Deuteronomy 29

Chapter 29

1 tThese are the terms of the covenant the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelites while they were in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Mount Sinai.t

Moses Reviews the Covenant

2 tMoses summoned all the Israelites and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the LORD did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to his whole country—3 all the great tests of strength, the miraculous signs, and the amazing wonders.4 But to this day the LORD has not given you minds that understand, nor eyes that see, nor ears that hear!5 For forty years I led you through the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out.

6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or other alcoholic drink, but he gave you food so you would know that he is the LORD your God.
7 “When we came here, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them.

8 We took their land and gave it to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh as their grant of land.
9 “Therefore, obey the terms of this covenant so that you will prosper in everything you do.10 All of you—tribal leaders, elders, officers, all the men of Israel—are standing today in the presence of the LORD your God.11 Your little ones and your wives are with you, as well as the foreigners living among you who chop your wood and carry your water.12 You are standing here today to enter into the covenant of the LORD your God. The LORD is making this covenant, including the curses.

13 By entering into the covenant today, he will establish you as his people and confirm that he is your God, just as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
14 “But you are not the only ones with whom I am making this covenant with its curses.

15 I am making this covenant both with you who stand here today in the presence of the LORD our God, and also with the future generations who are not standing here today.
16 “You remember how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we traveled through the lands of enemy nations as we left.17 You have seen their detestable practices and their idolst made of wood, stone, silver, and gold.

18 I am making this covenant with you so that no one among you—no man, woman, clan, or tribe—will turn away from the LORD our God to worship these gods of other nations, and so that no root among you bears bitter and poisonous fruit.
19 “Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking, ‘I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.’ This would lead to utter ruin!20 The LORD will never pardon such people. Instead his anger and jealousy will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will come down on them, and the LORD will erase their names from under heaven.

21 The LORD will separate them from all the tribes of Israel, to pour out on them all the curses of the covenant recorded in this Book of Instruction.
22 “Then the generations to come, both your own descendants and the foreigners who come from distant lands, will see the devastation of the land and the diseases the LORD inflicts on it.

23 They will exclaim, ‘The whole land is devastated by sulfur and salt. It is a wasteland with nothing planted and nothing growing, not even a blade of grass. It is like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD destroyed in his intense anger.’

24 “And all the surrounding nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done this to this land? Why was he so angry?’
25 “And the answer will be, ‘This happened because the people of the land abandoned the covenant that the LORD, the God of their ancestors, made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.26 Instead, they turned away to serve and worship gods they had not known before, gods that were not from the LORD.27 That is why the LORD’s anger has burned against this land, bringing down on it every curse recorded in this book.

28 In great anger and fury the LORD uprooted his people from their land and banished them to another land, where they still live today!’

29 “The LORD our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.

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.