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Succession of Moses by Joshua
31 Then Moses went[a] and spoke these words[b] to all Israel. 2 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.’ 3 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. 4 The Lord will do to them just what he did to Sihon and Og, the Amorite kings, and to their land, which he destroyed. 5 The Lord will deliver them over to you, and you will do to them according to the whole commandment I have given you. 6 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!” 7 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. 8 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!”
The Deposit of the Covenant Text
9 Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all Israel’s elders. 10 He[f] commanded them: “At the end of seven years, at the appointed time of the cancellation of debts,[g] at the Feast of Shelters,[h] 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses, you must read this law before them[i] within their hearing. 12 Gather the people—men, women, and children, as well as the resident foreigners[j] in your villages—so they may hear and thus learn about and fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the words of this law. 13 Then their children, who have not known this law,[k] will also hear about and learn to fear the Lord your God for as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
The Commissioning of Joshua
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The day of your death is near. Summon Joshua and present yourselves in the tent[l] of meeting[m] so that I can commission him.”[n] So Moses and Joshua presented themselves in the tent of meeting. 15 The Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud that[o] stood above the door of the tent. 16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die,[p] and then these people will begin to prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land into which they[q] are going. They[r] will reject[s] me and break my covenant that I have made with them.[t] 17 At that time[u] my anger will erupt against them,[v] and I will abandon them and hide my face from them until they are devoured. Many disasters and distresses will overcome[w] them[x] so that they[y] will say at that time, ‘Have not these disasters[z] overcome us[aa] because our[ab] God is not among us[ac] ?’ 18 But I will certainly[ad] hide myself at that time because of all the wickedness they[ae] will have done by turning to other gods. 19 Now write down for yourselves the following song and teach it to the Israelites. Put it into their very mouths so that this song may serve as my witness against the Israelites! 20 For after I have brought them[af] to the land I promised to their[ag] ancestors—one flowing with milk and honey—and they[ah] eat their fill[ai] and become fat, then they[aj] will turn to other gods and worship them; they will reject me and break my covenant. 21 Then when[ak] many disasters and distresses overcome them[al] this song will testify against them,[am] for their[an] descendants will not forget it.[ao] I know the[ap] intentions they have in mind[aq] today, even before I bring them[ar] to the land I have promised.” 22 So on that day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites, 23 and the Lord[as] commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will take the Israelites to the land I have promised them, and I will be with you.”[at]
Anticipation of Disobedience
24 When Moses finished writing on a scroll the words of this law in their entirety, 25 he[au] commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, 26 “Take this scroll of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. It will remain there as a witness against you, 27 for I know about your rebellion and stubbornness.[av] Indeed, even while I have been living among you to this very day, you have rebelled against the Lord; you will be even more rebellious after my death![aw] 28 Gather to me all your tribal elders and officials so I can speak to them directly about these things and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after I die you will totally[ax] corrupt yourselves and turn away from the path I have commanded you to walk. Disaster will confront you in future days because you will act wickedly[ay] before the Lord, inciting him to anger because of your actions.”[az] 30 Then Moses recited the words of this song from start to finish in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:
Invocation of Witnesses
32 Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;
hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
2 My teaching will drop like the rain,
my sayings will drip like the dew,[ba]
as rain drops upon the grass,
and showers upon new growth.
3 For I will proclaim the name[bb] of the Lord;
you must acknowledge the greatness of our God.
4 As for the Rock,[bc] his work is perfect,
for all his ways are just.
He is a reliable God who is never unjust,
he is fair[bd] and upright.
5 His people have been unfaithful[be] to him;
they have not acted like his children[bf]—this is their sin.[bg]
They are a perverse[bh] and deceitful generation.
6 Is this how you repay[bi] the Lord,
you foolish, unwise people?
Is he not your father, your Creator?
He has made you and established you.
7 Remember the ancient days;
bear in mind[bj] the years of past generations.[bk]
Ask your father and he will inform you,
your elders, and they will tell you.
8 When the Most High[bl] gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided up humankind,[bm]
he set the boundaries of the peoples,
according to the number of the heavenly assembly.[bn]
9 For the Lord’s allotment is his people,
Jacob is his special possession.[bo]
10 The Lord[bp] found him[bq] in a desolate land,[br]
in an empty wasteland where animals howl.[bs]
He continually guarded him[bt] and taught him;[bu]
he continually protected him[bv] like the pupil[bw] of his eye.
11 Like an eagle that stirs up[bx] its nest,
that hovers over its young,
so the Lord[by] spread out his wings and took him,[bz]
he lifted him up on his pinions.
12 The Lord alone was guiding him,[ca]
no foreign god was with him.
13 He enabled him[cb] to travel over the high terrain of the land,
and he ate of the produce of the fields.
He provided honey for him from the cliffs,[cc]
and olive oil[cd] from the hardest of[ce] rocks,[cf]
14 butter from the herd
and milk from the flock,
along with the fat of lambs,
rams and goats of Bashan,
along with the best of the kernels of wheat;
and from the juice[cg] of grapes you drank wine.
Israel’s Rebellion
15 But Jeshurun[ch] became fat and kicked;
you[ci] got fat, thick, and stuffed!
