Deuteronomy 8

1 All the commandment which I am commanding thee to-day, shalt thou, observe, to do, —that ye may, live, and multiply, and enter in and possess the land, which Yahweh sware unto 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 So then, thou shalt remember all the way in which Yahweh thy God caused thee to journey these forty years in the desert, —that he might humble thee to put thee to the proof to know what was in thy heart, —whether thou wouldest keep his commandments 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 So he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna which thou hadst not known, neither had thy fathers known, —that he might lead thee to consider that not on bread alone, shall the son of earth live, but on whatsoever cometh from the bidding of Yahweh, shall the son of earth 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 mantle, hath not fallen with age from off thee, and, thy foot, hath not become swollen, —these forty years.

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

5 Thou must consider, then with thy heart, —that as a man chasteneth his son, Yahweh thy God, hath been chastening thee.

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

6 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments of Yahweh thy God, —to walk in his ways and to revere him.

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

7 For, Yahweh thy God, is bringing thee into a good land; a land of ravines of water, of fountains and depths, coming forth 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-tree, and pomegranate, —a land of olive oil, and honey:

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

9 a land wherein not in scarcity, shalt thou eat food, thou shalt lack nothing therein, —a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest hew copper.

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 So then thou shalt eat and be satisfied, —and bless Yahweh thy God, for the good land which he hath given unto 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 Yahweh thy God, —so as not to keep his commandments and his regulations 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 be satisfied, —and goodly houses, thou build and inhabit;

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

13 and thy herd and thy flock, increase, and silver and gold, increase unto thee, —and all that thou hast, increase;

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

14 and so thy heart be lifted up, —and thou forget Yahweh thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt out of the 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 caused thee to journey through the great and terrible desert, of fiery serpents and scorpions, and thirsty wastes where was no water, —who brought forth for thee water out of 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 fed thee with manna in the desert, which thy fathers had not known, —that he might humble thee, and that he might put thee to the proof, to do thee good in thy hereafter,

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 lest thou shouldest say in thy heart, —Mine own strength and the might of mine own hand, have gotten me this wealth.

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

18 But thou shalt remember Yahweh thy God, that it was, he, who had been giving thee strength to get wealth, —that so he might establish his covenant which he sware 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 But it shall be if thou forget, Yahweh thy God, and go after ether gods, and serve them, and bow thyself down to them, I testify against you to-day, that ye shall 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 like the nations which, Yahweh, is causing to perish from before you, so, shall ye perish, because ye would not hearken unto the voice of Yahweh 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.