Joshua to Succeed Moses

31 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: ² “I am now a hundred and twenty years old^(A) and I am no longer able to lead you.^(B) The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’^{(C) 3} The Lord your God himself will cross^(D) over ahead of you.^(E) He will destroy these nations^(F) before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross^(G) over ahead of you, as the Lord said. ⁴ And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og,^(H) the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. ⁵ The Lord will deliver^(I) them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous.^(J) Do not be afraid or terrified^(K) because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you;^(L) he will never leave you^(M) nor forsake^(N) you.”

⁷ Then Moses summoned Joshua and said^(O) to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them,^(P) and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. ⁸ The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you;^(Q) he will never leave you nor forsake you.^(R) Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Public Reading of the Law

⁹ So Moses wrote^(S) down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carried^(T) the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. ¹⁰ Then Moses commanded them: “At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts,^(U) during the Festival of Tabernacles,^{(V) 11} when all Israel comes to appear^(W) before the Lord your God at the place he will choose,^(X) you shall read this law^(Y) before them in their hearing. ¹² Assemble the people—men, women and children, and the foreigners residing in your towns—so they can listen and learn^(Z) to fear^(AA) the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. ¹³ Their children,^(AB) who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Israel’s Rebellion Predicted

¹⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Now the day of your death^(AC) is near. Call Joshua^(AD) and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, where I will commission him.^(AE)” So Moses and Joshua came and presented themselves at the tent of meeting.^(AF)

¹⁵ Then the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the tent.^{(AG) 16} And the Lord said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors,^(AH) and these people will soon prostitute^(AI) themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake^(AJ) me and break the covenant I made with them. ¹⁷ And in that day I will become angry^(AK) with them and forsake^(AL) them; I will hide^(AM) my face^(AN) from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters^(AO) 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?’^{(AP) 18} And I will certainly hide my face in that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.

¹⁹ “Now write^(AQ) down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness^(AR) 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,^(AS) and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods^(AT) and worship them,^(AU) rejecting me and breaking my covenant.^{(AV) 21} And when many disasters and calamities come on them,^(AW) this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do,^(AX) even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath.” ²² So Moses wrote^(AY) down this song that day and taught it to the Israelites.

²³ The Lord gave this command^(AZ) to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous,^(BA) for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you.”

²⁴ After Moses finished writing^(BB) in a book the words of this law^(BC) from beginning to end, ²⁵ he gave this command to the Levites who carried^(BD) the ark of the covenant of the Lord: ²⁶ “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. There it will remain as a witness against you.^{(BE) 27} For I know how rebellious^(BF) and stiff-necked^(BG) you are. If you have been rebellious against the Lord while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die! ²⁸ Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officials, so that I can speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to testify against them.^{(BH) 29} For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt^(BI) and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster^(BJ) will fall on you because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord and arouse his anger by what your hands have made.”

The Song of Moses

³⁰ And Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to end in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:

Exploring Canaan

13 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Send some men to explore^(A) the land of Canaan,^(B) which I am giving to the Israelites.^(C) From each ancestral tribe^(D) send one of its leaders.”

³ So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.^{(E) 4} These are their names:

¹⁶ These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore^(H) the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun^(I) the name Joshua.)^(J)

¹⁷ When Moses sent them to explore Canaan,^(K) he said, “Go up through the Negev^(L) and on into the hill country.^{(M) 18} See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. ¹⁹ What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? ²⁰ How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.^(N)” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)^(O)

²¹ So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin^(P) as far as Rehob,^(Q) toward Lebo Hamath.^{(R) 22} They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron,^(S) where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai,^(T) the descendants of Anak,^(U) lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)^{(V) 23} When they reached the Valley of Eshkol,^[a](W) they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates^(X) and figs.^{(Y) 24} That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. ²⁵ At the end of forty days^(Z) they returned from exploring the land.^(AA)

Report on the Exploration

²⁶ They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh^(AB) in the Desert of Paran.^(AC) There they reported to them^(AD) and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.^{(AE) 27} They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!^(AF) Here is its fruit.^{(AG) 28} But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.^(AH) We even saw descendants of Anak^(AI) there.^{(AJ) 29} The Amalekites^(AK) live in the Negev; the Hittites,^(AL) Jebusites^(AM) and Amorites^(AN) live in the hill country;^(AO) and the Canaanites^(AP) live near the sea and along the Jordan.^(AQ)”

³⁰ Then Caleb^(AR) silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”^{(AS) 32} And they spread among the Israelites a bad report^(AT) about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours^(AU) those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.^{(AV) 33} We saw the Nephilim^(AW) there (the descendants of Anak^(AX) come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers^(AY) in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”