Bible Reading February 25 
Deuteronomy 29:1--31:30
Context29:1 (28:69) 1 These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb. 2
29:2 Moses proclaimed to all Israel as follows: “You have seen all that the Lord did 3 in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, all his servants, and his land. 29:3 Your eyes have seen the great judgments, 4 those signs and mighty wonders. 29:4 But to this very day the Lord has not given you an understanding mind, perceptive eyes, or discerning ears! 5 29:5 I have led you through the desert for forty years. Your clothing has not worn out 6 nor have your sandals 7 deteriorated. 29:6 You have eaten no bread and drunk no wine or beer – all so that you might know that I 8 am the Lord your God! 29:7 When you came to this place King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to make war and we defeated them. 29:8 Then we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh.
29:9 “Therefore, keep the terms 9 of this covenant and obey them so that you may be successful in everything you do. 29:10 You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God – the heads of your tribes, 10 your elders, your officials, every Israelite man, 29:11 your infants, your wives, and the 11 foreigners living in your encampment, those who chop wood and those who carry water – 29:12 so that you may enter by oath into the covenant the Lord your God is making with you today. 12 29:13 Today he will affirm that you are his people and that he is your God, 13 just as he promised you and as he swore by oath to your ancestors 14 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 29:14 It is not with you alone that I am making this covenant by oath, 29:15 but with whoever stands with us here today before the Lord our God as well as those not with us here today. 15
29:16 “(For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we crossed through the nations as we traveled. 29:17 You have seen their detestable things 16 and idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold.) 17 29:18 Beware that the heart of no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you turns away from the Lord our God today to pursue and serve the gods of those nations; beware that there is among you no root producing poisonous and bitter fruit. 18 29:19 When such a person 19 hears the words of this oath he secretly 20 blesses himself 21 and says, “I will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit.” 22 This will destroy 23 the watered ground with the parched. 24 29:20 The Lord will be unwilling to forgive him, and his intense anger 25 will rage 26 against that man; all the curses 27 written in this scroll will fall upon him 28 and the Lord will obliterate his name from memory. 29 29:21 The Lord will single him out 30 for judgment 31 from all the tribes of Israel according to all the curses of the covenant written in this scroll of the law. 29:22 The generation to come – your descendants who will rise up after you, as well as the foreigner who will come from distant places – will see 32 the afflictions of that land and the illnesses that the Lord has brought on it. 29:23 The whole land will be covered with brimstone, salt, and burning debris; it will not be planted nor will it sprout or produce grass. It will resemble the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger. 33 29:24 Then all the nations will ask, “Why has the Lord done all this to this land? What is this fierce, heated display of anger 34 all about?” 29:25 Then people will say, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 29:26 They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods they did not know and that he did not permit them to worship. 35 29:27 That is why the Lord’s anger erupted against this land, bringing on it all the curses 36 written in this scroll. 29:28 So the Lord has uprooted them from their land in anger, wrath, and great rage and has deported them to another land, as is clear today.” 29:29 Secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those that are revealed belong to us and our descendants 37 forever, so that we might obey all the words of this law.
30:1 “When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses 38 I have set before you, you will reflect upon them 39 in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you. 30:2 Then if you and your descendants 40 turn to the Lord your God and obey him with your whole mind and being 41 just as 42 I am commanding you today, 30:3 the Lord your God will reverse your captivity and have pity on you. He will turn and gather you from all the peoples among whom he 43 has scattered you. 30:4 Even if your exiles are in the most distant land, 44 from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. 30:5 Then he 45 will bring you to the land your ancestors 46 possessed and you also will possess it; he will do better for you and multiply you more than he did your ancestors. 30:6 The Lord your God will also cleanse 47 your heart and the hearts of your descendants 48 so that you may love him 49 with all your mind and being and so that you may live. 30:7 Then the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hate you and persecute you. 30:8 You will return and obey the Lord, keeping all his commandments I am giving 50 you today. 30:9 The Lord your God will make the labor of your hands 51 abundantly successful and multiply your children, 52 the offspring of your cattle, and the produce of your soil. For the Lord your God will once more 53 rejoice over you to make you prosperous 54 just as he rejoiced over your ancestors, 30:10 if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this scroll of the law. But you must turn to him 55 with your whole mind and being.
30:11 “This commandment I am giving 56 you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it too remote. 30:12 It is not in heaven, as though one must say, “Who will go up to heaven to get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 30:13 And it is not across the sea, as though one must say, “Who will cross over to the other side of the sea and get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 30:14 For the thing is very near you – it is in your mouth and in your mind 57 so that you can do it.
