Deuteronomy 8:1–10

A Good Land to Be Possessed

8“Obey faithfully all the laws that I have given you today, so that you may live, increase in number, and occupy the land which the Lord promised to your ancestors. ²Remember how the Lord your God led you on this long journey through the desert these past forty years, sending hardships to test you, so that he might know what you intended to do and whether you would obey his commands. ^3*He made you go hungry, and then he gave you manna to eat, food that you and your ancestors had never eaten before. He did this to teach you that human beings must not depend on bread alone to sustain them, but on everything that the Lord says. ⁴During these forty years your clothes have not worn out, nor have your feet swollen up. ⁵Remember that the Lord your God corrects and punishes you just as a father disciplines his children. ⁶So then, do as the Lord has commanded you: live according to his laws and obey him. ⁷The Lord your God is bringing you into a fertile land—a land that has rivers and springs, and underground streams gushing out into the valleys and hills; ⁸a land that produces wheat and barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and honey. ⁹There you will never go hungry or ever be in need. Its rocks have iron in them, and from its hills you can mine copper. ¹⁰You will have all you want to eat, and you will give thanks to the Lord your God for the fertile land that he has given you.