The Message (MSG)

1-2 These are the sermons Moses preached to all Israel when they were east of the Jordan River in the Arabah Wilderness, opposite Suph, in the vicinity of Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. It takes eleven days to travel from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea following the Mount Seir route.

3-4 It was on the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year when Moses addressed the People of Israel, telling them everythingGodhad commanded him concerning them. This came after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who ruled from Ashtaroth in Edrei. It was east of the Jordan in the land of Moab that Moses set out to explain this Revelation.

Moses Preaches to Israel on the Plains of Moab

5 He said:

6-8 Back at Horeb,God, our God, spoke to us: “You’ve stayed long enough at this mountain. On your way now. Get moving. Head for the Amorite hills, wherever people are living in the Arabah, the mountains, the foothills, the Negev, the seashore—the Canaanite country and the Lebanon all the way to the big river, the Euphrates. Look, I’ve given you this land. Now go in and take it. It’s the landGodpromised to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their children after them.”

9-13 At the time I told you, “I can’t do this, can’t carry you all by myself.God, your God, has multiplied your numbers. Why, look at you—you rival the stars in the sky! And mayGod, the God-of-Your-Fathers, keep it up and multiply you another thousand times, bless you just as he promised. But how can I carry, all by myself, your troubles and burdens and quarrels? So select some wise, understanding, and seasoned men from your tribes, and I will commission them as your leaders.”

14 You answered me, “Good! A good solution.”

15 So I went ahead and took the top men of your tribes, wise and seasoned, and made them your leaders—leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, officials adequate for each of your tribes.

16-17 At the same time I gave orders to your judges: “Listen carefully to complaints and accusations between your fellow Israelites. Judge fairly between each person and his fellow or foreigner. Don’t play favorites; treat the little and the big alike; listen carefully to each. Don’t be impressed by big names. This isGod’sjudgment you’re dealing with. Hard cases you can bring to me; I’ll deal with them.”

18 I issued orders to you at that time regarding everything you would have to deal with.

19-21 Then we set out from Horeb and headed for the Amorite hill country, going through that huge and frightening wilderness that you’ve had more than an eyeful of by now—all under the command ofGod, our God—and finally arrived at Kadesh Barnea. There I told you, “You’ve made it to the Amorite hill country thatGod, our God, is giving us. Look,God, your God, has placed this land as a gift before you. Go ahead and take it now.God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, promised it to you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose heart.”

22 But then you all came to me and said, “Let’s send some men on ahead to scout out the land for us and bring back a report on the best route to take and the kinds of towns we can expect to find.”

23-25 That seemed like a good idea to me, so I picked twelve men, one from each tribe. They set out, climbing through the hills. They came to the Eshcol Valley and looked it over. They took samples of the produce of the land and brought them back to us, saying, “It’s a good land thatGod, our God, is giving us!”

26-28 But then you weren’t willing to go up. You rebelled againstGod, your God’s plain word. You complained in your tents: “Godhates us. He hauled us out of Egypt in order to dump us among the Amorites—a death sentence for sure! How can we go up? We’re trapped in a dead end. Our brothers took all the wind out of our sails, telling us, ‘The people are bigger and stronger than we are; their cities are huge, their defenses massive—we even saw Anakite giants there!’”

29-33 I tried to relieve your fears: “Don’t be terrified of them.God, your God, is leading the way; he’s fighting for you. You saw with your own eyes what he did for you in Egypt; you saw what he did in the wilderness, howGod, your God, carried you as a father carries his child, carried you the whole way until you arrived here. But now that you’re here, you won’t trustGod, your God—this sameGodwho goes ahead of you in your travels to scout out a place to pitch camp, a fire by night and a cloud by day to show you the way to go.”

34-36 WhenGodheard what you said, he exploded in anger. He swore, “Not a single person of this evil generation is going to get so much as a look at the good land that I promised to give to your parents. Not one—except for Caleb son of Jephunneh. He’ll see it. I’ll give him and his descendants the land he walked on because he was all for followingGod, heart and soul.”