30:15 “Look! I have set before you today life and prosperity on the one hand, and death and disaster on the other. 30:16 What 58 I am commanding you today is to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to obey his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances. Then you will live and become numerous and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are about to possess. 59 30:17 However, if you 60 turn aside and do not obey, but are lured away to worship and serve other gods, 30:18 I declare to you this very day that you will certainly 61 perish! You will not extend your time in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess. 62 30:19 Today I invoke heaven and earth as a witness against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before you. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live! 30:20 I also call on you 63 to love the Lord your God, to obey him and be loyal to him, for he gives you life and enables you to live continually 64 in the land the Lord promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
31:1 Then Moses went 65 and spoke these words 66 to all Israel. 31:2 He said to them, “Today I am a hundred and twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, 67 and the Lord has said to me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’ 31:3 As for the Lord your God, he is about to cross over before you; he will destroy these nations before you and dispossess them. As for Joshua, he is about to cross before you just as the Lord has said. 31:4 The Lord will do to them just what he did to Sihon and Og, the Amorite kings, and to their land, which he destroyed. 31:5 The Lord will deliver them over to you and you will do to them according to the whole commandment I have given you. 31:6 Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who is going with you. He will not fail you or abandon you!” 31:7 Then Moses called out to Joshua 68 in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will accompany these people to the land that the Lord promised to give their ancestors, 69 and you will enable them to inherit it. 31:8 The Lord is indeed going before you – he will be with you; he will not fail you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged!”
31:9 Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all Israel’s elders. 31:10 He 70 commanded them: “At the end of seven years, at the appointed time of the cancellation of debts, 71 at the Feast of Temporary Shelters, 72 31:11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses, you must read this law before them 73 within their hearing. 31:12 Gather the people – men, women, and children, as well as the resident foreigners in your villages – so they may hear and thus learn about and fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the words of this law. 31:13 Then their children, who have not known this law, 74 will also hear about and learn to fear the Lord your God for as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
31:14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The day of your death is near. Summon Joshua and present yourselves in the tent 75 of meeting 76 so that I can commission him.” 77 So Moses and Joshua presented themselves in the tent of meeting. 31:15 The Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud that 78 stood above the door of the tent. 31:16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die, 79 and then these people will begin to prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land into which they 80 are going. They 81 will reject 82 me and break my covenant that I have made with them. 83 31:17 At that time 84 my anger will erupt against them 85 and I will abandon them and hide my face from them until they are devoured. Many disasters and distresses will overcome 86 them 87 so that they 88 will say at that time, ‘Have not these disasters 89 overcome us 90 because our 91 God is not among us 92 ?’ 31:18 But I will certainly 93 hide myself at that time because of all the wickedness they 94 will have done by turning to other gods. 31:19 Now write down for yourselves the following song and teach it to the Israelites. Put it into their very mouths so that this song may serve as my witness against the Israelites! 31:20 For after I have brought them 95 to the land I promised to their 96 ancestors – one flowing with milk and honey – and they 97 eat their fill 98 and become fat, then they 99 will turn to other gods and worship them; they will reject me and break my covenant. 31:21 Then when 100 many disasters and distresses overcome them 101 this song will testify against them, 102 for their 103 descendants will not forget it. 104 I know the 105 intentions they have in mind 106 today, even before I bring them 107 to the land I have promised.” 31:22 So on that day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites, 31:23 and the Lord 108 commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will take the Israelites to the land I have promised them, and I will be with you.” 109
31:24 When Moses finished writing on a scroll the words of this law in their entirety, 31:25 he 110 commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, 31:26 “Take this scroll of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. It will remain there as a witness against you, 31:27 for I know about your rebellion and stubbornness. 111 Indeed, even while I have been living among you to this very day, you have rebelled against the Lord; you will be even more rebellious after my death! 112 31:28 Gather to me all your tribal elders and officials so I can speak to them directly about these things and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. 31:29 For I know that after I die you will totally 113 corrupt yourselves and turn away from the path I have commanded you to walk. Disaster will confront you in the days to come because you will act wickedly 114 before the Lord, inciting him to anger because of your actions.” 115 31:30 Then Moses recited the words of this song from start to finish in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel.
[29:1] 1 sn Beginning with 29:1, the verse numbers through 29:29 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 29:1 ET = 28:69 HT, 29:2 ET = 29:1 HT, 29:3 ET = 29:2 HT, etc., through 29:29 ET = 29:28 HT. With 30:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
[29:1] 2 sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (which some English versions substitute here for clarity, cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
[29:2] 3 tn The Hebrew text includes “to your eyes,” but this is redundant in English style (cf. the preceding “you have seen”) and is omitted in the translation.
[29:3] 4 tn Heb “testings.” This is a reference to the plagues; see note at 4:34.
