gods, 17the Lord will become angry and keep the rain from falling. Nothing will grow in your fields, and you will die and disappear from the good land that the Lord is giving you.
18 #
Dt 6.6-9. Memorize these laws and think about them. Write down copies and tie them to your wrists and your foreheads to help you obey them. 19Teach them to your children. Talk about them all the time—whether you're at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning. 20Write them on the door frames of your homes and on your town gates. 21Then you and your descendants will live a long time in the land that the Lord promised your ancestors. Your families will live there as long as the sky is above the earth.
22Love the Lord your God faithfully and obey all the laws and teachings I'm giving you today. If you live the way the Lord wants, 23he will help you take the land. And even though the nations there are more powerful than you, the Lord will force them to leave when you attack. 24#Js 1.3-5. You will capture the land everywhere you go, from the Southern Desert to the Lebanon Mountains, and from the Euphrates River west to the Mediterranean Sea. 25No one will be able to stand up to you. The Lord will make everyone terrified of you, just as he promised.
26You have a choice—do you want the Lord to bless you, or do you want him to put a curse on you? 27Today I am giving you his laws, and if you obey him, he will bless you. 28But if you disobey him and worship those gods that have never done anything for you, the Lord will put a curse on you.
29 #
Dt 27.11-26; Js 8.33-35. After the Lord your God helps you take the land, you must have a ceremony where you announce his blessings from Mount Gerizim and his curses from Mount Ebal. 30You know that these two mountains are west of the Jordan River in land now controlled by the Canaanites living in the Jordan River valley. The mountains are west of the road near the sacred trees of Moreh on the other side of Gilgal.
31Soon you will cross the Jordan River to conquer the land that the Lord your God is giving you. And when you have settled there, 32be careful to obey his laws and teachings that I am giving you today.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.