Study Desk

then you shall say to your son, 'We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

and when the LORD your God turns them over to you and you defeat them, you shall utterly destroy them. You shall not make a covenant with them nor be gracious to them.

"Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them: you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons.

"But this is what you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, smash their memorial stones, cut their Asherim to pieces, and burn their carved images in the fire.

"Therefore, you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them.

"Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep His covenant with you and His faithfulness which He swore to your forefathers.

"You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no sterile male or infertile female among you or among your cattle.

"You shall consume all the peoples whom the LORD your God will turn over to you; your eye shall not pity them, nor shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.

you are not to be afraid of them; you shall remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt:

"The carved images of their gods you are to burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, or you will be trapped by it; for it is an abomination to the LORD your God.

"And you shall not bring an abomination into your house and become designated for destruction, like it; you are to utterly detest it, and you are to utterly loathe it, for it is something designated for destruction.

"All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, so that you may live and increase, and go in and take possession of the land which the LORD swore to give to your forefathers.

"And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, in order to humble you, putting you to the test, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

"And He humbled you and let you go hungry, and fed you with the manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, in order to make you understand that man shall not live on bread alone, but man shall live on everything that comes out of the mouth of the LORD.

"Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.

"When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.

"And it shall come about, if you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and serve and worship them, I testify against you today that you will certainly perish.

"Like the nations that the LORD eliminates from you, so you shall perish, because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God.

'Then I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you smashed to pieces, and you shall put them in the ark.'

"You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.