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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

  1. Deuteronomy 31:2 I am no longer able to lead you, literally, “I am no longer able to go out and come in.”
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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

  1. Deuteronomy 31:2 Literally “the day”
  2. Deuteronomy 31:3 Literally “to the face of you”
  3. Deuteronomy 31:3 Literally “to the face of you”
  4. Deuteronomy 31:3 Literally “to the face of you”
  5. Deuteronomy 31:3 Literally “spoke”
  6. Deuteronomy 31:5 Literally “will give them Yahweh to the face of you”
  7. Deuteronomy 31:6 Literally “not you should dread from their face”
  8. Deuteronomy 31:7 Literally “before the eyes of all Israel”
  9. Deuteronomy 31:7 Or “their fathers”
  10. Deuteronomy 31:8 Literally “to the face of you”
  11. Deuteronomy 31:9 Or “sons”
  12. Deuteronomy 31:10 Literally “to say”
  13. Deuteronomy 31:11 Literally “at/in the coming of all of Israel to see”
  14. Deuteronomy 31:11 Literally “in their ears”
  15. Deuteronomy 31:12 Literally “gates”
  16. Deuteronomy 31:12 Literally “they shall keep to do”
  17. Deuteronomy 31:13 Hebrew “child”
  18. Deuteronomy 31:13 Literally “that you are alive”
  19. Deuteronomy 31:13 Literally “there”
  20. Deuteronomy 31:14 Literally “are near your days to die”
  21. Deuteronomy 31:14 Or “meeting”
  22. Deuteronomy 31:14 Or “at”
  23. Deuteronomy 31:14 Or “meeting”
  24. Deuteronomy 31:16 Or “fathers”
  25. Deuteronomy 31:16 Hebrew “he”
  26. Deuteronomy 31:16 Literally “the gods of the foreigner/foreign person of the land”
  27. Deuteronomy 31:16 Literally “which he is going to”
  28. Deuteronomy 31:17 Literally “shall become my nose against it/him”
  29. Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “he”
  30. Deuteronomy 31:17 Or “encounter”
  31. Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “him”
  32. Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “he”
  33. Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “my” but represents all the people
  34. Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “my”
  35. Deuteronomy 31:17 Or “encountered”
  36. Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “me”
  37. Deuteronomy 31:18 Hebrew “he”
  38. Deuteronomy 31:18 Hebrew “he”
  39. Deuteronomy 31:19 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  40. Deuteronomy 31:19 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  41. Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “him,” referring to the people
  42. Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “his”
  43. Deuteronomy 31:20 Or “fathers”
  44. Deuteronomy 31:20 Literally “he will eat and he will be satisfied”
  45. Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “he”
  46. Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “he”
  47. Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “he”
  48. Deuteronomy 31:21 Literally “And it shall happen”
  49. Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “him”
  50. Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “him”
  51. Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “his offspring/descendant”
  52. Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “his”
  53. Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “he”
  54. Deuteronomy 31:21 Literally “the day”
  55. Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “him”
  56. Deuteronomy 31:22 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  57. Deuteronomy 31:23 That is, Yahweh
  58. Deuteronomy 31:23 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  59. Deuteronomy 31:24 Literally “And it happened as/when to finish Moses to write”
  60. Deuteronomy 31:24 Literally “until their to be complete/”
  61. Deuteronomy 31:25 Literally “to say”
  62. Deuteronomy 31:27 Literally “the day”
  63. Deuteronomy 31:27 Literally “and also for/indeed”
  64. Deuteronomy 31:29 Hebrew “the evil”; the definite article indicates the general concept of evil
  65. Deuteronomy 31:29 Literally “to provoke him with/by the work of your hands”
  66. Deuteronomy 31:30 Literally “until their to be complete”
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Deuteronomy 30
Deuteronomy 32
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