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The Death of Moses

34 Then Moses ascended from the rift valley plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho.[a] The Lord showed him the whole land—Gilead to Dan, and all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the distant[b] sea, the Negev, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of date palm trees, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’[c] I have let you see it,[d] but you will not cross over there.”

So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab as the Lord had said. He[e] buried him in the valley in the land of Moab near Beth Peor, but no one knows his exact burial place to this very day. Moses was 120 years old when he died, but his eye was not dull[f] nor had his vitality[g] departed. The Israelites mourned for Moses in the rift valley plains[h] of Moab for thirty days; then the days of mourning for Moses ended.

An Epitaph for Moses

Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had placed his hands on him;[i] and the Israelites listened to him and did just what the Lord had commanded Moses. 10 No prophet ever again arose in Israel like Moses, who knew the Lord face to face.[j] 11 He did[k] all the signs and wonders the Lord had sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, all his servants, and the whole land, 12 and he displayed great power[l] and awesome might in view of all Israel.[m]

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 34:1 sn For the geography involved, see note on the term “Pisgah” in Deut 3:17 and the note on “rift valley plains” in Num 21:1.
  2. Deuteronomy 34:2 tn Or “western” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); Heb “latter,” a reference to the Mediterranean Sea (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
  3. Deuteronomy 34:4 tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).
  4. Deuteronomy 34:4 tn The Hebrew text includes “with your eyes,” but this is redundant in English and is left untranslated.
  5. Deuteronomy 34:6 tc Smr and some LXX mss read “they buried him,” that is, the Israelites. The MT reads “he buried him,” meaning in the context that “the Lord buried him.” This understanding, combined with the statement at the end of the verse that Moses’ burial place is unknown, gave rise to traditions during the intertestamental period that are reflected in the NT in Jude 9 and in OT pseudepigraphic works like the Assumption of Moses.
  6. Deuteronomy 34:7 tn Or “dimmed.” The term could refer to dull appearance or to dimness caused by some loss of visual acuity.
  7. Deuteronomy 34:7 tn Heb “sap.” That is, he was still in possession of his faculties or liveliness.
  8. Deuteronomy 34:8 sn This is the area of the rift valley basin to the north of the Dead Sea and east of the Jordan. See the note at Num 21:1.
  9. Deuteronomy 34:9 sn See Num 27:18.
  10. Deuteronomy 34:10 sn See Num 12:8; Deut 18:15-18.
  11. Deuteronomy 34:11 tn Heb “to,” “with respect to.” In the Hebrew text vv. 10-12 are one long sentence. For stylistic reasons the translation divides this into two, using the verb “he did” at the beginning of v. 11 and “he displayed” at the beginning of v. 12.
  12. Deuteronomy 34:12 tn Heb “strong hand.”
  13. Deuteronomy 34:12 tn The Hebrew text of v. 12 reads literally, “with respect to all the strong hand and with respect to all the awesome greatness which Moses did before the eyes of all Israel.”

34 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And Jehovah showed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the [a]hinder sea, and the South, and the Plain of the valley of Jericho the city of palm-trees, unto Zoar. And Jehovah said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. So Moses the servant of Jehovah died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of Jehovah. And [b]he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping in the mourning for Moses were ended.

And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as Jehovah commanded Moses. 10 And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom Jehovah knew face to face, 11 in all the signs and the wonders, which Jehovah sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, 12 and in all the mighty hand, and in all the great terror, which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 34:2 That is, western.
  2. Deuteronomy 34:6 Or, he was buried