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Chapter 11

Recalling the Wonders of the Lord. Love the Lord, your God, therefore, and keep his charge, statutes, ordinances, and commandments always.(A) Recall today that it was not your children, who have neither known nor seen the discipline of the Lord, your God—his greatness, his strong hand and outstretched arm;(B) the signs and deeds he wrought in the midst of Egypt, on Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and on all his land;(C) what he did to the Egyptian army and to their horses and chariots, engulfing them in the waters of the Red Sea[a] as they pursued you,(D) so that the Lord destroyed them even to this day; what he did for you in the wilderness until you came to this place; and what he did to the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up out of the midst of Israel, with their families and tents and every living thing that belonged to them—(E) but it was you who saw with your own eyes all these great deeds that the Lord has done.

The Gift of Rain. (F)So keep all the commandments I give you today, that you may be strong enough to enter in and take possession of the land that you are crossing over to possess, and that you may have long life on the land which the Lord swore to your ancestors he would give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 The land you are to enter and possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you would sow your seed and then water it by hand,[b] as in a vegetable garden. 11 (G)No, the land into which you are crossing to take possession is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks in rain from the heavens, 12 a land which the Lord, your God, looks after; the eyes of the Lord, your God, are upon it continually through the year, from beginning to end.

13 [c](H)If, then, you truly listen to my commandments which I give you today, loving and serving the Lord, your God, with your whole heart and your whole being, 14 I will give the seasonal rain to your land, the early rain[d] and the late rain, that you may have your grain, wine and oil to gather in; 15 and I will bring forth grass in your fields for your animals. Thus you may eat and be satisfied. 16 (I)But be careful lest your heart be so lured away that you serve other gods and bow down to them.(J) 17 For then the anger of the Lord will flare up against you and he will close up the heavens, so that no rain will fall, and the soil will not yield its crops, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you.

Need for Fidelity. 18 (K)Therefore, take these words of mine into your heart and soul. Bind them on your arm as a sign, and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. 19 Teach them to your children, speaking of them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up, 20 and write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that, as long as the heavens are above the earth, you and your children may live on in the land which the Lord swore to your ancestors he would give them.

22 (L)For if you are careful to observe this entire commandment I am giving you, loving the Lord, your God, following his ways exactly, and holding fast to him, 23 the Lord will dispossess all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves. 24 (M)Every place where you set foot shall be yours: from the wilderness and the Lebanon, from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea,[e] shall be your territory. 25 None shall stand up against you; the Lord, your God, will spread the fear and dread of you through any land where you set foot, as he promised you.(N)

Blessing and Curse. 26 (O)See, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: 27 a blessing for obeying the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I give you today; 28 a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, but turn aside from the way I command you today, to go after other gods, whom you do not know.(P) 29 When the Lord, your God, brings you into the land which you are to enter and possess, then on Mount Gerizim you shall pronounce the blessing,(Q) on Mount Ebal, the curse.[f] 30 (These are beyond the Jordan, on the other side of the western road in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal beside the oak of Moreh.)(R) 31 Now you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you. When, therefore, you take possession of it and settle there, 32 be careful to observe all the statutes and ordinances that I set before you today.

Footnotes

  1. 11:4 The Red Sea: Hebrew yam suph, that is, “sea of reeds” or “reedy sea.”
  2. 11:10 By hand: lit., “by foot,” probably referring to a kind of mechanism for irrigation from the Nile.
  3. 11:13–15 Here as elsewhere Moses shifts between speaking of the Lord in the third person and speaking for the Lord in the first person.
  4. 11:14 The early rain: the rains which begin in October or November and continue intermittently throughout the winter. The late rain: the heavy showers of March and April. In Palestine crops are sown in autumn and harvested in spring and summer.
  5. 11:24 The Western Sea: the Mediterranean.
  6. 11:29 For the full ceremony of blessing and curse, see chaps. 27–28. Gerizim and Ebal are mountains in Samaria, separated by a deep ravine.

Love and Obey the Lord

11 Love(A) the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.(B) Remember today that your children(C) were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God:(D) his majesty,(E) his mighty hand, his outstretched arm;(F) 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;(G) what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots,(H) how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea[a](I) as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them. It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the wilderness until you arrived at this place, and what he did(J) to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened(K) 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. But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.(L)

Observe therefore all the commands(M) 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,(N) and so that you may live long(O) in the land the Lord swore(P) to your ancestors to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.(Q) 10 The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt,(R) 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(S) that drinks rain from heaven.(T) 12 It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes(U) of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.

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

16 Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.(AC) 17 Then the Lord’s anger(AD) will burn against you, and he will shut up(AE) the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce,(AF) and you will soon perish(AG) 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.(AH) 19 Teach them to your children,(AI) talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.(AJ) 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,(AK) 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many(AL) in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.(AM)

22 If you carefully observe(AN) all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love(AO) the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast(AP) to him— 23 then the Lord will drive out(AQ) all these nations(AR) before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.(AS) 24 Every place where you set your foot will be yours:(AT) Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River(AU) 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(AV) and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.(AW)

26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing(AX) and a curse(AY) 27 the blessing(AZ) if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey(BA) the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods,(BB) 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(BC) the blessings, and on Mount Ebal(BD) the curses.(BE) 30 As you know, these mountains are across the Jordan, westward, toward the setting sun, near the great trees of Moreh,(BF) in the territory of those Canaanites living in the Arabah in the vicinity of Gilgal.(BG) 31 You are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession(BH) of the land the Lord your God is giving(BI) 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.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 11:4 Or the Sea of Reeds