The Greatness of the LORD

111 Thou shalt love then Jehovah thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his ordinances, and his commandments continually. 2 And know ye this day ...; for [I speak] not with your children who have not known, and who have not seen the chastisement of Jehovah your God, his greatness, his powerful hand, and his stretched-out arm, 3 and his signs and his acts which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land; 4 and what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and unto their chariots, over which he made the water of the Red sea flow as they pursued after you, and Jehovah destroyed them unto this day; 5 —and what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came to this place; 6 and what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben,—how the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, with their households, and their tents, and all the living substance that belonged to them, in the midst of all Israel. 7 For your eyes have seen all the great work of Jehovah which he hath done.

The Blessings of the Promised Land

8 Keep then all the commandment which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and enter in and possess the land, whither ye pass over to possess it; 9 and that ye may prolong your days in the land which Jehovah swore unto your fathers to give unto them and unto their seed, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land, whither thou enterest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs; 11 but the land, whereunto ye are passing over to possess it, is a land of mountains and valleys, which drinketh water of the rain of heaven, 12 a land which Jehovah thy God careth for; the eyes of Jehovah thy God are constantly upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. 13 And it shall come to pass, if ye hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love Jehovah your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 that I will give rain to your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain; and thou shalt gather in thy corn, and thy new wine, and thine oil; 15 and I will give grass in thy field for thy cattle; and thou shalt eat and be full. 16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside and serve other gods, and bow down to them, 17 and Jehovah's wrath kindle against you, and he shut up the heavens, that there be no rain, and that the ground yield not its produce, and ye perish quickly from off the good land which Jehovah is giving you.

18 And ye shall lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. 19 And ye shall teach them unto your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou goest on the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up; 20 and write them upon the posts of thy house, and upon thy gates; 21 that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which Jehovah swore unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens [which are] above the earth. 22 For if ye diligently keep all this commandment which I command you [this day] to do it, to love Jehovah your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him, 23 then will Jehovah dispossess all these nations from before you, and ye shall take possession of nations greater and mightier than yourselves. 24 Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours; from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the hinder sea shall your border be. 25 No man shall be able to stand before you: the fear of you and the dread of you will Jehovah your God lay upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you.

26 See, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: 27 a blessing, if ye obey the commandments of Jehovah your God, which I command you this day; 28 and a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of Jehovah your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods which ye have not known. 29 And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah thy God hath brought thee into the land whither thou enterest in to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal. 30 Are they not on the other side of the Jordan, beyond the way toward the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites that dwell on the plain opposite to Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh? 31 For ye pass over the Jordan to enter in to possess the land which Jehovah your God giveth you, and ye shall take possession of it, and dwell therein. 32 And ye shall take heed to do all the statutes and ordinances which I set before you this day.

Only One Place of Worship

121 These are the statutes and ordinances, which ye shall take heed to do in the land, which Jehovah the God of thy fathers is giving thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth. 2 Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations which ye shall dispossess have served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree; 3 and ye shall break down their altars, and shatter their statues, and burn their Asherahs with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and ye shall destroy the names of them out of that place. 4 Ye shall not do so unto Jehovah your God;

5 but unto the place which Jehovah your God will choose out of all your tribes to set his name there, his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come; 6 and thither ye shall bring your burnt-offerings and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your voluntary-offerings, and the firstlings of your kine and of your sheep; 7 and ye shall eat there before Jehovah your God, and ye shall rejoice, ye and your households, in all the business of your hand, wherein Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee. 8 Ye shall not do after all that we do here this day, each one whatever is right in his own eyes. 9 For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which Jehovah thy God giveth thee. 10 But when ye have gone over the Jordan, and dwell in the land which Jehovah your God causeth you to inherit, and when he hath given you rest from all your enemies round about, and ye dwell in safety, 11 then there shall be a place which Jehovah your God will choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you: your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye shall vow to Jehovah. 12 And ye shall rejoice before Jehovah your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your bondmen, and your handmaids, and the Levite that is within your gates; for he hath no portion nor inheritance with you. 13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every place that thou seest; 14 but in the place which Jehovah will choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee. 15 Nevertheless, according to all the desire of thy soul thou mayest slay and eat flesh in all thy gates, according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the gazelle, and the hart. 16 Only, ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water. 17 Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy new wine, or of thine oil, or the firstlings of thy kine or of thy sheep, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy voluntary-offerings, nor the heave-offering of thy hand; 18 but before Jehovah thy God shalt thou eat them in the place which Jehovah thy God will choose, thou and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy bondman, and thy handmaid, and the Levite that is within thy gates; and thou shalt rejoice before Jehovah thy God in all the business of thy hand. 19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite all the days thou shalt be in thy land. 20 When Jehovah thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he promised thee, and thou say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh, thou mayest eat flesh, according to all the desire of thy soul. 21 If the place which Jehovah thy God will choose to set his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt slay of thy kine and of thy sheep which Jehovah hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates according to all the desire of thy soul. 22 Even as the gazelle and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean alike may eat of them. 23 Only, be sure that thou eat not the blood; for the blood is the life, and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh; 24 thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water: 25 thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do what is right in the eyes of Jehovah. 26 But thy hallowed things which thou hast, and what thou hast vowed, thou shalt take, and come to the place which Jehovah will choose; 27 and thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of Jehovah thy God; and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of Jehovah thy God, and the flesh shalt thou eat. 28 Take heed to hear all these words which I command thee, that it may be well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest what is good and right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.

Warning against Idolatry

29 When Jehovah thy God cutteth off from before thee the nations whither thou goest, to take possession of them, and thou hast dispossessed them, and dwellest in their land, 30 take heed to thyself that thou be not ensnared [to follow] after them, after that they are destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. 31 Thou shalt not do so to Jehovah thy God; for every [thing that is] abomination to Jehovah, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters have they burned in the fire to their gods. 32 Everything that I command you, ye shall take heed to do it; thou shalt not add thereto, nor take from it.

131 If there arise among you a prophet, or one that dreameth dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder come to pass that he told unto thee, when he said, Let us go after other gods, whom thou hast not known, and let us serve them, 3 —thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams; for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and ye shall fear him, and his commandments shall ye keep, and his voice shall ye hear; and ye shall serve him, and unto him shall ye cleave. 5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; for he hath spoken revolt against Jehovah your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage,—to draw thee out of the way that Jehovah thy God commanded thee to walk in; and thou shalt put evil away from thy midst.

6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, who is to thee as thy soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods (whom thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; 7 of the gods of the peoples which are round about you, near unto thee, or far from thee, from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth), 8 thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye spare him, neither shalt thou pity him, neither shalt thou screen him, 9 but thou shalt in any case kill him: thy hand shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people; 10 and thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; for he hath sought to draw thee away from Jehovah thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; 11 and all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wicked thing as this in thy midst.

12 If in one of thy cities, which Jehovah thy God hath given thee to dwell there, thou hearest, saying, 13 There are men, children of Belial, gone out from among you, and they have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, whom ye have not known; 14 then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and if it be truth, [and] the thing be certain, that this abomination hath happened in the midst of thee, 15 thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, devoting it to destruction, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword. 16 And all the spoil of it shalt thou gather into the midst of the open place thereof, and shalt burn the city with fire, and all the spoil thereof, wholly to Jehovah thy God; and it shall be a heap for ever; it shall not be built again. 17 And thou shalt not let anything cleave to thy hand of the devoted thing; that Jehovah may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers; 18 when thou hearkenest to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, that thou mayest do what is right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.