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The Command to Love God

¹ These are the commands, rules, and laws that the Lord your God told me to teach you to obey in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to take. ² You, your children, and your grandchildren must respect the Lord your God as long as you live. Obey all his rules and commands I give you so that you will live a long time. ³ Listen, Israel, and carefully obey these laws. Then all will go well for you, and you will become a great nation in a fertile land, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.

⁴ Listen, people of Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. ⁵ Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. ⁶ Always remember these commands I give you today. ⁷ Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Write them down and tie them to your hands as a sign. Tie them on your forehead to remind you, ⁹ and write them on your doors and gates.

¹⁰ The Lord your God will bring you into the land he promised to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he will give it to you. The land has large, growing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses full of good things you did not buy, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. You will eat as much as you want. ¹² But be careful! Do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.

¹³ Respect the Lord your God. You must worship him and make your promises only in his name. ¹⁴ Do not worship other gods as the people around you do, ¹⁵ because the Lord your God is a jealous God. He is present with you, and if you worship other gods, he will become angry with you and destroy you from the earth. ¹⁶ Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. ¹⁷ Be sure to obey the commands of the Lord your God and the rules and laws he has given you. ¹⁸ Do what the Lord says is good and right so that things will go well for you. Then you may go in and take the good land the Lord promised to your ancestors. ¹⁹ He will force all your enemies out as you go in, as the Lord has said.

²⁰ In the future when your children ask you, "What is the meaning of the laws, commands, and rules the Lord our God gave us?" ²¹ tell them, "We were slaves to the king of Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt by his great power. ²² The Lord showed us great and terrible signs and miracles, which he did to Egypt, the king, and his whole family. ²³ The Lord brought us out of Egypt to lead us here and to give us the land he promised our ancestors. ²⁴ The Lord ordered us to obey all these commands and to respect the Lord our God so that we will always do well and stay alive, as we are today. ²⁵ The right thing for us to do is this: Obey all these rules in the presence of the Lord our God, as he has commanded."