Deuteronomy 4:44-14:7

New International Version

Introduction to the Law

⁴⁴ This is the law Moses set before the Israelites. ⁴⁵ These are the stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt ⁴⁶ and were in the valley near Beth Peor east of the Jordan, in the land of Sihon^(A) king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt. ⁴⁷ They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. ⁴⁸ This land extended from Aroer^(B) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Sirion^[a](C) (that is, Hermon^(D)), ⁴⁹ and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Dead Sea,^[b] below the slopes of Pisgah.

The Ten Commandments^(E)

5 Moses summoned all Israel and said:

Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws^(F) I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. ² The Lord our God made a covenant^(G) with us at Horeb.^{(H) 3} It was not with our ancestors^[c] that the Lord made this covenant, but with us,^(I) with all of us who are alive here today.^{(J) 4} The Lord spoke^(K) to you face to face^(L) out of the fire^(M) on the mountain. ⁵ (At that time I stood between^(N) the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid^(O) of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:

²² These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness;^(AN) and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets^(AO) and gave them to me.

²³ When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leaders of your tribes and your elders^(AP) came to me. ²⁴ And you said, “The Lord our God has shown us^(AQ) his glory and his majesty,^(AR) and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them.^{(AS) 25} But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer.^{(AT) 26} For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?^{(AU) 27} Go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says.^(AV) Then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”^(AW)

²⁸ The Lord heard you when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, “I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good.^{(AX) 29} Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me^(AY) and keep all my commands^(AZ) always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!^(BA)

³⁰ “Go, tell them to return to their tents. ³¹ But you stay here^(BB) with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess.”

³² So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you;^(BC) do not turn aside to the right or to the left.^{(BD) 33} Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you,^(BE) so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days^(BF) in the land that you will possess.

Love the Lord Your God

6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, ² so that you, your children and their children after them may fear^(BG) the Lord your God as long as you live^(BH) by keeping all his decrees and commands^(BI) that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.^{(BJ) 3} Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey^(BK) so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly^(BL) in a land flowing with milk and honey,^(BM) just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised^(BN) you.

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{[e](BO) 5} Love^(BP) the Lord your God with all your heart^(BQ) and with all your soul and with all your strength.^{(BR) 6} These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.^{(BS) 7} Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.^{(BT) 8} Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.^{(BU) 9} Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.^(BV)

¹⁰ When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build,^{(BW) 11} houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig,^(BX) and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied,^{(BY) 12} be careful that you do not forget^(BZ) the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

¹³ Fear the Lord^(CA) your God, serve him only^(CB) and take your oaths^(CC) in his name.^{(CD) 14} Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; ¹⁵ for the Lord your God^(CE), who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. ¹⁶ Do not put the Lord your God to the test^(CF) as you did at Massah. ¹⁷ Be sure to keep^(CG) the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you.^{(CH) 18} Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight,^(CI) so that it may go well^(CJ) with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, ¹⁹ thrusting out all your enemies^(CK) before you, as the Lord said.

²⁰ In the future, when your son asks you,^(CL) “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” ²¹ tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.^{(CM) 22} Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. ²³ But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. ²⁴ The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God,^(CN) so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.^{(CO) 25} And if we are careful to obey all this law^(CP) before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.^(CQ)”

Driving Out the Nations

7 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess^(CR) and drives out before you many nations^(CS)—the Hittites,^(CT) Girgashites,^(CU) Amorites,^(CV) Canaanites, Perizzites,^(CW) Hivites^(CX) and Jebusites,^(CY) seven nations larger and stronger than you— ² and when the Lord your God has delivered^(CZ) them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy^(DA) them totally.^[f](DB) Make no treaty^(DC) with them, and show them no mercy.^{(DD) 3} Do not intermarry with them.^(DE) Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, ⁴ for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods,^(DF) and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy^(DG) you. ⁵ This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles^[g](DH) and burn their idols in the fire.^{(DI) 6} For you are a people holy^(DJ) to the Lord your God.^(DK) The Lord your God has chosen^(DL) you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.^(DM)

