Deuteronomy 11:11-31

11 but the land that you are about to enter is a land of mountains and valleys, a land watered by rain.

12 The Lord your God takes care of this land and watches over it throughout the year.

13 "So then, obey the commands that I have given you today; love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart. ¹

14 If you do, he will send rain on your land when it is needed, in the autumn and in the spring, so that there will be grain, wine, and olive oil for you,

15 and grass for your livestock. You will have all the food you want.

16 Do not let yourselves be led away from the Lord to worship and serve other gods.

17 If you do, the Lord will become angry with you. He will hold back the rain, and your ground will become too dry for crops to grow. Then you will soon die there, even though it is a good land that he is giving you.

18 "Remember these commands and cherish them. Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder. ²

19 Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working.

20 Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

21 Then you and your children will live a long time in the land that the Lord your God promised to give to your ancestors. You will live there as long as there is a sky above the earth.

22 "Obey faithfully everything that I have commanded you: Love the Lord your God, do everything he commands, and be faithful to him.

23 Then he will drive out all those nations as you advance, and you will occupy the land belonging to nations greater and more powerful than you.

24 All the ground that you march over will be yours. Your territory will extend from the desert in the south to the Lebanon Mountains in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. ³

25 Wherever you go in that land, the Lord your God will make the people fear you, as he has promised, and no one will be able to stop you.

26 "Today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse -

27 a blessing, if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today;

28 but a curse, if you disobey these commands and turn away to worship other gods that you have never worshiped before.

29 When the Lord brings you into the land that you are going to occupy, you are to proclaim the blessing from Mount Gerizim and the curse from Mount Ebal. ⁴

30 (These two mountains are west of the Jordan River in the territory of the Canaanites who live in the Jordan Valley. They are toward the west, not far from the sacred trees of Moreh near the town of Gilgal.)

31 You are about to cross the Jordan River and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you. When you take it and settle there,

Deuteronomy 11:11-31 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 11

In this chapter, the exhortation to love the Lord, and keep his commands, is repeated and urged again and again from various considerations; as not only from the chastisement of Pharaoh and the wicked Egyptians, but of such Israelites who offended the Lord, and transgressed his law, De 12:1-7, from the goodness and excellency of the land they were going to inherit, De 11:8-11, from the blessing of rain that would come upon it, and be productive of all good things for man and beast, in case of obedience, and a restraint of it in case of disobedience, De 11:12-17, from the continuance of them and their offspring in the land, should they be careful to observe the commands themselves, and teach them their children, De 11:18-21, and from the extensiveness of their conquests and dominions, De 11:22-25 and from the different issue and effects of their conduct and behaviour, a blessing upon them if obedient, but a curse if disobedient, De 11:26-28 and the chapter is concluded with an exhortation to pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim, and the curse on Mount Ebal; the situation of which places is described when they should come into the land of Canaan, of which they are assured, De 11:29-32.

Cross References

• 1. 2.1Numbers 21.4.
• 2. 11.13-17Leviticus 26.3-5;Deuteronomy 7.12-16; 28.1-14.
• 3. 11.18-20Deuteronomy 6.6-9.
• 4. 11.24, 25Joshua 1.3-5.