16 And the Lord said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors,(A) and these people will soon prostitute(B) themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake(C) me and break the covenant I made with them. 17 And in that day I will become angry(D) with them and forsake(E) them; I will hide(F) my face(G) from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters(H) and calamities will come on them, and in that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come on us because our God is not with us?’(I) 18 And I will certainly hide my face in that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.

19 “Now write(J) down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness(K) for me against them. 20 When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their ancestors,(L) and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods(M) and worship them,(N) rejecting me and breaking my covenant.(O) 21 And when many disasters and calamities come on them,(P) this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do,(Q) even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath.” 22 So Moses wrote(R) down this song that day and taught it to the Israelites.

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16 And the Lord said to Moses, (A)“Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and (B)whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will (C)forsake me and (D)break my covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and (E)I will forsake them and (F)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, (G)‘Have not these evils come upon us because (H)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 (I)they have turned to other gods.

19 “Now therefore write (J)this song and (K)teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be (L)a witness for me against the people of Israel. 20 For when I have brought them into the land (M)flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and (N)grown fat, (O)they will turn to other gods and serve them, and (P)despise me and (Q)break my covenant. 21 And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as (R)a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For (S)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.

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16 The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, (A)you are about to [a]lie down with your fathers; and (B)this people will arise and play the prostitute with the foreign gods of the land into the midst of which they are going, and (C)they will abandon Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. 17 (D)Then My anger will be kindled against them on that day, and (E)I will abandon them and (F)hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will find them; so they will say on that day, ‘(G)Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have found us?’ 18 But I will assuredly hide My face on that day because of all the evil that they will have done, for they will have turned away to other gods.

19 “Now then, (H)write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it [b]on their lips, so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel. 20 (I)For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they eat and are satisfied and (J)become [c]prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and spurn Me and break My covenant. 21 Then it will come about, (K)when many evils and troubles find them, that this song will testify before them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from the mouth of their [d]descendants); for (L)I know their inclination which they are [e]developing today, before I bring them into the land which I swore.” 22 (M)So Moses wrote down this song on the same day, and taught it to the sons of Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 31:16 I.e., die
  2. Deuteronomy 31:19 Lit in their mouths
  3. Deuteronomy 31:20 Lit fat
  4. Deuteronomy 31:21 Lit seed
  5. Deuteronomy 31:21 Lit making

16 And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will [a]rest with your fathers; and this people will (A)rise and (B)play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will (C)forsake Me and (D)break My covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then My anger shall be (E)aroused against them in that day, and (F)I will forsake them, and I will (G)hide My face from them, and they shall be [b]devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, (H)‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is (I)not among us?’ 18 And (J)I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods.

19 “Now therefore, write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be (K)a witness for Me against the children of Israel. 20 When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves (L)and grown fat, (M)then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant. 21 Then it shall be, (N)when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants, for (O)I know the inclination (P)of their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them.

22 Therefore Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 31:16 Die and join your ancestors
  2. Deuteronomy 31:17 consumed

16-18 God spoke to Moses: “You’re about to die and be buried with your ancestors. You’ll no sooner be in the grave than this people will be up and lusting after the foreign gods of this country that they are entering. They will abandon me and violate my Covenant that I’ve made with them. I’ll get angry, oh so angry! I’ll walk off and leave them on their own, won’t so much as look back at them. Then many calamities and disasters will devastate them because they are defenseless. They’ll say, ‘Isn’t it because our God wasn’t here that all this evil has come upon us?’ But I’ll stay out of their lives, keep looking the other way because of all their evil: they took up with other gods!

19-21 “But for right now, copy down this song and teach the People of Israel to sing it by heart. They’ll have it then as my witness against them. When I bring them into the land that I promised to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, and they eat and become full and get fat and then begin fooling around with other gods and worshiping them, and then things start falling apart, many terrible things happening, this song will be there with them as a witness to who they are and what went wrong. Their children won’t forget this song; they’ll be singing it. Don’t think I don’t know what they are already scheming to do, and they’re not even in the land yet, this land I promised them.”

22 So Moses wrote down this song that very day and taught it to the People of Israel.

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