You must live the way the Lord your God commanded you. Then you will continue to live, and everything will be fine with you. You will live a long life in the land that will belong to you.
You must obey the rules, laws, teachings, and commands that he wrote for you. You must obey these things all the time. You must not respect other gods.
\{David said,\} “Now, in front of all Israel and God, I tell you these things: Be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God! Then you can keep this good land. And you can pass it on to your descendants {\cf2\super [303]} forever.
If a good person blesses people,\par then they will get the land \{God promised\}.\par But if he asks for bad things to happen,\par then those people will be destroyed.\par
Do what the Lord says\par and wait for his help.\par The Lord will make you the winner,\par and you will get the land \{God promised\},\par when he forces the bad people to leave.\par
It does not matter if we like the message or if we don’t like the message. We will obey the Lord our God. We are sending you to the Lord for a message from him. We will obey what he says. Then good things will happen to us. Yes, we will obey the Lord our God.”
Zechariah and Elizabeth were truly good people before God. They did everything the Lord (God) commanded and told people to do. They were without fault.
Some people live for God’s glory, for honor, and for life that cannot be destroyed. Those people live for those things by always continuing to do good. God will give life forever to those people.
“Now, people of Israel, listen! What does the Lord your God really want from you? The Lord wants you to respect him and do what he says. God wants you to love him and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Then you will live a long life in that country. The Lord promised to give that land to your ancestors [66] and all their descendants. [67] It is a land filled with many good things. [68]
Be careful to obey all the commands that I give you. When you do the things that are good and right—the things that please the Lord your God—then everything will go well for you and for your descendants [84] forever.
You may take the babies for yourself. But you must let the mother go. If you obey these laws, then things will go well for you, and you will live a long time.
I command you today to love the Lord your God. I command you to follow him and to obey his commands, laws, and rules. Then you will live, and your nation will grow larger. And the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take for your own.
“Now, Israel, listen to the laws and to the commands that I teach you. Obey them and you will live. Then you can go in and take the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.
And you must obey his laws and commands that I give you today. Then everything will go well with you and your children who live after you. And you will live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving you—it will be yours forever!”
“You must honor (respect) your father and your mother. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. If you follow this command, then you will live a long time, and everything will go well for you in the land that the Lord your God gives you.
I only wanted to change their way of thinking—I wanted them to respect me and obey all my commands from the heart! Then everything would be fine with them and with their descendants [33] forever.
“These are the commands, the laws, and the rules that the Lord your God told me to teach you. Obey these laws in the land that you are entering to live in.
People of Israel, listen carefully and obey these laws. Then everything will be fine with you. You will have many children, and you will get the land filled with many good things [35] —just like the Lord, the God of your ancestors, [36] promised.
“You must obey all the commands that I give you today. Why? Because then you will live and grow to become a great nation. You will get the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors. [48]
Training (teaching) your body helps you in some ways. But serving God helps you in every way. Serving God brings you blessings in this life and in the future life too.