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Deuteronomy 29-32
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Deuteronomy 29-32
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
29 [a]These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.(A)
The Covenant Renewed in Moab
2 [b]Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land,(B) 3 the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.(C) 5 I have led you forty years in the wilderness. The clothes on your back have not worn out, and the sandals on your feet have not worn out;(D) 6 you have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink—so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.(E) 7 When you came to this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out against us for battle, but we defeated them.(F) 8 We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.(G) 9 Therefore observe the words of this covenant and perform them, in order that you may succeed[c] in everything that you do.(H)
10 “You stand assembled today, all of you, before the Lord your God—the leaders of your tribes,[d] your elders, and your officials, all the men of Israel, 11 your children, your women, and the aliens who are in your camp, both those who cut your wood and those who draw your water(I)— 12 to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, sworn by an oath, which the Lord your God is making with you today, 13 in order that he may establish you today as his people and that he may be your God, as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.(J) 14 I am making this covenant, sworn by an oath, not only with you 15 who stand here with us today before the Lord our God but also with those who are not here with us today. 16 You know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. 17 You have seen their detestable things, the filthy idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, that were among them.(K) 18 It may be that there is among you a man or woman or a family or tribe whose heart is already turning away from the Lord our God to serve the gods of those nations. It may be that there is among you a root sprouting poisonous and bitter growth.(L) 19 All who hear the words of this oath and bless themselves, thinking in their hearts, ‘We are safe even though we go our own stubborn ways’ (thus sweeping away the moist with the dry)[e]— 20 the Lord will be unwilling to pardon them, for then the Lord’s anger and passion will smoke against them. All the curses written in this book will descend on them, and the Lord will blot out their names from under heaven.(M) 21 The Lord will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the law.(N) 22 The next generation, your children who rise up after you, as well as the foreigner who comes from a distant country, will see the devastation of that land and the afflictions with which the Lord has afflicted it(O)— 23 all its soil burned out by sulfur and salt, nothing planted, nothing sprouting, unable to support any vegetation, like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his fierce anger(P)— 24 they and indeed all the nations will wonder, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused this great display of anger?’(Q) 25 They will conclude, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 26 They turned and served other gods, worshiping them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them; 27 so the anger of the Lord was kindled against that land, bringing on it every curse written in this book. 28 The Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, fury, and great wrath and cast them into another land, as is now the case.’(R) 29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, to observe all the words of this law.
God’s Fidelity Assured
30 “When all these things have happened to you, the blessings and the curses that I have set before you, if you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you(S) 2 and return to the Lord your God, and you and your children obey him with all your heart and with all your soul, just as I am commanding you today,(T) 3 then the Lord your God will return you from your captivity and have compassion on you, gathering you again from all the peoples among whom the Lord your God has scattered you.(U) 4 Even if you are exiled to the ends of the world,[f] from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you back.(V) 5 The Lord your God will bring you into the land that your ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors.
6 “Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live.(W) 7 The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on the adversaries who took advantage of you. 8 Then you shall again obey the Lord, observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, 9 and the Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors,(X) 10 when you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Exhortation to Choose Life
11 “Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.(Y) 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’(Z) 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ 14 No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.
