Bible in 90 Days
12 “Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; 13 and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse. 14 For the Lord your God (A)walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.
Miscellaneous Laws
15 (B)“You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it [a]seems best to him; (C)you shall not oppress him.
17 “There shall be no ritual [b]harlot (D)of the daughters of Israel, or a (E)perverted[c] one of the sons of Israel. 18 You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the Lord your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are [d]an abomination to the Lord your God.
19 (F)“You shall not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest. 20 (G)To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, (H)that the Lord your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess.
21 (I)“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. 22 But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. 23 (J)That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.
24 “When you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes at your pleasure, but you shall not put any in your container. 25 When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, (K)you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.
Law Concerning Divorce
24 “When a (L)man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some [e]uncleanness in her, and he writes her a (M)certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, 2 when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, 4 (N)then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is [f]an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Miscellaneous Laws
5 (O)“When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business; he shall be free at home one year, and (P)bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken.
6 “No man shall take the lower or the upper millstone in pledge, for he takes [g]one’s living in pledge.
7 “If a man is (Q)found [h]kidnapping any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and mistreats him or sells him, then that kidnapper shall die; (R)and you shall put away the evil from among you.
8 “Take heed in (S)an outbreak of leprosy, that you carefully observe and do according to all that the priests, the Levites, shall teach you; just as I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 9 (T)Remember what the Lord your God did (U)to Miriam on the way when you came out of Egypt!
10 “When you (V)lend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 And if the man is poor, you shall not [i]keep his pledge overnight. 13 (W)You shall in any case return the pledge to him again when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own garment and (X)bless you; and (Y)it shall be righteousness to you before the Lord your God.
14 “You shall not (Z)oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. 15 Each day (AA)you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; (AB)lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you.
16 (AC)“Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin.
17 (AD)“You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, (AE)nor take a widow’s garment as a pledge. 18 But (AF)you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this thing.
19 (AG)“When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may (AH)bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this thing.
Laws of Social Responsibility
25 “If there is a (AI)dispute between men, and they come to [j]court, that the judges may judge them, and they (AJ)justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, 2 then it shall be, if the wicked man (AK)deserves to be beaten, that the judge will cause him to lie down (AL)and be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows. 3 (AM)Forty blows he may give him and no more, lest he should exceed this and beat him with many blows above these, and your brother (AN)be humiliated in your sight.
4 (AO)“You shall not muzzle an ox while it [k]treads out the grain.
Marriage Duty of the Surviving Brother
5 (AP)“If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears (AQ)will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that (AR)his name may not be blotted out of Israel. 7 But if the man does not want to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the (AS)gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’ 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, (AT)‘I do not want to take her,’ 9 then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, (AU)remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who will not (AV)build up his brother’s house.’ 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’
Miscellaneous Laws
11 “If two men fight together, and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of the one attacking him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the genitals, 12 then you shall cut off her hand; (AW)your eye shall not pity her.
13 (AX)“You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. 14 You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. 15 You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, (AY)that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For (AZ)all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are [l]an abomination to the Lord your God.
Destroy the Amalekites
17 (BA)“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, 18 how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he (BB)did not fear God. 19 Therefore it shall be, (BC)when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will (BD)blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.
Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes
26 “And it shall be, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, 2 (BE)that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and (BF)go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. 3 And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord [m]your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’
4 “Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was (BG)a [n]Syrian, (BH)about to perish, and (BI)he went down to Egypt and [o]dwelt there, (BJ)few in number; and there he became a nation, (BK)great, mighty, and populous. 6 But the (BL)Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. 7 (BM)Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. 8 So (BN)the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, (BO)with great terror and with signs and wonders. 9 He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, (BP)“a land flowing with milk and honey”; 10 and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’
“Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God. 11 So (BQ)you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.
