Deu 30:15-20 | NET2full | STEP | “ Look ! I have set before you today life and prosperity on the one hand, and death and disaster on the other.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

15 “Look! I have set before you today life and prosperity on the one hand, and death and disaster on the other. 16 What ^{▼▼tc A number of LXX mss insert before this verse, “if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God,” thus translating אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) as “which” and the rest as “I am commanding you today, to love,” etc., “then you will live,” etc.} I am commanding you today is to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to obey his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances. Then you will live and become numerous and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are about to possess. ^{▼▼tn Heb “which you are going there to possess it.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.} 17 However, if you ^{▼▼tn Heb “your heart,” as a metonymy for the person.} turn aside and do not obey, but are lured away to worship and serve other gods, 18 I declare to you this very day that you ^{▼▼sn To this point in the chapter, Moses has addressed the people with the singular pronoun “you,” but here he switches to the plural. Rhetorically, the singular pronoun has emphasized the responsibilities and consequences for the nation as a whole. It is a group responsibility that requires a group effort. At v. 18 he shifts to using the plural form. This individualizes the threatened punishment in v. 18 and highlights individual responsibility in the first half of v. 19 (calling heaven and earth as witness “against you”) before returning to the collective responsibility that “you” (singular) choose life.} will certainly ^{▼▼tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “certainly.”} perish! You will not extend your time in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess. ^{▼▼tn Heb “to go there to possess it.”} 19 Today I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before you. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live! 20 I also call on you ^{▼▼tn The words “I also call on you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20 are one long sentence, which the translation divides into two.} to love the Lord your God, to obey him and be loyal to him, for he gives you life and enables you to live continually ^{▼▼tn Heb “he is your life and the length of your days to live.”} in the land the Lord promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”