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Pentateuch · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Deuteronomy 8

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

Old Testament

Deuteronomy 8

1You shall observe to do all the commandments which I command you today, that you may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers.

2You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

3He humbled you, allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know, that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the LORD’s mouth.

4Your clothing didn’t grow old on you, neither did your foot swell, these forty years.

5You shall consider in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

6You shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.

7For the LORD your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of springs, and underground water flowing into valleys and hills;

8a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey;

9a land in which you shall eat bread without scarcity, you shall not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig copper.

10You shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which he has given you.

11Beware lest you forget the LORD your God, in not keeping his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I command you today;

12lest, when you have eaten and are full, and have built fine houses and lived in them;

13and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied;

14then your heart might be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;

15who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with venomous snakes and scorpions, and thirsty ground where there was no water; who poured water for you out of the rock of flint;

16who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers didn’t know, that he might humble you, and that he might prove you, to do you good at your latter end;

17and lest you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.”

18But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is today.

19It shall be, if you shall forget the LORD your God, and walk after other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you shall surely perish.

20As the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish, because you wouldn’t listen to the LORD your God’s voice.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Moses renews the covenant and calls Israel to remember, love, and obey God. Read Deuteronomy 8 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 8

Deuteronomy 8 contains 20 verses and about 536 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: “You shall observe to do all the commandments which I command you today, that you may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your…” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 20 closes: “As the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish, because you wouldn’t listen to the LORD your God’s voice.” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include land, might, commandments, today, fathers, know. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Deuteronomy 8

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 8:1—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