12 “When you have finished laying aside all the (BR)tithe of your increase in the third year—(BS)the year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the Lord your God: ‘I have removed the [p]holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, (BT)nor have I forgotten them. 14 (BU)I have not eaten any of it [q]when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it [r]for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 (BV)Look down from Your holy [s]habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, (BW)“a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’
A Special People of God
16 “This day the Lord your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 Today you have (BX)proclaimed the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will (BY)obey His voice. 18 Also today (BZ)the Lord has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, 19 and that He will set you (CA)high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be (CB)a [t]holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”
The Law Inscribed on Stones
27 Now Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying: “Keep all the commandments which I command you today. 2 And it shall be, on the day (CC)when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, that (CD)you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. 3 You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, (CE)‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ just as the Lord God of your fathers promised you. 4 Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that (CF)on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. 5 And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; (CG)you shall not use an iron tool on them. 6 You shall build with [u]whole stones the altar of the Lord your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 7 You shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and (CH)rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 And you shall (CI)write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.”
9 Then Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, “Take heed and listen, O Israel: (CJ)This day you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 Therefore you shall obey the voice of the Lord your God, and observe His commandments and His statutes which I command you today.”
Curses Pronounced from Mount Ebal
11 And Moses commanded the people on the same day, saying, 12 “These shall stand (CK)on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have crossed over the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin; 13 and (CL)these shall stand on Mount Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
14 “And (CM)the Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel: 15 (CN)‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, [v]an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’
(CO)“And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen!’
16 (CP)‘Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
17 (CQ)‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
18 (CR)‘Cursed is the one who makes the blind to wander off the road.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
19 (CS)‘Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
20 (CT)‘Cursed is the one who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s bed.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
21 (CU)‘Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of animal.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
22 (CV)‘Cursed is the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
23 (CW)‘Cursed is the one who lies with his mother-in-law.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
24 (CX)‘Cursed is the one who attacks his neighbor secretly.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
25 (CY)‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
26 (CZ)‘Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ ”
Blessings on Obedience(DA)
28 “Now it shall come to pass, (DB)if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God (DC)will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and (DD)overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
3 (DE)“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be (DF)in the country.
4 “Blessed shall be (DG)the [w]fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 (DH)“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 “The Lord (DI)will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8 “The Lord will (DJ)command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you (DK)set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
9 (DL)“The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are (DM)called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be (DN)afraid of you. 11 And (DO)the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord [x]swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you His good [y]treasure, the heavens, (DP)to give the rain to your land in its season, and (DQ)to bless all the work of your hand. (DR)You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make (DS)you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you [z]heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 (DT)So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
Curses on Disobedience(DU)
15 “But it shall come to pass, (DV)if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.
17 “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
18 “Cursed shall be the [aa]fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
19 “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 “The Lord will send on you (DW)cursing, (DX)confusion, and (DY)rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me. 21 The Lord will make the [ab]plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. 22 (DZ)The Lord will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with (EA)scorching,[ac] and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish. 23 And (EB)your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
25 (EC)“The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become [ad]troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 (ED)Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away. 27 The Lord will strike you with (EE)the boils of Egypt, with (EF)tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and (EG)confusion of heart. 29 And you shall (EH)grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you.
30 (EI)“You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; (EJ)you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; (EK)you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them. 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to (EL)another people, and your eyes shall look and (EM)fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be [ae]no strength in your (EN)hand. 33 A nation whom you have not known shall eat (EO)the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually. 34 So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see. 35 The Lord will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.
36 “The Lord will (EP)bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and (EQ)there you shall serve other gods—wood and stone. 37 And you shall become (ER)an[af] astonishment, a proverb, (ES)and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you.
38 (ET)“You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for (EU)the locust shall [ag]consume it. 39 You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the (EV)wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. 40 You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off. 41 You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for (EW)they shall go into captivity. 42 Locusts shall [ah]consume all your trees and the produce of your land.
43 “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
45 “Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you [ai]did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. 46 And they shall be upon (EX)you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever.
47 (EY)“Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, (EZ)for the abundance of everything, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in (FA)hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He (FB)will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 (FC)The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, (FD)as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a nation of fierce countenance, (FE)which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. 51 And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you.
52 “They shall (FF)besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the Lord your God has given you. 53 (FG)You shall eat the [aj]fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you. 54 The [ak]sensitive and very refined man among you (FH)will[al] be hostile toward his brother, toward (FI)the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind, 55 so that he will not give any of them the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates. 56 The [am]tender and [an]delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity, [ao]will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter, 57 her [ap]placenta which comes out (FJ)from between her feet and her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of everything in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.
