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29 These be the words of the bond of peace, which the Lord commanded to Moses, that he should make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the bond of peace, which he covenanted with them in Horeb. (These be the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded to Moses, that he should make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant which he made with them on Mount Sinai.)

And Moses called all Israel, and said to them, Ye have seen all (the) things which the Lord did before you in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land;

the great temptations which thine eyes have seen (the great plagues which thou hast seen), (and) those signs, and the great wonders.

And the Lord gave not to you an heart understanding, and eyes seeing, and ears that may hear, till into this present day. (But unto this present day, the Lord hath not given you a heart to understand with, or eyes to see with, or ears to hear with.)

He led you by forty years through desert; your clothes were not broken, neither the shoes of your feet were wasted by eldness; (He led you for forty years through the wilderness; yet your clothes did not wear out, nor were your shoes wasted with oldness;)

ye ate not bread, neither ye drank wine and cider, that ye should know that he is your Lord God. (ye ate no bread, and ye drank no wine or cider, but ye survived through his provision, so that ye would know that he is the Lord your God.)

And ye came to this place; and Sihon, the king of Heshbon went out, and Og, the king of Bashan, and they came to us to battle. And we smote them, (And ye came to this place; and Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, came out, and they went against us in battle. And we struck them down,)

and we took away their land, and we gave it to possession, to Reuben, and to Gad, and to the half lineage of Manasseh. (and we took away their land, and we gave it for a possession to Reuben, and to Gad, and to half of the tribe of Manasseh.)

Therefore keep ye the words of this covenant, and fulfill ye them, that ye understand all things which ye shall do. (And so keep ye the words of this covenant, and fulfill ye them, so that ye shall prosper in everything which ye shall do.)

10 All ye stand today before your Lord God, your princes, and lineages, and the greater men in birth, and your teachers or doctors, (with) all the people of Israel, (Ye all stand here today before the Lord your God, yea, the leaders of the tribes, and the men of great age, that is, the elders, and your officers, with all the people of Israel,)

11 your free children, and your wives, and the comelings that dwell with thee in the tents, besides the hewers of wood, and besides they that bear water; (yea, your children, and your wives, and the newcomers who live with thee in the tents, as well as the hewers of wood, and the bearers of water;)

12 that thou go into the bond of peace of thy Lord God, and in the oath which thy Lord God smiteth with thee, (that thou enter into the covenant of the Lord thy God, and accept the oath which the Lord thy God striketh with thee,)

13 that he raise thee up into a people to himself, and that he be thy Lord God, as he spake to thee, and as he swore to thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (so that he can raise thee up into a people unto himself, and that he be the Lord thy God, as he promised thee, and as he swore to thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.)

14 And not to you alone I make this bond of peace, and confirm these oaths, (And it is not with you alone do I make this covenant, and confirm this oath,)

15 but to all men (but with all Israelites), present and absent.

16 For ye know how we dwelled in the land of Egypt, and how we passed by the midst of nations; which ye passed (by), (For ye know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how, when we passed through the midst of the nations,)

17 and saw abominations and filths, that is, their idols, (of) wood and stone, silver and gold, which they worshipped. (we saw their abominations and filths, that is, their idols, and false gods, made out of wood and stone, and silver and gold, which they worshipped.)

18 Lest peradventure among you be man either woman, family either lineage, whose heart is turned away today from your Lord God, that he go, and serve the gods of those folks; and a root burgeoning gall and bitterness be among you; (Lest there be among you a man or a woman, a family or a tribe, whose heart today is turned away from the Lord your God, so that they go, and serve the gods of those nations; and there be a root burgeoning gall and bitterness among you;)

19 and when he hath heard the words of this oath, he bless himself in his heart, and say, Peace shall be to me, and I shall go in the depravity of mine heart; and lest the drunken take the thirsty, (and so when he hath heard the words of this oath, he bless himself in his heart, and say, There shall still be peace for me, yea, even though I go in the depravity of my heart; but such thinking shall destroy everything;)

20 and the Lord forgive not to him, but then full greatly his strong vengeance be fierce, and his fervour burst out against that man, and all the curses that be written in this book rest upon him; and the Lord do away his name from under heaven, (for the Lord shall not forgive him, but his strong vengeance shall be greatly fierce, and his fervour shall burst out against that person, and all the curses that be written in this book shall rest upon him; and the Lord shall do away his name from under heaven,)

21 and waste him into perdition from all the lineages of Israel, by the curses that be contained in the book of this law, and of the bond of peace. (yea, he shall bring him out of all the tribes of Israel, and shall bring him down into perdition, according to all the curses of the covenant, that be contained in this Book of the Law.)

