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But you must help your Israelite relatives until they take the land that the Lord is giving them on the other side of the Jordan River. Help them until the Lord gives them peace there, just as he did for you here. Then you may come back to this land that I have given you.'

"But the Lord was angry with me because of you and refused to listen to me. The Lord said to me, ‘That's enough! Don't say another word about this.

Go up to the top of Mount Pisgah. Look to the west, to the north, to the south, and to the east. You may see these things with your eyes, but you can never go across the Jordan River.

You must give instructions to Joshua. Encourage him. Make him strong, because Joshua must lead the people across the Jordan River. You can see the land, but Joshua will lead them into that land. He will help them take the land and live in it.'

But all of you who stayed with the Lord your God are alive today.

But you must be careful! Be sure that as long as you live you never forget what you have seen. You must teach these things to your children and grandchildren.

Then the Lord spoke to you from the fire. You heard the sound of someone speaking, but you did not see any form. There was only a voice.

But the Lord brought you out of Egypt to make you his own special people. He saved you from Egypt. It was as if he pulled you from a hot furnace. And now you are his people.

So I must die here in this land. I cannot go across the Jordan River, but you will soon go across it and take that good land and live there.

So I am warning you now. Heaven and earth are my witnesses! If you do such an evil thing, you will quickly be destroyed! You are crossing the Jordan River now to take that land. But if you make any idols, you will not live there very long. No, you will be destroyed completely!

But there in these other lands you will look for the Lord your God. And if you look for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.

Has any other god ever tried to go and take a people for himself from inside another nation? No! But you yourselves have seen everything that the Lord your God did for you. He showed you his power and strength. You saw the troubles that tested the people. You saw miracles and wonders. You saw war and the terrible things that happened.

The Lord did not make this agreement with our ancestors, but with us—yes, with all of us who are alive here today.

But you were afraid of the fire. And you did not go up the mountain. So I stood between you and the Lord to tell you what the Lord said. He said,

But I will be very kind to people who love me and obey my commands. I will be kind to their families for thousands of generations!

but the seventh day is a day of rest in honor of the Lord your God. So on that day no one should work—not you, your sons and daughters, foreigners living in your cities or your men and women slaves. Not even your cattle, donkeys, and other animals should do any work! Your slaves should be able to rest just as you do.

But if we hear the Lord our God speak to us again, surely we will die! That terrible fire will destroy us. We don't want to die.

but you stand here near me. I will tell you all the commands, laws, and rules that you must teach them. They must do these things in the land that I am giving them to live in.'

"But be careful! Don't forget the Lord . You were slaves in Egypt, but he brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Then you will say to them, ‘We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his great power.