58 “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear (FK)this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, 59 then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants (FL)extraordinary plagues—great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses. 60 Moreover He will bring back on you all (FM)the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. 61 Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed. 62 You (FN)shall be left few in number, whereas you were (FO)as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God. 63 And it shall be, that just as the Lord (FP)rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the Lord (FQ)will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be (FR)plucked[aq] from off the land which you go to possess.
64 “Then the Lord (FS)will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and (FT)there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known—wood and stone. 65 And (FU)among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; (FV)but there the Lord will give you a [ar]trembling heart, failing eyes, and (FW)anguish of soul. 66 Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life. 67 (FX)In the morning you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were morning!’ because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and (FY)because of the sight which your eyes see.
68 “And the Lord (FZ)will take you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you, (GA)‘You shall never see it again.’ And there you shall be offered for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”
The Covenant Renewed in Moab
29 These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the (GB)covenant which He made with them in Horeb.
2 Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: (GC)“You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land— 3 (GD)the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 Yet (GE)the Lord has not given you a heart to [as]perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day. 5 (GF)And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. (GG)Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet. 6 (GH)You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. 7 And when you came to this place, (GI)Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us to battle, and we conquered them. 8 We took their land and (GJ)gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh. 9 Therefore (GK)keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may (GL)prosper in all that you do.
10 “All of you stand today before the Lord your God: your leaders and your tribes and your elders and your officers, all the men of Israel, 11 your little ones and your wives—also the stranger who is in your camp, from (GM)the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water— 12 that you may enter into covenant with the Lord your God, and (GN)into His oath, which the Lord your God makes with you today, 13 that He may (GO)establish you today as a people for Himself, and that He may be God to you, (GP)just as He has spoken to you, and (GQ)just as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
14 “I make this covenant and this oath, (GR)not with you alone, 15 but with him who stands here with us today before the Lord our God, (GS)as well as with him who is not here with us today 16 (for you know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt and that we came through the nations which you passed by, 17 and you saw their [at]abominations and their idols which were among them—wood and stone and silver and gold); 18 so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, (GT)whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, (GU)and that there may not be among you a root bearing (GV)bitterness or wormwood; 19 and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I [au]follow the (GW)dictates of my heart’—(GX)as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.
20 (GY)“The Lord would not spare him; for then (GZ)the anger of the Lord and (HA)His jealousy would burn against that man, and every curse that is written in this book would settle on him, and the Lord (HB)would blot out his name from under heaven. 21 And the Lord (HC)would separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the (HD)Law, 22 so that the coming generation of your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, would say, when they (HE)see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses which the Lord has laid on it:
23 ‘The whole land is brimstone, (HF)salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, (HG)like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and His wrath.’ 24 All nations would say, (HH)‘Why has the Lord done so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?’ 25 Then people would say: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt; 26 for they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they did not know and that He had not given to them. 27 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against this land, (HI)to bring on it every curse that is written in this book. 28 And the Lord (HJ)uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’
29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
The Blessing of Returning to God
30 “Now (HK)it shall come to pass, when (HL)all these things come upon you, the blessing and the (HM)curse which I have set before you, and (HN)you [av]call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, 2 and you (HO)return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 (HP)that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and (HQ)gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 (HR)If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. 5 Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 And (HS)the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
7 “Also the Lord your God will put all these (HT)curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 And you will (HU)again obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you today. 9 (HV)The Lord your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the [aw]fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the Lord will again (HW)rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, 10 if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
The Choice of Life or Death
11 “For this commandment which I command you today (HX)is [ax]not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 (HY)It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, (HZ)in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
15 “See, (IA)I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 (IB)I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 19 (IC)I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that (ID)I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your (IE)life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Joshua the New Leader of Israel(IF)
31 Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them: “I (IG)am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer (IH)go out and come in. Also the Lord has said to me, (II)‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God (IJ)Himself crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. (IK)Joshua himself crosses over before you, just (IL)as the Lord has said. 4 (IM)And the Lord will do to them (IN)as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when He destroyed them. 5 (IO)The Lord will give them over to you, that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you. 6 (IP)Be strong and of good courage, (IQ)do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, (IR)He is the One who goes with you. (IS)He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, (IT)“Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8 And the Lord, (IU)He is the One who goes before you. (IV)He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
The Law to Be Read Every Seven Years
9 So Moses wrote this law (IW)and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, (IX)who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, saying: “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the (IY)year of release, (IZ)at the Feast of Tabernacles, 11 when all Israel comes to (JA)appear before the Lord your God in the (JB)place which He chooses, (JC)you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 (JD)Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, (JE)who have not known it, (JF)may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.”
