Deuteronomy 31
31
Joshua Takes Moses’ Place
1Then 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; 3the Lord your God will lead you across himself. He will destroy those nations for you, and you will take over their land. Joshua will also lead you across, as the Lord has said. 4The 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. 5The Lord will give those nations to you; do to them everything I told you. 6Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid of them and don’t be frightened, because the Lord your God will go with you. He will not leave you or forget you.”
7Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in front of the people, “Be strong and brave, because you will lead these people into the land the Lord promised to give their ancestors, and help them take it as their own. 8The Lord himself will go before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forget you. Don’t be afraid and don’t worry.”
Moses Writes the Teachings
9So Moses wrote down these teachings 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 with the Lord.) 10-11Then Moses commanded them: “Read these teachings for all Israel to hear at the end of every seven years, which is the year to cancel what people owe. Do it during the Feast of Shelters, when all the Israelites will come to appear before the Lord your God and stand at the place he will choose. 12Gather all the people: the men, women, children, and foreigners living in your towns so that they can listen and learn to respect the Lord your God and carefully obey everything in this law. 13Since their children do not know this law, they must hear it. They must learn to respect the Lord your God for as long as they live in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to take for your own.”
The Lord Calls Moses and Joshua
14The Lord said to Moses, “Soon you will die. Get Joshua and come to the Meeting Tent so that I may command him.” So Moses and Joshua went to the Meeting Tent.
15The Lord appeared at the Meeting Tent in a cloud; the cloud stood over the entrance of the Tent. 16And the Lord said to Moses, “You will soon die. Then these people will not be loyal to me but will worship the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will leave me, breaking the Agreement I made with them. 17Then I will become very angry at them, and I will leave them. I will turn away from them, and they will be destroyed. Many terrible things will happen to them. Then they will say, ‘It is because God is not with us that these terrible things are happening.’ 18I will surely turn away from them then, because they have done wrong and have turned to other gods.
19“Now write down this song and teach it to the Israelites. Then have them sing it, because it will be my witness against them. 20When I bring them into the land I promised to their ancestors, a fertile land, they will eat as much as they want and get fat. Then they will turn to other gods and serve them. They will reject me and break my Agreement. 21Then 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. I know what they plan to do, even before I take them into the land I promised them.” 22So Moses wrote down the song that day, and he taught it to the Israelites.
23Then the Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and brave, because you will lead the people of Israel to the land I promised them, and I will be with you.”
24After Moses finished writing all the words of the teachings in a book, 25he gave a command to the Levites, who carried the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord. 26He said, “Take this Book of the Teachings and put it beside the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord your God. It must stay there as a witness against you. 27I know how stubborn and disobedient you are. You have disobeyed the Lord while I am alive and with you, and you will disobey even more after I die! 28Gather all the older leaders of your tribes and all your officers to me so that I may say these things for them to hear, and so that I may ask heaven and earth to testify against them. 29I know that after I die you will become completely evil. You will turn away from the commands I have given 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.”
Moses’ Song
30And Moses spoke this whole song for all the people of Israel to hear:
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Deuteronomy 31: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Deuteronomy 31
31
Joshua Becomes Moses' Successor
(Num 27.12–23)
1Moses continued speaking to the people of Israel, 2#Num 20.12and said, “I am now 120 years old and am no longer able to be your leader. And besides this, the LORD has told me that I will not cross the Jordan. 3The LORD your God himself will go before you and destroy the nations living there, so that you can occupy their land; and Joshua will be your leader, as the LORD has said. 4#Num 21.21–35The LORD will destroy those people, just as he defeated Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites, and destroyed their country. 5The LORD will give you victory over them, and you are to treat them exactly as I have told you. 6Be determined and confident. Do not be afraid of them. Your God, the LORD himself, will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you.”
7Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the presence of all the people of Israel, “Be determined and confident; you are the one who will lead these people to occupy the land that the LORD promised to their ancestors. 8#Josh 1.5; Heb 13.5The LORD himself will lead you and be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you, so do not lose courage or be afraid.”
The Law is to be Read Every Seven Years
9So Moses wrote down God's Law and gave it to the levitical priests, who were in charge of the LORD's Covenant Box, and to the leaders of Israel. 10#Deut 15.1; 16.13–15He commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, when the year that debts are cancelled comes round, read this aloud at the Festival of Shelters. 11Read it to the people of Israel when they come to worship the LORD your God at the one place of worship. 12Call together all the men, women, and children, and the foreigners who live in your towns, so that everyone may hear it and learn to honour the LORD your God and to obey his teachings faithfully. 13In this way your descendants who have never heard the Law of the LORD your God will hear it. And so they will learn to obey him as long as they live in the land that you are about to occupy across the Jordan.”
The LORD's Last Instruction to Moses
14Then the LORD said to Moses, “You haven't much longer to live. Call Joshua and bring him to the Tent, so that I may give him his instructions.” Moses and Joshua went to the Tent, 15and the LORD appeared to them there in a pillar of cloud that stood by the door of the Tent.
16The LORD said to Moses, “You will soon die, and after your death the people will become unfaithful to me and break the covenant that I made with them. They will abandon me and worship the pagan gods of the land they are about to enter. 17When that happens, I will become angry with them; I will abandon them, and they will be destroyed. Many terrible disasters will come upon them, and then they will realize that these things are happening to them because I, their God, am no longer with them. 18And I will refuse to help them then, because they have done evil and worshipped other gods.
19“Now, write down this song. Teach it to the people of Israel, so that it will stand as evidence against them. 20I will take them into this rich and fertile land, as I promised their ancestors. There they will have all the food they want, and they will live comfortably. But they will turn away and worship other gods. They will reject me and break my covenant, 21and many terrible disasters will come on them. But this song will still be sung, and it will stand as evidence against them. Even now, before I take them into the land that I promised to give them, I know what they are thinking.”
22That same day Moses wrote down the song and taught it to the people of Israel.
23 #
Num 27.23; Josh 1.6 Then the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun and said to him, “Be confident and determined. You will lead the people of Israel into the land that I promised them, and I will be with you.”
24Moses wrote God's Law in a book, taking care not to leave out anything. 25When he finished, he said to the levitical priests, who were in charge of the LORD's Covenant Box, 26“Take this book of God's Law and place it beside the Covenant Box of the LORD your God, so that it will remain there as a witness against his people. 27I know how stubborn and rebellious they are. They have rebelled against the LORD during my lifetime, and they will rebel even more after I am dead. 28Assemble all your tribal leaders and officials before me, so that I can tell them these things; I will call heaven and earth to be my witnesses against them. 29I know that after my death the people will become wicked and reject what I have taught them. And in time to come they will meet with disaster, because they will have made the LORD angry by doing what he has forbidden.”
The Song of Moses
30Then Moses recited the entire song while all the people of Israel listened.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.