15 “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.(AA) 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God[g] that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you do not hear but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall certainly perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.(AB) 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live,(AC) 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him, for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”(AD)
Joshua Becomes Moses’s Successor
31 When Moses had finished speaking all[h] these words to all Israel, 2 he said to them, “I am now one hundred twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, and the Lord has told me, ‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’(AE) 3 The Lord your God himself will cross over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua also will cross over before you, as the Lord promised.(AF) 4 The Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 The Lord will give them over to you, and you shall deal with them in full accord with the command that I have given to you.(AG) 6 Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.”(AH)
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and bold, for you are the one who will go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their ancestors to give them, and you will put them in possession of it.(AI) 8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”(AJ)
The Law to Be Read Every Seventh Year
9 Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.(AK) 10 Moses commanded them, “Every seventh year, in the scheduled year of remission, during the Festival of Booths,[i](AL) 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.(AM) 12 Assemble the people—men, women, and children, as well as the aliens residing in your towns—so that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God and to observe diligently all the words of this law(AN) 13 and so that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”(AO)
Moses and Joshua Receive God’s Charge
14 The Lord said to Moses, “Your time to die is near; call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, so that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting,(AP) 15 and the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud; the pillar of cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.(AQ)
16 The Lord said to Moses, “Soon you will lie down with your ancestors. Then this people will begin to prostitute themselves to the foreign gods in their midst, the gods of the land into which they are going; they will forsake me, breaking my covenant that I have made with them.(AR) 17 My anger will be kindled against them on that day. I will forsake them and hide my face from them; they will become easy prey, and many terrible troubles will come upon them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these troubles come upon us because our God is not in our midst?’(AS) 18 On that day I will surely hide my face on account of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. 19 Now, therefore, write this song, and teach it to the Israelites; put it in their mouths, in order that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites. 20 For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I promised on oath to their ancestors, and they have eaten their fill and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, despising me and breaking my covenant.(AT) 21 And when many terrible troubles come upon them, this song will confront them as a witness because it will not be lost from the mouths of their descendants. For I know what they are inclined to do even now, before I have brought them into the land that I promised them on oath.”(AU) 22 That very day Moses wrote this song and taught it to the Israelites.(AV)
23 Then the Lord[j] commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, “Be strong and bold, for you shall bring the Israelites into the land that I promised them; I will be with you.”(AW)
24 When Moses had finished writing down in a book the words of this law to the very end, 25 Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying,(AX) 26 “Take this book of the law and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God; let it remain there as a witness against you.(AY) 27 For I know well how rebellious and stubborn you are. If you already have been so rebellious toward the Lord while I am still alive among you, how much more after my death!(AZ) 28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officials, so that I may recite these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them.(BA) 29 For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly, turning aside from the way that I have commanded you. In time to come trouble will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”(BB)
The Song of Moses
30 Then Moses recited the words of this song, to the very end, in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:
32 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
let the earth hear the words of my mouth.(BC)
2 May my teaching drop like the rain,
my speech condense like the dew,
like gentle rain on grass,
like showers on new growth.(BD)
3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord,
ascribe greatness to our God!(BE)
4 The Rock, his work is perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God, without deceit,
just and upright is he;(BF)
5 yet his degenerate children have dealt falsely with him,[k]
a perverse and crooked generation.(BG)
6 Do you thus repay the Lord,
O foolish and senseless people?
Is not he your father who created you,
who made you and established you?(BH)
7 Remember the days of old;
consider the years long past;
ask your father, and he will inform you,
your elders, and they will tell you.(BI)
8 When the Most High[l] apportioned the nations,
when he divided humankind,
he fixed the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number of the gods;[m](BJ)
9 the Lord’s own portion was his people,
Jacob his allotted share.(BK)
10 He sustained[n] him in a desert land,
in a howling wilderness waste;
he shielded him, cared for him,
guarded him as the apple of his eye.(BL)
11 As an eagle stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,
as it spreads its wings, takes them up,
and bears them aloft on its pinions,(BM)
12 the Lord alone guided him;
no foreign god was with him.(BN)
13 He set him atop the heights of the land
and fed him with[o] produce of the field;
he nursed him with honey from the crags,
with oil from flinty rock,(BO)
14 curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,
with fat of lambs and rams,
Bashan bulls and goats,
together with the choicest wheat—
you drank fine wine from the blood of grapes.(BP)
15 Jacob ate his fill;[p]
Jeshurun grew fat and kicked.
You grew fat, bloated, and gorged!
He abandoned God who made him
and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.(BQ)
16 They made him jealous with strange gods;
with abhorrent things they provoked him.(BR)
17 They sacrificed to demons, not God,
to deities they had never known,
to new ones recently arrived,
whom your ancestors had not feared.(BS)
18 You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you;[q]
you forgot the God who gave you birth.(BT)
19 The Lord saw it and was jealous;[r]
he spurned[s] his sons and daughters.(BU)
20 He said, ‘I will hide my face from them;
I will see what their end will be,
for they are a perverse generation,
children in whom there is no faithfulness.(BV)
21 They made me jealous with what is no god,
provoked me with their idols.
