Deuteronomy 30

₁Moses said: ‘I told you that the Lord will bless you if you listen to Him and that He will curse you if you don't do what He says. All these things will happen to you and you will have to live among people of other nations where the Lord causes you to go. Then you will remember what the Lord said ₂and you will start to serve Him again. You and your children will listen to Him with all your hearts and do what I tell you today. ₃Then the Lord will be with you again and all will be well. He will feel sorry for you and He will bring you back again from all the nations where the Lord your God made you flee. ₄Even if you are very far away, anywhere on earth, the Lord your God will bring you back so that you can be together. ₅The Lord your God will bring you to the land that your forefathers took and you will take the land for yourselves. He will bless you more than He has blessed them. ₆The Lord your God will change your hearts and the hearts of your children and descendants so that you will love Him with all your heart, then you will live for Him. ₇The Lord your God will curse your enemies. He will also curse the people who hate you and want to oppress you. ₈You will listen to the Lord again, and you will do what He wants and do everything that I tell you today. ₉The Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. You, your animals and your land will be fertile, because the Lord will be pleased to be good to you again, as He was pleased with your forefathers and blessed them. ₁₀But then you have to listen to the Lord your God. You must do what his laws that are written in this book say. You must turn to God with all your heart.’

₁₁‘Because these laws that I give you today are not too difficult for you, you will be able to do everything they say. ₁₂These laws are not in heaven. If they were in heaven, then someone would have to go there to get them so that we could listen to what they say we must do. ₁₃These laws are not on the other side of the sea. If they were, then someone would have to go there to get them so that we could listen to what they say we must do. ₁₄No, the words of these laws are very near you. They are in your mouths and in your hearts, and you can do what they say.

₁₅Today I have told you what to do so that all will be well with you and so that you will live. I have also told you what not to do and what things will cause you to die. ₁₆I am telling you today: You must love the Lord your God, you must live as He wants and you must do what his laws say so that you can live and become more. Then the Lord your God will bless you in the land where you are going so that it can belong to you.

₁₇But if you turn away from the Lord and become unfaithful to Him and you do not listen to Him, and if someone seduces you to bow down before other gods and worship them, ₁₈then I am telling you today that all of you will die, every one of you. You will not live for many years in the land on the other side of the Jordan River, the land where you are going, the land that will belong to you.

₁₉Today I call heaven and earth to be witnesses against you. I have told you what to do if you want to live. I have also told you what to do if you want to die. I have told you how the Lord will bless you, and I have also told you how He will curse you if you do not listen. You must choose to live, you and your descendants. ₂₀You must choose to love the Lord your God, to listen to Him, and always to be near Him, because then you will live and you will live for many years in the land that the Lord has promised to give to your forefathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’