21. But the Lord was angry with me on your account and swore that I should not cross the Jordan nor enter the good land which the Lord, your God, is giving you as a heritage.
22. I myself shall die in this country; I shall not cross the Jordan; but you are going to cross over and take possession of that good land.
23. Be careful, therefore, lest you forget the covenant which the Lord, your God, has made with you, and fashion for yourselves against his command an idol in any form whatsoever.
24. For the Lord, your God, is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
25. When you have children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, should you then act corruptly by fashioning an idol in the form of anything, and by this evil done in his sight provoke the Lord, your God,
26. I call heaven and earth this day to witness against you, that you shall all quickly perish from the land which you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You shall not live in it for any length of time but shall be utterly wiped out.
27. The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and there shall remain but a handful of you among the nations to which the Lord will drive you.
28. There you shall serve gods that are works of human hands, of wood and stone, gods which can neither see nor hear, neither eat nor smell.
29. Yet when you seek the Lord, your God, from there, you shall indeed find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul.
30. In your distress, when all these things shall have come upon you, you shall finally return to the Lord, your God, and listen to his voice.