Study Desk

These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He had made with them at Horeb.

so that you may enter into the covenant with the LORD your God, and into His oath which the LORD your God is making with you today,

"Now it is not with you alone that I am making this covenant and this oath,

but both with those who stand here with us today in the presence of the LORD our God, and with those who are not with us here today

moreover, you have seen their abominations and their idols made of wood and stone, silver and gold, which they had with them);

"And it shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will consider himself fortunate in his heart, saying, 'I will do well though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order to destroy the watered land along with the dry.'

"Then the LORD will single him out for disaster from all the tribes of Israel, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant which is written in this Book of the Law.

"Now the future generation, your sons who rise up after you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of that land and the diseases with which the LORD has afflicted it, will say,

"Then people will say, 'It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul in accordance with everything that I am commanding you today, you and your sons,

"Moreover, the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul, so that you may live.

if you obey the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.

"The LORD will turn them over to you, and you will do to them in accordance with all the commandments which I have commanded you.

"Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or in dread of them, for the LORD your God is the One who is going with you. He will not desert you or abandon you."

Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you will give it to them as an inheritance.

"And the LORD is the One who is going ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not desert you or abandon you. Do not fear and do not be dismayed."

The LORD said to Moses, "Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers; and this people will arise and play the prostitute with the foreign gods of the land into the midst of which they are going, and they will abandon Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.

"For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they eat and are satisfied and become prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and spurn Me and break My covenant.

Then He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, "Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and I will be with you."

"For I know your rebellion and your stubbornness; behold, as long as I have been alive with you until today, you have been rebellious against the LORD; how much more, then, after my death?