Chapter 32

These are the commandments, ordinances and laws which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: that thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his ordinances and his commandments which I command thee, both thou and thy son and thy son's son all days of thy life, that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore Israel and take heed that thou do thereafter, that it may go well with thee and that ye may increase mightily: even as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear Israel, the LORD thy God is LORD onely, and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul and with all thy might. And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart and thou shalt whet them on thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou art at home in thine house and as thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou risest up: and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand. And they shall be papers of remembrance between thine eyes, and shalt write them upon the posts of thy house and upon thy gates. And when the LORD thy God hath brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers Abraham, Isaac and Iacob, to give thee with great and goodly cities which thou buildest not, and houses full of all manner goods which thou filledst not, and wells digged which thou diggedst not, and vines and olive trees which thou planted not, and when thou hast eaten, and art full: Then beware lest thou forget the LORD which brought thee out of the land of Egypt the house of bondage. But fear the LORD thy God and serve him, and swear by his name, and see that ye walk not after strange gods {goddes} off the gods of the nations which are about you. For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you, lest the wrath of the LORD thy God wax hot upon thee and destroy thee from the earth. Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God as ye did at Masa. But see that ye keep the commandments of the LORD your God, his witnesses and his ordinances which he hath commanded thee, and see thou do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that thou mayst prosper and that thou mayst go and conquer that good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, and that the LORD may cast out all thine enemies before thee as he hath said. When thy son asketh thee in time to come saying: What meaneth the witnesses, ordinances and laws which the LORD our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son: We were bondmen unto Pharao in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the LORD shewed signs and wonders both great and evil upon Egypt, Pharao and upon all his household, before our eyes, and brought us from thence: to bring us in and to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers. And therefore commanded us to do all these ordinances and for to fear the LORD our God, for our wealth always and that he might save us, as it is come to pass this day. Moreover it shall be righteousness unto us before the LORD our God, if we take heed to keep all these commandments as he hath commanded us.

Chapter .vij.

When the LORD thy God hath brought thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee: the Hethites, the Girgosites, the Amorites, the Cananites, the Pheresites, the Hevites and the Iebusites. Seven nations more in number and mightier than thou: and when the LORD thy God hath set them before thee that thou shouldest smite them, see that thou utterly destroy them and make no covenant with them nor have compassion on them. Also thou shalt make no marriages with them, neither give thy daughter unto his son nor take his daughter unto thy son. For they will make your sons depart from me and serve strange gods, and then will the wrath of the LORD wax hot upon you and destroy you shortly. But thus ye shall deal with them: overthrow their altars, break down their pillars, cut down their groves and burn their images with fire. For thou art an holy nation unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a several people unto himself of all nations that are upon the earth. It was not because of the multitude of you above all nations, that the LORD had lust unto you and chose you. For ye were fewest of all nations: But because the LORD loved you and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, therefore he brought you out of Egypt with a mighty hand and delivered you out of the house of bondage: even from the hand of Pharao king of Egypt. Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God he is God and that a true God, which keepeth appointment and mercy unto them that love him and keep his commandments, even thorowout a thousand generations and rewardeth them that hate him before his face so that he bringeth them to nought, and will not defer the time unto him that hateth him but will reward him before his face. Keep therefore the commandments, ordinances and laws which I command you this day, that ye do them. If ye shall hearken unto these laws and shall observe and do them, then shall the LORD thy God keep appointment with thee and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers and will love thee, bless thee and multiply thee: he will bless the fruit of thy womb and the fruit of thy field, thy corn, thy wine and thy oil, the fruit of thine oxen and the flocks of thy sheep in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. Thou shalt be blessed above all nations, there shall be neither man nor woman unfruitful among you, nor anything unfruitful among your cattle. Moreover the LORD will turn from thee all manner infirmities, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt (which thou knowest) upon thee, but will send them upon them that hate thee. Thou shalt bring to nought all nations which the LORD thy God delivereth thee, thine eye shall have no pity upon them neither shalt thou serve their gods, for that shall be thy decay. If thou shalt say in thine heart: these nations are more than I, how can I cast them out? Fear them not, but remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharao and unto all Egypt, and the great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs and wonders and mighty hand and stretched out arm wherewith the LORD thy God brought thee out: even so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the nations of which thou art afraid. Thereto, the LORD thy God will send hornets among them until they that are left, and hide them selves from thee, be destroyed. See thou fear them not for the LORD {lord} thy God is among you a mighty God and a terrible. The LORD thy God will put out these nations before thee a little and a little: thou mayst not consume them at once lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee. And the LORD {lorde} thy God shall deliver them unto thee and stir up a mighty tempest among them, until they be brought to nought. And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their names from under heaven. There shall no man stond before thee, until thou have destroyed them. The images of their gods thou shalt burn with fire, and see that thou covet not the silver or gold that is on them nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therewith. For it is an abomination unto the LORD thy God. Bring not therefore the Abomination to thine house, lest thou be a damned thing as it is: but utterly defy it and abhor it, for it is a thing that must be destroyed.

