Deuteronomy 30
Chapter 30
A Call to Return to the LORD
1 “In the future, when you experience all these blessings and curses I have listed for you, and when you are living among the nations to which the LORD your God has exiled you, take to heart all these instructions.2 If at that time you and your children return to the LORD your God, and if you obey with all your heart and all your soul all the commands I have given you today,3 then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you.4 Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth, the LORD your God will gather you from there and bring you back again.
5 The LORD your God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors!
6 “The LORD your God will change your heartt and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!7 The LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate and persecute you.
8 Then you will again obey the LORD and keep all his commands that I am giving you today.
9 “The LORD your God will then make you successful in everything you do. He will give you many children and numerous livestock, and he will cause your fields to produce abundant harvests, for the LORD will again delight in being good to you as he was to your ancestors.
10 The LORD your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.
The Choice of Life or Death
11 “This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand, and it is not beyond your reach.12 It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’13 It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’
14 No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.
15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster.
16 For I command you this day to love the LORD your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.
17 “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods,
18 then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!
20 You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. Thist is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the LORD, you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
DEUTERONOMY 30
The [Lord] //Will Bring You Back
Moses said to Israel:
1 t I have told you everything the [Lord] your God will do for you, and I've also told you the curses he will put on you if you reject him. He will scatter you in faraway countries, but when you realize that he is punishing you, 2 return to him with all your heart and soul and start obeying the commands I have given to you today. 3-4 Then he will stop punishing you and treat you with kindness. He may have scattered you to the farthest countries on earth, but he will bring you back
5 to the land that had belonged to your ancestors and make you even more successful and powerful than they ever were.
6 You and your descendants are stubborn, but the [Lord] will make you willing to obey him and love him with all your heart and soul, and you will enjoy a long life.
7 Then the [Lord] your God will remove the curses from you and put them on those enemies who hate and attack you.
8 You will again obey the laws and teachings of the [Lord], 9 and he will bless you with many children, large herds and flocks, and abundant crops. The [Lord] will be happy to do good things for you, just as he did for your ancestors.
10 But you must decide once and for all to worship him with all your heart and soul and to obey everything in The Book of God's Law.Choose Life, Not Death
Moses said to Israel:
11 You know God's laws, and it isn't impossible to obey them. 12 t His commands aren't in heaven, so you can't excuse yourselves by saying, “How can we obey the [Lord]'s commands? They are in heaven, and no one can go up to get them, then bring them down and explain them to us.” 13 And you can't say, “How can we obey the [Lord]'s commands? They are across the sea, and someone must go across, then bring them back and explain them to us.”
14 No, these commands are nearby and you know them by heart. All you have to do is obey!
15 t Today I am giving you a choice. You can choose life and success or death and disaster.
16-18 I am commanding you to be loyal to the [Lord], to live the way he has told you, and to obey his laws and teachings. You are about to cross the Jordan River and take the land that he is giving you. If you obey him, you will live and become successful and powerful.
On the other hand, you might choose to disobey the [Lord] and reject him. So I'm warning you that if you bow down and worship other gods, you won't have long to live.
19 Now I call the sky and the earth to be witnesses that I am offering you this choice. Will you choose for the [Lord] to make you prosperous and give you a long life? Or will he put you under a curse and kill you? Choose life! 20 t Be completely faithful to the [Lord] your God, love him, and do whatever he tells you. The [Lord] is the only one who can give life, and he will let you live a long time in the land that he promised to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
