Category: Deuteronomy

Unsolved Murders

1 “If a murder victim is found lying in a field in the land theLordyour God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,

2 your elders and judges must come out and measure the distance from the victim to the nearby cities.

3 The elders of the city nearest to the victim are to get a young cow that has not been yoked or used for work.

4 The elders of that city will bring the cow down to a continually flowing stream, to a place not tilled or sown, and they will break its neck there by the stream.

5 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, will come forward, for Yahweh your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name, and they are to give a ruling inevery dispute and case of assault.

6 All the elders of the city nearest to the victim will wash their hands by the stream over the young cow whose neck has been broken.

7 They will declare, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood; our eyes did not see it.

8 Lord, forgive Your people Israel You redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.’ Then they will be absolved of responsibility for bloodshed.

9 You must purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, for you will be doing what is right in theLord’s sight.

Fair Treatment of Captured Women

10 “When you go to war against your enemies and theLordyour God hands them over to you and you take some of them prisoner, and

11 if you see a beautiful woman among the captives, desire her, and want to take her as your wife,

12 you are to bring her into your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails,

13 remove the clothes she was wearing when she was taken prisoner, live in your house, and mourn for her father and mother a full month. After that, you may have sexual relations with her and be her husband, and she will be your wife.

14 Then if you are not satisfied with her, you are to let her go where she wants, but you must not sell her for money or treat her as merchandise,because you have humiliated her.

The Right of the Firstborn

15 “If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved bear him sons, and if the unloved wife has the firstborn son,

16 when that man gives what he has to his sons as an inheritance, he is not to show favoritism to the son of the loved wife as his firstborn over the firstborn of the unloved wife.

17 He must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved wife, by giving him two sharesof his estate, for he is the firstfruits of his virility; he has the rights of the firstborn.

A Rebellious Son

18 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father or mother and doesn’t listen to them even after they discipline him,

19 his father and mother must take hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gateof his hometown.

20 They will say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he doesn’t obey us. He’s a glutton and a drunkard.’

21 Then all the men of his city will stone him to death.You must purge the evil from you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.

Display of Executed People

22 “If anyone is found guilty of an offense deserving the death penalty and is executed, and you hang his body on a tree,

23 you are not to leave his corpse on the tree overnight but are to bury him that day, for anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse.You must not defile the land theLordyour God is giving you as an inheritance.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/DEU/21-9c98a93ae256a6139a7badb6a9924583.mp3?version_id=72—

Caring for Your Brother’s Property

1 “If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, you must not ignore it; make sure you return it to your brother.

2 If your brother does not live near you or you don’t know him, you are to bring the animal to your home to remain with you until your brother comes looking for it; then you can return it to him.

3 Do the same for his donkey, his garment, or anything your brother has lost and you have found. You must not ignore it.

4 If you see your brother’s donkey or ox fallen down on the road, you must not ignore it; you must help him lift it up.

Preserving Natural Distinctions

5 “A woman is not to wear male clothing, and a man is not to put on a woman’s garment, for everyone who does these things is detestable to theLordyour God.

6 “If you come across a bird’s nest with chicks or eggs, either in a tree or on the ground along the road, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, you must not take the mother along with the young.

7 You may take the young for yourself, but be sure to let the mother go free, so that you may prosper and live long.

8 If you build a new house, make a railing around your roof, so that you don’t bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.

9 Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; otherwise, the entire harvest, both the crop you plant and the produce of the vineyard, will be defiled.

10 Do not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

11 Do not wear clothes made of both wool and linen.

12 Make tassels on the four corners of the outer garment you wear.

Violations of Proper Sexual Conduct

13 “If a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, and comes to hate her,

14 and accuses her of shameful conduct, and gives her a bad name, saying, ‘I married this woman and was intimate with her, but I didn’t find any evidence of her virginity,’

15 the young woman’s father and mother will take the evidence of her virginity and bring it to the city elders at the gate.

16 The young woman’s father will say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, but he hates her.

17 He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying: “I didn’t find any evidence of your daughter’s virginity,” but here is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ They will spread out the cloth before the city elders.

18 Then the elders of that city will take the man and punish him.

19 They will also fine him 100 silver shekels and give them to the young woman’s father, because that man gave an Israelite virgin a bad name. She will remain his wife; he cannot divorce her as long as he lives.

20 But if this accusation is true and no evidence of the young woman’s virginity is found,

21 they will bring the woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from you.