Then he deserted the God who made him,
and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt.
16 They made him jealous with other gods,[cj]
they enraged him with abhorrent idols.[ck]
17 They sacrificed to demons, not God,
to gods they had not known;
to new gods who had recently come along,
gods your ancestors[cl] had not known about.
18 You forgot[cm] the Rock who fathered you,
and put out of mind the God who gave you birth.
A Word of Judgment
19 But the Lord took note and despised them
because his sons and daughters enraged him.
20 He said, “I will reject them.[cn]
I will see what will happen to them;
for they are a perverse generation,
children[co] who show no loyalty.
21 They have made me jealous[cp] with false gods,[cq]
enraging me with their worthless gods;[cr]
so I will make them jealous with a people they do not recognize,[cs]
with a nation slow to learn[ct] I will enrage them.
22 For a fire has been kindled by my anger,
and it burns to lowest Sheol;[cu]
it consumes the earth and its produce,
and ignites the foundations of the mountains.
23 I will increase their[cv] disasters;
I will use up my arrows on them.
24 They will be starved by famine,
eaten by plague, and bitterly stung;[cw]
I will send the teeth of wild animals against them,
along with the poison of creatures that crawl in the dust.
25 The sword will make people childless outside,
and terror will do so inside;
they will destroy[cx] both the young man and the virgin,
the infant and the gray-haired man.
The Weakness of Other Gods
8 “I[a] tell you, whoever acknowledges[b] me before men,[c] the Son of Man will also acknowledge[d] before God’s angels. 9 But the one who denies me before men will be denied before God’s angels. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit[e] will not be forgiven.[f] 11 But when they bring you before the synagogues,[g] the[h] rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you should make your defense[i] or what you should say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment[j] what you must say.”[k]
The Parable of the Rich Landowner
13 Then[l] someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell[m] my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But Jesus[n] said to him, “Man,[o] who made me a judge or arbitrator between you two?”[p] 15 Then[q] he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from[r] all types of greed,[s] because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 He then[t] told them a parable:[u] “The land of a certain rich man produced[v] an abundant crop, 17 so[w] he thought to himself,[x] ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’[y] 18 Then[z] he said, ‘I[aa] will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to myself,[ab] “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life[ac] will be demanded back from[ad] you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’[ae] 21 So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself,[af] but is not rich toward God.”
Exhortation Not to Worry
22 Then[ag] Jesus[ah] said to his[ai] disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry[aj] about your[ak] life, what you will eat, or about your[al] body, what you will wear. 23 For there is more to life than food, and more to the body than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens:[am] They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds[an] them. How much more valuable are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by worrying[ao] can add an hour to his life?[ap] 26 So if[aq] you cannot do such a very little thing as this, why do you worry about[ar] the rest? 27 Consider how the flowers[as] grow; they do not work[at] or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 28 And if[au] this is how God clothes the wild grass,[av] which is here[aw] today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven,[ax] how much more[ay] will he clothe you, you people of little faith! 29 So[az] do not be overly concerned about[ba] what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not worry about such things.[bb] 30 For all the nations of the world pursue[bc] these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, pursue[bd] his[be] kingdom,[bf] and these things will be given to you as well.
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased[bg] to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions[bh] and give to the poor.[bi] Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out—a treasure in heaven[bj] that never decreases,[bk] where no thief approaches and no moth[bl] destroys. 34 For where your treasure[bm] is, there your heart will be also.
32 Despite all this, they continued to sin,
and did not trust him to do amazing things.[a]
33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied[b]
and filled with terror.[c]
34 When he struck them down,[d] they sought his favor;[e]
they turned back and longed for God.
35 They remembered that God was their protector,[f]
and that God Most High[g] was their deliverer.[h]
36 But they deceived him with their words,[i]
and lied to him.[j]
37 They were not really committed to him,[k]
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he is compassionate.
He forgives sin and does not destroy.
He often holds back his anger,
and does not stir up his fury.[l]
39 He remembered[m] that they were made of flesh,
and were like a wind that blows past and does not return.[n]
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
and insulted him[o] in the wastelands.
41 They again challenged God,[p]
and offended[q] the Holy One of Israel.[r]
42 They did not remember what he had done,[s]
how he delivered them from the enemy,[t]
43 when he performed his awesome deeds[u] in Egypt,
and his acts of judgment[v] in the region of Zoan.
44 He turned their rivers into blood,
and they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent swarms of biting insects against them,[w]
as well as frogs that overran their land.[x]
46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain.
48 He rained hail down on their cattle,[y]
and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock.[z]
49 His raging anger lashed out against them.[aa]
He sent fury, rage, and trouble
as messengers who bring disaster.[ab]
50 He sent his anger in full force.[ac]
He did not spare them from death;
he handed their lives over to destruction.[ad]
51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power[ae] in the tents of Ham.
52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep;
he led them through the wilderness like a flock.
53 He guided them safely along, and they were not afraid;
but the sea covered their enemies.
54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,
to this mountainous land[af] that his right hand[ag] acquired.
55 He drove the nations out from before them;
he assigned them their tribal allotments[ah]
and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down.[ai]
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