Deuteronomy 31:14-23
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.”
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- Deuteronomy 31:14 Lit your days to die are
- Deuteronomy 31:16 I.e., die
- Deuteronomy 31:19 Lit in their mouths
- Deuteronomy 31:20 Lit fat
- Deuteronomy 31:21 Lit seed
- Deuteronomy 31:21 Lit making
Deuteronomy 31:14-23
Common English Bible
Joshua commissioned
14 Then the Lord said to Moses: “It’s almost time for you to die. Summon Joshua. The two of you must present yourselves at the meeting tent so I can command him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the meeting tent. 15 The Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud; the cloud pillar stood at the tent’s entrance. 16 The Lord then said to Moses:
“Soon you will rest with your ancestors, and the people will rise up and act unfaithfully, going after strange gods of the land they are entering. They will abandon me, breaking my covenant that I made with them. 17 At that point my anger will burn against them, and I’ll be the one who abandons them! I’ll hide my face from them. They will become nothing but food for their enemies,[a] and all sorts of bad things and misfortunes will happen to them. Then they will say: ‘Haven’t these terrible things happened to us because our God is no longer with us?’ 18 But I will hide my face at that time because of the many wrong things they have done, because they have turned to other gods! 19 So in light of all that, you must write down this poem and teach it to the Israelites. Put it in their mouths so that the poem becomes a witness for me against them. 20 When I bring the Israelites to the land I swore to their ancestors, which is full of milk and honey, and they eat, get full, then fat, and then turn toward other gods, serving them and disrespecting me and breaking my covenant, 21 then, when all kinds of bad things and misfortunes happen to them, this poem will witness against them, giving its testimony, because it won’t be lost from the mouths of their descendants. Yes, I know right now what they are inclined to do, even before I’ve brought them into the land I swore.”
22 So Moses wrote this poem down that very day, and he taught it to the Israelites.
23 Then the Lord commissioned Joshua, Nun’s son: “Be strong and fearless because you are the one who will bring the Israelites to the land I swore to them. I myself will be with you.”
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- Deuteronomy 31:17 Heb lacks for their enemies.
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