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
Deuteronomy 31
Common English Bible
Moses announces his death
31 Then Moses said[a] these words to all Israel, 2 telling them:
I’m 120 years old today. I can’t move around well anymore. Plus, the Lord told me “You won’t cross the Jordan River.” 3 But the Lord your God, he’s the one who will cross over before you! He’s the one who will destroy these nations before you so you can displace them. Joshua too will cross over before you just like the Lord indicated. 4 The Lord will do to these enemies the same thing he did to the Amorite kings Sihon and Og, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 The Lord will lay them out before you, and you will do to them exactly what the command I’ve given you dictates. 6 Be strong! Be fearless! Don’t be afraid and don’t be scared by your enemies, because the Lord your God is the one who marches with you. He won’t let you down, and he won’t abandon you.
7 Then Moses called Joshua and, with all Israel watching, said to him: “Be strong and fearless because you are the one who will lead[b] this people to the land the Lord swore to their ancestors to give to them; you are the one who will divide up the land for them. 8 But the Lord is the one who is marching before you! He is the one who will be with you! He won’t let you down. He won’t abandon you. So don’t be afraid or scared!”
Regular reading of the Instruction
9 Then Moses wrote this Instruction down and gave it to the priests—the Levites who carry the chest containing the Lord’s covenant—and to all of the Israelite elders. 10 Moses then commanded them:
At the end of seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation, during the Festival of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the location he selects, you must read this Instruction aloud, in the hearing of all the people. 12 Gather everyone—men, women, children, and the immigrants who live in your cities—in order that they hear it, learn it, and revere the Lord your God, carefully doing all the words of this Instruction, 13 and so that their children, who don’t yet know the Instruction, may hear it and learn to revere the Lord your God for as long as you live on the ground you are crossing the Jordan River to possess.
Joshua commissioned
14 Then the Lord said to Moses: “It’s almost time for you to die. Summon Joshua. The two of you must present yourselves at the meeting tent so I can command him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the meeting tent. 15 The Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud; the cloud pillar stood at the tent’s entrance. 16 The Lord then said to Moses:
“Soon you will rest with your ancestors, and the people will rise up and act unfaithfully, going after strange gods of the land they are entering. They will abandon me, breaking my covenant that I made with them. 17 At that point my anger will burn against them, and I’ll be the one who abandons them! I’ll hide my face from them. They will become nothing but food for their enemies,[c] and all sorts of bad things and misfortunes will happen to them. Then they will say: ‘Haven’t these terrible things happened to us because our God is no longer with us?’ 18 But I will hide my face at that time because of the many wrong things they have done, because they have turned to other gods! 19 So in light of all that, you must write down this poem and teach it to the Israelites. Put it in their mouths so that the poem becomes a witness for me against them. 20 When I bring the Israelites to the land I swore to their ancestors, which is full of milk and honey, and they eat, get full, then fat, and then turn toward other gods, serving them and disrespecting me and breaking my covenant, 21 then, when all kinds of bad things and misfortunes happen to them, this poem will witness against them, giving its testimony, because it won’t be lost from the mouths of their descendants. Yes, I know right now what they are inclined to do, even before I’ve brought them into the land I swore.”
22 So Moses wrote this poem down that very day, and he taught it to the Israelites.
23 Then the Lord commissioned Joshua, Nun’s son: “Be strong and fearless because you are the one who will bring the Israelites to the land I swore to them. I myself will be with you.”
Life after Moses
24 Once Moses had finished writing in their entirety all the words of this Instruction scroll, 25 he commanded the Levites who carry the chest containing the Lord’s covenant as follows:
26 “Take this Instruction scroll and put it next to the chest containing the Lord your God’s covenant. It must remain there as a witness against you 27 because I know how rebellious and hardheaded you are. If you are this rebellious toward the Lord while I’m still alive, it’s bound to get worse once I’m dead! 28 Assemble all of your tribes’ elders and your officials in front of me, so I can speak these words in their hearing, and so I can call heaven and earth as my witnesses against them, 29 because I know that after I’m dead, you will ruin everything, departing from the path I’ve commanded you. Terrible things will happen to you in the future because you will do evil in the Lord’s eyes, aggravating him with the things your hands have made.”
The poem of Instruction
30 Then Moses recited in their entirety the words of this poem in the hearing of the entire assembly of Israel:
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 31:1 LXX, DSS (1QDeutb) When Moses had finished speaking
- Deuteronomy 31:7 Sam, Vulg, Syr; MT, Tg accompany
- Deuteronomy 31:17 Heb lacks for their enemies.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible