8. You were chosen because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors. So he used his mighty hand to bring you out. He freed you from slavery under Pharaoh (the king of Egypt).
9. Keep in mind that the Lord your God is ⌊the only⌋ God. He is a faithful God, who keeps his promise and is merciful to thousands of generations of those who love him and obey his commands.
10. But he sends destruction to pay back everyone who hates him. He never takes long to pay back anyone who hates him.
11. So obey the commands, laws, and rules I’m giving you today.
12. If you listen to these rules and faithfully obey them, the Lord your God will keep his promise to you and be merciful to you, as he swore to your ancestors.
13. He will love you, bless you, and increase the number of your descendants. He will bless you with children. He will bless your land with produce: grain, new wine, and olive oil. He will bless your herds with calves, and your flocks with lambs and kids. This will all happen in the land the Lord will give you, as he swore to your ancestors.
14. You will be blessed more than any other people. Your men and women will be able to have children, and your animals will be able to have offspring.
15. The Lord will keep you from having any kind of illness. He will not strike you with any of the terrible diseases you experienced in Egypt. Instead, he will strike all those who hate you.
16. You must destroy all the people the Lord your God hands over to you. Have no pity on them, and never worship their gods, because they will be a trap for you.
17. You may say to yourselves, “These nations outnumber us. How can we force them out?”
18. Don’t be afraid of them. Remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt.
19. You saw with your own eyes the terrible plagues, the miraculous signs, and the amazing things the Lord did. He used his mighty hand and powerful arm to bring you out. He will do the same thing to all the people you’re afraid of.