Deuteronomy 31
Expanded Bible
Joshua Takes Moses’ Place
31 Then Moses went and spoke these words to all the Israelites: 2 “I am now one hundred twenty years old, and I cannot lead you anymore. The Lord told me I would not cross the Jordan River [Num. 20:12]; 3 the Lord your God will lead you across himself. He will destroy those nations for you, and you will take ·over [possession of] their land. Joshua will also lead you across, as the Lord has said [1:37; Num. 27:18–22; Josh. 1]. 4 The Lord will do to those nations what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, when he destroyed them and their land [Num. 21:21–35]. 5 The Lord will give those nations to you; do to them ·everything [L according to all the commandments] I ·told [commanded] you. 6 Be strong and ·brave [courageous; Josh. 1:6–9]. Don’t be afraid of them and don’t be frightened, because the Lord your God will go with you. He will not ·leave [fail] you or ·forget [abandon; forsake] you.”
7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in front of the people, “Be strong and ·brave [courageous], because you will lead these people into the land the Lord ·promised [swore] to give their ·ancestors [fathers], and help them take it as their own. 8 The Lord himself will go before you. He will be with you; he will not ·leave [fail] you or ·forget [abandon; forsake] you. Don’t be afraid and don’t worry.”
Moses Writes the Teachings
9 So Moses wrote down these ·teachings [laws; instructions] and gave them to the priests and all the elders of Israel. (The priests are the sons of Levi, who carry the Ark of the ·Agreement [Treaty; Covenant; Ex. 25:10] with the Lord.)
The Lord Calls Moses and Joshua
14 The Lord said to Moses, “·Soon you will [L Look, the day is approaching for you to] die. ·Get [Call] Joshua and ·come [present him] to the Meeting Tent so that I may command him.” So Moses and Joshua ·went to [presented themselves at] the Meeting Tent.
15 The Lord appeared at the Meeting Tent in a pillar of cloud; the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the Tent [C representing the presence of God; Ex. 13:21; 40:34–38]. 16 And the Lord said to Moses, “You will soon ·die [L lie down/T sleep with your fathers]. Then these people will ·not be loyal to me but will worship [L prostitute themselves with] the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will ·leave [abandon; forsake] me, breaking the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] I ·made [L cut] with them. 17 ·Then [L On that day] I will become very angry at them, and I will ·leave [abandon; forsake] them. I will ·turn away [L hide my face] from them, and they will be ·destroyed [devoured; consumed]. Many terrible things will happen to them. ·Then [L On that day] they will say, ‘·It is [L Is it not…?] because God is not with us that these terrible things are happening.’ 18 I will surely ·turn away [L hide my face] from them ·then [L on that day], because they have done wrong and have turned to other gods.
19 “Now write down this song and teach it to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. ·Then have them sing it [L Place it in their mouth], because it will be my witness against ·them [L the sons/T children of Israel]. 20 When I bring them into the land I ·promised [swore] to their ·ancestors [fathers], a ·fertile land [L land flowing with milk and honey; Ex. 3:8], they will eat as much as they want and get fat. Then they will turn to other gods and serve them. They will ·reject [despise] me and break my ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty]. 21 Then when many troubles and terrible things happen to them, this song will testify against them, because the song will not be forgotten by their ·descendants [L seed]. I know what they ·plan [incline; Gen. 6:5; 8:21] to do, even before I take them into the land I ·promised [swore to] them.” 22 So Moses wrote down the song that day, and he taught it to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel].
23 Then the Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and ·brave [courageous; Josh. 1:6–9], because you will lead the people of Israel to the land I promised them, and I will be with you [Ex. 3:12].”
24 After Moses finished writing all the words of the ·teachings [laws; instructions] in a ·book [scroll], 25 he gave a command to the Levites, who carried the Ark of the ·Agreement [Treaty; Covenant; Ex. 25:10] with the Lord. 26 He said, “Take this ·Book [Scroll] of the ·Teachings [Laws; Instructions] and put it beside the Ark of the ·Agreement [Treaty; Covenant; Ex. 25:10] with the Lord your God. It must stay there as a witness against you. 27 I know how ·stubborn [L stiff-necked] and ·disobedient [rebellious] you are. You have ·disobeyed [rebelled against] the Lord while I am alive and with you, and you will ·disobey [rebel against me] even more after I die! 28 ·Gather [Assemble] all the elders of your tribes and all your ·officers [scribes] to me so that I may say these things ·for them to hear [L in their ears], and so that I may ask heaven and earth to ·testify [witness] against them [30:19]. 29 I know that after I die you will become completely ·evil [corrupt]. You will turn away from the ·commands I have given [L way I commanded] you. Terrible things will happen to you in the future when you do what the Lord says is evil, and you will make him angry with the ·idols you have made [L work of your hands].”
Moses’ Song
30 And Moses spoke this whole song ·for all the people of Israel to hear [L in the ears of the whole assembly of Israel]:
Deuteronomy 31
World English Bible
31 Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 He said to them, “I am one hundred twenty years old today. I can no more go out and come in. Yahweh has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ 3 Yahweh your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua will go over before you, as Yahweh has spoken. 4 Yahweh will do to them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 Yahweh will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandment which I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them, for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.”
7 Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8 Yahweh himself is who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged.”
9 Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of booths, 11 when all Israel has come to appear before Yahweh your God in the place which he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and the foreigners who are within your gates, that they may hear, learn, fear Yahweh your God, and observe to do all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, who have not known, may hear and learn to fear Yahweh your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over the Jordan to possess it.”
14 Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, your days approach that you must die. Call Joshua, and present yourselves in the Tent of Meeting, that I may commission him.”
Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the Tent of Meeting.
15 Yahweh appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood over the Tent’s door. 16 Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers. This people will rise up and play the prostitute after the strange gods of the land where they go to be among them, and will forsake me and break my covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come on them; so that they will say in that day, ‘Haven’t these evils come on us because our God is not among us?’ 18 I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods.
19 “Now therefore write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. 20 For when I have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they have eaten and filled themselves, and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant. 21 It will happen, when many evils and troubles have come on them, that this song will testify before them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants; for I know their ways and what they are doing today, before I have brought them into the land which I promised them.”
22 So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel.
23 He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and courageous; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them. I will be with you.”
24 When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, 25 Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, saying, 26 “Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of Yahweh your God’s covenant, that it may be there for a witness against you. 27 For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. Behold, while I am yet alive with you today, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. How much more after my death? 28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn away from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will happen to you in the latter days, because you will do that which is evil in Yahweh’s sight, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.”
30 Moses spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were finished.
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