22 “If a man is discovered having sexual relations with another man’s wife, both the man who had sex with the woman and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

23 If there is a young woman who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and has sex with her,

24 you must take the two of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death — the young woman because she did not cry out in the city and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s fiancée. You must purge the evil from you.

25 But if the man encounters an engaged woman in the open country, and he seizes and rapes her, only the man who raped her must die.

26 Do nothing to the young woman, because she is not guilty of an offense deserving death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him.

27 When he found her in the field, the engaged woman cried out, but there was no one to rescue her.

28 If a man encounters a young woman, a virgin who is not engaged, takes hold of her and rapes her, and they are discovered,

29 the man who raped her must give the young woman’s father 50 silver shekels, and she must become his wife because he violated her.He cannot divorce her as long as he lives.

30 “A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not violate his father’s marriage bed.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/DEU/22-a0eacf1f59bfe737cdacf300791496c5.mp3?version_id=72—

Exclusion and Inclusion

1 “No man whose testicles have been crushedor whose penis has been cut off may enter theLord’s assembly.

2 No one of illegitimate birth may enter theLord’s assembly; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, may enter theLord’s assembly.

3 No Ammonite or Moabite may enter theLord’s assembly;none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, may ever enter theLord’s assembly.

4 This is because they did not meet you with food and water on the journey after you came out of Egypt, and because Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim was hired to curse you.

5 Yet theLordyour God would not listen to Balaam, but He turned the curse into a blessing for you because theLordyour God lovesyou.

6 Never seek their peace or prosperity as long as you live.

7 Do not despise an Edomite, because he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you were a foreign resident in his land.

8 The children born to them in the third generation may enter theLord’s assembly.

Cleanliness of the Camp

9 “When you are encamped against your enemies, be careful to avoid anything offensive.

10 If there is a man among you who is unclean because of a bodily emission during the night, he must go outside the camp; he may not come anywhere inside the camp.

11 When evening approaches, he must wash with water, and when the sun sets he may come inside the camp.

12 You must have a place outside the camp and go there to relieve yourself.

13 You must have a digging tool in your equipment; when you relieve yourself, dig a hole with it and cover up your excrement.

14 For theLordyour God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you; so your encampments must be holy. He must not see anything improper among you or He will turn away from you.

Fugitive Slaves

15 “Do not return a slave to his master when he has escaped from his master to you.

16 Let him live among you wherever he wants within your gates. Do not mistreat him.

Cult Prostitution Forbidden

17 “No Israelite woman is to be a cult prostitute, and no Israelite man is to be a cult prostitute.

18 Do not bring a female prostitute’s wages or a male prostitute’searnings into the house of theLordyour God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to theLordyour God.

Interest on Loans

19 “Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or anything that can earn interest.

20 You may charge a foreigner interest, but you must not charge your brother interest, so that theLordyour God may bless you in everything you doin the land you are entering to possess.

Keeping Vows

21 “If you make a vow to theLordyour God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will require it of you, and it will be counted against you as sin.

22 But if you refrain from making a vow, it will not be counted against you as sin.

23 Be careful to do whatever comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed what you promisedto theLordyour God.

Neighbor’s Crops

24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you want until you are full, but you must not put any in your container.

25 When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck heads of grain with your hand, but you must not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/DEU/23-acf3ea4e19851dc6a9173230dada4844.mp3?version_id=72—

Marriage and Divorce Laws

1 “If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something improper about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.

2 If after leaving his house she goes and becomes another man’s wife,

3 and the second man hates her, writes her a divorce certificate, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house or if hedies,

4 the first husband who sent her away may not marry her again after she has been defiled, because that would be detestable to theLord. You must not bring guilt on the land theLordyour God is giving you as an inheritance.

5 “When a man takes a bride, he must not go out with the army or be liable for any duty. He is free to stay at home for one year, so that he can bring joy to the wife he has married.

Safeguarding Life

6 “Do not take a pair of millstones or an upper millstone as security for a debt, because that is like taking a life as security.

7 “If a man is discovered kidnappingone of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from you.

8 “Be careful in a case of infectious skin disease, following carefully everything the Levitical priests instruct you to do. Be careful to do as I have commanded them.

9 Remember what theLordyour God did to Miriam on the journey after you left Egypt.

Consideration for People in Need

10 “When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect what he offers as security.

11 You must stand outside while the man you are making the loan to brings the security out to you.

12 If he is a poor man, you must not sleep in the garment he has given as security.

13 Be sure to return itto him at sunset. Then he will sleep in it and bless you, and this will be counted as righteousness to you before theLordyour God.

