Deuteronomy 31:14-29

New American Standard Bible

Israel Will Fall Away

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, ^[a](A)the time for you to die is near; call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, and I will commission him.” ^(B)So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting. ^15 (C)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, ^(D)you are about to ^[b]lie down with your fathers; and ^(E)this people will arise and play the prostitute with the foreign gods of the land into the midst of which they are going, and ^(F)they will abandon Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. ^17 (G)Then My anger will be kindled against them on that day, and ^(H)I will abandon them and ^(I)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, ‘^(J)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, ^(K)write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it ^[c]on their lips, so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel. ^20 (L)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 ^(M)become ^[d]prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and spurn Me and break My covenant. ²¹ Then it will come about, ^(N)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 ^[e]descendants); for ^(O)I know their inclination which they are ^[f]developing today, before I bring them into the land which I swore.” ^22 (P)So Moses wrote down this song on the same day, and taught it to the sons of Israel.

Joshua Is Commissioned

^23 (Q)Then He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “^(R)Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and ^(S)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 ^(T)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 ^[g]remain there as a witness against you. ²⁷ For I know ^(U)your rebellion and ^(V)your ^[h]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 ^(W)call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against them. ²⁹ For I know that after my death you will ^(X)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.”