Deuteronomy 29:16–30:20

¹⁶(for you know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt and that we came through the nations which you passed by, ¹⁷and you saw their ²abominations and their idols which were among them—wood and stone and silver and gold); ¹⁸so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, ^swhose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, ^tand that there may not be among you a root bearing ^ubitterness or wormwood; ¹⁹and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I ³follow the ^vdictates of my heart’—^was though the drunkard could be included with the sober.

^20x“The Lord would not spare him; for then ^ythe anger of the Lord and ^zHis jealousy would burn against that man, and every curse that is written in this book would settle on him, and the Lord ^awould blot out his name from under heaven. ²¹And the Lord ^bwould separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the ^cLaw, ²²so that the coming generation of your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, would say, when they ^dsee the plagues of that land and the sicknesses which the Lord has laid on it:

²³‘The whole land is brimstone, ^esalt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, ^flike the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and His wrath.’ ²⁴All nations would say, ^g‘Why has the Lord done so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?’ ²⁵Then people would say: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt; ²⁶for they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they did not know and that He had not given to them. ²⁷Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against this land, ^hto bring on it every curse that is written in this book. ²⁸And the Lord ⁱuprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’

²⁹“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

The Blessing of Returning to God

30“Now ^ait shall come to pass, when ^ball these things come upon you, the blessing and the ^ccurse which I have set before you, and ^dyou ¹call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, ²and you ^ereturn to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, ^3fthat the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and ^ggather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. ^4hIf any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. ⁵Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. ⁶And ⁱthe Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

⁷“Also the Lord your God will put all these ^jcurses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. ⁸And you will ^kagain obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you today. ^9lThe Lord your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the ²fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the Lord will again ^mrejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, ¹⁰if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

The Choice of Life or Death

¹¹“For this commandment which I command you today ⁿis ³not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. ^12oIt is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ ¹³Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ ¹⁴But the word is very near you, ^pin your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

¹⁵“See, ^qI have set before you today life and good, death and evil, ¹⁶in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. ¹⁷But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, ^18rI announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. ^19sI call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that ^tI have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; ²⁰that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your ^ulife and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”