Prediction of Israel’s Rebellion
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, (JG)“Behold, the days approach when you must die; call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of meeting, that (JH)I may [ay]inaugurate him.”
So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle of meeting. 15 Now (JI)the Lord appeared at the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood above the door of the tabernacle.
16 And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will [az]rest with your fathers; and this people will (JJ)rise and (JK)play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will (JL)forsake Me and (JM)break My covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then My anger shall be (JN)aroused against them in that day, and (JO)I will forsake them, and I will (JP)hide My face from them, and they shall be [ba]devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, (JQ)‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is (JR)not among us?’ 18 And (JS)I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods.
19 “Now therefore, write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be (JT)a witness for Me against the children of Israel. 20 When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves (JU)and grown fat, (JV)then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant. 21 Then it shall be, (JW)when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants, for (JX)I know the inclination (JY)of their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them.”
22 Therefore Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel. 23 (JZ)Then He inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun, and said, (KA)“Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you.”
24 So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, 25 that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying: 26 “Take this Book of the Law, (KB)and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there (KC)as a witness against you; 27 (KD)for I know your rebellion and your (KE)stiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord, then how much more after my death? 28 Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing (KF)and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will (KG)become utterly corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And (KH)evil will befall you (KI)in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.”
The Song of Moses
30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song until they were ended:
The Song of Moses
32 “Give (KJ)ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
And hear, O (KK)earth, the words of my mouth.
2 Let (KL)my [bb]teaching drop as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
(KM)As raindrops on the tender herb,
And as showers on the grass.
3 For I proclaim the (KN)name of the Lord:
(KO)Ascribe greatness to our God.
4 He is (KP)the Rock, (KQ)His work is perfect;
For all His ways are justice,
(KR)A God of truth and (KS)without injustice;
Righteous and upright is He.
5 “They(KT) have corrupted themselves;
They are not His children,
Because of their blemish:
A (KU)perverse and crooked generation.
6 Do you thus (KV)deal[bc] with the Lord,
O foolish and unwise people?
Is He not (KW)your Father, who (KX)bought you?
Has He not (KY)made you and established you?
7 “Remember(KZ) the days of old,
Consider the years of many generations.
(LA)Ask your father, and he will show you;
Your elders, and they will tell you:
8 When the Most High (LB)divided their inheritance to the nations,
When He (LC)separated the sons of Adam,
He set the boundaries of the peoples
According to the number of the [bd]children of Israel.
9 For (LD)the Lord’s portion is His people;
Jacob is the place of His inheritance.
10 “He found him (LE)in a desert land
And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness;
He encircled him, He instructed him,
He (LF)kept him as the [be]apple of His eye.
11 (LG)As an eagle stirs up its nest,
Hovers over its young,
Spreading out its wings, taking them up,
Carrying them on its wings,
12 So the Lord alone led him,
And there was no foreign god with him.
13 “He(LH) made him ride in the heights of the earth,
That he might eat the produce of the fields;
He made him draw honey from the rock,
And oil from the flinty rock;
14 Curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock,
(LI)With fat of lambs;
And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats,
With the choicest wheat;
And you drank wine, the (LJ)blood of the grapes.
15 “But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;
(LK)You grew fat, you grew thick,
You are obese!
Then he (LL)forsook God who (LM)made him,
And scornfully esteemed the (LN)Rock of his salvation.
16 (LO)They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods;
With [bf]abominations they provoked Him to anger.
