Rewards of Obedience

1“You shall therefore love the LORD your God, and always keep His directive, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments. 2Know this day that I am not speaking with your sons who have not known and who have not seen the [a]discipline of the LORD your God—His greatness, His mighty hand, His outstretched arm, 3and His signs and His works which He did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land; 4and what He did to Egypt’s army, to its horses and its chariots, when He made the water of the [b]Red Sea [c]engulf them while they were pursuing you, and the LORD [d]completely eliminated them; 5and what He did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place; 6and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that [e]followed them, among all Israel— 7but your own eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD which He did.

8“You shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today, so that you may be strong and go in and take possession of the land into which you are about to cross to possess it; 9and so that you may prolong your days on the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them and to their [f]descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10For the land, into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it [g]by your foot like a vegetable garden. 11But the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, 12a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it, from the [h]beginning even to the end of the year.

13“And it shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, 14that [i]He will provide rain for your land in its season, the [j]early and [k]late rain, so that you may gather your grain, your new wine, and your oil. 15[l]He will also provide grass in your field for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. 16[m]Beware that your hearts are not easily deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods, and worship them. 17Otherwise, the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the sky so that there will be no rain, and the ground will not yield its produce; then you will quickly perish from the good land which the LORD is giving you.

18“You shall therefore take these words of mine to [n]heart and to soul; and you shall tie them as a sign on your [o]hand, and they shall be as [p]frontlets [q]on your forehead. 19You shall also teach them to your sons, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. 20And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21so that your days and the days of your sons may be increased on the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as [r]long as the heavens are above the earth. 22For if you are careful to keep all of this commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and cling to Him, 23then the LORD will [s]dispossess all these nations from you, and you will [t]dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24Every place on which the sole of your foot steps shall be yours; your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as [u]the western sea. 25No one will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will [v]instill the dread of you and the fear of you in all the land on which you set foot, just as He has spoken to you.

26“See, I am placing before you today a blessing and a curse: 27the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today; 28and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, [w]by following other gods which you have not known.

29“And it shall come about, when the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30Are they not across the Jordan, west of the road toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the [x]oaks of Moreh? 31For you are about to cross the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall possess it and live in it, 32and you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the judgments which I am placing before you today.

[a] 2 Or instruction
[b] 4 Lit Sea of Reeds
[c] 4 Lit flow over their faces
[d] 4 Lit to this day
[e] 6 Lit was at their feet
[f] 9 Lit seed
[g] 10 I.e., use of foot to facilitate irrigation
[h] 12 Lit beginning of the year
[i] 14 As in some ancient versions; MT I
[j] 14 I.e., autumn
[k] 14 I.e., spring
[l] 15 As in some ancient versions; MT I
[m] 16 Lit Watch yourselves
[n] 18 Lit your heart
[o] 18 Or forearm
[p] 18 Or phylacteries
[q] 18 Lit between your eyes
[r] 21 Lit the days of the heavens
[s] 23 Or drive out
[t] 23 Or drive out
[u] 24 I.e., the Mediterranean
[v] 25 Lit give...over all
[w] 28 Lit to follow
[x] 30 Or terebinths