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 that Yahweh commanded Moses to tell the people of Israel in the land of Moab, words that were added to the covenant that he had made 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;

Moses called to all Israel and said to them, “You have seen everything that Yahweh did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to all his land—

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

the great sufferings that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great 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 until today Yahweh has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, or ears to hear.

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.

I have led you for forty years in the wilderness; your clothes did not wear out on you, and your sandals did not wear out on your feet.

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 any bread, and you did not drink any wine or other alcoholic drinks, so that you might know that I am Yahweh 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:

When you came to this place, Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, came out against us to fight, 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.

We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, to the Gadites, and to the half 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 do them, so that you may prosper in everything that you do.

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,

You stand today, all of you, before Yahweh your God; your chiefs, your tribes, your elders, and your officers—all the men 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 little ones, your wives, and the foreigner who is among you in your camp, from him who cuts your wood to him who draws your 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:

You are here in order to enter into the covenant of Yahweh your God and into the oath that Yahweh your God is making 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 that he may make you today into a people for himself, and that he may be God for you, as he spoke to you, and as he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

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

For it is not only with you that I am making this covenant and this oath—

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

with everyone standing here with us today before Yahweh our God—but also with those who are not here with us today.

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;

You know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed.

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

You have seen their disgusting idols made of wood and stone, silver and gold, that were among them.

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;

Make sure there is not among you any man, woman, clan, or tribe whose heart is turning away today from Yahweh our God, so as to go worship the gods of those nations. Make sure there is not among you any root that produces gall and wormwood.

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:

When that person hears the words of this curse, he will bless himself in his heart and say, 'I will have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.' This would destroy the wet together with the dry.

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.

Yahweh will not pardon him, but instead, the anger of Yahweh and his jealousy will smolder against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book will come on him, and Yahweh will blot out 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.

Yahweh will set him apart for disaster out of all the tribes of Israel, in keeping with all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law.

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;

The generation to come, your children who will rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a distant land, will speak when they see the plagues on this land and the diseases with which Yahweh has made it sick—

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:

and when they see that the whole land has become sulfur and burning salt, where nothing is sown or bears fruit, where no vegetation grows, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, that Yahweh destroyed in his anger and wrath—

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?

they will say together with all the other nations, 'Why has Yahweh done this to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?'

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:

Then people will say, 'It is because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, that he made with them when he brought them out of 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 because they went and served other gods and bowed down to them, gods that they had not known and that he had not given 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:

Therefore the anger of Yahweh has been kindled against this land, so as to bring on it all the curses that are written in this book.

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.

Yahweh has uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great fury, and has thrown them into another land, as today.'

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.

The secret matters belong alone to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong forever to us and to our descendants, so that we may do all the words of this law.