1I har nu hørt velsignelsens og forbandelsens ord. Når I engang i fremtiden befinder jer blandt de nationer, som Herren til den tid har fordrevet jer til, vil I tænke på de her ord og grunde over dem.2Hvis I da vender jer til Herren, så I og jeres børn af hele jeres hjerte begynder at følge de befalinger, jeg i dag har pålagt jer,3vil Herren, jeres Gud, i sin barmhjertighed befri jer fra de fremmede nationers åg.4Om I så befinder jer i jordens fjerneste afkroge, vil han samle jer og føre jer5tilbage til det land, han gav jeres fædre. Han vil overdrage jer landet på ny, han vil velsigne jer og gøre jer endnu mægtigere end før.6Herren vil omskære hjerterne på jer og jeres efterkommere, så I kan elske ham af hele jeres hjerte og hele jeres sjæl og få et godt liv.7-8Hvis I vender jer til Herren og adlyder de befalinger, jeg har pålagt jer i dag, vil han tage sin forbandelse fra jer og lade den ramme jeres fjender, der hader og forfølger jer.9Herren, jeres Gud, vil give jer lykke og fremgang i alt, hvad I tager jer for. Han vil give jer masser af kvæg, rekordhøst og mange børn, og han vil glæde sig over jer, som han glædede sig over jeres fædre.10Men kun hvis I af hele jeres hjerte vender jer til ham og adlyder alle de love, som er nedskrevet i denne bog.
Valget mellem livet og døden
11De befalinger, jeg i dag pålægger jer, er ikke ufattelige for jer, og de er ikke uden for jeres rækkevidde.12De er ikke oppe i himlen, således at nogen ville spørge: ‚Hvem kan stige op til himlen for at få fat i dem og fortælle os om dem, så vi kan handle efter dem?’13De befinder sig heller ikke på den anden side af det store hav, således at nogen ville spørge: ‚Hvem kan rejse til den anden side af havet for at få fat i dem og fortælle os om dem, så vi kan handle efter dem?’14Nej, du kender allerede budskabet. Det er i dit hjerte og på dine læber, så du kan handle efter det.15I dag skal I vælge, om I foretrækker livet og lykken, eller I foretrækker døden og ulykken.16Jeg har befalet jer at elske Herren, jeres Gud, så I går på hans veje og overholder hans love. Gør I det, vil I få et godt liv og blive et mægtigt folk. Så vil Herren velsigne jer i det land, I skal over og tage i besiddelse.17Men hvis I vender jer fra ham og ikke vil adlyde ham, hvis I lader jer lokke til at dyrke andre guder,18kan jeg i dag garantere jer for, at I vil gå til grunde. Så bliver I ikke boende ret længe i det land, I skal over og tage i besiddelse på den anden side af Jordanfloden.19I dag kalder jeg himlen og jorden til vidne på, at jeg har givet jer valget mellem livet og døden, mellem velsignelsen og forbandelsen. Vælg nu livet, så I og jeres børn får et godt liv.20Elsk Herren, jeres Gud, adlyd ham og hold jer til ham, så I kan få lov at leve og blive boende i det land, Herren lovede jeres forfædre Abraham, Isak og Jakob!”
1“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, (3.Mos 26,40; 5.Mos 4,29; 5.Mos 11,26; 1.Kong 8,47)2and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, (Neh 1,9; Es 55,7; Klag 3,40; Joel 2,12)3then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. (Salm 126,1; Salm 126,4; Jer 32,37; Ez 34,13; Ez 36,24)4If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. (5.Mos 28,64; Neh 1,9)5And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. (5.Mos 28,63; Zef 3,19)6And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. (5.Mos 10,16; 5.Mos 30,16; Jer 31,33; Jer 32,39; Ez 11,19; Ez 36,26)7And the Lord your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you.8And you shall again obey the voice of the Lord and keep all his commandments that I command you today.9The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, (5.Mos 28,11; 5.Mos 28,63; Zef 3,19)10when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
The Choice of Life and Death
11“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. (Es 45,19; Es 48,16)12It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ (Rom 10,6)13Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’14But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.15“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. (5.Mos 11,26; 5.Mos 32,47)16If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God[1] that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules,[2] then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. (5.Mos 6,5; 5.Mos 30,6)17But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, (5.Mos 29,18)18I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. (5.Mos 4,26)19I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, (5.Mos 30,1)20loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” (5.Mos 1,8; 5.Mos 10,20; Salm 27,1; Salm 66,9; Joh 11,25)