So I will make them jealous with what is no people,
provoke them with a foolish nation.(BW)
22 For a fire is kindled by my anger
and burns to the depths of Sheol;
it devours the earth and its increase
and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.(BX)
23 I will heap disasters upon them,
spend my arrows against them:(BY)
24 wasting hunger,
burning consumption,
bitter pestilence.
The teeth of beasts I will send against them,
with venom of things crawling in the dust.(BZ)
25 In the street the sword shall bereave,
and in the chambers terror
for young man and woman alike,
nursing child and old gray head.(CA)
26 I said, “I will make an end of them[t]
and blot out the memory of them from humankind,”(CB)
27 but I feared provocation by the enemy,
for their adversaries might misunderstand
and say, “Our hand is triumphant;
it was not the Lord who did all this.” ’(CC)
28 They are a nation void of sense;
there is no understanding in them.
29 If they were wise, they would understand this;
they would discern what their end would be.(CD)
30 How could one have routed a thousand
and two put a myriad to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
the Lord had given them up?(CE)
31 Indeed, their rock is not like our Rock;
our enemies are fools.[u](CF)
32 Their vine comes from the vinestock of Sodom,
from the vineyards of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of poison;
their clusters are bitter;
33 their wine is the poison of serpents,
the cruel venom of asps.(CG)
34 Is not this laid up in store with me,
sealed up in my treasuries,(CH)
35 for the day of vengeance[v] and recompense,
for the time when their foot shall slip?
Because the day of their calamity is at hand;
their doom comes swiftly.(CI)
36 Indeed, the Lord will vindicate his people,
have compassion on his servants,
when he sees that their power is gone,
neither bond nor free remaining.(CJ)
37 Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,
the rock in which they took refuge,(CK)
38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their libations?
Let them rise up and help you;
let them be your protection!
39 See now that I, even I, am he;
there is no god besides me.
I kill, and I make alive;
I wound, and I heal;
and no one can deliver from my hand.(CL)
40 For I lift up my hand to heaven
and swear, As I live forever,
41 when I whet my flashing sword
and my hand takes hold on judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and will repay those who hate me.(CM)
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword shall devour flesh—
with the blood of the slain and the captives,
from the long-haired enemy.’(CN)
43 Praise, O heavens,[w] his people;
worship him, all you gods![x]
For he will avenge the blood of his children[y]
and take vengeance on his adversaries;
he will repay those who hate him[z]
and cleanse the land for his people.”[aa](CO)
44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua[ab] son of Nun. 45 When Moses had finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words that I am giving in witness against you today; give them as a command to your children, so that they may diligently observe all the words of this law.(CP) 47 This is no trifling matter for you but rather your very life; through it you may live long in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”(CQ)
Moses’s Death Foretold
48 On that very day the Lord addressed Moses as follows: 49 “Ascend this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites for a possession;(CR) 50 you shall die there on the mountain that you ascend and shall be gathered to your kin, as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his kin, 51 because both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, by failing to maintain my holiness among the Israelites.(CS) 52 Although you may view the land from a distance, you shall not enter it, the land that I am giving to the Israelites.”(CT)
Footnotes
- 29.1 28.69 in Heb
- 29.2 29.1 in Heb
- 29.9 Or deal wisely
- 29.10 Gk Syr: Heb your leaders, your tribes
- 29.19 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 30.4 Heb of heaven
- 30.16 Gk: Heb lacks If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God
- 31.1 Q ms Gk: MT Moses went and spoke
- 31.10 Or Tabernacles
- 31.23 Heb he
- 32.5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 32.8 Traditional rendering of Heb Elyon
- 32.8 Q ms Compare Gk Tg: MT the Israelites
- 32.10 Sam Gk Compare Tg: MT found
- 32.13 Sam Gk Syr Tg: MT he ate
- 32.15 Q mss Sam Gk: MT lacks Jacob ate his fill
- 32.18 Or that fathered you
- 32.19 Q mss Gk: MT lacks was jealous
- 32.19 Cn: Heb he spurned because of provocation
- 32.26 Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 32.31 Gk: Heb judges
- 32.35 Sam Gk: MT vengeance is mine
- 32.43 Q ms Gk: MT nations
- 32.43 Q ms Gk: MT lacks this line
- 32.43 Q ms Gk: MT his servants
- 32.43 Q ms Gk: MT lacks this line
- 32.43 Q ms Sam Gk Vg: MT his land his people
- 32.44 Sam Gk Syr Vg: MT Hoshea
Deuteronomy 29-32
New International Version
Deuteronomy 29-32
New International Version
Renewal of the Covenant
29 [a]These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab,(A) in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.(B)
2 Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:
Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land.(C) 3 With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those signs and great wonders.(D) 4 But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.(E) 5 Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I led(F) you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.(G) 6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink.(H) I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.”(I)
