Detailed Stipulations

6 “Now this is the commandment, the rules and the regulations, that Yahweh your God charged to teach to you for you to observe[fn] in the land that you are about to cross over into[fn] to take possession of it, 2 so that you may revere Yahweh your God by keeping all his statutes and his commandments that I am commanding you, you and your children and grandchildren,[fn] all the days of your life and so you may live long[fn] lives. 3 And you shall hear, Israel, and be careful to observe these instructions, so that it may go well for you[fn] and that you may multiply greatly, just as Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,[fn] promised[fn] you, in a land with milk and honey.

4 “Hear, Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is unique.[fn] 5 And you shall love Yahweh your God with all of your heart[fn] and with all of your soul[fn] and with all of your might. 6 And these words that I am commanding you today[fn] shall be on[fn] your heart.[fn] 7 And you shall recite them to your children, and you shall talk about them at the time of your living in your house and at the time of your going on the road and at the time of your lying down and at the time of your rising up. 8 And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as an emblem between your eyes. 9 And you shall write them on the doorframe of your house and on your gates.

10 “And then it will happen that when Yahweh your God will bring you to the land that he swore to your ancestors,[fn] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to you large and fine cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all sorts of good things[fn] that you did not fill, and hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant, and you have eaten your fill,[fn] 12 then take care for yourself, so that you do not forget Yahweh, who brought you out from the land of Egypt from the house of slavery.

13 “You shall fear Yahweh your God, and you shall serve him, and by his name you shall swear. 14 You shall not go after other gods from the gods of the peoples who are all around you, 15 for Yahweh your God is a jealous god in your midst, so that the anger of Yahweh your God would be kindled,[fn] and he would destroy you from the face of the earth. 16 You shall not put Yahweh your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. 17 You shall diligently keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and his legal provisions and his rules that he has commanded you. 18 And you shall do what is right and good in the eyes of Yahweh, so that it shall go well[fn] for you and so that you may go and you may take possession of the good land that Yahweh swore for your ancestors,[fn] 19 by driving out all of your enemies before you,[fn] just as Yahweh has promised.[fn]

20 “When your child[fn] asks you in the future, saying,[fn] ‘What is the meaning of the legal provisions and the rules and the regulations that Yahweh our God commanded for you?’ 21 Then you shall say to your child,[fn] ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and Yahweh brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand. 22 And Yahweh gave great and awesome signs and wonders in Egypt against Pharaoh and against his entire household in our presence.[fn] 23 But he brought us out from there in order to bring us here to give us the land that he swore to our ancestors.[fn] 24 And so Yahweh commanded us to observe all of these rules and to revere Yahweh our God for our benefit[fn] all the days that we live,[fn] as it is today.[fn] 25 And it shall be righteousness for us if we diligently observe and do all of this commandment before[fn] Yahweh our God, as he has commanded us.’

7 “When Yahweh your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter into it[fn] to take possession of it, and he drives[fn] out many nations before you,[fn] the Hittites[fn] and the Girgashites[fn] and the Amorites[fn] and the Canaanites[fn] and the Hivites[fn] and the Jebusites,[fn] seven nations mightier and more numerous than you, 2 and Yahweh your God will give them over to you[fn] and you defeat them, you must utterly destroy them;[fn] you shall not make a covenant with them, and you shall not show mercy to them. 3 And you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughter to their son; and you shall not take his daughter for your son.[fn] 4 For their[fn] sons and daughters will cause your son[fn] to turn away from following me,[fn] and so they will serve other gods, and the anger of Yahweh would be kindled[fn] against you, and he would quickly destroy you. 5 But this is what you must do to them: you shall break down their altars, and their stone pillars you shall smash, and their Asherah poles you shall hew down, and you shall burn their idols with fire. 6 For you are a holy people for Yahweh your God; Yahweh your God has chosen you to be for him a people, a treasured possession from among all the peoples that are on the face[fn] of the earth.