⁷ The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous^(DN) than other peoples, for you were the fewest^(DO) of all peoples.^{(DP) 8} But it was because the Lord loved^(DQ) you and kept the oath he swore^(DR) to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand^(DS) and redeemed^(DT) you from the land of slavery,^(DU) from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹ Know therefore that the Lord your God is God;^(DV) he is the faithful God,^(DW) keeping his covenant of love^(DX) to a thousand generations^(DY) of those who love him and keep his commandments.^{(DZ) 10} But

¹¹ Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

¹² If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors.^{(EB) 13} He will love you and bless you^(EC) and increase your numbers.^(ED) He will bless the fruit of your womb,^(EE) the crops of your land—your grain, new wine^(EF) and olive oil^(EG)—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.^{(EH) 14} You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor will any of your livestock be without young.^{(EI) 15} The Lord will keep you free from every disease.^(EJ) He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt,^(EK) but he will inflict them on all who hate you.^{(EL) 16} You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you.^(EM) Do not look on them with pity^(EN) and do not serve their gods,^(EO) for that will be a snare^(EP) to you.

¹⁷ You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?^(EQ)” ¹⁸ But do not be afraid^(ER) of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.^{(ES) 19} You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand^(ET) and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.^{(EU) 20} Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet^(EV) among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. ²¹ Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you,^(EW) is a great and awesome God.^{(EX) 22} The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little.^(EY) You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. ²³ But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed.^{(EZ) 24} He will give their kings^(FA) into your hand,^(FB) and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you;^(FC) you will destroy them.^{(FD) 25} The images of their gods you are to burn^(FE) in the fire. Do not covet^(FF) the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared^(FG) by it, for it is detestable^(FH) to the Lord your God. ²⁶ Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction.^(FI) Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.

Do Not Forget the Lord

8 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live^(FJ) and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors.^{(FK) 2} Remember how the Lord your God led^(FL) you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test^(FM) you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³ He humbled^(FN) you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna,^(FO) which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach^(FP) you that man does not live on bread^(FQ) alone but on every word that comes from the mouth^(FR) of the Lord.^{(FS) 4} Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.^{(FT) 5} Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.^(FU)

⁶ Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him^(FV) and revering him.^{(FW) 7} For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land^(FX)—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills;^{(FY) 8} a land with wheat and barley,^(FZ) vines^(GA) and fig trees,^(GB) pomegranates, olive oil and honey;^{(GC) 9} a land where bread^(GD) will not be scarce and you will lack nothing;^(GE) a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.^(GF)

¹⁰ When you have eaten and are satisfied,^(GG) praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹ Be careful that you do not forget^(GH) the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. ¹² Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down,^{(GI) 13} and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart will become proud and you will forget^(GJ) the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ¹⁵ He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness,^(GK) that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes^(GL) and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock.^{(GM) 16} He gave you manna^(GN) to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known,^(GO) to humble and test^(GP) you so that in the end it might go well with you. ¹⁷ You may say to yourself,^(GQ) “My power and the strength of my hands^(GR) have produced this wealth for me.” ¹⁸ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,^(GS) and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

¹⁹ If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods^(GT) and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.^{(GU) 20} Like the nations^(GV) the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.^(GW)

Not Because of Israel’s Righteousness

9 Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan^(GX) to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you,^(GY) with large cities^(GZ) that have walls up to the sky.^{(HA) 2} The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?”^{(HB) 3} But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you^(HC) like a devouring fire.^(HD) He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly,^(HE) as the Lord has promised you.

⁴ After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself,^(HF) “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness^(HG) of these nations^(HH) that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. ⁵ It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity^(HI) that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness^(HJ) of these nations,^(HK) the Lord your God will drive them out^(HL) before you, to accomplish what he swore^(HM) to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.^{(HN) 6} Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.^(HO)

The Golden Calf

⁷ Remember this and never forget how you aroused the anger^(HP) of the Lord your God in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious^(HQ) against the Lord.^{(HR) 8} At Horeb you aroused the Lord’s wrath^(HS) so that he was angry enough to destroy you.^{(HT) 9} When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant^(HU) that the Lord had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days^(HV) and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water.^{(HW) 10} The Lord gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God.^(HX) On them were all the commandments the Lord proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.^(HY)

¹¹ At the end of the forty days and forty nights,^(HZ) the Lord gave me the two stone tablets,^(IA) the tablets of the covenant. ¹² Then the Lord told me, “Go down from here at once, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt.^(IB) They have turned away quickly^(IC) from what I commanded them and have made an idol for themselves.”

