Do not forget the Lord
1Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
6Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. 7For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land – a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig-trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
10When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ 18But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
19If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.
Advarsel mod at glemme Herren
1I skal nøje overholde alle de befalinger, jeg i dag pålægger jer. Gør I det, vil I få lov at tage det land i besiddelse, Herren lovede jeres forfædre, og I vil få et godt liv og blive et stort folk. 2Husk på, hvordan Herren i 40 år førte sit folk gennem ørkenen for at ydmyge dem og sætte dem på prøve, for at se, om de var villige til at adlyde ham. 3Han ydmygede dem ved først at lade dem sulte og derefter give dem manna, en form for mad, som hverken de eller deres forfædre havde set før, for at lære dem, at et menneske ikke lever af brød alene, men af hvert ord, som Gud taler. 4I alle de 40 år blev deres tøj ikke slidt op, og deres fødder ikke opsvulmede. 5I må forstå, at når Herren straffede dem, gjorde han det til deres eget bedste, nøjagtig som når forældre opdrager deres børn.
6Adlyd Herren, jeres Guds, befalinger, gå på hans veje og hav ærefrygt for ham. 7Herren vil føre jer ind i et godt land, et frodigt land med bakker og dale, med floder og kilder, der gennemstrømmer landet, 8et land med hvede og byg, med vinranker, figentræer, granatæbletræer, oliventræer og honning, 9et land med masser af føde og uden mangel på noget, et land, hvor der findes jernmalm, og hvor I kan bryde kobber i bjergene. 10Når I har spist jer mætte i landets overflod, skal I lovprise Herren, jeres Gud, for det gode land, han har givet jer.
11Men pas på, at I ikke midt i jeres overflod glemmer Herren, jeres Gud, så I ikke længere holder hans love og befalinger. 12-13Når I spiser jer mætte og oplever fremgang, når I har bygget prægtige huse, når jeres velstand øges, og jeres besætninger vokser, 14må I passe ekstra på, at I ikke bliver selvsikre, så I glemmer Herren, der reddede jer fra at være slaver i Egypten. 15Tag jer i agt, at I ikke glemmer den Gud, der førte sit folk gennem den store og farlige ørken, hvor der er giftige slanger og skorpioner, og som midt i det udtørrede land lod vand springe frem fra den nøgne klippe. 16Han gav dem manna i ørkenen, mad, som deres forfædre aldrig har smagt, for at ydmyge dem og sætte dem på prøve for senere at kunne velsigne dem. 17Derved ville han undgå, at folket i fremtiden ville tro, at deres fremgang skyldes dem selv og deres egen dygtighed. 18Husk altid på, at jeres velstand kommer fra Herren, jeres Gud, der trofast holder fast ved den pagt, han oprettede med jeres forfædre.
19Men hvis I glemmer Herren, jeres Gud, så I dyrker andre guder, kan jeg forsikre jer om, at det bliver jeres undergang, 20og at I bliver udryddet på samme måde, som Herren vil udrydde de folk, han jager bort foran jer. Sådan går det, hvis I er ulydige imod Herren, jeres Gud.
