Deuteronomy 29
The Covenant Renewed in Moab
1 These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb. These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.2 Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land3 the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders.4 Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.5 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet.6 You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.7 And when you came to this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us to battle, and we conquered them.8 We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh.9 Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.10 All of you stand today before the Lord your God: your leaders and your tribes and your elders and your officers, all the men of Israel,11 your little ones and your wivesalso the stranger who is in your camp, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water12 that you may enter into covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath, which the Lord your God makes with you today,13 that He may establish you today as a people for Himself, and that He may be God to you, just as He has spoken to you, and just as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.14 I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone,15 but with him who stands here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today16 (for you know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt and that we came through the nations which you passed by,17 and you saw their abominations and their idols which were among themwood and stone and silver and gold);18 so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood;19 and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.20 The Lord would not spare him; for then the anger of the Lord and His jealousy would burn against that man, and every curse that is written in this book would settle on him, and the Lord would blot out his name from under heaven.21 And the Lord would separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the Law,22 so that the coming generation of your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, would say, when they see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses which the Lord has laid on it:23 The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and His wrath.24 All nations would say, Why has the Lord done so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?25 Then people would say: Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt;26 for they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they did not know and that He had not given to them.27 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against this land, to bring on it every curse that is written in this book.28 And the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
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.