29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

30 Go say to them, Get you into your tents again.

31 But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.

32 Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

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29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me(A) and keep all my commands(B) always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!(C)

30 “Go, tell them to return to their tents. 31 But you stay here(D) with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess.”

32 So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you;(E) do not turn aside to the right or to the left.(F) 33 Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you,(G) so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days(H) in the land that you will possess.

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Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.

For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;

A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;

A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.

10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.

11 Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:

12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;

13 And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;

14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;

16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

18 But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

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Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him(A) and revering him.(B) For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land(C)—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills;(D) a land with wheat and barley,(E) vines(F) and fig trees,(G) pomegranates, olive oil and honey;(H) a land where bread(I) will not be scarce and you will lack nothing;(J) a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.(K)

10 When you have eaten and are satisfied,(L) praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget(M) the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down,(N) 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget(O) the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness,(P) that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes(Q) and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock.(R) 16 He gave you manna(S) to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known,(T) to humble and test(U) you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself,(V) “My power and the strength of my hands(W) have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,(X) and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

19 If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods(Y) and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.(Z)

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Understand therefore this day, that the Lord thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the Lord hath said unto thee.

Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee.

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But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you(A) like a devouring fire.(B) He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly,(C) as the Lord has promised you.

After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself,(D) “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness(E) of these nations(F) that the Lord is going to drive them out before you.

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22 For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;

23 Then will the Lord drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.

24 Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be.

25 There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you.

26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;

27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day:

28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

29 And it shall come to pass, when the Lord thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.

30 Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh?

31 For ye shall pass over Jordan to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein.

32 And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before you this day.

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22 If you carefully observe(A) all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love(B) the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast(C) to him— 23 then the Lord will drive out(D) all these nations(E) before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.(F) 24 Every place where you set your foot will be yours:(G) Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River(H) to the Mediterranean Sea. 25 No one will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he promised you, will put the terror(I) and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.(J)

26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing(K) and a curse(L) 27 the blessing(M) if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey(N) the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods,(O) which you have not known. 29 When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim(P) the blessings, and on Mount Ebal(Q) the curses.(R) 30 As you know, these mountains are across the Jordan, westward, toward the setting sun, near the great trees of Moreh,(S) in the territory of those Canaanites living in the Arabah in the vicinity of Gilgal.(T) 31 You are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession(U) of the land the Lord your God is giving(V) you. When you have taken it over and are living there, 32 be sure that you obey all the decrees and laws I am setting before you today.

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And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;

Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;

Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:

But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.

12 If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,

13 Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;

14 Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you;

15 Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.

16 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the Lord thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.

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That prophet or dreamer must be put to death(A) for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn(B) you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil(C) from among you.

If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices(D) you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods”(E) (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield(F) to them or listen to them. Show them no pity.(G) Do not spare them or shield them. You must certainly put them to death.(H) Your hand(I) must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. 10 Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away(J) from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid,(K) and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.

12 If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in 13 that troublemakers(L) have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known), 14 then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly.(M) And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you,(N) 15 you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely,[a](O) both its people and its livestock.(P) 16 You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town(Q) and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God.(R) That town is to remain a ruin(S) forever, never to be rebuilt,

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 13:15 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.