4. what God did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots—how he made the water of the Reed Sea flow over their heads when they chased after you, but the Lord destroyed them, and that’s how things stand right now;
5. what the Lord did for you in the desert, until you arrived at this place;
6. and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the descendants of Eliab the Reubenite, when the ground opened up its mouth and swallowed them, their families, their tents, and every living thing they possessed in the presence of all Israel.
7. Your own eyes witnessed each of these powerful acts the Lord performed.
8. So keep every part of the commandment that I am giving you today so that you stay strong to enter and take possession of the land that you are crossing over to possess,
9. and so that you might prolong your life on the fertile land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give to them and their descendants—a land full of milk and honey.
10. The land you are about to enter and possess is definitely not like the land of Egypt, where you came from, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it by hand like a vegetable garden.
11. No, the land you are entering to possess is a land of hills and valleys, where your drinking water will be rain from heaven.
12. It’s a land that the Lord cares for: the Lord’s eyes are on it constantly from the first of the year until the very end of the year.
13. Now, if you completely obey God’s commandments that I am giving you right now, by loving the Lord your God and by serving him with all your heart and all your being,
14. then he will provide rain for your land at the right time—early rain and late rain—so you can stock up your grain, wine, and oil.
15. He will also make your fields lush for your livestock, and you will eat and be satisfied.
16. But watch yourselves! Otherwise, your heart might be led astray so you stray away, serving other gods and worshipping them.
17. Then the Lord’s anger would burn against you. He will close the sky up tight. There won’t be any rain, and the ground won’t yield any of its crops. You will quickly disappear off the wonderful land the Lord is giving to you.
18. Place these words I’m speaking on your heart and in your very being. Tie them on your hand as a sign. They should be on your forehead as a symbol.