Obey God and Prosper
1 “Now this is the command; the statutes and the judgments (precepts) which the Lordyour God has commanded me to teach you, so that you might do (follow, obey) them in the land which you are crossing over [the Jordan] to possess,
2 so that you and your son and your grandson may fearandworship the Lordyour God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], to keep [and actively do] all His statutes and His commandments which I am commanding you, all the days of your life, so that your days may be prolonged.
3 Therefore listen, O Israel, and be careful to dothem, that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly [in numbers], as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a landflowing with milk and honey.
4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lordis our God, the Lordis one [the only God]!
5 You shall love the Lordyour God with all your heartandmind and with all your soul and with all your strength [your entire being].
6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be [written] on your heartandmind.
7 You shall teach them diligently to yourchildren [impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths] and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up.
8 And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand (forearm), and they shall be used asbands (frontals, frontlets) on your forehead.
9 You shall write them on thedoorposts of your house and on your gates.
10 “Then it shall come about when the Lordyour God brings you into the land which He swore (solemnly promised) to [give] your fathers–to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob–to give you, [a land with] great and splendid cities which you did not build,
11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn (excavated) cisterns (wells) which you did not dig out, and vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are fullandsatisfied,
12 thenbeware that you do not forget the Lordwho brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
13 You shall fear [only] the Lordyour God; and you shall serve Him [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect] and swear [oaths] by His name [alone].
14 You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you,
15 for the Lordyour God who is among you is ajealous (impassioned) God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His]–otherwise the anger of the Lordyour God will be kindledandburn against you, and He will destroy you from the face of the earth.
16 “You shall not put the Lordyour God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.
17 You shall diligently keep [foremost in your thoughts and actively do] the commandments of the Lordyour God, and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you.
18 You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, so that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the Lordswore to [give] your fathers,
19 by driving out all your enemies from before you, as the Lordhas spoken.
20 “When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘Whatis the meaningof the testimonies and statutes and judgments (precepts) which the Lordour God has commanded you?’
21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, and the Lordbrought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
22 ~‘Moreover, the Lordshowed great and terrible signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household;
23 He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to [give] our fathers.’
24 So the Lordcommanded us to do all these statutes, to fear [and worship] the Lordour God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect] for our good always and so that He might preserve us alive, as it is today.
25 It will be [considered] righteousness for us [that is, right standing with God] if we are careful to observe all this commandment before the Lordour God–just as He has commanded us.