Deuteronomy

Moses gives speeches about laws and the importance of following God before the Israelites enter the Promised Land.

Chapter 11

1 Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.

*So, you must always love God and follow his rules, laws, and commands.

2 And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm,

*And understand today: because I am not talking to your kids who haven't experienced it, and who haven't seen how powerful your God is with his strong actions and wide reach.

3 And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land;

*And his miracles, along with his actions, that he performed among Egypt for Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, and throughout his entire country.

4 And what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD hath destroyed them unto this day;

*And what he did to Egypt's army, their horses, and chariots - making the Red Sea flood over them while chasing you, and how the Lord has destroyed them until now.

5 And what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place;

*And what he did for you in the desert until you reached this place;

6 And what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel:

*And what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, son of Reuben, was that the earth opened up and swallowed them, along with their families, homes, and everything they owned, right in front of everyone in Israel.

7 But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the LORD which he did.

*But you saw everything God did, the amazing things he accomplished.

8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it;

*So, you must follow all my rules I tell you now. This will make you strong and help you take control of the land you are going to live in.

9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

*To have long lives in the land the Lord promised to your ancestors, giving it to them and their children - a land filled with milk and honey.

10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:

*The land you're going to take belongs to isn't like the land of Egypt you left. In Egypt, you planted seeds and watered them with your feet like a garden of herbs.

11 But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven:

*But the land you're going to live in is full of hills and valleys, and gets water from the rain that comes from the sky.

12 A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.

*A land that your God cares about: God's eyes are always watching it throughout the whole year, from the start to the end.

13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

*If you carefully listen to my commands and love and serve God with all your heart and soul, this will happen.

14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

*I will provide you with rain for your land at the right time - both the early rain and the later rain - so you can collect your grain, grapes, and olive oil.

15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.

*I will provide grass for your animals' food, so you can eat and feel full.

16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;

*Be careful not to let your heart be tricked into following other gods and worshiping them.

17 And then the LORD’s wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.

*Then, the LORD gets very angry with you. He stops the rain and the land doesn't produce food. This happens so you don't die quickly from the good land the LORD gives you.

18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.

*So, you should store my words in your heart and soul, and write them on your hand like a symbol. This way, they'll be like headbands in front of your eyes.

19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

*Teach your children about these things while sitting at home, walking, lying down, and getting up.

20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:

*And you shall put these words on your house's door frames and on your gates.

21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.

*So that you have many years, and your children have many years too, in the land where God promised to give this to your parents, just like how there are many good years on Earth.

22 For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;

*If you carefully follow all the commands I give you, to do them, to love God, to walk in his ways, and to stay close to him;

23 Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.

*Then God will remove all these people for you, and you'll take over larger nations that are even stronger than you.

24 Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be.

*Wherever you step will belong to you: from the desert and Mount Lebanon, all the way from the river to the sea, will be your land.

25 There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you.

*No person will be able to stand against you because the Lord will make everyone afraid of you and terrified of you wherever you go, just as He has told you.

26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;

*Look, I offer you today a choice: a blessing or a curse.

27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:

*If you follow the rules from God your Lord that I tell you now, it will bring a blessing.

28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

*If you don't follow God's commands and instead choose to disobey, going after other gods you don't know, a curse will come upon you.

29 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.

*When God brings you to the land you're going to take over, you must place blessings on Mount Gerizim and curses on Mount Ebal.

30 Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh?

*Are they not on the far side of the Jordan River, in the land of the Canaanites, near where the sun sets, close to Gilgal and the plains of Moreh?

31 For ye shall pass over Jordan to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein.

*To cross the Jordan River and take the land given by God, you must live in it and make it your home.

32 And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before you this day.

*And you will follow all the rules and decisions I tell you now.

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