[29:4] 5 tn Heb “a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear” (NASB similar); NAB, NRSV “a mind to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear.”
[29:5] 6 tn The Hebrew text includes “on you.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[29:5] 7 tn The Hebrew text includes “from on your feet.”
[29:6] 8 tc The LXX reads “that he is the
[29:10] 10 tc Heb “your heads, your tribes.” The Syriac presupposes either “heads of your tribes” or “your heads, your judges,” etc. (reading שֹׁפְטֵכֶם [shofÿtekhem] for שִׁבְטֵיכֶם [shivtekhem]). Its comparative difficulty favors the originality of the MT reading. Cf. KJV “your captains of your tribes”; NRSV “the leaders of your tribes”; NLT “your tribal leaders.”
[29:12] 12 tn Heb “for you to pass on into the covenant of the Lord your God and into his oath, which the Lord your God is cutting with you today.”
[29:13] 13 tn Heb “in order to establish you today to him for a people and he will be to you for God.” Verses 10-13 are one long sentence in Hebrew. The translation divides this into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
[29:13] 14 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 25).
[29:15] 15 tn This is interpreted by some English versions as a reference to generations not yet born (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).
[29:17] 16 tn The Hebrew term שִׁקּוּץ (shiquts) refers to anything out of keeping with the nature and character of Yahweh and therefore to be avoided by his people Israel. It is commonly used with or as a synonym for תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “detestable, abhorrent”; 2 Kgs 23:13; Jer 16:18; Ezek 5:11; 7:20; 11:18, 21; see note on the term “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25). See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:243-46.
[29:17] 17 tn The Hebrew text includes “which were with them.” Verses 16-17 constitute a parenthetical comment.
[29:18] 18 tn Heb “yielding fruit poisonous and wormwood.” The Hebrew noun לַעֲנָה (la’anah) literally means “wormwood” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB), but is used figuratively for anything extremely bitter, thus here “fruit poisonous and bitter.”
[29:19] 19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the subject of the warning in v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[29:19] 20 tn Heb “in his heart.”
[29:19] 21 tn Or “invokes a blessing on himself.” A formalized word of blessing is in view, the content of which appears later in the verse.
[29:19] 23 tn Heb “thus destroying.” For stylistic reasons the translation begins a new sentence here.
[29:19] 24 tn Heb “the watered with the parched.” The word “ground” is implied. The exact meaning of the phrase is uncertain although it appears to be figurative. This appears to be a proverbial observation employing a figure of speech (a merism) suggesting totality. That is, the Israelite who violates the letter and even spirit of the covenant will harm not only himself but everything he touches – “the watered and the parched.” Cf. CEV “you will cause the rest of Israel to be punished along with you.”
[29:20] 25 tn Heb “the wrath of the
[29:20] 26 tn Heb “smoke,” or “smolder.”
[29:20] 27 tn Heb “the entire oath.”
[29:20] 28 tn Or “will lie in wait against him.”
[29:20] 29 tn Heb “blot out his name from under the sky.”
[29:21] 30 tn Heb “set him apart.”
[29:21] 31 tn Heb “for evil”; NAB “for doom”; NASB “for adversity”; NIV “for disaster”; NRSV “for calamity.”
[29:22] 32 tn Heb “will say and see.” One expects a quotation to appear, but it seems to be omitted. To avoid confusion in the translation, the verb “will say” is omitted.
[29:23] 33 tn Heb “the anger and the wrath.” This construction is a hendiadys intended to intensify the emotion.
[29:24] 34 tn Heb “this great burning of anger”; KJV “the heat of this great anger.”
[29:26] 35 tn Heb “did not assign to them”; NASB, NRSV “had not allotted to them.”
[29:27] 36 tn Heb “the entire curse.”
[29:29] 37 tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV, NIV, NRSV “children.”
[30:1] 38 tn Heb “the blessing and the curse.”
[30:1] 39 tn Heb “and you bring (them) back to your heart.”
[30:2] 40 tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “children.”
[30:2] 41 tn Or “heart and soul” (also in vv. 6, 10).
[30:2] 42 tn Heb “according to all.”
[30:3] 43 tn Heb “the
[30:4] 44 tn Heb “are at the farthest edge of the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
[30:5] 45 tn Heb “the
[30:5] 46 tn Heb “fathers” (also later in this verse and in vv. 9, 20).
[30:6] 47 tn Heb “circumcise” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “will give you and your descendents obedient hearts.” See note on the word “cleanse” in Deut 10:16.
[30:6] 48 tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).
[30:6] 49 tn Heb “the
[30:8] 50 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I now enjoin on you.”
[30:9] 51 tc The MT reads “hand” (singular). Most versions read the plural.
