Deuteronomy 31
New American Standard Bible
Moses’ Last Counsel
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 [a]go out and come in, and the Lord has told me, ‘(C)You shall not cross this Jordan.’ 3 (D)It is the Lord your God who is going to cross ahead of you; He Himself will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. (E)Joshua is the one who is going to cross ahead of you, just as the Lord has spoken. 4 And the Lord 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)The Lord will turn them over to you, and you will do to them in accordance with all the commandments which I have commanded you. 6 (G)Be strong and courageous, (H)do not be afraid or in dread of them, for (I)the Lord your God is the One who is going with you. (J)He will not desert you or abandon you.”
7 Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “(K)Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you will give it to them as an inheritance. 8 And (L)the Lord is the one who is going ahead of you; He will be with you. (M)He will not desert you or abandon you. Do not fear and do not 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 the Lord, 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 release of debts, at the (P)Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes (Q)to appear before the Lord your God at (R)the place which He will choose, (S)you shall read this Law before all Israel [b]so that they hear it. 12 Assemble the people, the men, the women, the children, and the stranger who is in your [c]town, so that they may hear and (T)learn and fear the Lord your God, and be careful to [d]follow all the words of this Law. 13 And their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live on the land [e]which you are about to cross the Jordan to [f]possess.”
Israel Will Fall Away
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, [g](U)the time for you to die is near; call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, and I will commission him.” (V)So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting. 15 (W)And the Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood at the entrance of the tent. 16 The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, (X)you are about to [h]lie down with your fathers; and (Y)this people will arise and play the prostitute with the foreign gods of the land into the midst of which they are going, and (Z)they will abandon Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. 17 (AA)Then My anger will be kindled against them on that day, and (AB)I will abandon them and (AC)hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will find them; so they will say on that day, ‘(AD)Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have found us?’ 18 But I will assuredly hide My face on that day because of all the evil that they will have done, for they will have turned away to other gods.
19 “Now then, (AE)write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it [i]on their lips, 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 eat and are satisfied and (AG)become [j]prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and spurn Me and break My covenant. 21 Then it will come about, (AH)when many evils and troubles find them, that this song will testify before them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from the mouth of their [k]descendants); for (AI)I know their inclination which they are [l]developing today, before I bring them into the land which I swore.” 22 (AJ)So Moses wrote down this song on 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 will bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and (AM)I will be with you.”
24 It came about, 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 the Lord, saying, 26 “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, so that it may [m]remain there as a witness against you. 27 For I know (AO)your rebellion and (AP)your [n]stubbornness; behold, as long as I have been alive with you until today, you have been rebellious against the Lord; 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 as witnesses against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will (AR)behave very corruptly and turn from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will confront you in the latter days, because you will do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger with the work of your hands.”
30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were complete:
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 31:2 I.e., as Israel’s leader
- Deuteronomy 31:11 Lit in their ears
- Deuteronomy 31:12 Lit gates
- Deuteronomy 31:12 Lit perform
- Deuteronomy 31:13 Lit where
- Deuteronomy 31:13 Lit possess it
- Deuteronomy 31:14 Lit your days to die are
- Deuteronomy 31:16 I.e., die
- Deuteronomy 31:19 Lit in their mouths
- Deuteronomy 31:20 Lit fat
- Deuteronomy 31:21 Lit seed
- Deuteronomy 31:21 Lit making
- Deuteronomy 31:26 Lit be
- Deuteronomy 31:27 Lit stiff neck
Deuteronomy 31
Living Bible
31 After Moses had said all these things to the people of Israel, 2 he told them, “I am now 120 years old! I am no longer able to lead you,[a] for the Lord has told me that I shall not cross the Jordan River. 3 But the Lord himself will lead you and will destroy the nations living there, and you shall overcome them. Joshua is your new commander, as the Lord has instructed. 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 deliver over to you the people living there, and you shall destroy them as I have commanded you. 6 Be strong! Be courageous! Do not be afraid of them! For the Lord your God will be with you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you.”
7 Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him, as all Israel watched, “Be strong! Be courageous! For you shall lead these people into the land promised by the Lord to their ancestors; see to it that they conquer it. 8 Don’t be afraid, for the Lord will go before you and will be with you; he will not fail nor forsake you.”
9 Then Moses wrote out the laws he had already delivered to the people and gave them to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the Ark containing the Ten Commandments of the Lord. Moses also gave copies of the laws to the elders of Israel. 10-11 The Lord commanded that these laws be read to all the people at the end of every seventh year—the Year of Release—at the Festival of Tabernacles, when all Israel would assemble before the Lord at the sanctuary.
12 “Call them all together,” the Lord instructed, “—men, women, children, and foreigners living among you—to hear the laws of God and to learn his will, so that you will reverence the Lord your God and obey his laws. 13 Do this so that your little children who have not known these laws will hear them and learn how to revere the Lord your God as long as you live in the Promised Land.”
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The time has come when you must die. Summon Joshua and come into the Tabernacle where I can give him his instructions.” So Moses and Joshua came and stood before the Lord.
