²Remember today that your children weren’t the ones the Lord your God taught and trained. They didn’t see his majesty. They weren’t in Egypt when he reached out his mighty hand and powerful arm. ³They didn’t see the miraculous signs and the other things he did in Egypt. They didn’t see what he did to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his whole country. ⁴They weren’t there when he destroyed the army of Egypt and its horses and chariots. The Lord swept the waters of the Red Sea over the Egyptians while they were chasing you. He wiped them out forever.

⁵Your children didn’t see what he did for you in the desert before you arrived here. ⁶They didn’t see what he did to Dathan and Abiram, who were the sons of Eliab. Eliab was from the tribe of Reuben. The earth opened its mouth right in the middle of the Israelite camp. It swallowed up Dathan and Abiram. It swallowed them up together with their families, tents and every living thing that belonged to them.

⁷But with your own eyes you saw all of the great things the Lord has done.

⁸So obey all of the commands I’m giving you today. Then you will be strong enough to go in and take over the land. You will go across the Jordan River and take it as your own.

⁹You will live in the land for a long time. It’s the land the Lord promised to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children after them. He took an oath when he made that promise. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. ¹⁰You will enter it and take it over.

It isn’t like the land of Egypt. That’s where you came from. You planted your seeds there. You had to water them, just as you have to water a vegetable garden.

¹¹But you will soon go across the Jordan River. The land you are going to take over has mountains and valleys in it. It drinks rain from heaven. ¹²It’s a land the Lord your God takes care of. His eyes always look on it with favor. He watches over it from the beginning of the year to its end.

¹³So be faithful. Obey the commands the Lord your God is giving you today. Love him. Serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

¹⁴Then the Lord will send rain on your land at the right time. He’ll send rain in the fall and in the spring. You will be able to gather your grain. You will also be able to make olive oil and fresh wine. ¹⁵He’ll provide grass in the fields for your cattle. You will have plenty to eat.

¹⁶But be careful. Don’t let anyone tempt you to do something wrong. Don’t turn away and worship other gods. Don’t bow down to them. ¹⁷If you do, the Lord’s anger will burn against you. He’ll close up the sky. It won’t rain. The ground won’t produce its crops. Soon you will die. You won’t live to enjoy the good land the Lord is giving you.

¹⁸So keep my words in your hearts and minds. Write them down and tie them on your hands as a reminder. Also tie them on your foreheads. ¹⁹Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up. ²⁰Write them on the doorframes of your houses. Also write them on your gates.

²¹Then you and your children will live for a long time in the land. The Lord took an oath and promised to give the land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Your family line will continue as long as the heavens remain above the earth.

²²So be careful. Obey all of the commands I’m giving you to follow. Love the Lord your God. Live exactly as he wants you to live. Remain true to him. ²³Then the Lord will drive out all of the nations to make room for you. They are larger and stronger than you are. But you will take their land.

²⁴Every place you walk on will belong to you. Your territory will go all the way from the desert to Lebanon. It will go from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea.

²⁵No man will be able to stand up against you. The Lord your God will throw the whole land into a panic because of you. He’ll do it everywhere you go, just as he promised you.

²⁶Listen to me. I’m setting a blessing and a curse in front of you today. ²⁷I’m giving you the commands of the Lord your God today. You will be blessed if you obey them. ²⁸But you will be cursed if you don’t obey them. So don’t turn away from the path I’m now commanding you to take. Don’t worship other gods. You haven’t known anything about them before.

²⁹The Lord your God will bring you into the land to take it over. When he does, you must announce the blessings from Mount Gerizim. You must announce the curses from Mount Ebal. ³⁰As you know, those mountains are across the Jordan River. They are beyond the road that runs along the west side of the Jordan. They are near the large trees of Moreh. The mountains are in the territory of the Canaanites, who live in the Arabah Valley near Gilgal.