37-40 But I also got it. Because of youGod’s anger spilled over onto me. He said, “You aren’t getting in either. Your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will go in. Build up his courage. He’s the one who will claim the inheritance for Israel. And your babies of whom you said, ‘They’ll be grabbed for plunder,’ and all these little kids who right now don’t even know right from wrong—they’ll get in. I’ll give it to them. Yes, they’ll be the new owners. But not you. Turn around and head back into the wilderness following the route to the Red Sea.”

41 You spoke up, “We’ve sinned againstGod. We’ll go up and fight, following all the orders thatGod, our God, has commanded.” You took your weapons and dressed for battle—you thought it would be so easy going into those hills!

42 ButGodtold me, “Tell them, ‘Don’t do it; don’t go up to fight—I’m not with you in this. Your enemies will waste you.’”

43-46 I told you but you wouldn’t listen. You rebelled at the plain word ofGod. You threw out your chests and strutted into the hills. And those Amorites, who had lived in those hills all their lives, swarmed all over you like a hive of bees, chasing you from Seir all the way to Hormah, a stinging defeat. You came back and wept in the presence ofGod, but he didn’t pay a bit of attention to you;Goddidn’t give you the time of day. You stayed there in Kadesh a long time, about as long as you had stayed there earlier.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/DEU/1-e85779f85bdb4b594e6f448cd7a743b0.mp3?version_id=97—

1 Then we turned around and went back into the wilderness following the route to the Red Sea, asGodhad instructed me. We worked our way in and around the hills of Seir for a long, long time.

2-6 ThenGodsaid, “You’ve been going around in circles in these hills long enough; go north. Command the people, You’re about to cut through the land belonging to your relatives, the People of Esau who settled in Seir. They are terrified of you, but restrain yourselves. Don’t try and start a fight. I am not giving you so much as a square inch of their land. I’ve already given all the hill country of Seir to Esau—he owns it all. Pay them up front for any food or water you get from them.”

7 God, your God, has blessed you in everything you have done. He has guarded you in your travels through this immense wilderness. For forty years now,God, your God, has been right here with you. You haven’t lacked one thing.

8 So we detoured around our brothers, the People of Esau who live in Seir, avoiding the Arabah Road that comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber; instead we used the road through the Wilderness of Moab.

9 Godtold me, “And don’t try to pick a fight with the Moabites. I am not giving you any of their land. I’ve given ownership of Ar to the People of Lot.”

10-12 The Emites (Monsters) used to live there—mobs of hulking giants, like Anakites. Along with the Anakites they were lumped in with the Rephaites (Ghosts) but in Moab they were called Emites. Horites also used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau took over and destroyed them, the same as Israel did in the landGodgave them to possess.

13 Godsaid, “It’s time now to cross the Brook Zered.” So we crossed the Brook Zered.

14-15 It took us thirty-eight years to get from Kadesh Barnea to the Brook Zered. That’s how long it took for the entire generation of soldiers from the camp to die off, asGodhad sworn they would.Godwas relentless against them until the last one was gone from the camp.

16-23 When the last of these soldiers had died,Godsaid to me, “This is the day you cut across the territory of Moab, at Ar. When you approach the People of Ammon, don’t try and pick a fight with them because I’m not giving you any of the land of the People of Ammon for yourselves—I’ve already given it to the People of Lot.” It is also considered to have once been the land of the Rephaites. Rephaites lived there long ago—the Ammonites called them Zamzummites (Barbarians)—huge mobs of them, giants like the Anakites.Goddestroyed them and the Ammonites moved in and took over. It was the same with the People of Esau who live in Seir—Godgot rid of the Horites who lived there earlier and they moved in and took over, as you can see. Regarding the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorites who came from Caphtor (Crete) wiped them out and moved in.

24-25 “On your feet now. Get started. Cross the Brook Arnon. Look: Here’s Sihon the Amorite king of Heshbon and his land. I’m handing it over to you—it’s all yours. Go ahead, take it. Go to war with him. Before the day is out, I’ll make sure that all the people around here are thoroughly terrified. Rumors of you are going to spread like wildfire; they’ll totally panic.”

26-28 From the Wilderness of Kedemoth, I sent messengers to Sihon, king of Heshbon. They carried a friendly message: “Let me cross through your land on the highway. I’ll stay right on the highway; I won’t trespass right or left. I’ll pay you for any food or water we might need. Let me walk through.

