Deuteronomy 30:1-12

The Results of Covenant Reaffirmation

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

Exhortation to Covenant Obedience

30:11 “This commandment I am giving ¹⁹  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?”

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

[30:1]  ² tn Heb “and you bring (them) back to your heart.”

[30:2]  ³ tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “children.”

[30:2]  ⁴ tn Or “heart and soul” (also in vv. 6, 10).

[30:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to all.”

[30:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[30:4]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

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

[30:6]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).

[30:6]  ¹² tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I now enjoin on you.”

[30:9]  ¹⁴ tc The MT reads “hand” (singular). Most versions read the plural.

[30:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV); NRSV “of your body.”

[30:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “return and.” The Hebrew verb is used idiomatically here to indicate the repetition of the following action.

[30:9]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text includes “for good.”

[30:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you.”