16-17. When we lived in Egypt, you saw the Egyptians worship disgusting idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold. Then as we travelled through other nations, you saw those people worship other disgusting idols.
18. So make sure that everyone in your tribe remains faithful to the Lord and never starts worshipping gods of other nations.If even one of you worships idols, you will be like the root of a plant that produces bitter, poisonous fruit.
19. You may be an Israelite and know all about the Lord's agreement with us, but he won't bless you if you rebel against him. You may think you can get away with it, but you will cause the rest of Israel to be punished along with you.
20-21. The Lord will be furious, and instead of forgiving you, he will separate you from the other tribes. Then he will destroy you, by piling on you all the curses in The Book of God's Law, and you will be forgotten for ever.
22. The Lord will strike your country with diseases and disasters. Your descendants and foreigners from distant countries will see that your land
23. has become a scorching desert of salt and sulphur, where nothing is planted, nothing sprouts, and nothing grows. It will be as lifeless as the land around the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, after the Lord became angry and destroyed them.