Deuteronomy 29-30

Contemporary English Version

The Agreement in Moab

29 So Moses finished telling the Israelites what they had to do in order to keep the agreement the Lord was making with them in Moab, which was in addition to the one the Lord had made with them at Mount Sinai.^[a]

The Third Speech: Israel Must Keep Its Agreement with the Lord

The Lord Is Your God

^2-3 Moses called the nation of Israel together and told them:

When you were in Egypt, you saw the Lord perform great miracles that caused trouble for the king, his officials, and everyone else in the country. ^4-6 He has even told you, “For 40 years I, the Lord, led you through the desert, but your clothes and your sandals didn't wear out, and I gave you special food.^[b] I did these things so you would realize that I am your God.”

But the Lord must give you a change of heart before you truly understand what you have seen and heard.

^7 (A) When we first camped here, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan attacked, but we defeated them. ^8 (B) Then we captured their land and divided it among the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh.

Keep the Agreement

Moses said:

⁹ Israel, the Lord has made an agreement with you, and if you keep your part, you will be successful in everything you do. ^10-12 Today everyone in our nation is standing here in the Lord's presence, including leaders and officials, parents and children, and even those foreigners who cut wood and carry water for us. We are at this place of worship to promise that we will keep our part of the agreement with the Lord our God.

^13-15 In this agreement, the Lord promised that you would be his people and that he would be your God. He first made this promise to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and today the Lord is making this same promise to you. But it isn't just for you; it is also for your descendants.

^16-17 When we lived in Egypt, you saw the Egyptians worship disgusting idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold. Then as we traveled through other nations, you saw those people worship other disgusting idols. ^18 (C) So make sure that everyone in your tribe remains faithful to the Lord and never starts worshiping gods of other nations.

If even one of you worships idols, you will be like the root of a plant that produces bitter, poisonous fruit. ¹⁹ You may be an Israelite and know all about the Lord's agreement with us, but he won't bless you if you rebel against him. You may think you can get away with it, but you will cause the rest of Israel to be punished along with you.^{[c] 20-21} The Lord will be furious, and instead of forgiving you, he will separate you from the other tribes. Then he will destroy you, by piling on you all the curses in The Book of God's Law, and you will be forgotten forever.

²² The Lord will strike your country with diseases and disasters. Your descendants and foreigners from distant countries will see that your land ^23 (D) has become a scorching desert of salt and sulfur, where nothing is planted, nothing sprouts, and nothing grows. It will be as lifeless as the land around the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, after the Lord became angry and destroyed them.^[d]

²⁴ People from other nations will ask, “Why did the Lord destroy this country? Why was he so furious?”

²⁵ And they will be given this answer:

Our ancestors worshiped the Lord, but after he brought them out of Egypt and made an agreement with them, they rejected the agreement ²⁶ and decided to worship gods that had never helped them. The Lord had forbidden Israel to worship these gods, ^27-28 and so he became furious and punished the land with all the curses in The Book of God's Law. Then he pulled up Israel by the roots and tossed them into a foreign country, where they still are today.

²⁹ The Lord our God hasn't explained the present or the future, but he has commanded us to obey the laws he gave to us and our descendants.

The Lord Will Bring You Back

Moses said to Israel:

30 ^(E) 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 (F) 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 (G) 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 (H) 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.