Deuteronomy 29
1 These are the words of the covenant which Yahweh 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 Moses called to all Israel, and said to them, You have seen all that Yahweh did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land;3 the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders:4 but Yahweh has not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day.5 I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes have not grown old on you, and your shoes have not grown old on your feet.6 You have not eaten bread, neither have you drunk wine or strong drink; that you may know that I am Yahweh your God.7 When you came to this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us to battle, and we struck them:8 and we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of the Manassites.9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.10 You stand this day all of you before Yahweh your God; your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel,11 your little ones, your wives, and your foreigner who is in the midst of your camps, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water;12 that you may enter into the covenant of Yahweh your God, and into his oath, which Yahweh your God makes with you this day;13 that he may establish you this day to himself for a people, and that he may be to you a God, as he spoke to you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.14 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath,15 but with him who stands here with us this day before Yahweh our God, and also with him who is not here with us this day16 (for you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed;17 and you have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them);18 lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turns away this day from Yahweh our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there should be among you a root that bears gall and wormwood;19 and it happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, “I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart, to destroy the moist with the dry.”20 Yahweh will not pardon him, but then the anger of Yahweh and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book shall lie on him, and Yahweh will blot out his name from under the sky.
21 Yahweh will set him apart to evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that is written in this book of the law.
22 The generation to come, your children who shall rise up after you, and the foreigner who shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses with which Yahweh has made it sick;23 and that the whole land of it is sulfur, salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor bears, nor any grass grows therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:
24 even all the nations shall say, “Why has Yahweh done thus to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?”
25 Then men shall say, “Because they forsook the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt,26 and went and served other gods, and worshiped them, gods that they didn’t know, and that he had not given to them:27 therefore the anger of Yahweh was kindled against this land, to bring on it all the curse that is written in this book;
28 and Yahweh rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as at this day.”
29 The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that 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.