Chapter .viij.

All the commandments which I command thee this day ye shall keep for to do them, that ye may live and multiply and go and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. And think on all the way which the LORD thy God led thee this forty years in the wilderness, for to humble thee and to prove thee, to wete what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no. He humbled thee and made thee hunger and fed thee with manna which neither thou nor thy father knew of, to make thee know that a man must not live by bread only: but by all that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD must a man live. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy feet swell this forty years. Understand therefore in thine heart, that as a man nurtureth his son, even so the LORD thy God nurtureth thee. Keep therefore the commandments of the LORD thy God that thou walk in his ways and that thou fear him. For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of rivers of water, of fountains and of springs that spring out both in valleys and hills: a land of wheat and of barley, of vines, fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees with oil and of honey: a land wherein thou shalt not eat bread in scarceness, and where thou shalt lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou shalt dig brass. When thou hast eaten therefore and filled thyself, then bless the LORD for the good land which he hath given thee. But beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, that thou wouldest not keep his commandments, laws and ordinances which I command thee this day: yea and when thou hast eaten and filled thyself and hast built goodly houses and dwelt therein, and when thy beasts and thy sheep are waxed many and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied and all that thou hast increased, then beware lest thine heart rise and thou forget the LORD thy God which brought thee out of the land of Egypt the house of bondage, and which led thee in the wilderness both great and terrible with fiery serpents and scorpions and thirst {drouth} where was no water, which brought the water out of the rock of flint: which fed thee in the wilderness with Man whereof thy fathers knew not, for to humble thee and to prove thee, that he might do thee good at thy latter end. And beware that thou say not in thine heart, my power and the might of mine own hand hath done me all these acts: But remember the LORD thy God, how that it is he which gave thee power to do manfully, for to make good the promise which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is come to pass this day. For if thou shalt forget the LORD thy God and shalt walk after strange gods and serve them and worship them, I testify unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before thee, even so ye shall perish, because ye would not hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God.

Chapter .ix.