7 “Yahweh loved you and chose you not because of your great number[fn] exceeding all other peoples, for you are fewer than all of the peoples, 8 but[fn] because of[fn] the love of Yahweh for you and because of his keeping of the sworn oath that he swore to your ancestors,[fn] Yahweh brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. 9 So know that Yahweh your God, he is God, the trustworthy God, maintaining his[fn] covenant and his[fn] loyal love with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments to a thousand generations,[fn] 10 but repaying those[fn] who hate him in their own person[fn] to destroy them;[fn] he is not slow with those who hate him in their own person;[fn] he repays them.[fn] 11 And so you shall keep the commandment and the rules and the regulations that I am commanding you today[fn] to observe them.

12 “And then[fn] because you listen to these regulations and you diligently keep and you do them, then Yahweh your God will maintain his[fn] covenant and his[fn] loyal love that he swore to your ancestors.[fn] 13 And he will love you, and he will bless you, and he will multiply you, and he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your soil, your grain, your wine, and your olive oil, and newborn calves of your cattle, and the newborn lambs[fn] of your flocks in the land that he swore to your ancestors[fn] to give you. 14 You shall be blessed more than all of the peoples; among you there shall not be sterility and bareness, even[fn] among domestic animals.[fn] 15 And Yahweh will turn away from you all the illness and all the harmful diseases of Egypt that you experienced; he will not lay them on you, but he will lay them on all of those who hate you. 16 And you shall devour all of the peoples that Yahweh your God is giving to you; you shall not pity them,[fn] and you shall not serve their gods, which will be a snare for you.

17 “If you think in your heart, ‘These nations are more numerous than I, so how can I dispossess them?’ 18 then remember you must not be afraid of them; you must well remember what Yahweh your God did to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt: 19 the great trials that your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the workings of the strong hand and the outstretched arm by which Yahweh your God brought you out; so Yahweh your God will do to all of the peoples because of whom[fn] you are in fear before them.[fn] 20 And, moreover, Yahweh your God will send the hornets[fn] among them until both the survivors and the fugitives are destroyed[fn] before you.[fn] 21 You must not be in dread from the presence of them, because Yahweh your God, who is in your midst, is a great and awesome God. 22 And Yahweh your God will clear away these nations from before you[fn] little by little; you will not be able to finish them off quickly, lest[fn] the wild animals[fn] multiply[fn] against you.[fn] 23 But Yahweh your God will give them to you,[fn] and he will throw them into great panic until they are destroyed.[fn] 24 And he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall blot out their names[fn] from under the heaven; anyone will not be able to stand against you[fn] until you destroy them.[fn] 25 You shall burn the images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, and so you take it for yourself, so that you are not ensnared by it, for it is a detestable thing to Yahweh your God. 26 And you must not bring a detestable thing into your house, or you will become a thing devoted to destruction like it; you must utterly detest it, and you must utterly abhor it, for it is an object devoted to destruction.

8 “All of the commandments[fn] that I am commanding you today you must diligently observe, so that you may live and multiply, and you may go and take possession of the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors.[fn] 2 And you shall remember all of the way that Yahweh your God led you during these forty years in the desert in order to humble you and to test you to know what is in your heart, whether you would diligently keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you go hungry, and then he fed you with that which you did not know nor did your ancestors[fn] know, in order to make you know that not by bread alone but by all that goes out[fn] of the mouth of Yahweh humankind shall live. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you,[fn] and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 And you should know with your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so Yahweh your God is disciplining you.[fn] 6 So you must keep the commandments of Yahweh your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. 7 For Yahweh your God is bringing you to a good land with streams of water, springs and underground water, welling up in the valleys[fn] and in the hills,[fn] 8 to a land of wheat and barley and vines[fn] and fig trees[fn] and pomegranate trees,[fn] a land of olive trees,[fn] olive oil and honey; 9 to a land where you may eat food in it without scarcity;[fn] you will not find anything lacking in it, a land where its stones are iron and from its mountains you can mine copper. 10 And you will eat, and you will be satisfied,[fn] and you will bless Yahweh your God because of the good land that he has given to you.

