Deuteronomy 10:12-11:21

Good News Translation

What God Demands

¹² “Now, people of Israel, listen to what the Lord your God demands of you: Worship the Lord and do all that he commands. Love him, serve him with all your heart, ¹³ and obey all his laws. I am giving them to you today for your benefit. ¹⁴ To the Lord belong even the highest heavens; the earth is his also, and everything on it. ¹⁵ But the Lord's love for your ancestors was so strong that he chose you instead of any other people, and you are still his chosen people. ¹⁶ So then, from now on be obedient to the Lord and stop being stubborn. ^17 (A)The Lord your God is supreme over all gods and over all powers. He is great and mighty, and he is to be obeyed. He does not show partiality, and he does not accept bribes. ^18 (B)He makes sure that orphans and widows are treated fairly; he loves the foreigners who live with our people, and gives them food and clothes. ¹⁹ So then, show love for those foreigners, because you were once foreigners in Egypt. ²⁰ Have reverence for the Lord your God and worship only him. Be faithful to him and make your promises in his name alone. ²¹ Praise him—he is your God, and you have seen with your own eyes the great and astounding things that he has done for you. ^22 (C)When your ancestors went to Egypt, there were only seventy of them. But now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

The Lord's Greatness

11 “Love the Lord your God and always obey all his laws. ² Remember today what you have learned about the Lord through your experiences with him. It was you, not your children, who had these experiences. You saw the Lord's greatness, his power, his might, ^3 (D)and his miracles. You saw what he did to the king of Egypt and to his entire country. ^4 (E)You saw how the Lord completely wiped out the Egyptian army, along with their horses and chariots, by drowning them in the Red Sea^[a] when they were pursuing you. ⁵ You know what the Lord did for you in the desert before you arrived here. ^6 (F)You recall what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab of the tribe of Reuben. In the sight of everyone the earth opened up and swallowed them, along with their families, their tents, and all their servants and animals. ⁷ Yes, you are the ones who have seen all these great things that the Lord has done.

The Blessings of the Promised Land

⁸ “Obey everything that I have commanded you today. Then you will be able to cross the river and occupy the land that you are about to enter. ⁹ And you will live a long time in the rich and fertile land that the Lord promised to give your ancestors and their descendants. ¹⁰ The land that you are about to occupy is not like the land of Egypt, where you lived before. There, when you planted grain, you had to work hard to irrigate the fields; ¹¹ but the land that you are about to enter is a land of mountains and valleys, a land watered by rain. ¹² The Lord your God takes care of this land and watches over it throughout the year.

^13 (G)“So then, obey the commands that I have given you today; love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart. ¹⁴ If you do, he will send rain on your land when it is needed, in the autumn and in the spring, so that there will be grain, wine, and olive oil for you, ¹⁵ and grass for your livestock. You will have all the food you want. ¹⁶ Do not let yourselves be led away from the Lord to worship and serve other gods. ¹⁷ If you do, the Lord will become angry with you. He will hold back the rain, and your ground will become too dry for crops to grow. Then you will soon die there, even though it is a good land that he is giving you.

^18 (H)“Remember these commands and cherish them. Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder. ¹⁹ Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working. ²⁰ Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates. ²¹ Then you and your children will live a long time in the land that the Lord your God promised to give to your ancestors. You will live there as long as there is a sky above the earth.