22 And the generation following shall see, and the sons that shall be born afterward, and pilgrims that shall come from [a]far, seeing the vengeances of that land, and the sicknesses by which the Lord tormented that land, (And the generation following, and the descendants who shall be born afterward, and the foreigners who shall come from afar, shall all see the plagues that be in the land, and the sicknesses with which the Lord hath tormented it,)

23 burning that land with brimstone, and heat of the sun, so that it be no more sown, neither bring forth any green thing, into ensample of [the] destroying of Sodom, and Gomorrah, of Admah, and of Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his wrath, and strong vengeance. (burning up that land with brimstone, and the heat of the sun, so that it can no more be sown, nor bring forth any green thing, following the examples of the destruction of Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboiim, all of which the Lord destroyed in his anger, and his strong vengeance.)

24 And all folks shall say, Why did the Lord so to this land? What is the great wrath of his strong vengeance? (And all the nations shall say, Why hath the Lord done so to this land? What is the reason for his great anger and strong vengeance?)

25 and they shall answer, For they forsook the covenant of the Lord, which he covenanted with their fathers, when he led them out of the land of Egypt,

26 and they served alien gods, and worshipped them, which they knew not, and to which they were not given; (and they served foreign, or other, gods, and worshipped them, which they knew not, and which he had not given them;)

27 therefore the strong vengeance of the Lord was wroth against this land, that he brought in upon it all the curses that be written in this book; (and so with strong vengeance the Lord was angry against this land, and he brought in on it all the curses that be written in this book;)

28 and he casted them out of their land, in wrath and strong vengeance, and in full great indignation; and he casted forth them into an alien land, as it is proved today. (and he threw them out of their land, in his anger and strong vengeance, and very great indignation; and he threw them forth into a foreign land, where they still be today.)

29 Diverse things be hid, or privy, of our Lord God, that is, in his before-knowing, which things be showed to us, and to our sons (into) without end, that we do all the words of this law. (Some things be hid, or known only, by the Lord our God, that is, in his foreknowing, but other things be shown to us, and to our descendants into without end, so that we can do all the words of this law.)

Renewal of the Covenant

29 [a]These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab,(A) in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.(B)

Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:

Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land.(C) With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those signs and great wonders.(D) But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.(E) Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I led(F) you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.(G) You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink.(H) I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.”(I)

When you reached this place, Sihon(J) king of Heshbon(K) and Og king of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them.(L) We took their land and gave it as an inheritance(M) to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.(N)

Carefully follow(O) the terms of this covenant,(P) so that you may prosper in everything you do.(Q) 10 All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God—your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, 11 together with your children and your wives, and the foreigners living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water.(R) 12 You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, 13 to confirm you this day as his people,(S) that he may be your God(T) as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 14 I am making this covenant,(U) with its oath, not only with you 15 who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today.(V)

16 You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries on the way here. 17 You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold.(W) 18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns(X) away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.(Y)

19 When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing(Z) on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,”(AA) they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. 20 The Lord will never be willing to forgive(AB) them; his wrath and zeal(AC) will burn(AD) against them. All the curses written in this book will fall on them, and the Lord will blot(AE) out their names from under heaven. 21 The Lord will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster,(AF) according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.(AG)

22 Your children who follow you in later generations and foreigners who come from distant lands will see the calamities that have fallen on the land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it.(AH) 23 The whole land will be a burning waste(AI) of salt(AJ) and sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,(AK) Admah and Zeboyim, which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger.(AL) 24 All the nations will ask: “Why has the Lord done this to this land?(AM) Why this fierce, burning anger?”

25 And the answer will be: “It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt.(AN) 26 They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them. 27 Therefore the Lord’s anger burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book.(AO) 28 In furious anger and in great wrath(AP) the Lord uprooted(AQ) them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now.”

29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God,(AR) but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.(AS)

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 29:1 In Hebrew texts 29:1 is numbered 28:69, and 29:2-29 is numbered 29:1-28.