29 “The People of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did this, helping me on my way until I can cross the Jordan and enter the land thatGod, our God, is giving us.”

30 But Sihon king of Heshbon wouldn’t let us cross his land.God, your God, turned his spirit mean and his heart hard so he could hand him over to you, as you can see that he has done.

31 ThenGodsaid to me, “Look, I’ve got the ball rolling—Sihon and his land are soon yours. Go ahead. Take it. It’s practically yours!”

32-36 So Sihon and his entire army confronted us in battle at Jahaz.Godhanded him, his sons, and his entire army over to us and we utterly crushed them. While we were at it we captured all his towns and totally destroyed them, a holy destruction—men, women, and children. No survivors. We took the livestock and the plunder from the towns we had captured and carried them off for ourselves. From Aroer on the edge of the Brook Arnon and the town in the gorge, as far as Gilead, not a single town proved too much for us;God, our God, gave every last one of them to us.

37 The only land you didn’t take, obeyingGod’s command, was the land of the People of Ammon, the land along the Jabbok and around the cities in the hills.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/DEU/2-971652b7f4a4eadaf85683ce647fe8c9.mp3?version_id=97—

1 Then we turned north and took the road to Bashan. Og king of Bashan, he and all his people, came out to meet us in battle at Edrei.

2 Godsaid to me, “Don’t be afraid of him; I’m turning him over to you, along with his whole army and his land. Treat him the way you treated Sihon king of the Amorites who ruled from Heshbon.”

3-7 SoGod, our God, also handed Og king of Bashan over to us—Og and all his people—and we utterly crushed them. Again, no survivors. At the same time we took all his cities. There wasn’t one of the sixty cities that we didn’t take—the whole region of Argob, Og’s kingdom in Bashan. All these cities were fortress cities with high walls and barred gates. There were also numerous unwalled villages. We totally destroyed them—a holy destruction. It was the same treatment we gave to Sihon king of Heshbon, a holy destruction of every city, man, woman, and child. But all the livestock and plunder from the cities we took for ourselves.

8-10 Throughout that time we took the land from under the control of the two kings of the Amorites who ruled the country east of the Jordan, all the way from the Brook Arnon to Mount Hermon. (Sirion is the name given Hermon by the Sidonians; the Amorites call it Senir.) We took all the towns of the plateau, everything in Gilead, everything in Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, the border towns of Bashan, Og’s kingdom.

11 Og king of Bashan was the last remaining Rephaite. His bed, made of iron, was over thirteen feet long and six wide. You can still see it on display in Rabbah of the People of Ammon.

12 Of the land that we possessed at that time, I gave the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory north of Aroer along the Brook Arnon and half the hill country of Gilead with its towns.

13 I gave the half-tribe of Manasseh the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, Og’s kingdom—all the region of Argob, which takes in all of Bashan. This used to be known as the Land of the Rephaites.

14 Jair, a son of Manasseh, got the region of Argob to the borders of the Geshurites and Maacathites. He named the Bashan villages after himself, Havvoth Jair (Jair’s Tent-Villages). They’re still called that.

15 I gave Gilead to Makir.

16-17 I gave the Reubenites and Gadites the land from Gilead down to the Brook Arnon, whose middle was the boundary, and as far as the Jabbok River, the boundary line of the People of Ammon. The western boundary was the Jordan River in the Arabah all the way from the Kinnereth (the Sea of Galilee) to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea or Dead Sea) at the base of the slopes of Mount Pisgah on the east.

18-20 I commanded you at that time, “God, your God, has given you this land to possess. Your men, fit and armed for the fight, are to cross the river in advance of their brothers, the People of Israel. Only your wives, children, and livestock (I know you have much livestock) may go ahead and settle down in the towns I have already given you untilGodsecures living space for your brothers as he has for you and they have taken possession of the country west of the Jordan thatGod, your God, is giving them. After that, each man may return to the land I’ve given you here.”

21-22 I commanded Joshua at that time, “You’ve seen with your own two eyes everythingGod, your God, has done to these two kings.Godis going to do the same thing to all the kingdoms over there across the river where you’re headed. Don’t be afraid of them.God, your God—he’s fighting for you.”