7 When you reached this place, Sihon(J) king of Heshbon(K) and Og king of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them.(L) 8 We took their land and gave it as an inheritance(M) to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.(N)
9 Carefully follow(O) the terms of this covenant,(P) so that you may prosper in everything you do.(Q) 10 All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God—your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, 11 together with your children and your wives, and the foreigners living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water.(R) 12 You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, 13 to confirm you this day as his people,(S) that he may be your God(T) as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 14 I am making this covenant,(U) with its oath, not only with you 15 who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today.(V)
16 You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries on the way here. 17 You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold.(W) 18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns(X) away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.(Y)
19 When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing(Z) on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,”(AA) they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. 20 The Lord will never be willing to forgive(AB) them; his wrath and zeal(AC) will burn(AD) against them. All the curses written in this book will fall on them, and the Lord will blot(AE) out their names from under heaven. 21 The Lord will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster,(AF) according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.(AG)
22 Your children who follow you in later generations and foreigners who come from distant lands will see the calamities that have fallen on the land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it.(AH) 23 The whole land will be a burning waste(AI) of salt(AJ) and sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,(AK) Admah and Zeboyim, which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger.(AL) 24 All the nations will ask: “Why has the Lord done this to this land?(AM) Why this fierce, burning anger?”
25 And the answer will be: “It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt.(AN) 26 They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them. 27 Therefore the Lord’s anger burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book.(AO) 28 In furious anger and in great wrath(AP) the Lord uprooted(AQ) them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now.”
29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God,(AR) but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.(AS)
Prosperity After Turning to the Lord
30 When all these blessings and curses(AT) I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations,(AU) 2 and when you and your children return(AV) to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart(AW) and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes[b](AX) and have compassion(AY) on you and gather(AZ) you again from all the nations where he scattered(BA) you.(BB) 4 Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens,(BC) from there the Lord your God will gather(BD) you and bring you back.(BE) 5 He will bring(BF) you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous(BG) than your ancestors. 6 The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants,(BH) so that you may love(BI) him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. 7 The Lord your God will put all these curses(BJ) on your enemies who hate and persecute you.(BK) 8 You will again obey the Lord and follow all his commands I am giving you today. 9 Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land.(BL) The Lord will again delight(BM) in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, 10 if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law(BN) and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.(BO)
The Offer of Life or Death
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.(BP) 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven(BQ) to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”(BR) 13 Nor is it beyond the sea,(BS) so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”(BT) 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.(BU)
15 See, I set before you today life(BV) and prosperity,(BW) death(BX) and destruction.(BY) 16 For I command you today to love(BZ) the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live(CA) and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed.(CB) You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you(CC) that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.(CD) Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love(CE) the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life,(CF) and he will give(CG) you many years in the land(CH) he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
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(CI) and I am no longer able to lead you.(CJ) The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’(CK) 3 The Lord your God himself will cross(CL) over ahead of you.(CM) He will destroy these nations(CN) before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross(CO) over ahead of you, as the Lord said. 4 And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og,(CP) the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The Lord will deliver(CQ) them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous.(CR) Do not be afraid or terrified(CS) because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you;(CT) he will never leave you(CU) nor forsake(CV) you.”