11 “Take care for yourself so that you not forget Yahweh your God by not keeping his commandments and his regulations and his statutes that I am commanding you today,[fn] 12 lest when you have eaten and you are satisfied and you have built good houses and you live in them, 13 and your herds and your flocks have multiplied, and you have accumulated silver and gold,[fn] and all that you have[fn] has multiplied, 14 then your heart becomes proud[fn] and you forget Yahweh your God, the one who brought you out[fn] from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, 15 the one leading you in the great and terrible desert infested with dangerous[fn] snakes[fn] and scorpions[fn] and parched ground, where there is[fn] no water, and the one bringing out water for you from flint rock, 16 the one feeding you[fn] manna in the desert, food that your ancestors[fn] did not know, in order to humble you and in order to test you so that he could do good to you in the future.[fn] 17 And you may think[fn] in your heart, ‘My strength and the might of my hand acquired this wealth for[fn] me.’ 18 But you must remember Yahweh your God, for he is the one giving you strength to acquire wealth in order to confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors[fn] as it is today.[fn] 19 And it will happen that if you indeed forget Yahweh your God and you go after other gods and you serve them and you bow down before them, I warn you today that you will surely perish. 20 As with the nations that Yahweh is destroying before you,[fn] so you shall perish because you would not obey the voice of Yahweh your God.

9 “Hear, Israel, you are about to cross the Jordan today to go to dispossess nations larger and more numerous than you, great cities fortified with high walls,[fn] 2 a great and tall people, the sons of the Anakites, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who could stand before the sons of Anak?’ 3 You should know today[fn] that Yahweh your God is the one crossing ahead of you[fn] as a devouring fire; he will destroy them, and he will subdue them before you; so you will dispossess them, and you will destroy them quickly, just as[fn] Yahweh promised[fn] you.

4 “You shall not say to yourself[fn] when Yahweh your God is driving them out[fn] before you,[fn] saying,[fn] ‘Because of my righteousness Yahweh brought me to take possession of this land’; but because of the wickedness of these nations Yahweh is driving them out before you.[fn] 5 It is not because of your righteousness and because of the uprightness of your heart that you are coming to take possession of their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations Yahweh your God is driving them before you,[fn] and in order to confirm the promise[fn] that Yahweh swore to your ancestors,[fn] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

6 “So you should understand that it is not because of your righteousness that Yahweh your God is giving you this good land to take possession of it, because you are a stubborn people.[fn] 7 Remember, do not forget,[fn] that you provoked Yahweh your God in the desert, and from the day that you went out from the land of Egypt until you came to this place[fn] you were rebelling against Yahweh.

8 “And remember at Horeb you provoked Yahweh, and Yahweh became angry enough to destroy you. 9 When I went up the mountain[fn] to receive the stone tablets,[fn] the tablets of the covenant that Yahweh made[fn] with you, and remained on the mountain forty days[fn] and forty nights,[fn] I did not eat food and I did not drink water. 10 And Yahweh gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them was writing according to all the words that Yahweh spoke with you at the mountain, from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11 And then[fn] at the end of forty days[fn] and forty nights,[fn] Yahweh gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12 And Yahweh said to me, ‘Come now, go down quickly from this mountain because your people behave corruptly whom you brought out from Egypt, for they turned quickly from the way that I commanded them to follow; they have made for themselves a cast image.’ 13 And Yahweh spoke to me, saying,[fn] ‘I have seen this people, and look! They are a stubborn people.[fn] 14 Leave me alone, and let me destroy them, and let me blot out their name from under heaven, and let me make you into a nation mightier and more numerous than they!’

