Bible Strands

Deuteronomy 30:15

See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, as well as death and disaster.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, concluding his covenant renewal speech just before they cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. He presents the consequences of covenant obedience and disobedience at the threshold of their inheritance.

The words — רְאֵה (re.'Eh) = see; נָתַ֤תִּי (na.Ta.ti) = I set. These verbs frame the passage as a deliberate divine placement of opposing outcomes for the audience to observe.

The thread — The motif appears in Deuteronomy 11:26 as "a blessing and a curse," and expands in Deuteronomy 30:19 to "life and death, blessing and cursing" with heaven and earth called as witnesses. Deuteronomy 30:1 references the same paired outcomes as the catalyst for covenant remembrance.

Why it lands — The text requires a conscious selection between two defined paths, treating obedience to the revealed word as the direct mechanism for obtaining the stated result. It leaves no neutral ground, demanding an explicit choice before the stated consequences unfold.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

רְאֵ֨הre.'Ehseeנָתַ֤תִּיna.Ta.tiI setלְפָנֶ֙יךָ֙le./fa.Nei./kha<to>/ before/ youהַיּ֔וֹםhai./Yomthis/ dayאֶת־'et-<obj.>הַֽחַיִּ֖יםha./chai.Yim<the>/ lifeוְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>הַטּ֑וֹבha./Tov<the>/ goodוְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>הַמָּ֖וֶתha./Ma.vet<the>/ deathוְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>הָרָֽע׃ha./Ra'<the>/ evil

King James Version

See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

Cross-references