21. Because of you the Lord your God was angry with me and solemnly declared that I would not cross the River Jordan to enter the fertile land which he is giving you.
22. I will die in this land and never cross the river, but you are about to go across and occupy that fertile land.
23. Be certain that you do not forget the covenant that the Lord your God made with you. Obey his command not to make yourselves any kind of idol,
24. because the Lord your God is like a flaming fire; he tolerates no rivals.
25. “Even when you have been in the land a long time and have children and grandchildren, do not sin by making for yourselves an idol in any form at all. This is evil in the Lord's sight, and it will make him angry.
26. I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that, if you disobey me, you will soon disappear from the land. You will not live very long in the land across the Jordan that you are about to occupy. You will be completely destroyed.
27. The Lord will scatter you among other nations, where only a few of you will survive.
28. There you will serve gods made by human hands, gods of wood and stone, gods that cannot see or hear, eat or smell.