14 “Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether one of your brothers or one of the foreigners residing within a townin your land.

15 You are to pay him his wages each day before the sun sets, because he is poor and depends on them.Otherwise he will cry out to theLordagainst you, and you will be held guilty.

16 “Fathers are not to be put to death for their children or children for their fathers; each person will be put to death for his own sin.

17 Do not deny justice to a foreigner or fatherless child, and do not take a widow’s garment as security.

18 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and theLordyour God redeemedyou from there. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.

19 “When you reap the harvest in your field, and you forget a sheaf in the field, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that theLordyour God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

20 When you knock down the fruit from your olive tree, you must not go over the branches again. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow.

21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not glean what is left. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow.

22 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/DEU/24-6b198c550e8d76ab9930fb8536a2227e.mp3?version_id=72—

Fairness and Mercy

1 “If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court, and the judges will hear their case. They will clear the innocent and condemn the guilty.

2 If the guilty party deserves to be flogged, the judge will make him lie down and be flogged in his presence with the number of lashes appropriate for his crime.

3 He may be flogged with 40 lashes, but no more. Otherwise, if he is flogged with more lashes than these, your brother will be degraded in your sight.

4 “Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out grain.

Preserving the Family Line

5 “When brothers live on the same propertyand one of them dies without a son, the wife of the dead man may not marry a stranger outside the family. Her brother-in-law is to take her as his wife, have sexual relations with her, and perform the duty of a brother-in-law for her.

6 The first son she bears will carry on the name of the dead brother, so his name will not be blotted out from Israel.

7 But if the man doesn’t want to marry his sister-in-law, she must go to the elders at the city gateand say, ‘My brother-in-law refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel. He isn’t willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law for me.’

8 The elders of his city will summon him and speak with him. If he persists and says, ‘I don’t want to marry her,’

9 then his sister-in-law will go up to him in the sight of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. Then she will declare, ‘This is what is done to a man who will not build up his brother’s house.’

10 And his family name in Israel will be called ‘The house of the man whose sandal was removed.’

11 “If two men are fighting with each other, and the wife of one steps in to rescue her husband from the one striking him, and she puts out her hand and grabs his genitals,

12 you are to cut off her hand. You must not show pity.

Honest Weights and Measures

13 “You must not have two different weightsin your bag, one heavy and one light.

14 You must not have two differing dry measures in your house, a larger and a smaller.

15 You must have a full and honest weight, a full and honest dry measure, so that you may live long in the land theLordyour God is giving you.

16 For everyone who does such things and acts unfairly is detestable to theLordyour God.

Revenge on the Amalekites

17 “Remember what the Amalekites did to you on the journey after you left Egypt.

18 They met you along the way and attacked all your stragglers from behind when you were tired and weary. They did not fear God.

19 When theLordyour God gives you restfrom all the enemies around you in the land theLordyour God is giving you to possess as an inheritance,blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven. Do not forget.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/DEU/25-f3baf29abd7c1e74ea433ce82f4fd23e.mp3?version_id=72—

Giving the Firstfruits

1 “When you enter the land theLordyour God is giving you as an inheritance,and you take possession of it and live in it,

2 you must take some of the first of all the land’s produce that you harvest from the land Yahweh your God is giving you and put it in a container. Then go to the place where theLordyour God chooses to have His name dwell.

3 When you come before the priest who is serving at that time, you must say to him, ‘Today I acknowledge to theLordyourGod that I have entered the land theLordswore to our fathers to give us.’

4 “Then the priest will take the container from your hand and place it before the altar of theLordyour God.

5 You are to respond by saying in the presence of theLordyour God:

My father was a wandering Aramean.He went down to Egypt with a few people and lived there.There he became a great, powerful, and populous nation.

6 But the Egyptians mistreated and afflicted us, and forced us to do hard labor.

7 So we called out to Yahweh, the God of our fathers, and theLordheard our cry and saw our misery, hardship, and oppression.

8 Then theLordbrought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with terrifying power, and with signs and wonders.

9 He led us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

10 I have now brought the first of the land’s produce that You,Lord, have given me.

You will then place the container before theLordyour God and bow down to Him.

11 You, the Levite, and the foreign resident among you will rejoicein all the good things theLordyour God has given you and your household.

The Tenth in the Third Year

12 “When you have finished paying all the tenth of your produce in the third year,the year of the tenth, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.

13 Then you will say in the presence of theLordyour God:

I have taken the consecrated portion out of my house; I have also given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all the commands You gave me. I have not violated or forgotten Your commands.

