20. But the Lord brought you out of Egypt to make you his own special people. He saved you from Egypt. It was as if he pulled you from a hot furnace. And now you are his people.
21. “The Lord was angry with me because of you. He swore that I could not go across the Jordan River into the good land that the Lord your God is giving you.
22. So I must die here in this land. I cannot go across the Jordan River, but you will soon go across it and take that good land and live there.
23. You must be careful not to forget the agreement that the Lord your God made with you. You must obey the Lord’S command. Don’t make any idols in any form,
24. because the Lord your God hates for his people to worship other gods. And he can be like a fire that destroys!
25. “You will live in the country a long time. You will have children and grandchildren there. After all that time, be sure that you do not then ruin your lives by making any kind of idol! That is something the Lord your God considers evil, and it would make him very angry!
26. So I am warning you now. Heaven and earth are my witnesses! If you do such an evil thing, you will quickly be destroyed! You are crossing the Jordan River now to take that land. But if you make any idols, you will not live there very long. No, you will be destroyed completely!
27. The Lord will scatter you among the nations. And only a few of you will be left alive to go to the countries where the Lord will send you.
28. There you will serve gods made by men—things made of wood and stone that cannot see or hear or eat or smell!
29. But there in these other lands you will look for the Lord your God. And if you look for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.
30. When you are in trouble—when all these things happen to you—then you will come back to the Lord your God and obey him.