Joshua Takes Moses’s Place

31 Then Moses continued to speak these^[a] words to all Israel, ² saying, “I am now 120 years old;^(A) I can no longer act as your leader.^[b] The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’^{(B) 3} The Lord your God is the one who will cross ahead of you.^(C) He will destroy these nations before you, and you will drive them out. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, as the Lord has said.^{(D) 4} The Lord will deal with them as he did Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and their land when he destroyed them.^{(E) 5} The Lord will deliver them over to you, and you must do to them exactly as I have commanded you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous;^(F) don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you;^(G) he will not leave you or abandon you.”^(H)

⁷ Moses then summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with^[c] this people into the land the Lord swore to give to their ancestors.^(I) You will enable them to take possession of it. ⁸ The Lord is the one who will go before you.^(J) He will be with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.^(K) Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

⁹ Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. ¹⁰ Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation,^(L) during the Festival of Shelters,^{(M) 11} when all Israel assembles in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he chooses,^(N) you are to read this law aloud before all Israel.^{(O) 12} Gather the people—men, women, dependents, and the resident aliens within your city gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear^(P) the Lord your God and be careful to follow all the words of this law. ¹³ Then their children^(Q) who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

¹⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “The time of your death is now approaching. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting so that I may commission him.” When Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting, ¹⁵ the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud,^(R) and the cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.^(S)

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to rest with your ancestors,^(T) and these people will soon prostitute themselves with the foreign gods^(U) of the land they are entering. They will abandon me^(V) and break the covenant^(W) I have made with them. ¹⁷ My anger will burn against them on that day;^(X) I will abandon them and hide my face from them so that they will become easy prey.^(Y) Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, ‘Haven’t these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us?’ ¹⁸ I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. ¹⁹ Therefore write down this song^(Z) for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites; have them sing it,^[d] so that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites. ²⁰ When I bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey,^(AA) they will eat their fill^(AB) and prosper.^[e] They will turn to other gods and worship them, despising me^(AC) and breaking my covenant.^{(AD) 21} And when many troubles and afflictions come to them, this song will testify against them, because^[f] their descendants will not have forgotten it. For I know what they are prone to do,^[g] even before I bring them into the land I swore to give them.” ²² So Moses wrote down this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.

²³ The Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I swore to them, and I will be with you.”^(AE)

² There was no water for the community, so they assembled against Moses and Aaron. ³ The people quarreled with Moses and said,^(A) “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord.^{(B) 4} Why have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness^(C) for us and our livestock to die here?^{(D) 5} Why have you led us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It’s not a place of grain, figs, vines, and pomegranates,^(E) and there is no water to drink!”

⁶ Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting. They fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. ⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses, ⁸ “Take the staff^(F) and assemble the community. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock^(G) while they watch, and it will yield its water. You will bring out water for them from the rock and provide drink for the community and their livestock.”

⁹ So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence^(H) just as he had commanded him. ¹⁰ Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels! Must we bring water out of this rock for you?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that abundant water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.^(I)

¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me to demonstrate my holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land I have given them.”^(J)

⁵ Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.^{[a](A) 6} Therefore, we may boldly say,