15 “And I turned, and I went down the mountain, as the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 And I looked,[fn] and indeed you had sinned against Yahweh your God; you had made for yourselves an image of a calf of cast metal;[fn] you had turned quickly from the way that Yahweh had commanded for you. 17 And I took hold of the two tablets, and I threw them out of[fn] my two hands and smashed them before your eyes. 18 And then I lay prostrate before[fn] Yahweh, as earlier, forty days[fn] and forty nights;[fn] I did not eat food and I did not drink water because of all your sins that you committed, by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh and so provoking him. 19 For I was in dread[fn] from being in the presence of the anger and the wrath with which Yahweh was angry with you so as to destroy you, but Yahweh listened to me also at that time.[fn] 20 And with Aaron Yahweh was angry enough[fn] to destroy him, and I prayed also for Aaron at that time. 21 And your sinful thing that you had made, the molten calf, I took and I burned it with fire, and I crushed it, grinding it thoroughly until it was crushed to dust, and I threw its dust into the stream that flowed down the mountain.[fn]

22 “And also at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth Hattaavah you provoked Yahweh to anger. 23 And when Yahweh sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, saying,[fn] ‘Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,’ you rebelled against the command of Yahweh your God, and you did not believe him, and you did not listen to his voice. 24 You have been rebellious toward Yahweh from the day I have known you.[fn]

25 “And I lay prostrate before Yahweh through forty days,[fn] and through forty nights[fn] I prostrated myself, because Yahweh intended to kill you. 26 And I prayed to Yahweh, and I said, ‘Lord Yahweh, you must not destroy your people and your inheritance whom you redeemed in your greatness,[fn] whom you brought out from Egypt with a strong hand. 27 Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; you must not pay attention to[fn] the stubbornness of this people, to their wickedness and to their sin, 28 lest the people of the land from which you brought us out from there say, “Because Yahweh was not able to bring them to the land that he promised[fn] to them and because of his hatred toward them, he has brought them out to kill them in the desert.” 29 For they are your people and your inheritance whom you brought with your great power and with your outstretched arm.’

10 “At that time Yahweh said to me, ‘Carve for yourself two tablets of stone just as the former ones, and come up the mountain to me, and you shall make for yourself an ark of wood. 2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you smashed, and you must put them in the ark.’ 3 And so I made an ark of acacia wood,[fn] and I carved two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4 And he wrote upon the tablets according to the first writing,[fn] the ten words that Yahweh spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly, and Yahweh gave them to me. 5 And I turned, and I came down from the mountain, and I put the tablets in the ark that I had made, and they are there, just as Yahweh commanded me.

6 “And the Israelites[fn] journeyed from the wells of Bene-Yaqan to Moserah; there Aaron died and was buried, and Eleazar, his son, served as a priest in place of him. 7 From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land flowing with streams of water. 8 At that time Yahweh set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to stand before[fn] Yahweh, to serve him and to bless the people in his name until this day. 9 Therefore there was not[fn] for Levi an allotment or an inheritance along with his brothers; rather Yahweh is his inheritance just as Yahweh your God promised[fn] to him.

10 And I stayed on the mountain just as during the former forty days[fn] and forty nights,[fn] and Yahweh listened to me also on that occasion;[fn] Yahweh was not willing to destroy you. 11 And Yahweh said to me, ‘Come, continue[fn] your journey before the people,[fn] so that you may go and take possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors[fn] to give to them.’

12 And now, Israel, what is Yahweh your God asking[fn] from you, except[fn] to revere Yahweh your God, to go[fn] in all his ways and to love him and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul,[fn] 13 to keep the commandments of Yahweh and his statutes that I am commanding you today for your own good.[fn] 14 Look! For to Yahweh your God belong[fn] heaven and the highest heavens,[fn] the earth and all that is in it. 15 Yet[fn] to your ancestors[fn] Yahweh was very attached, so as to love them, and so he chose their offspring after them, namely you, from all the peoples, as it is today.[fn] 16 So you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn.[fn] 17 For Yahweh your God, he is God of the gods and Lord of the lords, the great and mighty God, the awesome one who is not partial,[fn] and he does not take bribes. 18 And he executes justice for the orphan and widow, and he is one who loves the alien, to give to them food and clothing. 19 And you shall love the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 20 Yahweh your God, you shall revere him, you shall serve him, and to him you shall cling, and by his name you shall swear. 21 He is your praise, and he is your God, who has done with you these great and awesome things that your eyes have seen. 22 With only seventy persons your ancestors[fn] went down to Egypt, but now Yahweh your God has made you as the stars of the heaven with respect to multitude.[fn]

