Deuteronomy 29

Israel’s Past, Present, and Future

1 These are the terms of the promiset that the Lord commanded Moses to give to the Israelites in Moab. This was in addition to the promise the Lord gave them at Mount Horeb.2 Moses summoned all the people of Israel and said to them:You’ve seen with your own eyes everything that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his whole country.3 You also saw those terrible plagues, those miraculous signs, and those spectacular, amazing things.4 But to this day the Lord hasn’t given you a mind that understands, eyes that see, or ears that hear.5 For 40 years I led you through the desert. During that time your clothes and shoes never wore out.

6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or liquor. I did this so that you would know that I am the Lord your God.
7 When you came to this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to fight us, but we defeated them.8 We took their land and gave it to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh as their property.

9 Faithfully obey the terms of this promise. Then you will be successful in everything you do.
10 All of you are standing here today in the presence of the Lord your God. The heads of your tribes,t your leaders, your officers, and all the men of Israel are here.11 Your children, your wives, and the foreigners who cut wood and carry water in your camp are also here.12 You are ready to accept the terms and conditions of the promise that the Lord your God is giving you today.13 With this promise the Lord will confirm today that you are his people and that he is your God. This is what he told you, and this is what he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with an oath.14 You aren’t the only people to receive this promise and its conditions.

15 It is for those of you who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God and also for those who are not here today.
16 You know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through other countries on our way here.17 You saw their disgusting gods and idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold.

18 Make sure there is no man, woman, family, or tribe among you today who turns from the Lord our God to worship the gods of those nations. Make sure that no one among you is the source of this kind of bitter poison.
19 Someone may hear the conditions of this promise. He may think that he is so blessed that he can say, “I’ll be safe even if I go my own stubborn way. After all, the Lord would never sweep away well-watered ground along with dryt ground.”20 The Lord will never be willing to forgive that person, because the Lord’s burning anger will smolder against him. All the curses described in this book will happen to him. The Lord will erase every memory of that person’s name from the earth.

21 And the Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster based on all the conditions of the promise written in this Book of the Teachings.
22 Then the next generation of your children and foreigners who come from distant countries will see the plagues that have happened in this land and the diseases the Lord sent here.23 They will see all the soil poisoned with sulfur and salt. Nothing will be planted. Nothing will be growing. There will be no plants in sight. It will be as desolate as Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, cities the Lord destroyed in fierce anger.

24 Then all the other nations in the world will ask, “Why has the Lord done this to their land? Why is he so angry?”
25 The answer will be, “Because they abandoned the promise of the Lord God of their ancestors. He made this promise to them when he brought them out of Egypt.26 They worshiped other gods and bowed down to them. These were gods they never heard of, gods the Lord didn’t permit them to have.27 So the Lord became angry with this land and brought on it all the curses described in this book.

28 In his fierce anger and fury the Lord uprooted these people from their land and deported them to another country, where they still are today.”
29 Some things are hidden. They belong to the LORD our God. But the things that have been revealed in these teachings belong to us and to our children forever. We must obey every word of these teachings.

Deuteronomy 29

Narrative Interlude

1 s These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.s

The Exodus, Wandering, and Conquest Reviewed

2 Moses proclaimed to all Israel as follows: “You have seen all that the Lord didt in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, all his servants, and his land.3 Your eyes have seen the great judgments,t those signs and mighty wonders.4 But to this very day the Lord has not given you an understanding mind, perceptive eyes, or discerning ears!t5 I have led you through the desert for forty years. Your clothing has not worn outt nor have your sandalst deteriorated.6 You have eaten no bread and drunk no wine or beer – all so that you might know that Is am the Lord your God!7 When you came to this place King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to make war and we defeated them.

8 Then we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

The Present Covenant Setting

9 “Therefore, keep the termst of this covenant and obey them so that you may be successful in everything you do.10 You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God – the heads of your tribes,s your elders, your officials, every Israelite man,11 your infants, your wives, and thet foreigners living in your encampment, those who chop wood and those who carry water –12 so that you may enter by oath into the covenant the Lord your God is making with you today.t13 Today he will affirm that you are his people and that he is your God,t just as he promised you and as he swore by oath to your ancestorst Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.14 It is not with you alone that I am making this covenant by oath,

15 but with whoever stands with us here today before the Lord our God as well as those not with us here today.t

The Results of Disobedience

16 “(For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we crossed through the nations as we traveled.17 You have seen their detestable thingst and idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold.)t18 Beware that the heart of no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you turns away from the Lord our God today to pursue and serve the gods of those nations; beware that there is among you no root producing poisonous and bitter fruit.t19 When such a persont hears the words of this oath he secretlyt blesses himselft and says, “I will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit.”t This will destroyt the watered ground with the parched.t20 The Lord will be unwilling to forgive him, and his intense angert will raget against that man; all the cursest written in this scroll will fall upon himt and the Lord will obliterate his name from memory.t21 The Lord will single him outt for judgmentt from all the tribes of Israel according to all the curses of the covenant written in this scroll of the law.22 The generation to come – your descendants who will rise up after you, as well as the foreigner who will come from distant places – will seet the afflictions of that land and the illnesses that the Lord has brought on it.23 The whole land will be covered with brimstone, salt, and burning debris; it will not be planted nor will it sprout or produce grass. It will resemble the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger.t24 Then all the nations will ask, “Why has the Lord done all this to this land? What is this fierce, heated display of angert all about?”25 Then people will say, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.26 They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods they did not know and that he did not permit them to worship.t27 That is why the Lord’s anger erupted against this land, bringing on it all the cursest written in this scroll.28 So the Lord has uprooted them from their land in anger, wrath, and great rage and has deported them to another land, as is clear today.”

29 Secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those that are revealed belong to us and our descendantst forever, so that we might obey all the words of this law.