Deuteronomy 11

1 “And so, love the Lord your God, and observe his precepts and ceremonies, his judgments and commandments, at all times.

Love the Lord your God and do everything he says—his rules, regulations, and commandments.

2 Acknowledge, on this day, the things that your sons did not know. For they did not see the chastisements of the Lord your God, his great acts, and powerful hand, and outstretched arm,

You should realize that it's not your children who have experienced the Lord your God's discipline. It was you who saw his greatness, his power and strength;

3 the signs and works that he did in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh, the king, and to his entire land,

and his miracles. You saw what he did to Pharaoh king of Egypt and his whole country.

4 and to the entire army of the Egyptians, and to their horses and chariots: how the waters of the Red Sea covered them as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord wiped them away, even to the present day;

You saw what he did to the Egyptian army and its horses and chariots when he swept them away in the Red Sea, drowning them as they chased after you. The story hasn't changed!

5 and the things that he accomplished for you in the wilderness, until you arrived at this place;

You saw what he did for you in the desert until you arrived here.

6 and to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, who was the son of Reuben, those whom the earth, opening its mouth, engulfed with their households and tents, and with their entire substance which they had in the midst of Israel.

You saw what he did, right there among you, to Dothan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab of the tribe of Reuben, when the earth split open and swallowed them down—their families, their tents, and all their animals.

7 Your eyes have seen all the great works of the Lord, which he has accomplished,

You saw with your own eyes all the amazing things that the Lord has done.

8 so that you would keep all his commandments, which I entrust to you this day, and so that you would be able to enter and possess the land, toward which you are advancing,

So you must keep every commandment I am giving you today That way you will have the strength to enter and take over the country that you are crossing the Jordan to have as your own,

9 and so that you may live, for a long time, in the land which the Lord promised under oath to your fathers, and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey.

You will also have long lives in the country that the Lord promised to give your forefathers and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.

10 For the land, which you shall enter and possess, is not like the land of Egypt, from which you departed, where, when seed has been sown, waters are brought in by irrigation, in the manner of gardens.

The country you're entering to occupy isn't like the country of Egypt that you've come from. There you had to sow your seed and work hard irrigating the ground, like taking care of a vegetable garden.

11 Rather, it has mountainous regions and plains, which lay waiting for rain from heaven.

But here in the country that you are crossing the Jordan to take over is a land of mountains and valleys that receives plenty of rain

12 And the Lord your God always visits it, and his eyes are upon it, from the beginning of the year, all the way to its end.

It is a land that the Lord your God takes care of. The Lord your God it is always watching over it, all year long.

13 So then, if you obey my commandments, which I am instructing to you this day, so that you love the Lord your God, and serve him with your whole heart and your whole soul,

So if you pay careful attention to keep the commandments I'm giving you today, if you love the Lord your God and to worship with all your mind and with all your being,

14 he will give to your land the early rain and the late rain, so that you may gather your grain, and your wine, and your oil,

then I will send rain for your land at the right time, rain in autumn and spring, so that you can harvest your grain, new wine, and olive oil.

15 and your hay from the fields in order to feed your cattle, and so that you yourselves may eat and be satisfied.

I will also provide grass in the fields for your livestock. You will have more than enough to eat.

16 Be careful, lest perhaps your heart may be deceived, and you might withdraw from the Lord, and serve strange gods, and adore them.

But make sure you're not that you're not fooled into worshiping and bowing down to other gods,

17 And the Lord, becoming angry, might close up heaven, so that the rain would not descend, nor would the earth produce her seedlings, and then you would quickly perish from the excellent land, which the Lord will give to you.

or the Lord will become angry with you. He won't send any rain, and the land won't produce any crops, and you will soon die, even in the good land that the Lord is giving you.

18 Place these words of mine in your hearts and minds, and hang them as a sign on your hands, and arrange them between your eyes.

Focus your minds on the words that I'm saying. Tie them on your hands as reminders and put them on your foreheads as well.

19 Teach your sons to meditate on them, when you sit in your house, and when you walk along the way, and when you lie down or rise up.

Teach them to your children and talk about them when you're at home and when you're traveling, when you lie down and when you get up.

20 You shall write them upon the doorposts and the gates of your house,

Write them on the doorposts of your homes and on your gates,

21 so that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your sons, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, that he would give it to them for as long as heaven is suspended above the earth.

so that as long as the earth lasts, you and your children may have long lives in the country the Lord promised to give your forefathers.

22 For if you keep the commandments which I am entrusting to you, and if you do them, so that you love the Lord your God, and walk in all his ways, clinging to him,

If you are careful to keep all these commandments I am giving you to follow, if you love the Lord your God and follow all his ways, and hold onto him,

23 the Lord will scatter all these nations before your face, and you shall possess them, though they are greater and stronger than you.

then the Lord will drive out all these nations ahead of you, and you will take over the country from nations that are greater and stronger than you.

24 Every place upon which your foot shall tread will be yours. From the desert, and from Lebanon, from the great river Euphrates, as far as the western sea, shall be your borders.

Everywhere you walk will belong to you. Your territory will extend from the desert all the way to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea.

25 No one will stand against you. The Lord your God will spread the terror and dread of you over all the land upon which you shall tread, just as he has spoken to you.

No one will be able to withstand you; the Lord your God will make everyone living there absolutely terrified of you wherever you go, just as he promised you.

26 Behold, I am setting forth in your sight today a blessing and a curse.

Look! Today I'm placing before you both a blessing and a curse.

27 It will be a blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am instructing to you this day.

You will receive a blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I'm giving you today.

28 It will be a curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but instead you withdraw from the way, which I am revealing to you now, and you walk after foreign gods that you have not known.

But you will receive a curse if you disobey the commandments of the Lord your God and don't keep to the path I'm ordering you to follow today by worshiping some other unknown gods.

29 Yet truly, when the Lord your God will have led you into the land, to which you are traveling for a habitation, you shall place the blessing upon Mount Gerizim, the curse upon Mount Ebal,

When the Lord your God takes you into the country you are going in to occupy, announce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.

30 which are across the Jordan, behind the way which slopes toward the setting of the sun, in the land of the Canaanite, who lives in the plains opposite Gilgal, which is near the valley extending toward and entering a distant place.

(These mountains are to the west of the Jordan, in the country of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah near Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh.)

31 For you shall cross over the Jordan, so that you may possess the land which the Lord your God will give you, so that you may have it and possess it.

Shortly you're going to cross the Jordan to enter and occupy the country the Lord your God is giving you. When you take it over and settle there,

32 Therefore, see to it that you fulfill the ceremonies and judgments, which I am placing in your sight this day.”

make sure you follow all the rules and regulations that I'm giving you today.