Deuteronomy 31
English Standard Version
Joshua to Succeed Moses
31 So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am (A)120 years old today. I am no longer able to (B)go out and come in. The Lord has said to me, (C)‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God (D)himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, (E)as the Lord has spoken. 4 And the Lord will do to them (F)as he did to Sihon (G)and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them (H)according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. 6 (I)Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, (J)for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. (K)He will not leave you or forsake you.”
7 Then (L)Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, (M)“Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 8 It is the Lord (N)who goes before you. He will be with you; (O)he will not leave you or forsake you. (P)Do not fear or be dismayed.”
The Reading of the Law
9 Then Moses (Q)wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, (R)who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, (S)“At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at (T)the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes (U)to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, (V)you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 (W)Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, (X)who have not known it, (Y)may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, (Z)as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
Joshua Commissioned to Lead Israel
14 And the Lord said to Moses, (AA)“Behold, the days approach when you must die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that (AB)I may commission him.” And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. 15 And (AC)the Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud. And the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent.
16 And the Lord said to Moses, (AD)“Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and (AE)whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will (AF)forsake me and (AG)break my covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and (AH)I will forsake them and (AI)hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, (AJ)‘Have not these evils come upon us because (AK)our God is not among us?’ 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because (AL)they have turned to other gods.
19 “Now therefore write (AM)this song and (AN)teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be (AO)a witness for me against the people of Israel. 20 For when I have brought them into the land (AP)flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and (AQ)grown fat, (AR)they will turn to other gods and serve them, and (AS)despise me and (AT)break my covenant. 21 And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as (AU)a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For (AV)I know what they are inclined to do even today, before I have brought them into the land that I swore to give.” 22 So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the people of Israel.
23 (AW)And the Lord[a] commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, (AX)“Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. (AY)I will be with you.”
24 When Moses had finished (AZ)writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, 25 Moses commanded (BA)the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, 26 “Take this Book of the Law (BB)and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for (BC)a witness against you. 27 For I know how rebellious and (BD)stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, (BE)you have been rebellious against the Lord. How much more after my death! 28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak (BF)these words in their ears and (BG)call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death (BH)you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And (BI)in the days to come (BJ)evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, (BK)provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”
The Song of Moses
30 Then Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the ears of all the assembly of Israel:
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 31:23 Hebrew he
Devarim 31
Orthodox Jewish Bible
31 And Moshe went and spoke these devarim unto kol Yisroel.
2 And he said unto them, I am me’ah v’esrim shanah today; I can no more go out and come in; also Hashem hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Yarden.
3 Hashem Eloheicha, He will go over before thee, and He will make shmad these Goyim from before thee, and thou shalt dispossess them; and Yehoshua (see Nechemyah 8:17 for Aramaic form, Yeshua), he shall go over before thee, as Hashem hath said.
4 And Hashem shall do unto them as He did to Sichon and to Og, melachim of the Emori, and unto the land of them, whom He made shmad.
5 And Hashem shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto kol hamitzvot which I have commanded you.
6 Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of their faces; for Hashem Eloheicha, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor abandon thee.
7 And Moshe called unto Yehoshua, and said unto him in the sight of kol Yisroel, Chazak! (be strong) and of a good courage; for thou must go with this people unto Ha’Aretz which Hashem hath sworn unto their avot to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. [See Yeshayah 49:8; Yn 14:1-3.]
8 And Hashem, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither abandon thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
9 And Moshe wrote this torah, and delivered it unto the kohanim, the Bnei Levi, which bore the Aron Brit Hashem and unto kol Ziknei Yisroel.
10 And Moshe commanded them, saying, At the end of every shevah shanim, in the mo’ed (appointed time) of the shnat hashemittah (year of release), in Chag HaSukkot,
11 When kol Yisroel is come to appear before Hashem Eloheicha in the place which He shall choose, thou shalt read this torah before kol Yisroel in their hearing.
12 Gather the people together, anashim and nashim, and banim, and ger that is within thy she’arim, in order that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear Hashem Eloheichem, and be shomer to do kol divrei hatorah hazot;
13 And that their banim, which have not known anything, may hear, and learn to fear Hashem Eloheichem, as long as ye live in ha’adamah whither ye go over Yarden to possess it.
14 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Behold, thy yamim approach that thou must die; call Yehoshua, and present yourselves in the Ohel Mo’ed, that I may give him a charge. And Moshe and Yehoshua went, and presented themselves in the Ohel Mo’ed.
15 And Hashem appeared in the Ohel in an ammud anan (pillar of cloud); and the ammud anan stood over the petach (entrance) of the Ohel.
16 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Behold, thou shalt sleep with Avoteicha; and this people will rise up, and play the harlot going after the elohei nekhar ha’aretz (g-ds of the foreigners of the land), whither they go to be among them, and will forsake Me, and break My Brit which I have cut them.
17 Then My anger shall be kindled against them in Yom Hahu, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured, and ra’ot rabbot (many evils) and tzarot (troubles) shall befall them; so that they will say in Yom Hahu, Are not these evils come upon us, because Elohai is not among us?
18 And I will surely hide My face in Yom Hahu for kol hara’ah which they shall have done, in that they are turned unto elohim acherim.
19 Now therefore write ye this shirah for you, and teach it the Bnei Yisroel; put it in their mouths, in order that this shirah may be an ed (witness) for Me against the Bnei Yisroel.
20 For when I shall have brought them into ha’adamah which I swore unto Avotav (their fathers), zavat cholov u’devash (that floweth with milk and honey); and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and grown fat; then will they turn unto elohim acherim, and serve them, and provoke Me, and break My Brit.
21 And it shall come to pass, when ra’ot rabbot and tzarot are befallen them, that this shirah shall testify against them as an ed (witness); for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their zera; for I know their yetzer (inclination) in which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into ha’aretz which I swore.
22 Moshe therefore wrote this shirah on that day, and taught it the Bnei Yisroel.
23 And he gave Yehoshua ben Nun a charge, and said, Chazak! And of a good courage; for thou shalt bring the Bnei Yisroel into Ha’Aretz which I swore unto them; and I will be with thee. [Isa 49:8]
24 And it came to pass, when Moshe had made an end of writing the divrei HaTorah hazot in a sefer, until they were finished,
25 That Moshe commanded the Levi’im, which bore the Aron Brit Hashem, saying,
26 Take this sefer haTorah, and put it at the side of the Aron Brit Hashem Eloheichem, that it may be there for an ed (witness) against thee.
27 For I know thy meri (rebellion), and thy oref hakasheh (stiff neck); behold, while I am yet alive with you today, ye have been mamrim (rebellious) against Hashem; and how much more after my death!
28 Gather unto me kol ziknei shvatim of you, and your shoterim, that I may speak these devarim in their hearing, and call Shomayim and Ha’Aretz to record as witnesses against them.
29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from HaDerech which I have commanded you; and hara’ah will befall you in the acharim hayamim; because ye will do rah (evil) in the sight of Hashem, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.
30 And Moshe spoke in the ears of kol Kahal Yisroel the divrei hashirah hazot (words of this song), until they were ended.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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