14 I have not eaten any of it while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead.I have obeyed theLordmy God; I have done all You commanded me.

15 Look down from Your holy dwelling, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land You have given us as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Covenant Summary

16 “TheLordyour God is commanding you this day to follow these statutes and ordinances. You must be careful to follow them with all your heart and all your soul.

17 Today you have affirmed that theLordis your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes, commands, and ordinances, and obey Him.

18 And today theLordhas affirmed that you are His special people as He promised you, that you are to keep all His commands,

19 that He will elevate you to praise, fame, and glory above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy peopleto theLordyour God as He promised.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/DEU/26-cf27f3127d5f45f8aa92e9eb202b54ef.mp3?version_id=72—

The Law Written on Stones

1 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, “Keep every command I am giving you today.

2 At the time you cross the Jordan into the land theLordyour God is giving you, you must set up large stones and cover them with plaster.

3 Write all the words of this law on the stones after you cross to enter the land theLordyour God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey,as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you.

4 When you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to cover them with plaster.

5 Build an altar of stones there to theLordyour God — you must not use any iron tool on them.

6 Use uncut stones to build the altar of theLordyour God and offer burnt offerings to theLordyour God on it.

7 There you are to sacrifice fellowship offerings, eat, and rejoice in the presence of theLordyour God.

8 Write clearly all the words of this law on the plastered stones.”

The Covenant Curses

9 Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, “Be silent, Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of theLordyour God.

10 Obey theLordyour God and follow His commands and statutes I am giving you today.”

11 On that day Moses commanded the people,

12 “When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.

13 And these tribes will stand on Mount Ebal to deliver the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

14 The Levites will proclaim in a loud voice to every Israelite:

15 ‘The person who makes a carved idol or cast image, which is detestable to theLord, the work of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret is cursed.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen! ’

16 ‘The one who dishonors his father or mother is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen! ’

17 ‘The one who moves his neighbor’s boundary marker is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen! ’

18 ‘The one who leads a blind person astray on the road is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen! ’

19 ‘The one who denies justice to a foreigner, a fatherless child, or a widow is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen! ’

20 ‘The one who sleeps with his father’s wife is cursed, for he has violated his father’s marriage bed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen! ’

21 ‘The one who has sexual intercourse with any animal is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen! ’

22 ‘The one who sleeps with his sister, whether his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen! ’

23 ‘The one who sleeps with his mother-in-law is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen! ’

24 ‘The one who secretly kills his neighbor is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen! ’

25 ‘The one who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen! ’

26 ‘Anyone who does not put the words of this law into practice is cursed.’

And all the people will say, ‘Amen! ’

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/DEU/27-12e228ba9b9c83569ce58196865139ea.mp3?version_id=72—

Blessings for Obedience

1 “Nowif you faithfully obey theLordyour Godand are careful to follow all His commands I am giving you today,theLordyour God will put you far above all the nations of the earth.

2 All these blessings will come and overtakeyou, because you obey theLordyour God:

3 You will be blessed in the city

and blessed in the country.

4 Your descendantswill be blessed,

and your land’s produce,

and the offspring of your livestock,

including the young of your herds

and the newborn of your flocks.

5 Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed.

6 You will be blessed when you come in

and blessed when you go out.

7 “TheLordwill cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you from one direction but flee from you in seven directions.

8 TheLordwill grant you a blessing on your storehouses and on everything you do;He will bless you in the land theLordyour God is giving you.

9 TheLordwill establish you as His holy people,as He swore to you, if you obey the commands of theLordyour God and walk in His ways.

10 Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by Yahweh’s name,and they will stand in awe of you.

11 TheLordwill make you prosper abundantly with children,the offspring of your livestock, and your land’s produce in the land theLordswore to your fathers to give you.

12 TheLordwill open for you His abundant storehouse,the sky, to give your land rain in its season and to bless all the work of your hands.You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.

13 TheLordwill make you the head and not the tail;you will only move upward and never downward if you listen to theLordyour God’s commands I am giving you today and are careful to follow them.

14 Do not turn aside to the right or the left from all the things I am commanding you today,and do not go after other gods to worship them.

Curses for Disobedience

15 “But if you do not obey theLordyour God by carefully following all His commands and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overtakeyou:

16 You will be cursed in the city

and cursed in the country.

17 Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed.

18 Your descendantswill be cursed,

and your land’s produce,

the young of your herds,

and the newborn of your flocks.

19 You will be cursed when you come in

and cursed when you go out.

