Deuteronomy 11

Rewards of Obedience

1“You shall therefore 1love the Lord your God, and always 2keep His directive, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments. 2Know this day 3that I am not speaking with your sons who have not known and who have not seen the 4discipline of the Lord your God--His greatness, His mighty hand, His outstretched arm, 3and 5His signs and His works which He did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land; 4and what He did to Egypt’s army, to its horses and its chariots, 6when He made the water of the 7Red Sea 8engulf them while they were pursuing you, and the Lord 9completely eliminated them; 5and what He did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place; 6and 10what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and 11every living thing that 12followed them, among all Israel-- 7but your own eyes have seen all the great work of the Lord which He did.

8“You shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today, 13so that you may be strong and go in and take possession of the land into which you are about to cross to possess it; 9and 14so that you may prolong your days on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their 15descendants, 16a land flowing with milk and honey. 10For the land, into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it 17by your foot like a vegetable garden. 11But 18the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, 12a land for which the Lord your God cares; 19the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it, from the 20beginning even to the end of the year.

13“And it shall come about, 21if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, 22to love the Lord your God and to serve Him 23with all your heart and all your soul, 14that 2425He will provide rain for your land in its season, the 2627early and 28late rain, so that you may gather your grain, your new wine, and your oil. 152930He will also provide grass in your field for your cattle, and 31you will eat and be satisfied. 163233Beware that your hearts are not easily deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods, and worship them. 17Otherwise, 34the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will 35shut up the sky 36so that there will be no rain, and the ground will not yield its produce; then 37you will quickly perish from the good land which the Lord is giving you.

18“38You shall therefore take these words of mine to 39heart and to soul; and you shall tie them as a sign on your 40hand, and they shall be as 41frontlets 42on your forehead. 1943You shall also teach them to your sons, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. 2044And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21so that 45your days and the days of your sons may be increased on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as 4647long as the heavens are above the earth. 22For if you are 48careful to keep all of this commandment which I am commanding you to do, 49to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and 50cling to Him, 23then the Lord will 5152dispossess all these nations from you, and you will 5354dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 2455Every place on which the sole of your foot steps shall be yours; 56your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as 57the western sea. 2558No one will be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will 59instill the dread of you and the fear of you in all the land on which you set foot, just as He has spoken to you.

26“60See, I am placing before you today a blessing and a curse: 27the 61blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today; 28and the 62curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, 63by following other gods which you have not known.

29“And it shall come about, when the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, 64that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30Are they not across the Jordan, west of the road toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite 65Gilgal, beside 66the 67oaks of Moreh? 31For you are about to cross the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and 68you shall possess it and live in it, 32and you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the judgments which I am placing before you today.