11 “And you shall love Yahweh your God, and you shall keep his obligations and his statutes and his regulations and his commandments always.[fn] 2 And you shall realize today[fn] that it is not with your children who have not known and who have not seen the discipline of Yahweh your God—his greatness, his strong hand, and his outstretched arm, 3 and his signs and his deeds that he did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to all of his land, 4 and what he did to the army of Egypt and to their horses and to their chariots, and how he made the water of the Red Sea[fn] flow over them, when they pursued after them,[fn] and so Yahweh has destroyed them, as is the case today,[fn] 5 and what he did to you in the desert until you came up to this place, 6 and what he did to Dathan and to Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth wide and swallowed them, their households and their tents, and all of the living creatures[fn] that were in their possession and that were following along with them[fn] in the midst of all of Israel. 7 The fact of the matter is, your own eyes have seen[fn] all of the great deeds[fn] of Yahweh that he did.

8 “And you must keep all of the commandments[fn] that I am commanding you today,[fn] so that you may have strength and you may go and you may take possession of that land to which you are crossing[fn] to take possession of it, 9 so that you may live long[fn] on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors,[fn] to give it to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the fact is that the land that you are about to go into[fn] to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come out of,[fn] where you sow your seed and you give water by your foot, as in a vegetable garden.[fn] 11 But the land that you are about to cross into to take possession of it is a land of hills and valleys, and by the rain of the heaven it drinks water, 12 a land that Yahweh your God is caring for it; continually the eyes of Yahweh your God are on it, from the beginning of the year up to the end of the year.

13 “And it will happen that if you listen carefully to my commandments that I am commanding you today,[fn] to love Yahweh your God, and to serve him with all of your heart and with all of your soul,[fn] 14 then ‘I will send the rain for your land in its season, early rain and later rain, and you will gather your grain and your wine and your olive oil. 15 And I will give vegetation in your field for your livestock, and you will eat your fill.’[fn] 16 Take care[fn] so that your heart is not easily deceived, and you turn away, and you serve other gods, and you bow down to them. 17 And then the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you,[fn] and he will shut up the heavens,[fn] and there shall not be rain, and so the ground will not give its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land that Yahweh is giving to you.

18 “And you shall put these, my words, on your heart and on your inner self,[fn] and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be as an emblem between your eyes. 19 And you shall teach them to your children[fn] by talking about them when you sit in your house and when you travel on the road and when you lie down and when you get up. 20 And you shall write them on the doorframes of your house and on your gates, 21 so that they may multiply your days and the days of your children on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors[fn] to give it to them as long as heaven endures over the earth.[fn] 22 Yes, if you diligently keep all[fn] this commandment that I am commanding you to observe it,[fn] by loving Yahweh your God by walking in[fn] all his ways and by holding fast to him, 23 then Yahweh will drive out all of these nations before you,[fn] and you will dispossess nations larger and more numerous than you. 24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, it shall be yours; your boundary shall be from the desert and Lebanon from the river, the river Euphrates, on up to the western sea.[fn] 25 No one can take a stand against you;[fn] your dread and your fear Yahweh your God will put on the surface[fn] of all the land where you tread,[fn] just as he promised[fn] to you.

26 “See, I am setting before you[fn] today[fn] a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God that I am commanding you today,[fn] 28 and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, but rather you turn from the way that I am commanding you today[fn] to go after other gods that you have not known.

29 “And it will happen that when Yahweh your God has brought you to the land that you are going to,[fn] to take possession of it, then[fn] you shall pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30 (Are they not beyond the Jordan, toward the west,[fn] in the land of the Canaanites living in the Jordan Valley,[fn] opposite Gilgal beside the terebinth[fn] of Moreh?) 31 For you are now about to cross the Jordan to go to take possession of the land that Yahweh, your God, is giving to you, and you will take possession of it and live in it, 32 and you must diligently observe[fn] all the rules and the regulations that I am setting before you[fn] today.”[fn]