³¹You are about to go across the Jordan River. You will enter the land and take it over. The Lord your God is giving it to you. You will take it over and live there. ³²When you do, make sure you obey all of the rules and laws I’m giving you today.

Worship Only Where the Lord Wants You To

12Here are the rules and laws you must obey. Be careful to follow them in the land the Lord has given you to take as your own. He’s the God of your people who lived long ago. Obey these rules and laws as long as you live in the land.

²You will soon drive the nations out of it. Completely destroy all of the places where they worship their gods. Destroy them on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree. ³Break down their altars. Smash their sacred stones. Burn up the poles they use to worship the goddess Asherah. Cut down the statues of their gods. Wipe out the names of their gods from those places.

⁴You must not worship the Lord your God the way those nations worship their gods. ⁵Instead, go to the special place he will choose from among all of your tribes. He will put his Name there. That’s where you must go.

⁶Take your burnt offerings and sacrifices to that place. Bring your special gifts and a tenth of everything you produce. Take with you what you have promised to give. Bring any other offerings you choose to give. And bring the male animals among your livestock that were born first to their mothers.

⁷You and your families will eat at the place the Lord your God will choose. He will be with you there. You will find joy in everything you have done. That’s because he has blessed you.

⁸You must not do as we’re doing here today. All of us are doing only what we think is right. ⁹That’s because you haven’t yet reached the place the Lord is giving you. Your God will give you peace and rest there.

¹⁰But first you will go across the Jordan River. You will settle in the land he’s giving you. It will belong to you as your share. He will give you peace and rest from all of your enemies around you. You will live in safety.

¹¹The Lord your God will choose a special place. He will put his Name there. That’s where you must bring everything I command you to bring. That includes your burnt offerings and sacrifices. It includes your special gifts and a tenth of everything you produce. It also includes all of the things of value that you promised to give to the Lord.

¹²Be filled with joy there in the sight of the Lord your God. Your children should also be joyful. So should your male and female servants. And so should the Levites from your towns. The Levites won’t receive any part of the land as their share.

¹³Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you want to. ¹⁴Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes. There obey everything I command you.

¹⁵But you can kill your animals in any of your towns. You can eat as much of the meat as you want to. You can eat it as if it were antelope or deer meat. That’s in keeping with the blessing the Lord your God is giving you. Those who are “clean” and those who are not can eat it.

¹⁶But you must not eat meat that still has blood in it. Pour the blood out on the ground like water.

¹⁷Here are the things you must not eat in your own towns. You must not eat the tenth part of your grain, olive oil and fresh wine. It belongs to the Lord. You must not eat the male animals among your livestock that were born first to their mothers. Don’t eat anything you have promised to give. Don’t eat any offerings you have chosen to give. And you must not eat any of your special gifts.

¹⁸Instead, you must eat all of those things in the sight of the Lord your God. Do it at the place he will choose. You, your children, your male and female servants and the Levites from your towns can eat them.

Be filled with joy in the sight of the Lord your God. Be joyful in everything you do.

¹⁹Don’t forget to take care of the Levites as long as you live in your land.

²⁰The Lord your God will increase your territory, just as he has promised you. When he does, you might get hungry for meat. You might say, “I’d really like some meat.” Then you can eat as much of it as you want to.

²¹The Lord your God will choose a special place. He will put his Name there. But suppose it’s too far away for you to go to it. Then you can kill animals from the herds and flocks the Lord has given you. Do it just as I have commanded you. In your own towns you can eat as much of the meat as you want to. ²²Eat it as you would eat antelope or deer meat. Those who are “clean” and those who are not can eat it.

²³But be sure you don’t eat meat that still has blood in it. The blood is the animal’s life. So you must not eat the life along with the meat. ²⁴You must not eat the blood. Pour it out on the ground like water. ²⁵Don’t eat it. Then things will go well with you and your children after you. You will be doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

²⁶But go to the place the Lord will choose. Take with you the things you have set apart for him. Bring what you have promised to give him. ²⁷Sacrifice your burnt…

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