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:
Deuteronomy 31
International Standard Version
Moses Commissions Joshua
31 Moses went and explained these things to everyone in Israel. 2 Then he concluded, “I’m now 120 years old. I’m not able to get around anymore, 3 and the Lord told me, ‘You won’t be crossing the Jordan River.’ But the Lord your God is crossing over before you. He will destroy these nations in front of you and you will dispossess them. As for Joshua, he will cross over before you, just as the Lord promised. 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, so you can do to them what I’ve instructed you to do. 6 Be strong and courageous. Don’t fear or tremble before them, because the Lord your God will be the one who keeps on walking with you—he won’t leave you or abandon you.”
7 Then Moses called on Joshua and told him in the presence of everyone in Israel, “Be strong and courageous, because you’ll bring this people to the land that the Lord your God had promised to give your ancestors. You will be the one who causes them to possess it. 8 Indeed, the Lord is the one who will keep on walking in front of you. He’ll be with you and won’t leave you or abandon you, so never be afraid and never be dismayed.”
Moses Entrusts the Law to the Levitical Priests
9 Then Moses wrote down this Law and gave it to the Levitical priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and to all of Israel’s leaders.[a] 10 Then he[b] gave these[c] orders: “At the end of seven years, the year designated for release,[d] during the Festival of Tents,[e] 11 when all of Israel comes to appear in the presence of the Lord your God at the place that he’ll choose, read this Law aloud to them.[f] 12 Gather the people—the men, women, children, and the foreigners that live in your cities—so they may hear and fear the Lord your God, and so they may be careful to obey the words contained in this Law. 13 Their children who don’t know will hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land that you are crossing the Jordan River to possess.”
Moses and Joshua Present Themselves to the Lord
14 Then the Lord told Moses: “Look! Because your time to die is approaching, call Joshua, present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, and then I will commission him.” Moses and Joshua complied[g] and presented[h] themselves at the Tent of Meeting. 15 So the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud that stood above the entrance.[i]
16 Then the Lord told Moses, “Look! You are about to join your ancestors.[j] Afterwards, this people will rebel[k] and commit prostitution with the foreign gods of the land that they are about to enter to possess. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I made with them.[l] 17 When that happens,[m] my anger will burn against them,[n] because they will have abandoned me. I’ll hide my face from them, they will be consumed, and many evils and distresses will find them. When this happens,[o] they[p] will say, ‘These troubles have happened to us because God isn’t among us.’ 18 I’ll surely hide my face in that day on account of the evil that they[q] will have done, because they[r] will have turned to other gods.”
Moses Instructed to Teach a Song
19 “Now write this song and teach it to the Israelis. Put this song in their very mouths, so that it will be a witness for me against the Israelis, 20 because after I’ve brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey that I promised to their ancestors by an oath, they’ll eat, grow fat, and then they’ll turn to other gods and serve them, while despising me and breaking my covenant. 21 Then, when many evils and troubles will have come upon them, this song will serve as a witness against them, since their descendants won’t fail to sing it. I know the plan that they are devising even before I bring them into the land that I promised them[s] by an oath.”
22 So Moses wrote the song that very day and taught it to the Israelis. 23 Then the Lord charged Nun’s son Joshua, “Be strong and courageous, because you’ll bring the Israelis to the land that I promised to them by an oath. I’ll be with you.”
24 When Moses had finished writing the words of this Law in a book, 25 he[t] gave this[u] charge to the descendants of Levi who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord: 26 “Take the book of this Law and set it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God. Let it remain there with you as a witness against you, 27 because indeed I know your rebellion and stubbornness. Note that even while I’m still alive, you’ve been rebelling against the Lord—how much more so after my death! 28 Gather together the leaders[v] of your tribes and your foremen so I can speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and the earth as witnesses against them, 29 because I know that after my death, you’ll surely act wickedly and turn from the road that I’ve instructed you. As a result, evil will fall on you in days to come, because you’ll act wickedly in the sight of the Lord, causing him to become angry due to your behavior.” 30 So Moses spoke the words of this song—to the very end—in front of the entire assembly of Israel.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 31:9 Lit. elders
- Deuteronomy 31:10 Lit. Moses
- Deuteronomy 31:10 The Heb. lacks these
- Deuteronomy 31:10 Or remission
- Deuteronomy 31:10 Or Tents
- Deuteronomy 31:11 Lit. to all Israel
- Deuteronomy 31:14 Lit. walked
- Deuteronomy 31:14 Or stood
- Deuteronomy 31:15 Lit. above the Tent of Meeting
- Deuteronomy 31:16 Lit. to lie down with
- Deuteronomy 31:16 Heb. rise up
- Deuteronomy 31:16 Lit. him
- Deuteronomy 31:17 Lit. On that day
- Deuteronomy 31:17 Lit. him
- Deuteronomy 31:17 On that day
- Deuteronomy 31:17 Lit. he
- Deuteronomy 31:18 Lit. he
- Deuteronomy 31:18 Lit. he
- Deuteronomy 31:21 The Heb. lacks them
- Deuteronomy 31:25 Lit. Moses
- Deuteronomy 31:25 The Heb. lacks this
- Deuteronomy 31:28 Lit. elders
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.
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