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Deuteronomy 8

1“Take care to carry out the whole commandment I command you today, so that you may live and multiply and enter and possess the land Yahweh swore to your fathers. 2Remember all the way Yahweh your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart—whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3He humbled you, made you hungry, and fed you manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to make you know that humankind does not live on bread alone, but humankind lives on everything that comes from Yahweh’s mouth. 4Your clothing did not wear out on you, and your foot did not swell these forty years. 5Know in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, Yahweh your God disciplines you. 6Keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, walking in his ways and fearing him.

7“For Yahweh your God is bringing you into a good land: a land of streams of water, springs, and deep waters welling up in the valley and in the hill country; 8a land of wheat and barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey; 9a land where you will eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and from whose mountains you will mine copper. 10You will eat and be satisfied, and bless Yahweh your God for the good land he has given you.

11“Take care that you do not forget Yahweh your God by failing to keep his commandments, judgments, and statutes, which I command you today. 12Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, build good houses and live in them, 13and your herds and flocks multiply, your silver and gold multiply, and everything you have multiplies, 14your heart may become exalted and you may forget Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves. 15He led you through the great and fearsome wilderness, with its fiery snake and scorpion, its thirsty ground without water. He brought water out of the flint rock for you. 16He fed you manna in the wilderness, which your fathers had not known, to humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17You may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ 18But remember Yahweh your God, because he is the one who gives you power to make wealth, to establish his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is today. 19If you ever forget Yahweh your God, follow other gods, serve them, and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will certainly perish. 20Like the nations Yahweh is making perish before you, so you will perish, because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.

Translation notes 4

8:2–5 — Testing and food. The testing is described as discovering what is in Israel’s heart; the translation retains that purpose without explaining away the wording. “His commandments” follows the traditional read form. Verse 3 says “everything that comes from Yahweh’s mouth,” broader in expression than “every word.” “Humankind” includes women and men. The father-and-son comparison retains the specific familial image.

8:7–10 — Land and resources. “Deep waters” are the subterranean waters feeding springs, not necessarily the sea. “Honey” may include fruit syrup; the verse does not specify the source. Iron and copper are retained as the named metals without substituting reconstructed mining technologies.

8:14–18 — Exalted heart, snake, and wealth. An exalted heart depicts pride. “Fiery snake” preserves the term connected with burning; it is commonly understood here as a venomous snake rather than a creature literally made of fire. “Wealth” renders a word also used for strength or resources; the context concerns accumulated possessions and the power to obtain them.

8:19–20 — The same judgment. Israel’s destruction is compared directly with that of the nations. Covenant membership has not been made an exemption from the warning in the English.