The Covenant in Moab

29 [a](A)These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the (B)covenant which He had made with them at Horeb.

[b]And Moses summoned 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 all his servants, and to all his land; (C)the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders. Yet to this day (D)the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear. And I have led you in the wilderness for forty years; (E)your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. (F)You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or other strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the Lord your God. (G)When you [c]reached this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out to meet us for battle, but we [d]defeated them; and we took their land and (H)gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. (I)So you will keep the words of this covenant and do them, (J)in order that you may be successful in everything that you do.

10 “You stand today, all of you, before the Lord your God: your heads, your tribes, your elders and your officers, that is, all the men of Israel, 11 your little ones, your wives, and the stranger who is within your camps, from (K)the one who gathers your firewood to the one who draws your water, 12 so that you may enter into the covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath which the Lord your God is making with you today, 13 in order that He may establish you today as His people, and that (L)He may be your God, just as He spoke to you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

14 “Now it is not with you alone that I am (M)making this covenant and this oath, 15 (N)but both with those who stand here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God, and with those who are not with us here today 16 (for you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we passed through the midst of the nations through which you passed; 17 moreover, you have seen their abominations and their idols made of (O)wood and stone, silver and gold, which they had with them); 18 (P)so that there will not be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; that there will not be among you (Q)a root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood. 19 And it shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will consider himself fortunate in his heart, saying, ‘I will do well though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order [e]to destroy the watered land along with the dry.’ 20 The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and (R)His wrath will [f](S)burn against that person, and every curse that is written in this book will lie upon him, and the Lord will (T)wipe out his name from under heaven. 21 Then the Lord will single him out for disaster from all the tribes of Israel, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant (U)which is written in this Book of the Law.

22 “Now the future generation, your sons who rise up after you and (V)the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of that land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it, will say, 23 ‘All its land is (W)brimstone and salt, (X)burned debris, [g]unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows on it, like the overthrow of (Y)Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.’ 24 All the nations will say, ‘(Z)Why has the Lord done all this to this land? Why this great [h]outburst of anger?’ 25 Then people will say, ‘It is (AA)because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. 26 And they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they have not known and whom He had not [i]assigned to them. 27 Therefore, the anger of the Lord burned against that land, (AB)to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book; 28 and (AC)the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, fury, and in great wrath, and hurled them into another land, as it is this day.’

29 (AD)The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but (AE)the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, so that we may [j]follow all the words of this Law.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 29:1 Ch 28:69 in Heb
  2. Deuteronomy 29:2 Ch 29:1 in Heb
  3. Deuteronomy 29:7 Lit came to
  4. Deuteronomy 29:7 Lit struck
  5. Deuteronomy 29:19 I.e., to destroy everything
  6. Deuteronomy 29:20 Lit smoke
  7. Deuteronomy 29:23 Lit it is not sown and does not make plants sprout
  8. Deuteronomy 29:24 Lit heat
  9. Deuteronomy 29:26 Lit apportioned
  10. Deuteronomy 29:29 Lit perform

29 These are the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.

And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;

The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:

Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.

Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the Lord your God.

And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them:

And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.

Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.

10 Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,

11 Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water:

12 That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day:

13 That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy 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 that standeth here with us this day before the Lord our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:

16 (For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;

17 And ye 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 turneth away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;

19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:

20 The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.

21 And the Lord shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:

22 So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the Lord hath laid upon it;

23 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

24 Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?

25 Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:

26 For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:

27 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:

28 And the Lord rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.

29 The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

29 It was on the plains of Moab that Moses restated the covenant that the Lord had made with the people of Israel at Mount Horeb. 2-3 He summoned all Israel before him and told them, “You have seen with your own eyes the great plagues and mighty miracles that the Lord brought upon Pharaoh and his people in the land of Egypt. But even yet the Lord hasn’t given you hearts that understand or eyes that see or ears that hear! For forty years God has led you through the wilderness, yet your clothes haven’t become old, and your shoes haven’t worn out! The reason he hasn’t let you settle down to grow grain for bread or grapes for wine and strong drink is so that you would realize that it is the Lord your God who has been caring for you.

“When we came here, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out against us in battle, but we destroyed them, and took their land and gave it to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh as their inheritance. Therefore, obey the terms of this covenant so that you will prosper in everything you do. 10 All of you—your leaders, the people, your judges, and your administrative officers—are standing today before the Lord your God, 11 along with your little ones and your wives and the foreigners that are among you—those who chop your wood and carry your water. 12 You are standing here to enter into a contract with Jehovah your God, a contract he is making with you today. 13 He wants to confirm you today as his people, and to confirm that he is your God, just as he promised your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 14-15 This contract is not with you alone as you stand before him today, but with all future generations of Israel as well.

16 “Surely you remember how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how as we left, we came safely through the territory of enemy nations. 17 And you have seen their heathen idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold. 18 The day that any of you—man or woman, family or tribe of Israel—begins to turn away from the Lord our God and desires to worship these gods of other nations, that day a root will be planted that will grow bitter and poisonous fruit.

19 “Let no one blithely think, when he hears the warnings of this curse, ‘I shall prosper even though I walk in my own stubborn way!’ 20 For the Lord will not pardon! His anger and jealousy will be hot against that man. And all the curses written in this book shall lie heavily upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven. 21 The Lord will separate that man from all the tribes of Israel, to pour out upon him all the curses (which are recorded in this book) that befall those who break this contract. 22 Then your children and the generations to come and the foreigners that pass by from distant lands shall see the devastation of the land and the diseases the Lord will have sent upon it. 23 They will see that the whole land is alkali and salt, a burned over wasteland, unsown, without crops, without a shred of vegetation—just like Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, destroyed by the Lord in his anger.

24 “‘Why has the Lord done this to his land?’ the nations will ask. ‘Why was he so angry?’

25 “And they will be told, ‘Because the people of the land broke the contract made with them by Jehovah, the God of their ancestors, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 26 For they worshiped other gods, violating his express command. 27 That is why the anger of the Lord was hot against this land, so that all his curses (which are recorded in this book) broke forth upon them. 28 In great anger the Lord rooted them out of their land and threw them away into another land, where they still live today!’

29 “There are secrets the Lord your God has not revealed to us, but these words that he has revealed are for us and our children to obey forever.