Study Desk

"The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who does not give fair judgment for the foreigners, orphans, and widows!' "Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!'

The Lord will open his storehouse where he keeps his rich blessings. He will send rain at the right time for your land. He will bless everything you do. You will have money to lend to many nations. And you will not need to borrow anything from them.

Your dead bodies will be food for the wild birds and animals. There will be no one to scare them away from your dead bodies.

"Other people will be allowed to take your sons and your daughters. Day after day you will look for your children. You will look for them until your eyes become weak and blind—but you will not find them. And God will not help you.

"A nation that you don't know will take all your crops and everything you worked for. People will treat you badly and abuse you.

the Lord will punish you and your descendants with terrible diseases. He will cause you to suffer illnesses that have no cure. And you will find no relief for your misery!

He led you through the desert for 40 years, and in all that time, your clothes and sandals did not wear out.

Yes, he is making this agreement with all of you who stand here with us today before the Lord our God. But this agreement is also for our descendants who are not here with us today.

The Lord will not forgive them for that. No, the Lord will be angry and upset with them and punish them. The Lord will separate them from the tribes of Israel. He will completely destroy them. All the curses that are written in this book will happen to them. They are a part of the agreement that is written in this Book of Teachings.

"There are some things that the Lord our God has kept secret. Only he knows these things. But he told us about some things. And these teachings are for us and our descendants forever. And we must obey all the commands in that law.

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.

"This command that I give you today is not too hard for you. It is not a secret hidden in some far away land.

This command is not in heaven so that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it to us, so that we can hear and do it?'

This command is not on the other side of the sea so that you should say, ‘Who will go across the sea for us and bring it to us, so that we can hear it and do it?'

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.

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.

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.

"The Lord destroyed Sihon and Og. He destroyed those Amorite kings and he will do the same thing for you again!

The Lord said to Moses, "Now the time is near for you to die. Get Joshua and come to the Meeting Tent. I will tell Joshua what he must do." So Moses and Joshua went to the Meeting Tent.

"So write down this song, and teach it to the Israelites. Teach them to sing this song. Then this song will be a witness for me against the Israelites.