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Pentateuch · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Deuteronomy 30

Moses renews the covenant and calls Israel to remember, love, and obey God.

Old Testament

Deuteronomy 30

1It shall happen, when all these things have come on you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you,

2and return to the LORD your God and obey his voice according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul,

3that then the LORD your God will release you from captivity, have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you.

4If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will bring you back.

5The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you will possess it. He will do you good, and increase your numbers more than your fathers.

6The LORD your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your offspring, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

7The LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.

8You shall return and obey the LORD’s voice, and do all his commandments which I command you today.

9The LORD your God will make you prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, for good; for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers,

10if you will obey the LORD your God’s voice, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

11For this commandment which I command you today is not too hard for you or too distant.

12It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up for us to heaven, bring it to us, and proclaim it to us, that we may do it?”

13Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will go over the sea for us, bring it to us, and proclaim it to us, that we may do it?”

14But the word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

15Behold, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and evil.

16For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you go in to possess it.

17But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away and worship other gods, and serve them,

18I declare to you today that you will surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you pass over the Jordan to go in to possess it.

19I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants,

20to love the LORD your God, to obey his voice, and to cling to him; for he is your life, and the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Moses renews the covenant and calls Israel to remember, love, and obey God. Read Deuteronomy 30 within the complete Deuteronomy overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Deuteronomy 30

Deuteronomy 30 contains 20 verses and about 626 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “It shall happen, when all these things have come on you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations…” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 20 closes: “to love the LORD your God, to obey his voice, and to cling to him; for he is your life, and the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore…” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include will, today, heart, obey, voice, command. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Deuteronomy 30

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Deuteronomy 30:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer