Deuteronomy 29:29--30:14

29:29 Secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those that are revealed belong to us and our descendants ¹  forever, so that we might obey all the words of this law.

The Results of Covenant Reaffirmation

30:1 “When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses ²  I have set before you, you will reflect upon them ³  in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you. 30:2 Then if you and your descendants ⁴  turn to the Lord your God and obey him with your whole mind and being ⁵  just as ⁶  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 ⁷  has scattered you. 30:4 Even if your exiles are in the most distant land, ⁸  from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. 30:5 Then he ⁹  will bring you to the land your ancestors ¹⁰  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 ¹¹  your heart and the hearts of your descendants ¹²  so that you may love him ¹³  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 ¹⁴  you today. 30:9 The Lord your God will make the labor of your hands ¹⁵  abundantly successful and multiply your children, ¹⁶  the offspring of your cattle, and the produce of your soil. For the Lord your God will once more ¹⁷  rejoice over you to make you prosperous ¹⁸  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 ¹⁹  with your whole mind and being.

Exhortation to Covenant Obedience

30:11 “This commandment I am giving ²⁰  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 ²¹  so that you can do it.

[29:29]  ¹ tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV, NIV, NRSV “children.”

[30:1]  ² tn Heb “the blessing and the curse.”

[30:1]  ³ tn Heb “and you bring (them) back to your heart.”

[30:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “children.”

[30:2]  ⁵ tn Or “heart and soul” (also in vv. 6, 10).

[30:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “according to all.”

[30:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[30:4]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fathers” (also later in this verse and in vv. 9, 20).

[30:6]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).

[30:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I now enjoin on you.”

[30:9]  ¹⁵ tc The MT reads “hand” (singular). Most versions read the plural.

[30:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV); NRSV “of your body.”

[30:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “return and.” The Hebrew verb is used idiomatically here to indicate the repetition of the following action.

[30:9]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text includes “for good.”

[30:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you.”

[30:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “heart.”