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The Death of Moses

34 Then Moses ascended from the rift valley plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho.[a] The Lord showed him the whole land—Gilead to Dan, and all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the distant[b] sea, the Negev, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of date palm trees, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’[c] I have let you see it,[d] but you will not cross over there.”

So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab as the Lord had said. He[e] buried him in the valley in the land of Moab near Beth Peor, but no one knows his exact burial place to this very day. Moses was 120 years old when he died, but his eye was not dull[f] nor had his vitality[g] departed. The Israelites mourned for Moses in the rift valley plains[h] of Moab for thirty days; then the days of mourning for Moses ended.

An Epitaph for Moses

Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had placed his hands on him;[i] and the Israelites listened to him and did just what the Lord had commanded Moses. 10 No prophet ever again arose in Israel like Moses, who knew the Lord face to face.[j] 11 He did[k] all the signs and wonders the Lord had sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, all his servants, and the whole land, 12 and he displayed great power[l] and awesome might in view of all Israel.[m]

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 34:1 sn For the geography involved, see note on the term “Pisgah” in Deut 3:17 and the note on “rift valley plains” in Num 21:1.
  2. Deuteronomy 34:2 tn Or “western” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); Heb “latter,” a reference to the Mediterranean Sea (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
  3. Deuteronomy 34:4 tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).
  4. Deuteronomy 34:4 tn The Hebrew text includes “with your eyes,” but this is redundant in English and is left untranslated.
  5. Deuteronomy 34:6 tc Smr and some LXX mss read “they buried him,” that is, the Israelites. The MT reads “he buried him,” meaning in the context that “the Lord buried him.” This understanding, combined with the statement at the end of the verse that Moses’ burial place is unknown, gave rise to traditions during the intertestamental period that are reflected in the NT in Jude 9 and in OT pseudepigraphic works like the Assumption of Moses.
  6. Deuteronomy 34:7 tn Or “dimmed.” The term could refer to dull appearance or to dimness caused by some loss of visual acuity.
  7. Deuteronomy 34:7 tn Heb “sap.” That is, he was still in possession of his faculties or liveliness.
  8. Deuteronomy 34:8 sn This is the area of the rift valley basin to the north of the Dead Sea and east of the Jordan. See the note at Num 21:1.
  9. Deuteronomy 34:9 sn See Num 27:18.
  10. Deuteronomy 34:10 sn See Num 12:8; Deut 18:15-18.
  11. Deuteronomy 34:11 tn Heb “to,” “with respect to.” In the Hebrew text vv. 10-12 are one long sentence. For stylistic reasons the translation divides this into two, using the verb “he did” at the beginning of v. 11 and “he displayed” at the beginning of v. 12.
  12. Deuteronomy 34:12 tn Heb “strong hand.”
  13. Deuteronomy 34:12 tn The Hebrew text of v. 12 reads literally, “with respect to all the strong hand and with respect to all the awesome greatness which Moses did before the eyes of all Israel.”

The Death of Moses and the Commissioning of Joshua

34 Then Moses went up from the desert plateau[a] of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite[b] Jericho, and Yahweh showed him all of the land, Gilead all the way up to Dan, and all of Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh and all of the land of Judah, up to the western sea,[c] and the Negev and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palms, on up to Zoar. And Yahweh said to him, “This is the land that I swore to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob, saying,[d] ‘To your offspring I will give it.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross into it.”[e] Then Moses, the servant of Yahweh, died there in the land of Moab according to the command of Yahweh.[f] And he[g] buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth Peor. But until this day no one knows his burial site. Now Moses was a hundred and twenty years old[h] when he died;[i] his sight was not impaired and his vigor had not abated.[j] And the Israelites[k] wept concerning Moses thirty days; finally the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were completed.

Now[l] Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom because Moses had placed his hands on him, and the Israelites[m] listened to him, and they did as Yahweh had commanded Moses. 10 And not again[n] has a prophet arisen in Israel like Moses, whom Yahweh knew[o] face to face, 11 as far as all the signs and the wonders Yahweh sent him to do in the land of Egypt, against[p] Pharaoh and all of his servants and against[q] all of his land, 12 and as far as all of the mighty deeds[r] and as far as the great awesome wonders[s] Moses did before the eyes of all Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 34:1 Or “plains/lowlands”
  2. Deuteronomy 34:1 Literally “which is on the face of”
  3. Deuteronomy 34:2 That is, the Mediterranean Sea
  4. Deuteronomy 34:4 Literally “to say”
  5. Deuteronomy 34:4 Literally “to there”
  6. Deuteronomy 34:5 Literally “at the mouth of Yahweh”
  7. Deuteronomy 34:6 That is, Yahweh
  8. Deuteronomy 34:7 Literally “and Moses was a son of a hundred and twenty year”
  9. Deuteronomy 34:7 Literally “at/in his dying”
  10. Deuteronomy 34:7 Literally “not faded his eyes and not had fled away his vitality”
  11. Deuteronomy 34:8 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  12. Deuteronomy 34:9 Or “And”
  13. Deuteronomy 34:9 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  14. Deuteronomy 34:10 Or “since then”
  15. Deuteronomy 34:10 Hebrew “knew him”
  16. Deuteronomy 34:11 Hebrew “to”
  17. Deuteronomy 34:11 Hebrew “to”
  18. Deuteronomy 34:12 Literally “the hand the strong”
  19. Deuteronomy 34:12 Literally “the terrifying the great actions