17 (LP)They sacrificed to demons, not to God,
To gods they did not know,
To new gods, new arrivals
That your fathers did not fear.
18 (LQ)Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful,
And have (LR)forgotten the God who fathered you.
19 “And(LS) when the Lord saw it, He spurned them,
Because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters.
20 And He said: ‘I will hide My face from them,
I will see what their end will be,
For they are a perverse generation,
(LT)Children in whom is no faith.
21 (LU)They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God;
They have moved Me to anger (LV)by their [bg]foolish idols.
But (LW)I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation;
I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.
22 For (LX)a fire is kindled in My anger,
And shall burn to the [bh]lowest [bi]hell;
It shall consume the earth with her increase,
And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 ‘I will (LY)heap disasters on them;
(LZ)I will spend My arrows on them.
24 They shall be wasted with hunger,
Devoured by pestilence and bitter destruction;
I will also send against them the (MA)teeth of beasts,
With the poison of serpents of the dust.
25 The sword shall destroy outside;
There shall be terror within
For the young man and virgin,
The nursing child with the man of gray hairs.
26 (MB)I would have said, “I will dash them in pieces,
I will make the memory of them to cease from among men,”
27 Had I not feared the wrath of the enemy,
Lest their adversaries should misunderstand,
Lest they should say, (MC)“Our hand is high;
And it is not the Lord who has done all this.” ’
28 “For they are a nation void of counsel,
Nor is there any understanding in them.
29 (MD)Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this,
That they would consider their (ME)latter end!
30 How could one chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Unless their Rock (MF)had sold them,
And the Lord had surrendered them?
31 For their rock is not like our Rock,
(MG)Even our enemies themselves being judges.
32 For (MH)their vine is of the vine of Sodom
And of the fields of Gomorrah;
Their grapes are grapes of gall,
Their clusters are bitter.
33 Their wine is (MI)the poison of serpents,
And the cruel (MJ)venom of cobras.
34 ‘Is this not (MK)laid up in store with Me,
Sealed up among My treasures?
35 (ML)Vengeance is Mine, and recompense;
Their foot shall slip in due time;
(MM)For the day of their calamity is at hand,
And the things to come hasten upon them.’
36 “For(MN) the Lord will judge His people
(MO)And have compassion on His servants,
When He sees that their power is gone,
And (MP)there is no one remaining, bond or free.
37 He will say: (MQ)‘Where are their gods,
The rock in which they sought refuge?
38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise and help you,
And be your refuge.
39 ‘Now see that (MR)I, even I, am He,
And (MS)there is no God besides Me;
(MT)I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.
40 For I raise My hand to heaven,
And say, “As I live forever,
41 (MU)If I [bj]whet My glittering sword,
And My hand takes hold on judgment,
I will render vengeance to My enemies,
And repay those who hate Me.
42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood,
And My sword shall devour flesh,
With the blood of the slain and the captives,
From the heads of the leaders of the enemy.” ’
43 “Rejoice,(MV) O Gentiles, with His [bk]people;
For He will (MW)avenge the blood of His servants,
And render vengeance to His adversaries;
He (MX)will provide atonement for His land and His people.”
44 So Moses came with [bl]Joshua the son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. 45 Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 and he said to them: (MY)“Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your (MZ)children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law. 47 For it is not a [bm]futile thing for you, because it is your (NA)life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”
Moses to Die on Mount Nebo
48 Then the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying: 49 (NB)“Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession; 50 and die on the mountain which you ascend, and be [bn]gathered to your people, just as (NC)Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people; 51 because (ND)you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of [bo]Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, because you (NE)did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel. 52 (NF)Yet you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel.”
Moses’ Final Blessing on Israel
33 Now this is (NG)the blessing with which Moses (NH)the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2 And he said:
(NI)“The Lord came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from (NJ)Seir;
He shone forth from (NK)Mount Paran,
And He came with (NL)ten thousands of saints;
From His right hand
Came a fiery law for them.
3 Yes, (NM)He loves the people;
(NN)All His saints are in Your hand;
They (NO)sit down at Your feet;
Everyone (NP)receives Your words.