¹³ And the Lord said to me, “I have seen this people^(ID), and they are a stiff-necked people indeed! ¹⁴ Let me alone,^(IE) so that I may destroy them and blot out^(IF) their name from under heaven.^(IG) And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.”

¹⁵ So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.^{(IH) 16} When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf.^(II) You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you. ¹⁷ So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes.

¹⁸ Then once again I fell^(IJ) prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water,^(IK) because of all the sin you had committed,^(IL) doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight and so arousing his anger. ¹⁹ I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you.^(IM) But again the Lord listened to me.^{(IN) 20} And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too. ²¹ Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust^(IO) and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain.^(IP)

²² You also made the Lord angry^(IQ) at Taberah,^(IR) at Massah^(IS) and at Kibroth Hattaavah.^(IT)

²³ And when the Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea,^(IU) he said, “Go up and take possession^(IV) of the land I have given you.” But you rebelled^(IW) against the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust^(IX) him or obey him. ²⁴ You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you.^(IY)

²⁵ I lay prostrate before the Lord those forty days and forty nights^(IZ) because the Lord had said he would destroy you.^{(JA) 26} I prayed to the Lord and said, “Sovereign Lord, do not destroy your people,^(JB) your own inheritance^(JC) that you redeemed^(JD) by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.^{(JE) 27} Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness^(JF) of this people, their wickedness and their sin. ²⁸ Otherwise, the country^(JG) from which you brought us will say, ‘Because the Lord was not able to take them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them,^(JH) he brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.’^{(JI) 29} But they are your people,^(JJ) your inheritance^(JK) that you brought out by your great power and your outstretched arm.^(JL)”

Tablets Like the First Ones

10 At that time the Lord said to me, “Chisel out two stone tablets^(JM) like the first ones and come up to me on the mountain. Also make a wooden ark.^{[h] 2} I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Then you are to put them in the ark.”^(JN)

³ So I made the ark out of acacia wood^(JO) and chiseled^(JP) out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hands. ⁴ The Lord wrote on these tablets what he had written before, the Ten Commandments^(JQ) he had proclaimed^(JR) to you on the mountain, out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.^(JS) And the Lord gave them to me. ⁵ Then I came back down the mountain^(JT) and put the tablets in the ark^(JU) I had made,^(JV) as the Lord commanded me, and they are there now.^(JW)

⁶ (The Israelites traveled from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah.^(JX) There Aaron died^(JY) and was buried, and Eleazar^(JZ) his son succeeded him as priest.^{(KA) 7} From there they traveled to Gudgodah and on to Jotbathah, a land with streams of water.^{(KB) 8} At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi^(KC) to carry the ark of the covenant^(KD) of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister^(KE) and to pronounce blessings^(KF) in his name, as they still do today.^{(KG) 9} That is why the Levites have no share or inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance,^(KH) as the Lord your God told them.)

¹⁰ Now I had stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, as I did the first time, and the Lord listened to me at this time also. It was not his will to destroy you.^{(KI) 11} “Go,” the Lord said to me, “and lead the people on their way, so that they may enter and possess the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.”

Fear the Lord

¹² And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you^(KJ) but to fear^(KK) the Lord your God, to walk^(KL) in obedience to him, to love him,^(KM) to serve the Lord^(KN) your God with all your heart^(KO) and with all your soul,^{(KP) 13} and to observe the Lord’s commands^(KQ) and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?^(KR)