23-25 At that same time, I beggedGod: “God, my Master, you let me in on the beginnings, you let me see your greatness, you let me see your might—what god in Heaven or Earth can do anything like what you’ve done! Please, let me in also on the endings, let me cross the river and see the good land over the Jordan, the lush hills, the Lebanon mountains.”

26-27 ButGodwas still angry with me because of you. He wouldn’t listen. He said, “Enough of that. Not another word from you on this. Climb to the top of Mount Pisgah and look around: look west, north, south, east. Take in the land with your own eyes. Take a good look because you’re not going to cross this Jordan.

28 “Then command Joshua: Give him courage. Give him strength. Single-handed he will lead this people across the river. Single-handed he’ll cause them to inherit the land at which you can only look.”

29 That’s why we have stayed in this valley near Beth Peor.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/DEU/3-6c8cd1c724a110530ec98eb437bd2688.mp3?version_id=97—

1-2 Now listen, Israel, listen carefully to the rules and regulations that I am teaching you to follow so that you may live and enter and take possession of the land thatGod, the God-of-Your-Fathers, is giving to you. Don’t add a word to what I command you, and don’t remove a word from it. Keep the commands ofGod, your God, that I am commanding you.

3-4 You saw with your own eyes whatGoddid at Baal Peor, howGoddestroyed from among you every man who joined in the Baal Peor orgies. But you, the ones who held tight toGod, your God, are alive and well, every one of you, today.

5-6 Pay attention: I’m teaching you the rules and regulations thatGodcommanded me, so that you may live by them in the land you are entering to take up ownership. Keep them. Practice them. You’ll become wise and understanding. When people hear and see what’s going on, they’ll say, “What a great nation! So wise, so understanding! We’ve never seen anything like it.”

7-8 Yes. What other great nation has gods that are intimate with them the wayGod, our God, is with us, always ready to listen to us? And what other great nation has rules and regulations as good and fair as this Revelation that I’m setting before you today?

9 Just make sure you stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don’t forget anything of what you’ve seen. Don’t let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you’ve seen and heard to your children and grandchildren.

10 That day when you stood beforeGod, your God, at Horeb,Godsaid to me, “Assemble the people in my presence to listen to my words so that they will learn to fear me in holy fear for as long as they live on the land, and then they will teach these same words to their children.”

11-13 You gathered. You stood in the shadow of the mountain. The mountain was ablaze with fire, blazing high into the very heart of Heaven. You stood in deep darkness and thick clouds.Godspoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but you saw nothing—no form, only a voice. He announced his covenant, the Ten Words, by which he commanded you to live. Then he wrote them down on two slabs of stone.

14 AndGodcommanded me at that time to teach you the rules and regulations that you are to live by in the land which you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.

15-20 You saw no form on the dayGodspoke to you at Horeb from out of the fire. Remember that. Carefully guard yourselves so that you don’t turn corrupt and make a form, carving a figure that looks male or female, or looks like a prowling animal or a flying bird or a slithering snake or a fish in a stream. And also carefully guard yourselves so that you don’t look up into the skies and see the sun and moon and stars, all the constellations of the skies, and be seduced into worshiping and serving them.Godset them out for everybody’s benefit, everywhere. But you—Godtook you right out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to become the people of his inheritance—and that’s what you are this very day.

21-22 ButGodwas angry with me because of you and the things you said. He swore that I’d never cross the Jordan, never get to enter the good land thatGod, your God, is giving you as an inheritance. This means that I am going to die here. I’m not crossing the Jordan. But you will cross; you’ll possess the good land.

23-24 So stay alert. Don’t for a minute forget the covenant whichGod, your God, made with you. And don’t take up with any carved images, no forms of any kind—God, your God, issued clear commands on that.God, your God, is not to be trifled with—he’s a consuming fire, a jealous God.

25-28 When the time comes that you have children and grandchildren, put on years, and start taking things for granted, if you then become corrupt and make any carved images, no matter what their form, by doing what is sheer evil inGod’s eyes and provoking his anger—I can tell you right now, with Heaven and Earth as witnesses, that it will be all over for you. You’ll be kicked off the land that you’re about to cross over the Jordan to possess. Believe me, you’ll have a very short stay there. You’ll be ruined, completely ruined.Godwill scatter you far and wide; a few of you will survive here and there in the nations whereGodwill drive you. There you can worship your homemade gods to your hearts’ content, your wonderful gods of wood and stone that can’t see or hear or eat or smell.

