God offers life or death
11 The command that I am giving you today is not too difficult for you. It is not too far away from you. 12 God does not keep it in heaven. So you do not have to ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven to find it and bring it down to us? Who will explain it to us so that we can obey it?’
13 It is not far away across the sea. So you do not have to ask, ‘Who will go across the sea to fetch it for us? Who will explain it to us so that we can obey it?’
14 No! God's message is very near to you. It is in your mouth and in your mind. So you must do what it teaches you to do.
15 Look! You must choose between the things that I am offering you today. You may choose to have life and many good things. Or you may choose to have death and many troubles. 16 I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God. Live in a way that pleases him. Obey his commands, his rules and his laws. If you do that, you will live. You will become a nation of many people. The Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are going into as your new home.
17 But you will have trouble if you turn away from God and you do not obey him. If you decide to serve other gods and to worship them, 18 you will certainly come to an end. After you go across the Jordan River, you will not live very long in that land. That is what I am telling you today.
19 Today, I want the sky and the earth to hear what I have said to you. I have told you what you may choose. You may choose life or death. You may choose the Lord to bless you or to curse you. Choose life today, so that you and your descendants will live! 20 Yes, love the Lord your God. Obey him and serve him faithfully. He is the one who gives you life. He will let you live for a long time in the land that he is giving to you. That is the land that he promised to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
