The Lord Will Bless His People
1I have told you about all these blessings and curses. The Lord your God will bring them on you. Then you will think carefully about the blessings and curses. You will think about them everywhere the Lord your God scatters you among the nations. 2You and your children will return to the Lord your God. You will obey him with all your heart and with all your soul. That will be according to everything I’m commanding you today. 3When all that happens, the Lord your God will bless you with great success again. He will be very kind to you. He’ll bring you back from all the nations where he scattered you. 4Suppose you have been forced to go away to the farthest land on earth. The Lord your God will bring you back even from there. 5He will bring you to the land that belonged to your people of long ago. You will take it over. He’ll make you better off than your people were. He’ll cause there to be more of you than there were of them. 6The Lord your God will keep you from being stubborn. He’ll do the same thing for your children and their children. Then you will love him with all your heart and with all your soul. And you will live. 7The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies. They hated you and hunted you down. 8You will obey the Lord again. You will obey all his commands that I’m giving you today. 9Then the Lord your God will give you great success in everything you do. You will have many children. Your livestock will have many little ones. Your crops will do very well. The Lord will take delight in you again. He’ll give you success. That’s what he did for your people of long ago. 10But you must obey the Lord your God. You must keep his commands and rules. They are written in this Book of the Law. You must turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Choose Life, Not Death
11What I’m commanding you today is not too hard for you. It isn’t beyond your reach. 12It isn’t up in heaven. So you don’t have to ask, “Who will go up into heaven to get it? Who will announce it to us so we can obey it?” 13And it isn’t beyond the ocean. So you don’t have to ask, “Who will go across the ocean to get it? Who will announce it to us so we can obey it?” 14No, the message isn’t far away at all. In fact, it’s really near you. It’s in your mouth and in your heart so that you can obey it.
15Today I’m giving you a choice. You can have life and success. Or you can have death and harm. 16I’m commanding you today to love the Lord your God. I’m commanding you to live exactly as he wants you to live. You must obey his commands, rules and laws. Then you will live. There will be many of you. The Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to take as your own.
17Don’t let your hearts turn away from the Lord. Instead, obey him. Don’t let yourselves be drawn away to other gods. And don’t bow down to them and worship them. 18If you do, I announce to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You are about to go across the Jordan River and take over the land. But you won’t live there very long.
19I’m calling for the heavens and the earth to be witnesses against you this very day. I’m offering you the choice of life or death. You can choose either blessings or curses. But I want you to choose life. Then you and your children will live. 20And you will love the Lord your God. You will obey him. You will remain true to him. The Lord is your very life. He will give you many years in the land. He promised to give that land to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
歸向耶和華必蒙福
1「當我向你們陳明的這些祝福和咒詛都應驗在你們身上時，如果你們在你們的上帝耶和華驅逐你們去的各國中回想這些話， 2歸向你們的上帝耶和華，你們及子孫照我今天的吩咐全心全意地聽從祂的話， 3祂必改變你們被擄的境遇，憐憫你們，把你們從祂驅逐你們去的列國招聚回來。 4即使你們被驅逐到天涯，你們的上帝耶和華也會把你們帶回來， 5帶到你們祖先的土地上，使你們擁有那片土地，比你們祖先更加人丁興旺、繁榮昌盛。 6你們的上帝耶和華要潔淨你們和你們子孫的心，好讓你們全心全意地愛祂，並且存活。 7你們的上帝耶和華要把所有的咒詛加在你們的仇敵及憎惡你們、迫害你們的人身上。 8你們必再次聽從耶和華，遵行今天祂藉我吩咐你們的一切誡命。 9-10倘若你們聽從你們的上帝耶和華的話，遵守這律法書上的誡命和律例，全心全意地歸向祂，祂必使你們凡事蒙福、兒女眾多、牛羊成群、五穀豐登。因為祂必樂意再次賜福你們，像從前賜福你們祖先一樣。
生死抉擇
11「我今天頒佈給你們的誡命，對你們來說不難遵行，也非遙不可及。 12這誡命並非在天上，以致你們說，『誰替我們上天取下來，講給我們聽，讓我們遵行呢？』 13這誡命也不在海的彼岸，以致你們說，『誰替我們過海取來，講給我們聽，好讓我們遵行呢？』 14這誡命近在咫尺，就在你口裡，在你心中，好讓你們遵行。
15「看啊，今天我把生死禍福擺在你們面前。 16我今天吩咐你們要愛你們的上帝耶和華，遵行祂的旨意，遵守祂的誡命、律例和典章，以便你們可以存活，人口興旺，在你們將要佔領的土地上蒙祂賜福。 17但倘若你們心中偏離，不肯聽從，被引誘去祭拜、供奉別的神明， 18我今天警告你們，你們必定滅亡，在約旦河對岸——你們將要佔領的土地上無法長久。 19今天，我叫天地為你們作證，我已把生死禍福擺在你們面前。選擇生命吧，以便你們及子孫可以存活。 20要愛你們的上帝耶和華，聽從祂的話，倚靠祂，因為祂是你們的生命，祂必使你們長久住在祂起誓賜給你們祖先亞伯拉罕、以撒和雅各的土地上。」