29-31 But even there, if you seekGod, your God, you’ll be able to find him if you’re serious, looking for him with your whole heart and soul. When troubles come and all these awful things happen to you, in future days you will come back toGod, your God, and listen obediently to what he says.God, your God, is above all a compassionate God. In the end he will not abandon you, he won’t bring you to ruin, he won’t forget the covenant with your ancestors which he swore to them.

32-33 Ask questions. Find out what has been going on all these years before you were born. From the day God created man and woman on this Earth, and from the horizon in the east to the horizon in the west—as far back as you can imagine and as far away as you can imagine—has as great a thing as this ever happened? Has anyone ever heard of such a thing? Has a people ever heard, as you did, a god speaking out of the middle of the fire and lived to tell the story?

34 Or has a god ever tried to select for himself a nation from within a nation using trials, miracles, and war, putting his strong hand in, reaching his long arm out, a spectacle awesome and staggering, the wayGod, your God, did it for you in Egypt while you stood right there and watched?

35-38 You were shown all this so that you would know thatGodis, well, God. He’s the only God there is. He’s it. He made it possible for you to hear his voice out of Heaven to discipline you. Down on Earth, he showed you the big fire and again you heard his words, this time out of the fire. He loved your ancestors and chose to work with their children. He personally and powerfully brought you out of Egypt in order to displace bigger and stronger and older nations with you, bringing you out and turning their land over to you as an inheritance. And now it’s happening. This very day.

39-40 Know this well, then. Take it to heart right now:Godis in Heaven above;Godis on Earth below. He’s the only God there is. Obediently live by his rules and commands which I’m giving you today so that you’ll live well and your children after you—oh, you’ll live a long time in the land thatGod, your God, is giving you.

41-42 Then Moses set aside three towns in the country on the east side of the Jordan to which someone who had unintentionally killed a person could flee and find refuge. If the murder was unintentional and there was no history of bad blood, the murderer could flee to one of these cities and save his life:

43 Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

44-49 This is the Revelation that Moses presented to the People of Israel. These are the testimonies, the rules and regulations Moses spoke to the People of Israel after their exodus from Egypt and arrival on the east side of the Jordan in the valley near Beth Peor. It was the country of Sihon king of the Amorites who ruled from Heshbon. Moses and the People of Israel fought and beat him after they left Egypt and took his land. They also took the land of Og king of Bashan. The two Amorite kings held the country on the east of the Jordan from Aroer on the bank of the Brook Arnon as far north as Mount Siyon, that is, Mount Hermon, all the Arabah plain east of the Jordan, and as far south as the Sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea) beneath the slopes of Mount Pisgah.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/DEU/4-3feda9c6a48526e0b16dce9a2ce77713.mp3?version_id=97—

Moses Teaches Israel on the Plains of Moab

1 Moses called all Israel together. He said to them,

Attention, Israel. Listen obediently to the rules and regulations I am delivering to your listening ears today. Learn them. Live them.

2-5 God, our God, made a covenant with us at Horeb.Goddidn’t just make this covenant with our parents; he made it also with us, with all of us who are alive right now.Godspoke to you personally out of the fire on the mountain. At the time I stood betweenGodand you, to tell you whatGodsaid. You were afraid, remember, of the fire and wouldn’t climb the mountain. He said:

6 I amGod, your God,

who brought you out of the land of Egypt,

out of a house of slaves.

7 No other gods, only me.

8-10 No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don’t bow down to them and don’t serve them becauseIamGod, your God, and I’m a most jealous God. I hold parents responsible for any sins they pass on to their children to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation. But I’m lovingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keep my commandments.

