Deuteronomy 31
31
Joshua is appointed the leader of Israel
1Moses again spoke to the whole nation of Israel:
2I am a hundred and twenty years old, and I am no longer able to be your leader. And besides that, the LORD your God has told me that he won't let me cross the River Jordan.#Nu 20.12. 3-5But he has promised that he and Joshua will lead you across the Jordan to attack the nations that live on the other side. The LORD will destroy those nations just as he destroyed Sihon and Og, those two Amorite kings. Just remember—whenever you capture a place, kill everyone who lives there.#Nu 21.21-35.
6Be brave and strong! Don't be afraid of the nations on the other side of the Jordan. The LORD your God will always be at your side, and he will never abandon you.
7Then Moses called Joshua up in front of the crowd and said:
Joshua, be brave and strong as you lead these people into their land. The LORD made a promise long ago to Israel's ancestors that this land would some day belong to Israel. That time has now come, and you must divide up the land among the people. 8The LORD will lead you into the land. He will always be with you and help you, so don't ever be afraid of your enemies.#Js 1.5; He 13.5.
Read these laws
9Moses wrote down all these laws and teachings and gave them to the priests and the leaders of Israel. The priests were from the Levi tribe, and they carried the sacred chest that belonged to the LORD. 10-11Moses told these priests and leaders:#Dt 15.12; Dt 16.13-15.
Each year the Israelites must come together to celebrate the Festival of Shelters at the place where the LORD chooses to be worshipped. You must read these laws and teachings to the people at the festival every seventh year, the year when loans do not need to be repaid.#31.10,11 every seventh year…repaid: See 15.1,2 and the note there. 12-13Everyone must come—men, women, children, and even the foreigners who live in your towns. And each new generation will listen and learn to worship the LORD their God with fear and trembling and to do exactly what is said in God's Law.
Israel will reject the Lord
14The LORD told Moses, “You will soon die, so bring Joshua to the sacred tent, and I will appoint him the leader of Israel.”
Moses and Joshua went to the sacred tent, 15and the LORD appeared in a thick cloud right over the entrance to the tent. 16The LORD said:
Moses, you will soon die. But Israel is going into a land where other gods are worshipped, and Israel will reject me and start worshipping these gods. The people will break the agreement I made with them, 17and I will be so furious that I will abandon them and ignore their prayers. I will send disasters and suffering that will nearly wipe them out. Finally, they will realize that the disasters happened because I abandoned them. 18They will pray to me, but I will ignore them because they were evil and started worshipping other gods.
19Moses and Joshua, I am going to give you the words to a new song. Write them down and teach the song to the Israelites. If they learn it, they will know what I want them to do, and so they will have no excuse for not obeying me. 20I am bringing them into the land that I promised their ancestors. It is a land rich with milk and honey, and the Israelites will have more than enough food to eat. But they will get fat and turn their backs on me and start worshipping other gods. The Israelites will reject me and break the agreement that I made with them.
21When I punish the Israelites and their descendants with suffering and disasters, I will remind them that they know the words to this song, so they have no excuse for not obeying me.
I will give them the land that I promised, but I know the way they are going to live later on.
22Moses wrote down the words to the song#31.22 the words to the song: See 32.1-43. straight away, and he taught it to the Israelites.
23The LORD told Joshua, “Be brave and strong! I will help you lead the people of Israel into the land that I have promised them.”#Nu 27.23; Js 1.6.
24Moses wrote down all these laws and teachings in a book, 25then he went to the Levites who carried the sacred chest and said:
26This is The Book of God's Law. Keep it beside the sacred chest that holds the agreement the LORD your God made with Israel. This book is proof that you know what the LORD wants you to do. 27I know how stubborn and rebellious you and the rest of the Israelites are. You have rebelled against the LORD while I have been alive, and it will only get worse after I am gone. 28So call together the leaders and officials of the tribes of Israel. I will bring this book and read every word of it to you, and I will call the sky and the earth as witnesses that all of you know what you are supposed to do.
29I am going to die soon, and I know that in the future you will stop caring about what is right and what is wrong, and so you will disobey the LORD and stop living the way I told you to live. The LORD will be angry, and terrible things will happen to you.
The song of Moses
30Moses called a meeting of all the people of Israel, so he could teach them the words to the song that the LORD had given him. And here are the words:
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Deuteronomy 31: CEVUK
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
Deuteronomy 31
31
Moses announces his death
1Then Moses said#31.1 LXX, DSS (1QDeutb) When Moses had finished speaking these words to all Israel, 2telling them:
I’m 120 years old today. I can’t move around well anymore. Plus, the LORD told me “You won’t cross the Jordan River.” 3But the LORD your God, he’s the one who will cross over before you! He’s the one who will destroy these nations before you so you can displace them. Joshua too will cross over before you just like the LORD indicated. 4The LORD will do to these enemies the same thing he did to the Amorite kings Sihon and Og, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5The LORD will lay them out before you, and you will do to them exactly what the command I’ve given you dictates. 6Be strong! Be fearless! Don’t be afraid and don’t be scared by your enemies, because the LORD your God is the one who marches with you. He won’t let you down, and he won’t abandon you.
7Then Moses called Joshua and, with all Israel watching, said to him: “Be strong and fearless because you are the one who will lead#31.7 Sam, Vulg, Syr; MT, Tg accompany this people to the land the LORD swore to their ancestors to give to them; you are the one who will divide up the land for them. 8But the LORD is the one who is marching before you! He is the one who will be with you! He won’t let you down. He won’t abandon you. So don’t be afraid or scared!”
Regular reading of the Instruction
9Then Moses wrote this Instruction down and gave it to the priests—the Levites who carry the chest containing the LORD’s covenant—and to all of the Israelite elders. 10Moses then commanded them:
At the end of seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation, during the Festival of Booths, 11when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the location he selects, you must read this Instruction aloud, in the hearing of all the people. 12Gather everyone—men, women, children, and the immigrants who live in your cities—in order that they hear it, learn it, and revere the LORD your God, carefully doing all the words of this Instruction, 13and so that their children, who don’t yet know the Instruction, may hear it and learn to revere the LORD your God for as long as you live on the ground you are crossing the Jordan River to possess.
Joshua commissioned
14Then 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. 15The LORD appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud; the cloud pillar stood at the tent’s entrance. 16The 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. 17At 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,#31.17 Heb lacks for their enemies. 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?’ 18But I will hide my face at that time because of the many wrong things they have done, because they have turned to other gods! 19So 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. 20When 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, 21then, 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.”
22So Moses wrote this poem down that very day, and he taught it to the Israelites.
23Then 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.”
Life after Moses
24Once Moses had finished writing in their entirety all the words of this Instruction scroll, 25he commanded the Levites who carry the chest containing the LORD’s covenant as follows:
26“Take this Instruction scroll and put it next to the chest containing the LORD your God’s covenant. It must remain there as a witness against you 27because I know how rebellious and hardheaded you are. If you are this rebellious toward the LORD while I’m still alive, it’s bound to get worse once I’m dead! 28Assemble all of your tribes’ elders and your officials in front of me, so I can speak these words in their hearing, and so I can call heaven and earth as my witnesses against them, 29because I know that after I’m dead, you will ruin everything, departing from the path I’ve commanded you. Terrible things will happen to you in the future because you will do evil in the LORD’s eyes, aggravating him with the things your hands have made.”
The poem of Instruction
30Then Moses recited in their entirety the words of this poem in the hearing of the entire assembly of Israel:
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