Do not think to yourself after the <sc>Lordsc> your God has driven them out before you, &#8220;Because of my own righteousness the <sc>Lordsc> has brought me here to possess this land.&#8221; It is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out ahead of you.

It is not because of your righteousness, or even your inner uprightness,<n id="1" /> that you have come here to possess their land. Instead, because of the wickedness of these nations the <sc>Lordsc> your God is driving them out ahead of you in order to confirm the promise he<n id="2" /> made on oath to your ancestors,<n id="3" /> to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

<t /><p class="bodytext">Remember &#8211; don&#8217;t ever forget<n id="1" /> &#8211; how you provoked the <sc>Lordsc> your God in the desert; from the time you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place you were constantly rebelling against him.<n id="2" />

At that time the <sc>Lordsc> set apart the tribe of Levi<n id="1" /> to carry the ark of the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s covenant, to stand before the <sc>Lordsc> to serve him, and to formulate blessings<n id="2" /> in his name, as they do to this very day.

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now pay attention to all the commandments<n id="1" /> I am giving<n id="2" /> you today, so that you may be strong enough to enter and possess the land where you are headed,<n id="3" />

Now, if you pay close attention<n id="1" /> to my commandments that I am giving you today and love<n id="2" /> the <sc>Lordsc> your God and serve him with all your mind and being,<n id="3" />

Then the anger of the <sc>Lordsc> will erupt<n id="1" /> against you and he will close up the sky<n id="2" /> so that it does not rain. The land will not yield its produce, and you will soon be removed<n id="3" /> from the good land that the Lord<n id="4" /> is about to give you.

When the <sc>Lordsc> your God brings you into the land you are to possess, you must pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.<n id="1" />

Then you must come to the place the <sc>Lordsc> your God chooses for his name to reside, bringing<n id="1" /> everything I am commanding you &#8211; your burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, the personal offerings you have prepared,<n id="2" /> and all your choice votive offerings which you devote to him.<n id="3" />

You must not worship the <sc>Lordsc> your God the way they do!<n id="1" /> For everything that is abhorrent<n id="2" /> to him,<n id="3" /> everything he hates, they have done when worshiping their gods. They even burn up their sons and daughters before their gods!p>

You must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer,<n id="1" /> for the <sc>Lordsc> your God will be testing you to see if you love him<n id="2" /> with all your mind and being.<n id="3" />

This is the nature of the cancellation: Every creditor must remit what he has loaned to another person;<n id="1" /> he must not force payment from his fellow Israelite,<n id="2" /> for it is to be recognized as &#8220;the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s cancellation of debts.&#8221;

<t /><p class="bodytext">If a fellow Israelite<n id="1" /> from one of your villages<n id="2" /> in the land that the <sc>Lordsc> your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive<n id="3" /> to his impoverished condition.<n id="4" />

Three times a year all your males must appear before the <sc>Lordsc> your God in the place he chooses for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Temporary Shelters; and they must not appear before him<n id="1" /> empty-handed.

This accords with what happened at Horeb in the day of the assembly. You asked the <sc>Lordsc> your God: &#8220;Please do not make us hear the voice of the <sc>Lordsc> our<n id="1" /> God any more or see this great fire any more lest we die.&#8221;

and then you are careful to observe all these commandments<n id="1" /> I am giving<n id="2" /> you today (namely, to love the <sc>Lordsc> your God and to always walk in his ways), then you must add three more cities<n id="3" /> to these three.

If you besiege a city for a long time while attempting to capture it,<n id="1" /> you must not chop down its trees,<n id="2" /> for you may eat fruit<n id="3" /> from them and should not cut them down. A tree in the field is not human that you should besiege it!<n id="4" />

and bring the heifer down to a wadi with flowing water,<n id="1" /> to a valley that is neither plowed nor sown.<n id="2" /> There at the wadi they are to break the heifer&#8217;s neck.

for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired<n id="1" /> Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you.

When you cross the Jordan River<n id="1" /> to the land the <sc>Lordsc> your God is giving you, you must erect great stones and cover<n id="2" /> them with plaster.