Deuteronomy 29

1 These are the words of the agreement which Moses was ordered by the Lord to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, in addition to the agreement which he made with them in Horeb.

These are the words of the covenant which the Lord instructed Moses to form with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, beside that covenant which he struck with them at Horeb.

2 And Moses said in the hearing of all Israel, You have seen all the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and all his land;

And Moses called all of Israel, and he said to them: “You have seen all the things that the Lord has done in your sight in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to his entire land:

3 The great tests which your eyes saw, and the signs and wonders:

the great trials, which your eyes have seen, those immense signs and wonders.

4 But even to this day the Lord has not given you a mind open to knowledge, or seeing eyes or hearing ears.

But the Lord has not given you an understanding heart, and seeing eyes, and ears that are able to hear, even to this present day.

5 For forty years I have been your guide through the waste land: your clothing has not become old on your backs, or your shoes on your feet.

He led you for forty years through the desert. Your garments have not been worn out, nor have the shoes on your feet been consumed by age.

6 You have had no bread, or wine, or strong drink: so that you might see that I am the Lord your God.

You did not eat bread, nor did you drink wine or liquor, so that you would know that I am the Lord your God.

7 When you came to this place, Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, came out to make war against us and we overcame them:

And you arrived at this place. And Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, went out to meet us in battle. And we struck them down.

8 And we took their land and gave it to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for their heritage.

And we took their land and delivered it as a possession to Ruben and to Gad, and to half of the tribe of Manasseh.

9 So keep the words of this agreement and do them, so that it may be well for you in everything you do.

Therefore, keep the words of this covenant, and fulfill them, so that you may understand all that you are doing.

10 You have come here today, all of you, before the Lord your God; the heads of your tribes, the overseers, and those who are in authority over you, with all the men of Israel,

Today, you all stand in the sight of the Lord your God: your leaders, and tribes, and those greater by birth, and teachers, all the people of Israel,

11 And your little ones, your wives, and the men of other lands who are with you in your tents, down to the wood-cutter and the servant who gets water for you:

your children and wives, and the new arrival who dwells with you in the camp, aside from those who cut wood, and those who bring water,

12 With the purpose of taking part in the agreement of the Lord your God, and his oath which he makes with you today:

so that you may cross into the covenant of the Lord your God, and into the oath which the Lord your God strikes with you today.

13 And so that he may make you his people today, and be your God, as he has said to you, and as he made an oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

So shall he raise you up as a people to himself, and so shall he be your God, just as he has spoken to you, and just as he swore to your fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

14 And not with you only do I make this agreement and this oath;

And I am not forming this covenant and confirm these oaths with you alone,

15 But with everyone who is here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with those who are not here:

but with all those who are present as well as those who are absent.

16 (For you have in mind how we were living in the land of Egypt; and how we came through all the nations which were on your way;

For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we passed through the midst of nations. And when passing through them,

17 And you have seen their disgusting doings, and the images of wood and stone and silver and gold which were among them: )

you saw their abominations and filth, that is, their idols of wood and of stone, of silver and of gold, which they worshipped,

18 So that there may not be among you any man or woman or family or tribe whose heart is turned away from the Lord our God today, to go after other gods and give them worship; or any root among you whose fruit is poison and bitter sorrow;

so that there would not be among you man or woman, family or tribe, whose heart has been turned away this day from the Lord our God, so as to go and serve the gods of those nations. For then there would be among you a root springing forth gall and bitterness.

19 If such a man, hearing the words of this oath, takes comfort in the thought that he will have peace even if he goes on in the pride of his heart, taking whatever chance may give him:

And if he were to hear the words of this oath, he would bless himself in his own heart saying: ‘There will be peace for me, and I will walk in the depravity of my heart.’ And so, the one who is inebriated would consume the one who is thirsty.

20 The Lord will have no mercy on him, but the wrath of the Lord will be burning against that man, and all the curses recorded in this book will be waiting for him, and the Lord will take away his name completely from the earth.

But the Lord would not ignore him. Instead, at that time, his fury and zealousness would be very greatly enflamed against that man, and all the curses which have been written in this volume would settle upon him. And the Lord would abolish his name from under heaven,

21 He will be marked out by the Lord, from all the tribes of Israel, for an evil fate, in keeping with all the curses of the agreement recorded in this book of the law.

and consume him unto perdition out of all the tribes of Israel, according to the curses which are contained in the book of this law and in the covenant.

22 And future generations, your children coming after you, and travellers from far countries, will say, when they see the punishments of that land and the diseases which the Lord has sent on it;

And the subsequent generation would speak out, along with the sons who will be born afterward. And the sojourners, who will arrive from far away, will see the plagues of that land and the infirmities with which the Lord will have afflicted it,

23 And that all the land is a salt and smoking waste, not planted or giving fruit or clothed with grass, but wasted like Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, on which the Lord sent destruction in the heat of his wrath:

having burned it with sulphur and molten salt, so that it can no longer be sown. And certainly no greenery would spring up, as in the example of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overturned with his wrath and fury.

24 Truly all the nations will say, Why has the Lord done so to this land? what is the reason for this great and burning wrath?

And so, all the nations would say: ‘Why has the Lord acted this way toward this land? What is this immense wrath of his fury?’

25 Then men will say, Because they gave up the agreement of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he took them out of the land of Egypt:

And they will respond: ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, which he formed with their fathers, when he led them away from the land of Egypt.

26 And they went after other gods and gave them worship, gods who were strange to them, and whom he had not given them:

And they have served foreign gods, and adored them, though they did not know them, and though they had not been allotted to them.

27 And so the wrath of the Lord was moved against this land, to send on it all the curse recorded in this book:

For this reason, the fury of the Lord was enraged against this land, so as to lead over it all the curses which have been written in this volume.

28 Rooting them out of their land, in the heat of his wrath and passion, and driving them out into another land, as at this day.

And he has cast them out of their own land, with anger and fury, and with a very great indignation, and he has thrown them into a strange land, just as has been proven this day.’

29 The secret things are the Lord our God's: but the things which have been made clear are ours and our children's for ever, so that we may do all the words of this law.

These hidden things of the Lord our God have been revealed to us and to our sons in perpetuity, so that we may accomplish all the words of this law.”