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Succession of Moses by Joshua

31 Then Moses went[a] and spoke these words[b] to all Israel. He said to them, “Today I am 120 years old. I am no longer able to get about,[c] and the Lord has said to me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’ As for the Lord your God, he is about to cross over before you; he will destroy these nations before you, and you will dispossess them. As for Joshua, he is about to cross before you just as the Lord has said. The Lord will do to them just what he did to Sihon and Og, the Amorite kings, and to their land, which he destroyed. The Lord will deliver them over to you, and you will do to them according to the whole commandment I have given you. Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who is going with you. He will not fail you or abandon you!” Then Moses called out to Joshua[d] in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will accompany these people to the land that the Lord promised to give their ancestors,[e] and you will enable them to inherit it. The Lord is indeed going before you—he will be with you; he will not fail you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged!”

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 31:1 tc For the MT reading וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh, “he went”), the LXX and Qumran have וַיְכַל (vayekhal, “he finished”): “So Moses finished speaking,” etc. The difficult reading of the MT favors its authenticity.
  2. Deuteronomy 31:1 tn In the MT this refers to the words that follow (cf. NIV, NCV).
  3. Deuteronomy 31:2 tn Or “am no longer able to lead you” (NIV, NLT); Heb “am no longer able to go out and come in.”
  4. Deuteronomy 31:7 tn The Hebrew text includes “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  5. Deuteronomy 31:7 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 20).

Succession, Deposition, and Recitation of Text

31 And Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 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.’ 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] 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. 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. 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.”

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. 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.”

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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”