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said(CW) 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,(CX) and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you;(CY) he will never leave you nor forsake you.(CZ) Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Public Reading of the Law
9 So Moses wrote(DA) down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carried(DB) 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,(DC) during the Festival of Tabernacles,(DD) 11 when all Israel comes to appear(DE) before the Lord your God at the place he will choose,(DF) you shall read this law(DG) 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(DH) to fear(DI) the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. 13 Their children,(DJ) 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(DK) is near. Call Joshua(DL) and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, where I will commission him.(DM)” So Moses and Joshua came and presented themselves at the tent of meeting.(DN)
15 Then the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the tent.(DO) 16 And the Lord said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors,(DP) and these people will soon prostitute(DQ) themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake(DR) me and break the covenant I made with them. 17 And in that day I will become angry(DS) with them and forsake(DT) them; I will hide(DU) my face(DV) from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters(DW) 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?’(DX) 18 And I will certainly hide my face in that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.
19 “Now write(DY) down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness(DZ) 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,(EA) and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods(EB) and worship them,(EC) rejecting me and breaking my covenant.(ED) 21 And when many disasters and calamities come on them,(EE) this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do,(EF) even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath.” 22 So Moses wrote(EG) down this song that day and taught it to the Israelites.
23 The Lord gave this command(EH) to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous,(EI) 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(EJ) in a book the words of this law(EK) from beginning to end, 25 he gave this command to the Levites who carried(EL) 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.(EM) 27 For I know how rebellious(EN) and stiff-necked(EO) 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.(EP) 29 For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt(EQ) and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster(ER) 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:
32 Listen,(ES) you heavens,(ET) and I will speak;
hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.(EU)
2 Let my teaching fall like rain(EV)
and my words descend like dew,(EW)
like showers(EX) on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants.
3 I will proclaim(EY) the name of the Lord.(EZ)
Oh, praise the greatness(FA) of our God!
4 He is the Rock,(FB) his works are perfect,(FC)
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God(FD) who does no wrong,
upright(FE) and just is he.(FF)
5 They are corrupt and not his children;
to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation.(FG)
6 Is this the way you repay(FH) the Lord,
you foolish(FI) and unwise people?(FJ)
Is he not your Father,(FK) your Creator,[c]
who made you and formed you?(FL)
7 Remember the days of old;(FM)
consider the generations long past.(FN)
Ask your father and he will tell you,
your elders, and they will explain to you.(FO)
8 When the Most High(FP) gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided all mankind,(FQ)
he set up boundaries(FR) for the peoples
according to the number of the sons of Israel.[d](FS)
9 For the Lord’s portion(FT) is his people,
Jacob his allotted inheritance.(FU)
10 In a desert(FV) land he found him,
in a barren and howling waste.(FW)
He shielded(FX) him and cared for him;
he guarded him as the apple of his eye,(FY)
11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,(FZ)
that spreads its wings to catch them
and carries them aloft.(GA)
12 The Lord alone led(GB) him;(GC)
no foreign god was with him.(GD)
13 He made him ride on the heights(GE) of the land
and fed him with the fruit of the fields.
He nourished him with honey from the rock,(GF)
and with oil(GG) from the flinty crag,
14 with curds and milk from herd and flock
and with fattened lambs and goats,
with choice rams of Bashan(GH)
and the finest kernels of wheat.(GI)
You drank the foaming blood of the grape.(GJ)
15 Jeshurun[e](GK) grew fat(GL) and kicked;
filled with food, they became heavy and sleek.
They abandoned(GM) the God who made them
and rejected the Rock(GN) their Savior.
16 They made him jealous(GO) with their foreign gods
and angered(GP) him with their detestable idols.
17 They sacrificed(GQ) to false gods,(GR) which are not God—
gods they had not known,(GS)
gods that recently appeared,(GT)
gods your ancestors did not fear.
18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
you forgot(GU) the God who gave you birth.