4 (NQ)Moses [bp]commanded a law for us,
(NR)A heritage of the congregation of Jacob.
5 And He was (NS)King in (NT)Jeshurun,
When the leaders of the people were gathered,
All the tribes of Israel together.
6 “Let (NU)Reuben live, and not die,
Nor let his men be few.”
7 And this he said of (NV)Judah:
“Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people;
(NW)Let his hands be sufficient for him,
And may You be (NX)a help against his enemies.”
8 And of (NY)Levi he said:
(NZ)“Let Your [bq]Thummim and Your Urim be with Your holy one,
(OA)Whom You tested at Massah,
And with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah,
9 (OB)Who says of his father and mother,
‘I have not (OC)seen them’;
(OD)Nor did he acknowledge his brothers,
Or know his own children;
For (OE)they have observed Your word
And kept Your covenant.
10 (OF)They shall teach Jacob Your judgments,
And Israel Your law.
They shall put incense before You,
(OG)And a whole burnt sacrifice on Your altar.
11 Bless his substance, Lord,
And (OH)accept the work of his hands;
Strike the loins of those who rise against him,
And of those who hate him, that they rise not again.”
12 Of Benjamin he said:
“The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him,
Who shelters him all the day long;
And he shall dwell between His shoulders.”
13 And of Joseph he said:
(OI)“Blessed of the Lord is his land,
With the precious things of heaven, with the (OJ)dew,
And the deep lying beneath,
14 With the precious fruits of the sun,
With the precious produce of the months,
15 With the best things of (OK)the ancient mountains,
With the precious things (OL)of the everlasting hills,
16 With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of (OM)Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let the blessing come (ON)‘on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.’
17 His glory is like a (OO)firstborn bull,
And his horns like the (OP)horns of the wild ox;
Together with them
(OQ)He shall push the peoples
To the ends of the earth;
(OR)They are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 And of Zebulun he said:
(OS)“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
And Issachar in your tents!
19 They shall (OT)call the peoples to the mountain;
There (OU)they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness;
For they shall partake of the abundance of the seas
And of treasures hidden in the sand.”
20 And of Gad he said:
“Blessed is he who (OV)enlarges Gad;
He dwells as a lion,
And tears the arm and the crown of his head.
21 (OW)He provided the first part for himself,
Because a lawgiver’s portion was reserved there.
(OX)He came with the heads of the people;
He administered the justice of the Lord,
And His judgments with Israel.”
22 And of Dan he said:
“Dan is a lion’s whelp;
(OY)He shall leap from Bashan.”
23 And of Naphtali he said:
“O Naphtali, (OZ)satisfied with favor,
And full of the blessing of the Lord,
(PA)Possess the west and the south.”
24 And of Asher he said:
(PB)“Asher is most blessed of sons;
Let him be favored by his brothers,
And let him (PC)dip his foot in oil.
25 Your sandals shall be (PD)iron and bronze;
As your days, so shall your strength be.
26 “There is (PE)no one like the God of (PF)Jeshurun,
(PG)Who rides the heavens to help you,
And in His excellency on the clouds.
27 The eternal God is your (PH)refuge,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
(PI)He will thrust out the enemy from before you,
And will say, ‘Destroy!’
28 Then (PJ)Israel shall dwell in safety,
(PK)The fountain of Jacob (PL)alone,
In a land of grain and new wine;
His (PM)heavens shall also drop dew.
29 (PN)Happy are you, O Israel!
(PO)Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,
(PP)The shield of your help
And the sword of your majesty!
Your enemies (PQ)shall submit to you,
And (PR)you shall tread down their [br]high places.”
Moses Dies on Mount Nebo
34 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab (PS)to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the [bs]Western Sea, 3 the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, (PT)the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the Lord said to him, (PU)“This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ (PV)I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.”
5 (PW)So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. 6 And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but (PX)no one knows his grave to this day. 7 (PY)Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. (PZ)His [bt]eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor [bu]diminished. 8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab (QA)thirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.
9 Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the (QB)spirit of wisdom, for (QC)Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 But since then there (QD)has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, (QE)whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 in all (QF)the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, 12 and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.