Deuteronomy 29

These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.

This is the agreement God instructed Moses to establish with the people of Israel in Moab, a separate pact from the one formed in Horeb.

And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;

Moses gathered everyone in Israel and said, "You've all witnessed the mighty works of the Lord in Egypt, against Pharaoh, his officials, and his land."

The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:

You've witnessed incredible trials and astounding miracles with your own eyes.

Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

Despite God not yet opening your heart to understand, your eyes to see, and your ears to hear, you still remain unaware.

And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.

For forty long years, I've guided you through the wilderness. Yet, your clothes remain as new as ever, and your shoes haven't worn out.

Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God.

You've not eaten bread or drunk wine or strong drink, so you may truly understand that I am the Lord your God.

And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them:

When we arrived here, Sihon of Heshbon and Og of Bashan, both kings, challenged us to a fight. But we courageously defeated them.

And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.

We claimed their territory and lovingly passed it on as a cherished legacy to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh.

Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.

Hold tight to these sacred promises and live by them, so you may flourish in all your endeavors.

Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,

Today, each one of you stands before God; leaders, elders, officers, and all men of Israel, united in His presence.

Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water:

Your children, your wives, and the foreigners living in your camp are here too, from those who chop your wood to those who draw your water.

That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day:

You are making a heartfelt promise with God today, a sacred agreement He has lovingly prepared for you.

That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Today, He wants to confirm you as His own people, and to be your God, just as He promised you and your ancestors - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath;

I'm not just making this promise and commitment to you alone.

But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:

I'm making it with those standing here with us before God today, and also with those who aren't here with us today.

(For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;

You remember our time in Egypt and our journey through various nations, right?

And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)

You've witnessed their disgraceful acts and their false gods, made of wood, stone, silver, and gold, that they held dear.

Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;

Beware, any man, woman, family, or tribe who turns their heart away from our Lord God today, choosing to serve the gods of other nations. Be careful not to let a bitter and poisonous root grow among you.

And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:

When he hears of this curse, he reassures himself, saying, "I'll be fine, even if I let my heart lead me to indulge my desires, adding excess to my cravings."

The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

God will show no mercy. His wrath and jealousy will burn fiercely against that person. All the curses written in this book will befall him, and God will blot out his name from under heaven.

And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:

God will single him out from all of Israel's tribes for disaster, subjecting him to all the curses of the covenant written in the law book.

So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it;

So that your future generations, and even strangers from distant lands, will recognize the hardships and illnesses that God has placed upon this land.

And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

The entire land is filled with sulfur, salt, and fire, barren and lifeless, with no crops or grass. It's a desolate scene, reminiscent of the destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, cities that God demolished in His fury and wrath.

Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?

Every nation will wonder, why has God treated this land so harshly? What could possibly be the reason for His intense fury?

Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:

People will realize, they're suffering because they abandoned the sacred promise they made with God, their ancestors' divine protector, when He liberated them from their captivity in Egypt.

For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:

They strayed, giving their hearts to unknown gods, worshipping those not granted to them by Him.

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:

The Lord's anger burned against this land, and He brought on it all the curses written in this book.

And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.

In a surge of anger, frustration, and intense displeasure, the LORD forcefully removed them from their homeland, banishing them to a foreign land, where they remain to this day.

The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

God alone knows the mysteries of the universe, but what He shares with us and our children is ours to keep forever, guiding us to live by His teachings.