Study Desk

"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul.

"Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God.

"For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed.

You must fear the Lord your God and worship him and cling to him. Your oaths must be in his name alone.

He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise, the one who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your own eyes.

When your ancestors went down into Egypt, there were only seventy of them. But now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky!

"You must love the Lord your God and always obey his requirements, decrees, regulations, and commands.

Keep in mind that I am not talking now to your children, who have never experienced the discipline of the Lord your God or seen his greatness and his strong hand and powerful arm.

a land that the Lord your God cares for. He watches over it through each season of the year!

"If you carefully obey the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and soul,

"Be careful to obey all these commands I am giving you. Show love to the Lord your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him.

No one will be able to stand against you, for the Lord your God will cause the people to fear and dread you, as he promised, wherever you go in the whole land.

You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today.

But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him and worship gods you have not known before.

"When the Lord your God brings you into the land and helps you take possession of it, you must pronounce the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal.

For you are about to cross the Jordan River to take over the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take that land and are living in it,

"These are the decrees and regulations you must be careful to obey when you live in the land that the Lord , the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must obey them as long as you live.

"Do not worship the Lord your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods.

Rather, you must seek the Lord your God at the place of worship he himself will choose from among all the tribes—the place where his name will be honored.

There you and your families will feast in the presence of the Lord your God, and you will rejoice in all you have accomplished because the Lord your God has blessed you.