11 No using the name ofGod, your God, in curses or silly banter;Godwon’t put up with the irreverent use of his name.

12-15 No working on the Sabbath; keep it holy just asGod, your God, commanded you. Work six days, doing everything you have to do, but the seventh day is a Sabbath, a Rest Day—no work: not you, your son, your daughter, your servant, your maid, your ox, your donkey (or any of your animals), and not even the foreigner visiting your town. That way your servants and maids will get the same rest as you. Don’t ever forget that you were slaves in Egypt andGod, your God, got you out of there in a powerful show of strength. That’s whyGod, your God, commands you to observe the day of Sabbath rest.

16 Respect your father and mother—God, your God, commands it! You’ll have a long life; the land that God is giving you will treat you well.

17 No murder.

18 No adultery.

19 No stealing.

20 No lies about your neighbor.

21 No coveting your neighbor’s wife. And no lusting for his house, field, servant, maid, ox, or donkey either—nothing that belongs to your neighbor!

22 These are the words thatGodspoke to the whole congregation at the mountain. He spoke in a tremendous voice from the fire and cloud and dark mist. And that was it. No more words. Then he wrote them on two slabs of stone and gave them to me.

23-24 As it turned out, when you heard the Voice out of that dark cloud and saw the mountain on fire, you approached me, all the heads of your tribes and your leaders, and said,

24-26 “OurGodhas revealed to us his glory and greatness. We’ve heard him speak from the fire today! We’ve seen that God can speak to humans and they can still live. But why risk it further? This huge fire will devour us if we stay around any longer. If we hearGod’s voice anymore, we’ll die for sure. Has anyone ever known of anyone who has heard the Voice ofGodthe way we have and lived to tell the story?

27 “From now on,yougo and listen to whatGod, our God, says and then tell us whatGodtells you. We’ll listen and we’ll do it.”

28-29 Godheard what you said to me and told me, “I’ve heard what the people said to you. They’re right—good and true words. What I wouldn’t give if they’d always feel this way, continuing to revere me and always keep all my commands; they’d have a good life forever, they and their children!

30-31 “Go ahead and tell them to go home to their tents. But you, you stay here with me so I can tell you every commandment and all the rules and regulations that you must teach them so they’ll know how to live in the land that I’m giving them as their own.”

32-33 So be very careful to act exactly asGodcommands you. Don’t veer off to the right or the left. Walk straight down the roadGodcommands so that you’ll have a good life and live a long time in the land that you’re about to possess.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/DEU/5-4e09be9bda5940d6dab72a8199cd9cbd.mp3?version_id=97—

1-2 This is the commandment, the rules and regulations, thatGod, your God, commanded me to teach you to live out in the land you’re about to cross into to possess. This is so that you’ll live in deep reverence beforeGodlifelong, observing all his rules and regulations that I’m commanding you, you and your children and your grandchildren, living good long lives.

3 Listen obediently, Israel. Do what you’re told so that you’ll have a good life, a life of abundance and bounty, just asGodpromised, in a land abounding in milk and honey.

4 Attention, Israel!

God, our God!Godthe one and only!

5 LoveGod, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got!

6-9 Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.

10-12 WhenGod, your God, ushers you into the land he promised through your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you, you’re going to walk into large, bustling cities you didn’t build, well-furnished houses you didn’t buy, come upon wells you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive orchards you didn’t plant. When you take it all in and settle down, pleased and content, make sure you don’t forget how you got there—Godbrought you out of slavery in Egypt.

13-19 Deeply respectGod, your God. Serve and worship him exclusively. Back up your promises with his name only. Don’t fool around with other gods, the gods of your neighbors, becauseGod, your God, who is alive among you is a jealous God. Don’t provoke him, igniting his hot anger that would burn you right off the face of the Earth. Don’t pushGod, your God, to the wall as you did that day at Massah, the Testing-Place. Carefully keep the commands ofGod, your God, all the requirements and regulations he gave you. Do what is right; do what is good inGod’s sight so you’ll live a good life and be able to march in and take this pleasant land thatGodso solemnly promised through your ancestors, throwing out your enemies left and right—exactly asGodsaid.

20-24 The next time your child asks you, “What do these requirements and regulations and rules thatGod, our God, has commanded mean?” tell your child, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt andGodpowerfully intervened and got us out of that country. We stood there and watched asGoddelivered miracle-signs, great wonders, and evil-visitations on Egypt, on Pharaoh and his household. He pulled us out of there so he could bring us here and give us the land he so solemnly promised to our ancestors. That’s whyGodcommanded us to follow all these rules, so that we would live reverently beforeGod, our God, as he gives us this good life, keeping us alive for a long time to come.