¹⁴ To the Lord your God belong the heavens,^(KS) even the highest heavens,^(KT) the earth and everything in it.^{(KU) 15} Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved^(KV) them, and he chose you,^(KW) their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today.^{(KX) 16} Circumcise^(KY) your hearts,^(KZ) therefore, and do not be stiff-necked^(LA) any longer. ¹⁷ For the Lord your God is God of gods^(LB) and Lord of lords,^(LC) the great God, mighty and awesome,^(LD) who shows no partiality^(LE) and accepts no bribes.^{(LF) 18} He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow,^(LG) and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.^{(LH) 19} And you are to love^(LI) those who are foreigners,^(LJ) for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.^{(LK) 20} Fear the Lord your God and serve him.^(LL) Hold fast^(LM) to him and take your oaths in his name.^{(LN) 21} He is the one you praise;^(LO) he is your God, who performed for you those great^(LP) and awesome wonders^(LQ) you saw with your own eyes. ²² Your ancestors who went down into Egypt were seventy in all,^(LR) and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.^(LS)

Love and Obey the Lord

11 Love^(LT) the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.^{(LU) 2} Remember today that your children^(LV) were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God:^(LW) his majesty,^(LX) his mighty hand, his outstretched arm;^{(LY) 3} the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country;^{(LZ) 4} what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots,^(MA) how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea^[i](MB) as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them. ⁵ It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the wilderness until you arrived at this place, ⁶ and what he did^(MC) to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened^(MD) its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. ⁷ But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.^(ME)

⁸ Observe therefore all the commands^(MF) I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,^{(MG) 9} and so that you may live long^(MH) in the land the Lord swore^(MI) to your ancestors to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.^{(MJ) 10} The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt,^(MK) from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. ¹¹ But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys^(ML) that drinks rain from heaven.^{(MM) 12} It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes^(MN) of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.

¹³ So if you faithfully obey^(MO) the commands I am giving you today—to love^(MP) the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul^(MQ)— ¹⁴ then I will send rain^(MR) on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains,^(MS) so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. ¹⁵ I will provide grass^(MT) in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.^(MU)

¹⁶ Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.^{(MV) 17} Then the Lord’s anger^(MW) will burn against you, and he will shut up^(MX) the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce,^(MY) and you will soon perish^(MZ) from the good land the Lord is giving you. ¹⁸ Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.^{(NA) 19} Teach them to your children,^(NB) talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.^{(NC) 20} Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,^{(ND) 21} so that your days and the days of your children may be many^(NE) in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.^(NF)

²² If you carefully observe^(NG) all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love^(NH) the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast^(NI) to him— ²³ then the Lord will drive out^(NJ) all these nations^(NK) before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.^{(NL) 24} Every place where you set your foot will be yours:^(NM) Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River^(NN) to the Mediterranean Sea. ²⁵ No one will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he promised you, will put the terror^(NO) and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.^(NP)

²⁶ See, I am setting before you today a blessing^(NQ) and a curse^(NR)— ²⁷ the blessing^(NS) if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; ²⁸ the curse if you disobey^(NT) the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods,^(NU) which you have not known. ²⁹ When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim^(NV) the blessings, and on Mount Ebal^(NW) the curses.^{(NX) 30} As you know, these mountains are across the Jordan, westward, toward the setting sun, near the great trees of Moreh,^(NY) in the territory of those Canaanites living in the Arabah in the vicinity of Gilgal.^{(NZ) 31} You are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession^(OA) of the land the Lord your God is giving^(OB) you. When you have taken it over and are living there, ³² be sure that you obey all the decrees and laws I am setting before you today.

The One Place of Worship

12 These are the decrees^(OC) and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess—as long as you live in the land.^{(OD) 2} Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains,^(OE) on the hills and under every spreading tree,^(OF) where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. ³ Break down their altars, smash^(OG) their sacred stones and burn^(OH) their Asherah^(OI) poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names^(OJ) from those places.

⁴ You must not worship the Lord your God in their way.^{(OK) 5} But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name^(OL) there for his dwelling.^(OM) To that place you must go; ⁶ there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes^(ON) and special gifts, what you have vowed^(OO) to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.^{(OP) 7} There, in the presence^(OQ) of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice^(OR) in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.

⁸ You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit,^{(OS) 9} since you have not yet reached the resting place^(OT) and the inheritance^(OU) the Lord your God is giving you. ¹⁰ But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving^(OV) you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest^(OW) from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety. ¹¹ Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name^(OX)—there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord.^{(OY) 12} And there rejoice^(OZ) before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites^(PA) from your towns who have no allotment or inheritance^(PB) of their own. ¹³ Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please.^{(PC) 14} Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose^(PD) in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.