20 TheLordwill send against you curses, confusion,and rebuke in everything you dountil you are destroyed and quickly perish,because of the wickedness of your actions in abandoning Me.

21 TheLordwill make pestilence cling to you until He has exterminated you from the land you are entering to possess.

22 TheLordwill afflict you with wasting disease, fever, inflammation, burning heat, drought,blight, and mildew;these will pursue you until you perish.

23 The sky above you will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.

24 TheLordwill turn the rain of your land into fallingdust; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed.

25 TheLordwill cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions.You will be an object of horrorto all the kingdoms of the earth.

26 Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land, with no one to scare them away.

27 “TheLordwill afflict you with the boils of Egypt,tumors, a festering rash, and scabies, from which you cannot be cured.

28 TheLordwill afflict you with madness, blindness, and mental confusion,

29 so that at noon you will grope as a blind man gropes in the dark.You will not be successful in anything you do. You will only be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will help you.

30 You will become engaged to a woman, but another man will rape her. You will build a house but not live in it.You will plant a vineyard but not enjoy its fruit.

31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away from you and not returned to you. Your flock will be given to your enemies, and no one will help you.

32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another people, while your eyes grow weary looking for them every day. But you will be powerless to do anything.

33 A people you don’t know will eat your land’s produce and everything you have labored for. You will only be oppressed and crushed continually.

34 You will be driven mad by what you see.

35 TheLordwill afflict you with painful and incurable boils on your knees and thighs — from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.

36 “TheLordwill bring you and your king that you have appointed to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods, of wood and stone.

37 You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the peoples where theLordwill drive you.

38 “You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because locusts will devour it.

39 You will plant and cultivate vineyards but not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them.

40 You will have olive trees throughout your territory but not anoint yourself with oil, because your olives will drop off.

41 You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will be taken prisoner.

42 Whirring insects will take possession of all your trees and your land’s produce.

43 The foreign resident among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink lower and lower.

44 He will lend to you, but you won’t lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.

45 “All these curses will come, pursue, and overtake you until you are destroyed, since you did not obey theLordyour God and keep the commands and statutes He gave you.

46 These curses will be a sign and a wonderagainst you and your descendants forever.

47 Because you didn’t serve theLordyour God with joy and a cheerful heart,even though you had an abundance of everything,

48 you will serve your enemies theLordwill send against you, in famine, thirst, nakedness, and a lack of everything. He will place an iron yokeon your neck until He has destroyed you.

49 TheLordwill bring a nation from far away, from the ends of the earth,to swoop down on you like an eagle,a nation whose language you don’t understand,

50 a ruthless nation,showing no respect for the old and not sparing the young.

51 They will eat the offspring of your livestock and your land’s produce until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine, oil, young of your herds, or newborn of your flocks until they cause you to perish.

52 They will besiege you within all your gates until your high and fortified walls, that you trust in, come down throughout your land. They will besiege you within all your gates throughout the land theLordyour God has given you.

53 “You will eat your children,the flesh of your sons and daughters theLordyour God has given youduring the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you.

54 The most sensitive and refined man among you will look grudginglyat his brother, the wife he embraces,and the rest of his children,

55 refusing to share with any of them his children’s flesh that he will eat because he has nothing left during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you in all your towns.

56 The most sensitive and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her refinement and sensitivity, will begrudge the husband she embraces, her son, and her daughter,

57 the afterbirth that comes out from between her legs and the children she bears, because she will secretly eat them for lack of anything else during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you within your gates.

58 “If you are not careful to obey all the words of this law, which are written in this scroll, by fearing this glorious and awesome name — Yahweh, your God —

59 He will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, severe and lasting plagues, and terrible and chronic sicknesses.

60 He will afflict you again with all the diseases of Egypt,which you dreaded, and they will cling to you.

61 TheLordwill also afflict you with every sickness and plague not recorded in the book of this law, until you are destroyed.

62 Though you were as numerous as the stars of the sky, you will be left with only a few people, because you did not obey theLordyour God.

63 Just as theLordwas glad to cause you to prosper and to multiply you, so He will also be glad to cause you to perish and to destroy you. You will be deported from the land you are entering to possess.

64 Then theLordwill scatter you among all peoples from one end of the earth to the other,and there you will worship other gods, of wood and stone,which neither you nor your fathers have known.

65 You will find no peace among those nations, and there will be no resting placefor the sole of your foot. There theLordwill give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despondent spirit.