Hear Israel, thou goest over Iordan this day, to go and conquer nations greater and mightier than thyself: and cities great and walled up to heaven, and people great and tall, even the children of the Enakims, which thou knowest and of whom thou hast heard say who is able to stond before the children of Enack? But understand this day that the LORD thy God which goeth over before thee a consuming fire, he shall destroy them and he shall subdue them before thee. And thou shalt cast them out, and bring them to nought quickly as the LORD hath said unto thee. Speak not in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out before thee saying: for my righteousness the LORD hath brought me into possess this land. Nay, but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth cast them out before thee. It is not for thy righteousness' sake and right heart that thou goest to possess their land: But partly for the wickedness of these nations, the LORD thy God doth cast them out before thee, and partly to perform that which the LORD thy God sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Iacob. Understand therefore that it is not for thy righteousness' sake, that the LORD thy God doth give thee this good land to possess it, for thou art a stiffnecked people. Remember and forget not how thou provokedest the LORD thy God in the wilderness: for since the day that thou camest out of the land of Egypt until ye came unto this place, ye have rebelled against the LORD. Also in Horeb ye angered the LORD so that the LORD was wroth with you, even to have destroyed you, after that I was gone up into the mount, to fetch the tables of stone, the tables of appointment which the LORD made with you. And I abode in the hill forty days and forty nights and neither ate bread nor drank water. And the LORD delivered me two tables of stone written with the finger of God, and in them was according to all the words which the LORD said unto you in the mount out of the fire in the day when the people were gathered together. And when the forty days and forty nights were ended, the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, the tables of the testament, and said unto me: Up, and get thee down quickly from hence, for thy people which thou hast brought out of Egypt, have marred them selves. They are turned at once out of the way, which I commanded them, and have made them a god of metal. Furthermore the LORD spake unto me saying: I see this people how that it is a stiffnecked people, let me alone that I may destroy them and put out the name of them from under heaven, and I will make of thee a nation both greater and more than they. And I turned away and came down from the hill (and the hill burnt with fire) and had the two tables of the appointment in my hands. And when I looked and saw that ye had sinned against the LORD your God and had made you a calf of metal and had turned at once out of the way which the LORD had commanded you. Then I took the two tables and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes. And I fell before the LORD: even as at the first time forty days and nights, and neither ate bread nor drank water, over all your sins which ye had sinned in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD and in provoking him. For I was afraid of the wrath and fierceness wherewith the LORD was angry with you, even for to have destroyed you; But the LORD heard my petition at that time also. The LORD was very angry with Aaron also, even for to have destroyed him: But I made intercession for Aaron also the same time. And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made and burnt him with fire and stamped him and ground him a good, even unto small dust. And I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount. Also at Thabeera and at Masa and at the sepulchres of lust ye angered the LORD, yea and when the LORD sent you from Cades Barnea saying: go up and conquer the land which I have given you, ye disobeyed the mouth of the LORD your God, and neither believed him nor hearkened unto his voice. Thus ye have been disobedient unto the LORD, since the day that I knew you. And I fell before the LORD forty days and forty nights which I lay there, for the LORD was minded to have destroyed you. But I made intercession unto the LORD {Lorde} and said: O Lord Iehoua, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance which thou hast delivered thorow thy greatness and which thou hast brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember thy servants Abraham, Isaac and Iacob and look not unto the stubbornness of this people nor unto their wickedness and sin: lest the land whence thou broughtest them say: Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them and because he hated them, therefore he carried them out to destroy them in the wilderness. Moreover they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out with thy mighty power and with thy stretched out arm.

Chapter .x.

In the same season the LORD said unto me: hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first and come up unto me into the mount and make thee an Ark of wood, and I will write in the table, the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark. And I made an ark of sethim wood and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mountain and the two tables in mine hand. And he wrote in the tables, according to the first writing (the ten verses which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the fire in the day when the people were gathered) {[together]} and gave them unto me. And I departed and came down from the hill and put the tables in the ark which I had made: and there they remained, as the LORD commanded me. And the children of Israel took their journey from Beroth Ben {of the children of} Iaken to Mosera, where Aaron died and where he was buried, and Eleazer his son became priest in his stead. And from thence they departed unto Gudgod: and from Gudgod to Iathbath, a land of rivers of water. And the same season the LORD separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the appointment of the LORD and to stond before the LORD, and to minister unto him and to bless in his name unto this day. Wherefore the Levites have no part nor inheritance with their brethren. The LORD he is their inheritance, as the LORD thy God hath promised them. And I tarried in the mount, even as at the first time forty days and forty nights, and the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also, so that the LORD would not destroy thee. And the LORD said unto me: up and go forth in the journey before the people and let them go in and conquer the land which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them. And now Israel what is it that the LORD thy God requireth of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God and to walk in all his ways and to love him and to serve the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul, that thou keep the commandments of the LORD and his ordinances which I command thee this day, for thy wealth. Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD's thy God, and the earth with all that therein is: only the LORD had a lust unto thy fathers to love them, and therefore chose you their seed after them of all nations, as it is come to pass this day Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your hearts, and be no longer stiffnecked. For the LORD your God, he is God of gods {God of goddes} and Lord of lords, {lorde of lordes} a great God, a mighty and a terrible which regardeth no man's person nor taketh gifts: but doeth right unto the fatherless and widow and loveth the stranger, to give him food and raiment. Love therefore the stranger, for ye were strangers your selves in the land of Egypt. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God and serve him and cleave unto him and swear by his name, for he is thy praise and he is thy God that hath done these great and terrible things for thee, which thine eyes have seen. Thy fathers went down into Egypt with seventy souls, and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven in multitude.