¹⁵ Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer,^(PE) according to the blessing the Lord your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it. ¹⁶ But you must not eat the blood;^(PF) pour^(PG) it out on the ground like water.^{(PH) 17} You must not eat in your own towns the tithe^(PI) of your grain and new wine and olive oil,^(PJ) or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give,^(PK) or your freewill offerings or special gifts.^{(PL) 18} Instead, you are to eat^(PM) them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God will choose^(PN)—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns—and you are to rejoice^(PO) before the Lord your God in everything you put your hand to. ¹⁹ Be careful not to neglect the Levites^(PP) as long as you live in your land.^(PQ)

²⁰ When the Lord your God has enlarged your territory^(PR) as he promised^(PS) you, and you crave meat^(PT) and say, “I would like some meat,” then you may eat as much of it as you want. ²¹ If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his Name^(PU) is too far away from you, you may slaughter animals from the herds and flocks the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and in your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want.^{(PV) 22} Eat them as you would gazelle or deer.^(PW) Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat. ²³ But be sure you do not eat the blood,^(PX) because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.^{(PY) 24} You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.^{(PZ) 25} Do not eat it, so that it may go well^(QA) with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right^(QB) in the eyes of the Lord.

²⁶ But take your consecrated things and whatever you have vowed to give,^(QC) and go to the place the Lord will choose. ²⁷ Present your burnt offerings^(QD) on the altar of the Lord your God, both the meat and the blood. The blood of your sacrifices must be poured beside the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat^(QE) the meat. ²⁸ Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well^(QF) with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God.

²⁹ The Lord your God will cut off^(QG) before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land,^{(QH) 30} and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared^(QI) by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.”^{(QJ) 31} You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates.^(QK) They even burn their sons^(QL) and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.^(QM)

³² See that you do all I command you; do not add^(QN) to it or take away from it.^[j]

Worshiping Other Gods

13 ^[k]If a prophet,^(QO) or one who foretells by dreams,^(QP) appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, ² and if the sign^(QQ) or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods”^(QR) (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” ³ you must not listen to the words of that prophet^(QS) or dreamer.^(QT) The Lord your God is testing^(QU) you to find out whether you love^(QV) him with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴ It is the Lord your God you must follow,^(QW) and him you must revere.^(QX) Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast^(QY) to him. ⁵ That prophet or dreamer must be put to death^(QZ) for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn^(RA) you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil^(RB) from among you.

⁶ If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices^(RC) you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods”^(RD) (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, ⁷ gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), ⁸ do not yield^(RE) to them or listen to them. Show them no pity.^(RF) Do not spare them or shield them. ⁹ You must certainly put them to death.^(RG) Your hand^(RH) must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. ¹⁰ Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away^(RI) from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ¹¹ Then all Israel will hear and be afraid,^(RJ) and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.

¹² If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in ¹³ that troublemakers^(RK) have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known), ¹⁴ then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly.^(RL) And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you,^{(RM) 15} you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely,^[l](RN) both its people and its livestock.^{(RO) 16} You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town^(RP) and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God.^(RQ) That town is to remain a ruin^(RR) forever, never to be rebuilt, ¹⁷ and none of the condemned things^[m] are to be found in your hands. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger,^(RS) will show you mercy,^(RT) and will have compassion^(RU) on you. He will increase your numbers,^(RV) as he promised^(RW) on oath to your ancestors— ¹⁸ because you obey the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right^(RX) in his eyes.

Clean and Unclean Food^(RY)

14 You are the children^(RZ) of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead, ² for you are a people holy^(SA) to the Lord your God.^(SB) Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.^(SC)

³ Do not eat any detestable thing.^{(SD) 4} These are the animals you may eat:^(SE) the ox, the sheep, the goat,^{(SF) 5} the deer,^(SG) the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat,^(SH) the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep.^{[n] 6} You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. ⁷ However, of those that chew the cud or that have a divided hoof you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the hyrax. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you.