19 The Lord saw this and rejected them(GV)
because he was angered by his sons and daughters.(GW)
20 “I will hide my face(GX) from them,” he said,
“and see what their end will be;
for they are a perverse generation,(GY)
children who are unfaithful.(GZ)
21 They made me jealous(HA) by what is no god
and angered me with their worthless idols.(HB)
I will make them envious by those who are not a people;
I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.(HC)
22 For a fire will be kindled by my wrath,(HD)
one that burns down to the realm of the dead below.(HE)
It will devour(HF) the earth and its harvests(HG)
and set afire the foundations of the mountains.(HH)
23 “I will heap calamities(HI) on them
and spend my arrows(HJ) against them.
24 I will send wasting famine(HK) against them,
consuming pestilence(HL) and deadly plague;(HM)
I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts,(HN)
the venom of vipers(HO) that glide in the dust.(HP)
25 In the street the sword will make them childless;
in their homes terror(HQ) will reign.(HR)
The young men and young women will perish,
the infants and those with gray hair.(HS)
26 I said I would scatter(HT) them
and erase their name from human memory,(HU)
27 but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy,
lest the adversary misunderstand(HV)
and say, ‘Our hand has triumphed;
the Lord has not done all this.’”(HW)
28 They are a nation without sense,
there is no discernment(HX) in them.
29 If only they were wise and would understand this(HY)
and discern what their end will be!(HZ)
30 How could one man chase a thousand,
or two put ten thousand to flight,(IA)
unless their Rock had sold them,(IB)
unless the Lord had given them up?(IC)
31 For their rock is not like our Rock,(ID)
as even our enemies concede.(IE)
32 Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom(IF)
and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are filled with poison,(IG)
and their clusters with bitterness.(IH)
33 Their wine is the venom of serpents,
the deadly poison of cobras.(II)
34 “Have I not kept this in reserve
and sealed it in my vaults?(IJ)
35 It is mine to avenge;(IK) I will repay.(IL)
In due time their foot will slip;(IM)
their day of disaster is near
and their doom rushes upon them.(IN)”
36 The Lord will vindicate his people(IO)
and relent(IP) concerning his servants(IQ)
when he sees their strength is gone
and no one is left, slave(IR) or free.[f]
37 He will say: “Now where are their gods,
the rock they took refuge in,(IS)
38 the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offerings?(IT)
Let them rise up to help you!
Let them give you shelter!
39 “See now that I myself am he!(IU)
There is no god besides me.(IV)
I put to death(IW) and I bring to life,(IX)
I have wounded and I will heal,(IY)
and no one can deliver out of my hand.(IZ)
40 I lift my hand(JA) to heaven and solemnly swear:
As surely as I live forever,(JB)
41 when I sharpen my flashing sword(JC)
and my hand grasps it in judgment,
I will take vengeance(JD) on my adversaries
and repay those who hate me.(JE)
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,(JF)
while my sword devours flesh:(JG)
the blood of the slain and the captives,
the heads of the enemy leaders.”
43 Rejoice,(JH) you nations, with his people,[g][h]
for he will avenge the blood of his servants;(JI)
he will take vengeance on his enemies(JJ)
and make atonement for his land and people.(JK)
44 Moses came with Joshua[i](JL) son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. 45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day,(JM) so that you may command(JN) your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for you—they are your life.(JO) By them you will live long(JP) in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
Moses to Die on Mount Nebo
48 On that same day the Lord told Moses,(JQ) 49 “Go up into the Abarim(JR) Range to Mount Nebo(JS) in Moab, across from Jericho,(JT) and view Canaan,(JU) the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. 50 There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die(JV) and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died(JW) on Mount Hor(JX) and was gathered to his people. 51 This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh(JY) in the Desert of Zin(JZ) and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites.(KA) 52 Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance;(KB) you will not enter(KC) the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 29:1 In Hebrew texts 29:1 is numbered 28:69, and 29:2-29 is numbered 29:1-28.
- Deuteronomy 30:3 Or will bring you back from captivity
- Deuteronomy 32:6 Or Father, who bought you
- Deuteronomy 32:8 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) sons of God
- Deuteronomy 32:15 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel.
- Deuteronomy 32:36 Or and they are without a ruler or leader
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Or Make his people rejoice, you nations
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) people, / and let all the angels worship him, /
- Deuteronomy 32:44 Hebrew Hoshea, a variant of Joshua
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