25 “It will be a set-right and put-together life for us if we make sure that we do this entire commandment in the Presence ofGod, our God, just as he commanded us to do.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/DEU/6-a18199fb45aa90da73b6a012b58b49c8.mp3?version_id=97—

1-2 WhenGod, your God, brings you into the country that you are about to enter and take over, he will clear out the superpowers that were there before you: the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Those seven nations are all bigger and stronger than you are.God, your God, will turn them over to you and you will conquer them. You must completely destroy them, offering them up as a holy destruction toGod.

Don’t make a treaty with them.

Don’t let them off in any way.

3-4 Don’t marry them: Don’t give your daughters to their sons and don’t take their daughters for your sons—before you know it they’d involve you in worshiping their gods, andGodwould explode in anger, putting a quick end to you.

5 Here’s what you are to do:

Tear apart their altars stone by stone,

smash their phallic pillars,

chop down their sex-and-religion Asherah groves,

set fire to their carved god-images.

6 Do this because you are a people set apart as holy toGod, your God.God, your God, chose you out of all the people on Earth for himself as a cherished, personal treasure.

7-10 Godwasn’t attracted to you and didn’t choose you because you were big and important—the fact is, there was almost nothing to you. He did it out of sheer love, keeping the promise he made to your ancestors.Godstepped in and mightily bought you back out of that world of slavery, freed you from the iron grip of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know this:God, your God, is God indeed, a God you can depend upon. He keeps his covenant of loyal love with those who love him and observe his commandments for a thousand generations. But he also pays back those who hate him, pays them the wages of death; he isn’t slow to pay them off—those who hate him, he pays right on time.

11 So keep the command and the rules and regulations that I command you today. Do them.

12-13 And this is what will happen: When you, on your part, will obey these directives, keeping and following them,God, on his part, will keep the covenant of loyal love that he made with your ancestors:

He will love you,

he will bless you,

he will increase you.

13-15 He will bless the babies from your womb and the harvest of grain, new wine, and oil from your fields; he’ll bless the calves from your herds and lambs from your flocks in the country he promised your ancestors that he’d give you. You’ll be blessed beyond all other peoples: no sterility or barrenness in you or your animals.Godwill get rid of all sickness. And all the evil afflictions you experienced in Egypt he’ll put not on you but on those who hate you.

16 You’ll make mincemeat of all the peoples thatGod, your God, hands over to you. Don’t feel sorry for them. And don’t worship their gods—they’ll trap you for sure.

17-19 You’re going to think to yourselves, “Oh! We’re outnumbered ten to one by these nations! We’ll never even make a dent in them!” But I’m telling you, Don’t be afraid. Remember, yes, remember in detail whatGod, your God, did to Pharaoh and all Egypt. Remember the great contests to which you were eyewitnesses: the miracle-signs, the wonders,God’s mighty hand as he stretched out his arm and took you out of there.God, your God, is going to do the same thing to these people you’re now so afraid of.

20 And to top it off, the Hornet.Godwill unleash the Hornet on them until every survivor-in-hiding is dead.

21-24 So don’t be intimidated by them.God, your God, is among you—Godmajestic,Godawesome.God, your God, will get rid of these nations, bit by bit. You won’t be permitted to wipe them out all at once lest the wild animals take over and overwhelm you. ButGod, your God, will move them out of your way—he’ll throw them into a huge panic until there’s nothing left of them. He’ll turn their kings over to you and you’ll remove all trace of them under Heaven. Not one person will be able to stand up to you; you’ll put an end to them all.

25-26 Make sure you set fire to their carved gods. Don’t get greedy for the veneer of silver and gold on them and take it for yourselves—you’ll get trapped by it for sure.Godhates it; it’s an abomination toGod, your God. And don’t dare bring one of these abominations home or you’ll end up just like it, burned up as a holy destruction. No: It is forbidden! Hate it. Abominate it. Destroy it and preserveGod’s holiness.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/DEU/7-6a3aeb1252d57c6b828f9e85d568ba26.mp3?version_id=97—