66 Your life will hang in doubt before you. You will be in dread night and day, never certain of survival.

67 In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening! ’ and in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning! ’ — because of the dread you will have in your heart and because of what you will see.

68 TheLordwill take you back in ships to Egypt by a route that I said you would never see again.There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/DEU/28-23245d87bc841c23b8ae0be2d3cb2385.mp3?version_id=72—

Renewing the Covenant

1 These are the words of the covenanttheLordcommanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant He had made with them at Horeb.

2 Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyeseverything theLorddid in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his entire land.

3 You saw with your own eyes the great trials and those great signs and wonders.

4 Yet to this day theLordhas not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.

5 I led you 40 years in the wilderness; your clothes and the sandals on your feet did not wear out;

6 you did not eat bread or drink wine or beer — so that you might know that I am Yahweh your God.

7 When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us in battle, but we defeated them.

8 We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

9 Therefore, observe the words of this covenantand follow them, so that you will succeed in everything you do.

10 “All of you are standing today before theLordyour God — your leaders, tribes, elders, officials, all the men of Israel,

11 your children, your wives, and the foreigners in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water —

12 so that you may enter into the covenant of theLordyour God, which He is making with you today, so that you may enter into His oath

13 and so that He may establish you today as His people and He may be your God as He promised you and as He swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

14 I am making this covenant and this oath not only with you,

15 but also with those who are standing here with us today in the presence of theLordour God and with those who are not here today.

Abandoning the Covenant

16 “Indeed, you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and passed through the nations where you traveled.

17 You saw their detestable images and idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold, which were among them.

18 Be sure there is no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from theLordour God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Be sure there is no root among you bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.

19 When someone hears the words of this oath, he may consider himself exempt,thinking, ‘I will have peace even though I follow my own stubborn heart.’ This will lead to the destruction of the well-watered land as well as the dry land.

20 TheLordwill not be willing to forgive him. Instead, His anger and jealousy will burn against that person, and every curse written in this scroll will descend on him. TheLordwill blot out his name under heaven,

21 and single him out for harm from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the law.

22 “Future generations of your children who follow you and the foreigner who comes from a distant country will see the plagues of the land and the sicknesses theLordhas inflicted on it.

23 All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown, producing nothing, with no plant growing on it, just like the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which theLorddemolished in His fierce anger.

24 All the nations will ask, ‘Why has theLorddone this to this land? Why this great outburst of anger? ’

25 Then people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, which He had made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

26 They began to worship other gods, bowing down to gods they had not known— gods that theLordhad not permitted them to worship.

27 Therefore theLord’s anger burned against this land, and He brought every curse written in this book on it.

28 TheLorduprooted them from their land in His anger, rage, and great wrath, and threw them into another land where they are today.’

29 The hidden things belong to theLordour God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/DEU/29-cde54b0807121aa8530d64e25b097204.mp3?version_id=72—

Returning to the Lord

1 “When all these things happen to you — the blessings and curses I have set before you — and you come to your senses while you are in all the nations where theLordyour God has driven you,

2 and you and your children return to theLordyour God and obey Him with all your heart and all your soulby doingeverything I am giving you today,

3 then He will restore your fortunes,have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the peoples where theLordyour God has scattered you.

4 Even if your exiles are at the ends of the earth,He will gather you and bring you back from there.

5 TheLordyour God will bring you into the land your fathers possessed, and you will take possession of it.He will cause you to prosper and multiply you more than He did your fathers.

6 TheLordyour God will circumcise your heartand the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live.

7 TheLordyour God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you.

8 Then you will again obey Him and follow all His commands I am giving you today.

9 TheLordyour God will make you prosper abundantly in all the work of your handswith children,the offspring of your livestock, and your land’s produce. Indeed, theLordwill again delight in your prosperity, as He delighted in that of your fathers,

10 when you obey theLordyour God by keeping His commands and statutes that are written in this book of the law and return to Him with all your heart and all your soul.

Choose Life

11 “This command that I give you today is certainly not too difficult or beyond your reach.

12 It is not in heaven so that you have to ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it? ’

13 And it is not across the sea so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it? ’

14 But the message is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may follow it.

15 See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity.

16 ForI am commanding you today to love theLordyour God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may liveand multiply, and theLordyour God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

17 But if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow down to other gods and worship them,

18 I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not live long in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan.

19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose lifeso that you and your descendants may live,

20 love theLordyour God, obey Him, and remain faithfulto Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land theLordswore to give to your fathersAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/DEU/30-cc77d90ea62aed4dabe54bc9c0c4eb4c.mp3?version_id=72—