Chapter .xi.

Love the LORD thy God and keep his observances, his ordinances, his laws and his commandments alway. And call to mind this day that which your children have neither known nor seen: even the nurture of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his stretched out arm: his miracles and his acts which he did among the Egyptians, even unto Pharao the king of Egypt and unto all his land: and what he did unto the host of the Egyptians, unto their horses and chariots, how he brought the water of the red sea upon them as they chased you, and how the LORD hath brought them to nought unto this day: and what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came unto this place: and what he did unto Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab the son of Ruben, how the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them with their households and their tents, and all their substance that was in their possession, in the midst of Israel. For your eyes have seen all the great deeds of the LORD which he did. Keep therefore all the commandments which I command thee this day that ye may be strong and go and conquer the land whither ye go to possess it, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey. For the land whither thou goest to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt whence thou camest out, where thou sowedest thy seed and wateredest it with thy labour as a garden of herbs: but the land whither ye go over to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys and drinketh water of the rain of heaven, and a land which the LORD thy God careth for. The eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year unto the latter end of the year. If thou shalt hearken therefore unto my commandments which I command you this day, that ye love the LORD your God and serve him with all your hearts and with all your souls: then he will give rain unto your land in due season, both the first rain and the latter, and thou shalt gather in thy corn, thy wine and thine oil. And he will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle: and thou shalt eat and fill thyself. But beware that your hearts deceive {disceave} you not that ye turn aside and serve strange gods and worship them, and then the wrath of the LORD wax hot upon you and shut up the heaven that there be no rain and that your land yield not her fruit, and that ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you. Put up therefore these my words in your hearts and in your souls, and bind them for a sign unto your hands, and let them be as papers of remembrance between your eyes, and teach them your children: so that thou talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when thou risest up: yea and write them upon the doorposts of thine house and upon thy gates, that your days may be multiplied and the days of your children upon the earth which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as long as the days of heaven last upon the earth. For if ye shall keep all these commandments which I command you, so that ye do them and love the LORD your God and walk in all his ways and cleave unto him. Then will the LORD cast out all these nations {[and ye shall conquer them which are]} both greater and mightier than your selves. All the places whereon the soles of your feet shall tread, shall be yours: even from the wilderness and from Libanon and from the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coasts be. There shall no man be able to stond before you: the LORD your God shall cast the fear and dread of you upon all lands whither ye shall come, as he hath said unto you. Behold, I set before you this day, a blessing and a curse: a blessing: if ye hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you this day: And a curse: if ye will not hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God: but turn out of the way which I command you this day to go after strange gods which ye have not known. When the LORD thy God hath brought thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, then put the blessing upon mount Garizim and the curse upon mount Ebal, which are on the other side Iordan on the back side of the way toward the going down of the son in the land of the Cananites which dwell in the fields over against Gilgal beside Moreh grove. For ye shall go over to go and possess the land which the LORD your God giveth you, and shall conquer it and dwell therein. Take heed therefore that ye do all the commandments and laws, which I set before you this day.

Chapter .xij.