Deuteronomy 31
Lexham English Bible
Succession, Deposition, and Recitation of Text
31 And Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am a hundred and twenty years old today;[a] I am not able to go out and to come in any longer, and Yahweh said to me, ‘You may not cross this Jordan.’ 3 Yahweh your God is about to cross before you;[b] he will destroy these nations before you,[c] and you shall dispossess them. Joshua will be crossing before you,[d] just as Yahweh promised.[e] 4 And Yahweh will do to them just as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and to their land, which he destroyed with them. 5 And Yahweh will deliver them to you before you,[f] and you shall do to them according to every commandment that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and be courageous; you should not be afraid, and you should not be in dread from their presence,[g] for Yahweh your God is the one going with you; he will not leave you alone and he will not forsake you.”
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua, and he said to him in the presence of all Israel,[h] “Be strong and be courageous, for you will go with this people into the land that Yahweh swore to their ancestors[i] to give to them, and you will give it to them as an inheritance. 8 Yahweh is the one going before you;[j] he will be with you, and he will not leave you alone, and he will not forsake you; you shall not be afraid, and you shall not be discouraged.” 9 So Moses wrote this law, and he gave it to the priests, the descendants[k] of Levi, the ones carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and to all the elders of Israel.
10 Then Moses commanded them, saying,[l] “At the end of seven years, in the time of the year for canceling debts during the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before[m] Yahweh their God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.[n] 12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little children and your aliens that are in your towns,[o] so that they may hear and so that they may learn and they may revere Yahweh your God, and they shall diligently observe[p] all the words of this law. 13 And then their children,[q] who have not known, they too may hear, and they may learn to revere Yahweh their God all the days that you live[r] on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to get there[s] to take possession of it.”
14 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Look, you are about to die;[t] call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of assembly,[u] so that I may instruct him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in[v] the tent of assembly.[w] 15 And Yahweh appeared in the tent in a column of cloud, and the column of the cloud stood at the entrance of the tent. 16 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Look, you are about to lie down with your ancestors,[x] and this people will arise and they[y] will play the prostitute after the foreign gods[z] of the land to which they are going.[aa] 17 And my anger shall flare up against them[ab] on that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they[ac] shall become as prey, and disasters and troubles shall find[ad] them,[ae] and they[af] shall say on that day, ‘Is it not because our[ag] God is not in our[ah] midst that these disasters have found[ai] us?’[aj] 18 But I will certainly hide my face on that day, because of all of the evil that they[ak] did because they[al] turned to other gods.
19 “And so then write this song for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites;[am] put it in their mouth, so that this song may be for me as a witness against the Israelites.[an] 20 For when I bring them[ao] into the land that I swore to their[ap] ancestors,[aq] a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill,[ar] and they[as] will become fat, and then they[at] will turn to other gods, and they will serve them, and they will spurn me, and they[au] will break my covenant. 21 And then[av] many disasters and troubles will come upon them,[aw] and this song will give evidence before them[ax] as a witness, because it will not be forgotten from out of the mouth of their descendants,[ay] for I know their[az] inclination that they[ba] are having today[bb] before I have brought them[bc] into the land that I swore.” 22 And Moses wrote this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.[bd]
23 Then he[be] told Joshua the son of Nun, and said to him, “Be strong and be courageous, for you shall bring the Israelites[bf] into the land that I swore to them, and I will be with you.”
24 And then when Moses finished writing[bg] the words of this law on the scroll until they were complete,[bh] 25 then Moses commanded the Levites carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, saying,[bi] 26 “Take the scroll of this law and put it at the side of the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, and it will be there as a witness against you. 27 For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck even now while I am still alive with you today,[bj] rebelling against Yahweh, and how much more[bk] after my death. 28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officials, so that I may speak in their ears these words, and that I may call as witness against them heaven and earth. 29 For I know that after my death you will certainly act corruptly, and you will turn aside from the way that I have commanded you, and the disaster in the future days will befall you, because you will do evil[bl] in the eyes of Yahweh, provoking him with the work of your hands.”[bm] 30 So Moses spoke into the ears of the assembly of Israel the words of this song until they were complete.[bn]
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 31:2 Literally “the day”
- Deuteronomy 31:3 Literally “to the face of you”
- Deuteronomy 31:3 Literally “to the face of you”
- Deuteronomy 31:3 Literally “to the face of you”
- Deuteronomy 31:3 Literally “spoke”
- Deuteronomy 31:5 Literally “will give them Yahweh to the face of you”
- Deuteronomy 31:6 Literally “not you should dread from their face”
- Deuteronomy 31:7 Literally “before the eyes of all Israel”
- Deuteronomy 31:7 Or “their fathers”
- Deuteronomy 31:8 Literally “to the face of you”
- Deuteronomy 31:9 Or “sons”
- Deuteronomy 31:10 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 31:11 Literally “at/in the coming of all of Israel to see”
- Deuteronomy 31:11 Literally “in their ears”
- Deuteronomy 31:12 Literally “gates”
- Deuteronomy 31:12 Literally “they shall keep to do”
- Deuteronomy 31:13 Hebrew “child”
- Deuteronomy 31:13 Literally “that you are alive”
- Deuteronomy 31:13 Literally “there”
- Deuteronomy 31:14 Literally “are near your days to die”
- Deuteronomy 31:14 Or “meeting”
- Deuteronomy 31:14 Or “at”
- Deuteronomy 31:14 Or “meeting”
- Deuteronomy 31:16 Or “fathers”
- Deuteronomy 31:16 Hebrew “he”
- Deuteronomy 31:16 Literally “the gods of the foreigner/foreign person of the land”
- Deuteronomy 31:16 Literally “which he is going to”
