Deuteronomy 31
Legacy Standard Bible
Be Strong and Courageous
31 So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am (A)120 years old today; (B)I am no longer able to come and go, and Yahweh has said to me, ‘(C)You shall not cross this Jordan.’ 3 (D)It is Yahweh your God who will cross ahead of you; He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. (E)Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, just as Yahweh has spoken. 4 And Yahweh will do to them just as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when He destroyed them. 5 (F)And Yahweh will give them over before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you. 6 (G)Be strong and courageous. (H)Do not be afraid or be in dread of them, for (I)Yahweh your God is the one who goes with you. (J)He will not fail you or forsake you.”
7 Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “(K)Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. 8 (L)And Yahweh is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. (M)He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
9 So Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi (N)who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 Then Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of (O)the year of the remission of debts, at the (P)Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes (Q)to appear before Yahweh your God at (R)the place which He will choose, (S)you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and little ones and [a]the sojourner who is within your gates, so that they may hear and so that they may (T)learn and fear Yahweh your God and be careful to do all the words of this law. 13 And their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear Yahweh your God, all the days you live on the land [b]which you are about to cross the Jordan to [c]possess.”
Yahweh Has Moses Write a Song
14 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, [d](U)the time for you to die is near; call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” (V)So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting. 15 (W)And Yahweh appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood at the doorway of the tent. 16 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, (X)you are about to lie down with your fathers; and (Y)this people will arise and play the harlot with the foreign gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and they (Z)will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have cut with them. 17 (AA)Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and (AB)I will forsake them and (AC)hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will find them, so that they will say in that day, ‘(AD)Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have found us?’ 18 But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods.
19 “So now, (AE)write this song for yourselves and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it in their mouths, so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel. 20 (AF)For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and are satisfied and (AG)become fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them and spurn Me and break My covenant. 21 Then it will be, (AH)when many evils and troubles have found them, that this song will answer them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from the mouths of their seed); for (AI)I know their intent which they are [e]developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.” 22 (AJ)So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the sons of Israel.
Joshua Is Commissioned
23 (AK)Then He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, “(AL)Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and (AM)I will be with you.”
24 And it happened, when Moses finished writing the words of this law in a book until they were complete, 25 that Moses commanded the Levites (AN)who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, saying, 26 “Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, that it may be there as a witness against you. 27 For I know (AO)your rebellion and (AP)your [f]stiff-neck; behold, while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against Yahweh; how much more, then, after my death? 28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and (AQ)call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will (AR)act corruptly and turn away from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the last days, for you will do that which is evil in the sight of Yahweh, provoking Him to anger with the work of your hands.”
The Song of Moses
30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were complete:
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 31:12 Lit your sojourner
- Deuteronomy 31:13 Lit where
- Deuteronomy 31:13 Lit possess it
- Deuteronomy 31:14 Lit your days to die are
- Deuteronomy 31:21 Lit making
- Deuteronomy 31:27 Or stubbornness
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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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