[30:9] 52 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV); NRSV “of your body.”
[30:9] 53 tn Heb “return and.” The Hebrew verb is used idiomatically here to indicate the repetition of the following action.
[30:9] 54 tn The Hebrew text includes “for good.”
[30:10] 55 tn Heb “to the
[30:11] 56 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you.”
[30:16] 58 tc A number of LXX
[30:16] 59 tn Heb “which you are going there to possess it.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:17] 60 tn Heb “your heart,” as a metonymy for the person.
[30:18] 61 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “certainly.”
[30:18] 62 tn Heb “to go there to possess it.”
[30:20] 63 tn The words “I also call on you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20 are one long sentence, which the translation divides into two.
[30:20] 64 tn Heb “he is your life and the length of your days to live.”
[31:1] 65 tc For the MT reading וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh, “he went”), the LXX and Qumran have וַיְכַל (vaykhal, “he finished”): “So Moses finished speaking,” etc. The difficult reading of the MT favors its authenticity.
[31:1] 66 tn In the MT this refers to the words that follow (cf. NIV, NCV).
[31:2] 67 tn Or “am no longer able to lead you” (NIV, NLT); Heb “am no longer able to go out and come in.”
[31:7] 68 tn The Hebrew text includes “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[31:7] 69 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 20).
[31:10] 70 tn Heb “Moses.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[31:10] 71 tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטָּה (shÿmittah), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the procedure whereby debts of all fellow Israelites were to be canceled. Since the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated God’s own deliverance of and provision for his people, this was an appropriate time for Israelites to release one another. See note on this word at Deut 15:1.
[31:10] 72 tn The Hebrew phrase הַסֻּכּוֹת[חַג] ([khag] hassukot, “[festival of] huts” [or “shelters”]) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. See note on the name of the festival in Deut 16:13.
[31:11] 73 tn Heb “before all Israel.”
[31:13] 74 tn The phrase “this law” is not in the Hebrew text, but English style requires an object for the verb here. Other translations also supply the object which is otherwise implicit (cf. NIV “who do not know this law”; TEV “who have never heard the Law of the Lord your God”).
[31:14] 75 tc The LXX reads “by the door of the tent” in line with v. 10 but also, perhaps, as a reflection of its tendency to avoid over-familiarity with Yahweh and his transcendence.
[31:14] 76 tn Heb “tent of assembly” (מוֹעֵד אֹהֶל, ’ohel mo’ed); this is not always the same as the tabernacle, which is usually called מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan, “dwelling-place”), a reference to its being invested with God’s presence. The “tent of meeting” was erected earlier than the tabernacle and was the place where Yahweh occasionally appeared, especially to Moses (cf. Exod 18:7-16; 33:7-11; Num 11:16, 24, 26; 12:4).
[31:14] 77 tn Heb “I will command him.”
[31:15] 78 tn Heb “and the pillar of cloud.” This phrase was not repeated in the translation; a relative clause was used instead.
[31:16] 79 tn Heb “lie down with your fathers” (so NASB); NRSV “ancestors.”
[31:16] 80 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style. The third person singular also occurs in the Hebrew text twice more in this verse, three times in v. 17, once in v. 18, five times in v. 20, and four times in v. 21. Each time it is translated as third person plural for stylistic reasons.
[31:16] 81 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:16] 82 tn Or “abandon” (TEV, NLT).
[31:16] 83 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:17] 84 tn Heb “on that day.” This same expression also appears later in the verse and in v. 18.
[31:17] 85 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:17] 86 tn Heb “find,” “encounter.”
[31:17] 87 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:17] 88 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:17] 90 tn Heb “me.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “us,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style.
[31:17] 92 tn Heb “me.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “us,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style.
[31:18] 93 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “certainly.”
[31:18] 94 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:20] 95 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:20] 96 tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:20] 97 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:20] 98 tn Heb “and are satisfied.”
[31:20] 99 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:21] 100 tn Heb “Then it will come to pass that.”
[31:21] 101 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:21] 102 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:21] 103 tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:21] 104 tn Heb “it will not be forgotten from the mouth of his seed.”
[31:21] 105 tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:21] 106 tn Heb “which he is doing.”
[31:21] 107 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
[31:23] 108 tn Heb “he.” Since the pronoun could be taken to refer to Moses, the referent has been specified as “the
[31:23] 109 tc The LXX reads, “as the
[31:25] 110 tn Heb “Moses.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
[31:27] 111 tn Heb “stiffness of neck” (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV). See note on the word “stubborn” in Deut 9:6.
[31:27] 112 tn Heb “How much more after my death?” The Hebrew text has a sarcastic rhetorical question here; the translation seeks to bring out the force of the question.
[31:29] 113 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “totally.”
