Love the Lord

1 These are the commands, laws, and rules the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. Obey them after you enter the land and take possession of it. 2 As long as you live, you, your children, and your grandchildren must fear the Lord your God. All of you must obey all his laws and commands that I’m giving you, and you will live a long time. 3 Listen, Israel, and be careful to obey these laws. Then things will go well for you and your population will increase in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord God of your ancestors promised you. 

4 Listen, Israel: The Lord is our God. The Lord is the only God. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 Take to heart these words that I give you today. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you’re at home or away, when you lie down or get up. 8 ⸤Write them down, and⸥ tie them around your wrist, and wear them as headbands as a reminder. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 

10 The Lord your God will bring you into the land and give it to you, as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This land will have large, prosperous cities that you didn’t build.