17. If you do, the Lord will become angry with you. He will shut the heavens so it will not rain. Then the land will not grow crops. And you will soon die in the good land the Lord is giving you.
18. Remember my words in your hearts and souls. Write them down and tie them to your hands as a sign. Tie them on your foreheads to remind you.
19. Teach them well to your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road. Talk about them when you lie down and when you get up.
20. Write them on your doors and gates.
21. Then both you and your children will live a long time in the land. This is the land the Lord promised your ancestors. You will live there for as long as the skies are above the earth.
22. Be careful to obey every command I am giving you to follow. Love the Lord your God. Do what he has told you to do. And be loyal to him.
23. Then the Lord will force all those nations out of the land ahead of you. And you will take the land from nations that are bigger and stronger than you.
24. Everywhere you step will be yours. Your land will go from the desert to Lebanon. And it will go from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea.
25. No one will be able to stop you. The Lord your God will do what he promised. He will make the people afraid everywhere you go.
26. See, today I am letting you choose a blessing or a curse.