Deuteronomy 29:1-16

1 These are the terms of the covenant the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelites while they were in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Mount Sinai.

2 Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the LORD did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to his whole country—

3 all the great tests of strength, the miraculous signs, and the amazing wonders.

4 But to this day the LORD has not given you minds that understand, nor eyes that see, nor ears that hear!

5 For forty years I led you through the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out.

6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or other alcoholic drink, but he provided for you so you would know that he is the LORD your God.

7 “When we came here, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them.

8 We took their land and gave it to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh as their grant of land.

9 “Therefore, obey the terms of this covenant so that you will prosper in everything you do.

10 All of you—tribal leaders, elders, officers, all the men of Israel—are standing today in the presence of the LORD your God.

11 Your little ones and your wives are with you, as well as the foreigners living among you who chop your wood and carry your water.

12 You are standing here today to enter into the covenant of the LORD your God. The LORD is making this covenant, including the curses.

13 By entering into the covenant today, he will establish you as his people and confirm that he is your God, just as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

14 “But you are not the only ones with whom I am making this covenant with its curses.

15 I am making this covenant both with you who stand here today in the presence of the LORD our God, and also with the future generations who are not standing here today.

16 “You remember how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we traveled through the lands of enemy nations as we left.

Deuteronomy 29:1-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 29

This chapter begins with an intimation of another covenant the Lord was about to make with the people of Israel, De 29:1; and, to prepare their minds to an attention to it, various things which the Lord had done for them are recited, De 29:2-9; the persons are particularly mentioned with whom the covenant would now be made, the substance of which is, that they should be his people, and he their God, De 29:10-15; and since they had seen the idols in Egypt and other countries, with which they might have been ensnared, they are cautioned against idolatry and idolaters, as being most provoking to the Lord, De 29:16-21; which would bring destruction not only on particular persons, but upon their whole land, to the amazement of posterity; who, inquiring the reason of it, will be told, it was because they forsook the covenant of God, and particularly were guilty of idolatry, which, whether privately or openly committed, would be always punished, De 29:22-29.

Footnotes

• [a]. Verse 29:1 is numbered 28:69 in Hebrew text.
• [b]. Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai.
• [c]. Verses 29:2-29 are numbered 29:1-28 in Hebrew text.