- Deuteronomy 31:17 Literally “shall become my nose against it/him”
- Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “he”
- Deuteronomy 31:17 Or “encounter”
- Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “him”
- Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “he”
- Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “my” but represents all the people
- Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “my”
- Deuteronomy 31:17 Or “encountered”
- Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “me”
- Deuteronomy 31:18 Hebrew “he”
- Deuteronomy 31:18 Hebrew “he”
- Deuteronomy 31:19 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Deuteronomy 31:19 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “him,” referring to the people
- Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “his”
- Deuteronomy 31:20 Or “fathers”
- Deuteronomy 31:20 Literally “he will eat and he will be satisfied”
- Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “he”
- Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “he”
- Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “he”
- Deuteronomy 31:21 Literally “And it shall happen”
- Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “him”
- Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “him”
- Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “his offspring/descendant”
- Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “his”
- Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “he”
- Deuteronomy 31:21 Literally “the day”
- Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “him”
- Deuteronomy 31:22 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Deuteronomy 31:23 That is, Yahweh
- Deuteronomy 31:23 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Deuteronomy 31:24 Literally “And it happened as/when to finish Moses to write”
- Deuteronomy 31:24 Literally “until their to be complete/”
- Deuteronomy 31:25 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 31:27 Literally “the day”
- Deuteronomy 31:27 Literally “and also for/indeed”
- Deuteronomy 31:29 Hebrew “the evil”; the definite article indicates the general concept of evil
- Deuteronomy 31:29 Literally “to provoke him with/by the work of your hands”
- Deuteronomy 31:30 Literally “until their to be complete”
Deuteronomy 31
New Living Translation
Joshua Becomes Israel’s Leader
31 When Moses had finished giving these instructions[a] to all the people of Israel, 2 he said, “I am now 120 years old, and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan River.’ 3 But the Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy the nations living there, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua will lead you across the river, just as the Lord promised.
4 “The Lord will destroy the nations living in the land, just as he destroyed Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites. 5 The Lord will hand over to you the people who live there, and you must deal with them as I have commanded you. 6 So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
7 Then Moses called for Joshua, and as all Israel watched, he said to him, “Be strong and courageous! For you will lead these people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors he would give them. You are the one who will divide it among them as their grants of land. 8 Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
Public Reading of the Book of Instruction
9 So Moses wrote this entire body of instruction in a book and gave it to the priests, who carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, and to the elders of Israel. 10 Then Moses gave them this command: “At the end of every seventh year, the Year of Release, during the Festival of Shelters, 11 you must read this Book of Instruction to all the people of Israel when they assemble before the Lord your God at the place he chooses. 12 Call them all together—men, women, children, and the foreigners living in your towns—so they may hear this Book of Instruction and learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the terms of these instructions. 13 Do this so that your children who have not known these instructions will hear them and will learn to fear the Lord your God. Do this as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.”
Israel’s Disobedience Predicted
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The time has come for you to die. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tabernacle,[b] so that I may commission him there.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tabernacle. 15 And the Lord appeared to them in a pillar of cloud that stood at the entrance to the sacred tent.
16 The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin to worship foreign gods, the gods of the land where they are going. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then my anger will blaze forth against them. I will abandon them, hiding my face from them, and they will be devoured. Terrible trouble will come down on them, and on that day they will say, ‘These disasters have come down on us because God is no longer among us!’ 18 At that time I will hide my face from them on account of all the evil they commit by worshiping other gods.
19 “So write down the words of this song, and teach it to the people of Israel. Help them learn it, so it may serve as a witness for me against them. 20 For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey. There they will become prosperous, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant. 21 And when great disasters come down on them, this song will stand as evidence against them, for it will never be forgotten by their descendants. I know the intentions of these people, even now before they have entered the land I swore to give them.”
22 So that very day Moses wrote down the words of the song and taught it to the Israelites.
23 Then the Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun with these words: “Be strong and courageous, for you must bring the people of Israel into the land I swore to give them. I will be with you.”
24 When Moses had finished writing this entire body of instruction in a book, 25 he gave this command to the Levites who carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant: 26 “Take this Book of Instruction and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, so it may remain there as a witness against the people of Israel. 27 For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Even now, while I am still alive and am here with you, you have rebelled against the Lord. How much more rebellious will you be after my death!
28 “Now summon all the elders and officials of your tribes, so that I can speak to them directly and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and will turn from the way I have commanded you to follow. In the days to come, disaster will come down on you, for you will do what is evil in the Lord’s sight, making him very angry with your actions.”
The Song of Moses
30 So Moses recited this entire song publicly to the assembly of Israel:
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