15 He appeared to them in a great cloud at the Tabernacle entrance, 16 and said to Moses, “You shall die and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin worshiping foreign gods in the Promised Land. They will forget about me and break the contract I have made with them. 17 Then my anger will flame out against them and I will abandon them, hiding my face from them, and they shall be destroyed. Terrible trouble will come upon them, so that they will say, ‘God is no longer among us!’ 18 I will turn away from them because of their sins in worshiping other gods.
19 “Now write down the words of this song, and teach it to the people of Israel as my warning to them. 20 When I have brought them into the land I promised their ancestors—a land ‘flowing with milk and honey’—and when they have become fat and prosperous, and worship other gods and despise me and break my contract, 21 and great disasters come upon them, then this song will remind them of the reason for their woes. (For this song will live from generation to generation.) I know now, even before they enter the land, what these people are like.”
22 So, on that very day, Moses wrote down the words of the song and taught it to the Israelites. 23 Then he charged Joshua (son of Nun) to be strong and courageous and said to him, “You must bring the people of Israel into the land the Lord promised them; for the Lord says, ‘I will be with you.’”
24 When Moses had finished writing down all the laws that are recorded in this book, 25 he instructed the Levites who carried the Ark containing the Ten Commandments 26 to put this book of the law beside the Ark, as a solemn warning to the people of Israel.
27 “For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are,” Moses told them. “If even today, while I am still here with you, you are defiant rebels against the Lord, how much more rebellious will you be after my death! 28 Now summon all the elders and officers of your tribes so that I can speak to them, and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 I know that after my death you will utterly defile yourselves and turn away from God and his commands; and in the days to come evil will crush you for you will do what the Lord says is evil, making him very angry.”
30 So Moses recited this entire song to the whole assembly of Israel:
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 31:2 I am no longer able to lead you, literally, “I am no longer able to go out and come in.”
Deuteronomy 31
Amplified Bible
Moses’ Last Counsel
31 So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am [a]a hundred and twenty years old today; I am no longer able to come in and go out [as your spiritual and military leader], and the Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross this Jordan.’ 3 It is the Lord your God who will cross ahead of you; He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua is the one who will go across before you [to lead you], just as the Lord has said. 4 The Lord 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 The Lord will hand them over to you, and you shall do to them in accordance with all the commandments which I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble in dread before them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not fail you or abandon you.”
7 Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all [the people of] Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you will give it to them as an inheritance. 8 It is the Lord who goes before you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
9 So Moses wrote 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. 10 Then Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of year when debts are forgiven, at the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles), 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all [the people of] Israel [b]so that they may hear. 12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and children and the stranger (resident alien, foreigner) within your cities, so that they may hear and learn and fear the Lord your God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], and be careful to obey all the words of this law. 13 Their children, who have not known [the law], will hear and learn to fear [and worship] the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land which you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
Israel Will Fall Away
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, the time for you to die is near; call Joshua, and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, so that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting. 15 Then the Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood beside the doorway of the tent. 16 The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down [in death] with your fathers; and this people will arise and [c]play the prostitute (commit apostasy) with the foreign gods [of the people] of the land, where they go to be among them. They will abandon (turn away from) Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then My anger will be kindled and burn against them in that day, and I will abandon (turn away from) them and hide My face from them. They will be devoured, and many evils and troubles will come on them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come on us?’ 18 But I will certainly hide My face [from them] in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods [to worship lifeless idols, to honor handmade relics].
19 “Now then, write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it in their mouth, so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel. 20 For when I bring them into the land which I have sworn to their fathers, a land [of plenty] [d]flowing with milk and honey, and they have eaten and are satisfied and become prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise and reject Me and break My covenant. 21 Then it shall come about, when many evils and troubles have come on them, that this [sacred] song will confront them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten from the mouth of their descendants. For I know their inclination which is developing even now, before I bring them into the land which I have sworn to give them.” 22 So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel.(A)
Joshua Is Commissioned
23 Then He commanded and commissioned Joshua, the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the sons of Israel into the land which I have sworn to give them, and I will be with you.”
24 And when Moses completely finished writing the words of this law in a book, 25 he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, 26 “Take this Book of the Law and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, so that it may remain there as a witness against you. 27 For I know your rebellion and contention and your stubbornness; behold, while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against the Lord; how much more, then, after my death? 28 Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will behave corruptly and turn from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will come upon you in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger with the work of your hands.”
30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended:
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 31:2 Lit a son of one hundred-twenty years.
- Deuteronomy 31:11 Lit in their hearing.
- Deuteronomy 31:16 I.e. abandon the true God for worthless idols.
- Deuteronomy 31:20 This phrase referred to the abundant fertility of the land of Canaan. Milk (typically that of goats and sheep) was associated with abundance; “honey” referred mainly to syrups made from dates or grapes and was the epitome of sweetness. Bees’ honey was very rare and was considered the choicest of foods.
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