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30 “When all these things have happened to you—the blessings and the curses I have listed—you will meditate upon them as you are living among the nations where the Lord your God will have driven you. If at that time you want to return to the Lord your God, and you and your children have begun wholeheartedly to obey all of the commandments I have given you today, then the Lord your God will rescue you from your captivity! He will have mercy upon you and come and gather you out of all the nations where he will have scattered you. Though you are at the ends of the earth, he will go and find you and bring you back again to the land of your ancestors. You shall possess the land again, and he will do you good and bless you even more than he did your ancestors! He will cleanse your hearts and the hearts of your children and of your children’s children so that you will love the Lord your God with all your hearts and souls, and Israel shall come alive again!

7-8 “If you return to the Lord and obey all the commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will take his curses and turn them against your enemies—against those who hate you and persecute you. The Lord your God will prosper everything you do and give you many children and much cattle and wonderful crops; for the Lord will again rejoice over you as he did over your fathers. 10 He will rejoice if you but obey the commandments written in this book of the law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your hearts and souls.

11 “Obeying these commandments is not something beyond your strength and reach; 12 for these laws are not in the far heavens, so distant that you can’t hear and obey them, and with no one to bring them down to you; 13 nor are they beyond the ocean, so far that no one can bring you their message; 14 but they are very close at hand—in your hearts and on your lips—so obey them.

15 “Look, today I have set before you life and death, depending on whether you obey or disobey. 16 I have commanded you today to love the Lord your God and to follow his paths and to keep his laws, so that you will live and become a great nation, and so that the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to possess. 17 But if your hearts turn away and you won’t listen—if you are drawn away to worship other gods— 18 then I declare to you this day that you shall surely perish; you will not have a long, good life in the land you are going in to possess.

19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you that today I have set before you life or death, blessing or curse. Oh, that you would choose life; that you and your children might live! 20 Choose to love the Lord your God and to obey him and to cling to him, for he is your life and the length of your days. You will then be able to live safely in the land the Lord promised your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Prosperity After Turning to the Lord

30 When all these blessings and curses(A) I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations,(B) and when you and your children return(C) to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart(D) and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes[a](E) and have compassion(F) on you and gather(G) you again from all the nations where he scattered(H) you.(I) Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens,(J) from there the Lord your God will gather(K) you and bring you back.(L) He will bring(M) you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous(N) than your ancestors. The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants,(O) so that you may love(P) him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. The Lord your God will put all these curses(Q) on your enemies who hate and persecute you.(R) You will again obey the Lord and follow all his commands I am giving you today. Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land.(S) The Lord will again delight(T) in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, 10 if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law(U) and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.(V)

The Offer of Life or Death

11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.(W) 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven(X) to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”(Y) 13 Nor is it beyond the sea,(Z) so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”(AA) 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.(AB)

15 See, I set before you today life(AC) and prosperity,(AD) death(AE) and destruction.(AF) 16 For I command you today to love(AG) the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live(AH) and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed.(AI) You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you(AJ) that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.(AK) Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love(AL) the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life,(AM) and he will give(AN) you many years in the land(AO) he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 30:3 Or will bring you back from captivity