Deuteronomy 8

1 'All the command which I am commanding thee to-day ye observe to do, so that ye live, and have multiplied, and gone in, and possessed the land which Jehovah hath sworn to your fathers;

You must take care to follow every commandment I am giving you today, so that you may live and have many descendants, and go in and take over the country the Lord promised to give to your fore fathers.

2 and thou hast remembered all the way which Jehovah thy God hath caused thee to go these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble thee to try thee, to know that which [is] in thy heart, whether thou dost keep His commands or not.

Remember how for these forty years the Lord your God has led you all the way through the desert, humbling you and testing you in order to find out what you were really thinking, and whether or not you would keep his commandments.

3 'And He doth humble thee, and cause thee to hunger and doth cause thee to eat the manna (which thou hast not known, even thy fathers have not known), in order to cause thee to know that not by bread alone doth man live, but by every produce of the mouth of Jehovah man doth live.

He humbled you, and when you were hungry he gave you manna to eat, which nobody, including you and your forefathers, had ever had before This was in order to make it clear to you that human beings do not live by only eating bread, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

4 'Thy raiment hath not worn out from off thee, and thy foot hath not swelled these forty years,

During these forty years your clothing didn't wear out and your feet didn't swell up.

5 and thou hast known, with thy heart, that as a man chastiseth his son Jehovah thy God is chastising thee,

So you should realize that just as a parent disciplines their child, so the Lord your God disciplines you.

6 and thou hast kept the commands of Jehovah thy God, to walk in His ways, and to fear Him.

That's why you have to keep the commandments of the Lord your God, following his ways and respecting him.

7 'For Jehovah thy God is bringing thee in unto a good land, a land of brooks of waters, of fountains, and of depths coming out in valley and in mountain:

For the Lord your God is taking you to a good country. It's a land of streams and pools and springs that flow through the valleys and down the hills;

8 a land of wheat, and barley, and vine, and fig, and pomegranate; a land of oil olive and honey;

It's a land that produces wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey.

9 a land in which without scarcity thou dost eat bread, thou dost not lack anything in it; a land whose stones [are] iron, and out of its mountains thou dost dig brass;

It's a land where you won't run out of food, where you will have everything you need; a land whose rocks contain iron ore and whose hills can be mined for copper.

10 and thou hast eaten, and been satisfied, and hast blessed Jehovah thy God, on the good land which he hath given to thee.

When you eat and are full, make sure you thank the Lord your God for the good land that he's given you.

11 'Take heed to thyself, lest thou forget Jehovah thy God so as not to keep His commands, and His judgments, and His statutes which I am commanding thee to-day;

Make sure you don't forget the Lord your God by disobeying his commandments and rules and regulations that I'm giving you today.

12 lest thou eat, and hast been satisfied, and good houses dost build, and hast inhabited;

For when you eat and are full, when you build beautiful houses to live in,

13 and thy herd and thy flock be multiplied, and silver and gold be multiplied to thee; and all that is thine be multiplied:

and when your herds and flocks grow larger, and your silver and gold accumulates, and all your possessions increase,

14 'And thy heart hath been high, and thou hast forgotten Jehovah thy God (who is bringing thee out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants;

then you will become proud, and you will forget the Lord your God who led you out of Egypt, out of the prison-house of slavery.

15 who is causing thee to go in the great and the terrible wilderness — burning serpent, and scorpion, and thirst — where there is no water; who is bringing out to thee waters from the flinty rock;

He guided you through the immense and terrifying desert with its poisonous snakes and scorpions—a dried up, waterless land. He brought water for you out of a flint rock.

16 who is causing thee to eat manna in the wilderness, which thy fathers have not known, in order to humble thee, and in order to try thee, to do thee good in thy latter end),

He fed you in the desert with manna that your forefathers had never known, humbling you and testing you, so that eventually you would do well in the future.

17 and thou hast said in thy heart, My power, and the might of my hand, hath made for me this wealth:

You might think to yourselves, “I became rich through all my hard work.”

18 'And thou hast remembered Jehovah thy God, for He it [is] who is giving to thee power to make wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He hath sworn to thy fathers as [at] this day.

But remember it's the Lord your God who gives you the ability to become rich, in order to fulfill his agreement he promised to your forefathers that still exists today.

19 'And it hath been — if thou really forget Jehovah thy God, and hast gone after other gods, and served them, and bowed thyself to them, I have testified against you to-day that ye do utterly perish;

If you ever forget the Lord your God, and run after other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, I assure you right now that you will definitely die!

20 as the nations whom Jehovah is destroying from your presence, so ye perish; because ye hearken not to the voice of Jehovah your God.

In the same way the Lord destroyed the nations as you advanced, you will also die if you don't obey the Lord your God.