Study Desk

Then the Lord your God will be kind to you. The Lord your God will make you free again! He will bring you back from the nations where he sent you.

Even if you were sent to the farthest parts of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back.

The Lord your God will bring you into the land your ancestors had, and the land will become yours. He will do good to you, and you will have more than your ancestors had. You will have more people in your nation than they ever had.

The Lord your God will make you and your descendants want to obey him. Then you will love the Lord your God with all your heart. And you will live!

"Then the Lord your God will make all these bad things happen to your enemies, who hate you and cause you trouble.

The Lord your God will make you successful in everything you do. He will bless you with many children. He will bless your cows—they will have many calves. He will bless your fields—they will grow many good crops. He will be good to you. The Lord will again enjoy doing good for you, the same as he enjoyed doing good for your ancestors.

But you must do what the Lord your God tells you to do. You must obey his commands and follow the rules that are written in this Book of Teachings. You must obey the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Then these good things will happen to you.

I command you today to love the Lord your God. I command you to follow him and to obey his commands, laws, and rules. Then you will live, and your nation will grow larger. And the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take for your own.

But if you turn away from your God and refuse to listen, if you are led away to worship and serve other gods,

you will be destroyed. I am warning you today, if you turn away from God, you will not live long in that land across the Jordan River that you are ready to enter and take for your own.

You must love the Lord your God and obey him. Never leave him, because he is your life. And he will give you a long life in the land that he, the Lord , promised to give to your ancestors—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

But the Lord your God will lead you people into that land. He will destroy these nations for you. You will take their land away from them. The Lord said that Joshua must lead you.

Be strong and be brave. Don't be afraid of those people because the Lord your God is with you. He will not fail you or leave you."

At that time all the Israelites must come to meet with the Lord your God at the special place he will choose. Then you must read the teachings to the people so that they can hear them.

Bring together all the people—the men, the women, the little children, and the foreigners living in your cities. They will hear the teachings, and they will learn to respect the Lord your God. Then they will be able to do everything in this Book of Teachings.

If their descendants don't know the teachings, they will hear them, and they will learn to respect the Lord your God. They will respect him as long as you live in your country. You will soon go across the Jordan River and take that land to be your own."

At that time I will become very angry with them, and I will leave them. I will refuse to help them, and they will be destroyed. Terrible things will happen to them, and they will have many troubles. Then they will say, ‘These bad things happened to us because our God is not with us.'

"Take this Book of Teachings and put it by the side of the Box of the Agreement of the Lord your God. Then it will be a witness against you.

Praise God as I speak the Lord 's name!

"The Lord is the Rock, and his work is perfect! Yes, all his ways are right! God is true and faithful. He is good and honest.