Deuteronomy 31

1 When Moses had finished speaking these words to all Israel,

So Moses said all these things to Israel.

2 he said to them, “I am now a hundred and twenty years old; I am no longer able to come and go, and the LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’

Then he said to them, I am now a hundred and twenty years old; I am no longer able to go out and come in: and the Lord has said to me, You are not to go over Jordan.

3 The LORD your God Himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will dispossess them. Joshua will cross ahead of you, as the LORD has said.

The Lord your God, he will go over before you; he will send destruction on all those nations, and you will take their land as your heritage: and Joshua will go over at your head as the Lord has said.

4 And the LORD will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, when He destroyed them along with their land.

The Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, whom he put to destruction.

5 The LORD will deliver them over to you, and you must do to them exactly as I have commanded you.

The Lord will give them up into your hands, and you are to do to them as I have given you orders.

6 Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Be strong and take heart, and have no fear of them: for it is the Lord your God who is going with you; he will not take away his help from you.

7 Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance.

Then Moses sent for Joshua, and before the eyes of all Israel said to him, Be strong and take heart: for you are to go with this people into the land which the Lord, by his oath to their fathers, has given them; by your help they will take it for their heritage.

8 The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

It is the Lord who goes before you; he will be with you, he will not take away his help from you or give you up: so have no fear.

9 So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.

Then Moses put all this law in writing, and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who take up the ark of the Lord's agreement, and to all the responsible men of Israel.

10 Then Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of remission of debt, during the Feast of Tabernacles,

And Moses said to them, At the end of every seven years, at the time fixed for the ending of debts, at the feast of tents,

11 when all Israel comes before the LORD your God at the place He will choose, you are to read this law in the hearing of all Israel.

When all Israel has come before the Lord your God in the place named by him, let a reading be given of this law in the hearing of all Israel.

12 Assemble the people—men, women, children, and the foreigners within your gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and to follow carefully all the words of this law.

Make all the people come together, men and women and children, and anyone from another country who is with you, so that hearing they may become wise in the fear of the Lord your God, and take care to do all the words of this law;

13 Then their children who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

And so that your children, to whom it is new, may give ear and be trained in the fear of the Lord your God, while you are living in the land which you are going over Jordan to take for your heritage.

14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, the time of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, so that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting.

At that time the Lord said to Moses, The day of your death is near: send for Joshua, and come to the Tent of meeting so that I may give him his orders. So Moses and Joshua went to the Tent of meeting.

15 Then the LORD appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the tent.

And the Lord was seen in the Tent in a pillar of cloud resting by the door of the Tent.

16 And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them.

And the Lord said to Moses, Now you are going to rest with your fathers; and this people will be false to me, uniting themselves to the strange gods of the land where they are going; they will be turned away from me and will not keep the agreement I have made with them.

17 On that day My anger will burn against them, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, so that they will be consumed, and many troubles and afflictions will befall them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is no longer with us?’

In that day my wrath will be moved against them, and I will be turned away from them, veiling my face from them, and destruction will overtake them, and unnumbered evils and troubles will come on them; so that in that day they will say, Have not these evils come on us because our God is not with us?

18 And on that day I will surely hide My face because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods.

Truly, my face will be turned away from them in that day, because of all the evil they have done in going after other gods.

19 Now therefore, write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites; have them recite it, so that it may be a witness for Me against them.

Make then this song for yourselves, teaching it to the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, so that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.

20 When I have brought them into the land that I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. Then they will turn to other gods and worship them, and they will reject Me and break My covenant.

For when I have taken them into the land named in my oath to their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, and they have made themselves full of food and are fat, then they will be turned to other gods and will give them worship, no longer honouring me or keeping my agreement.

21 And when many troubles and afflictions have come upon them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants. For I know their inclination, even before I bring them into the land that I swore to give them.”

Then when evils and troubles without number have overtaken them, this song will be a witness to them, for the words of it will be clear in the memories of their children: for I see the thoughts which are moving in their hearts even now, before I have taken them into the land of my oath.

22 So that very day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites.

So that same day Moses made this song, teaching it to the children of Israel.

23 Then the LORD commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land that I swore to give them, and I will be with you.”

Then he gave orders to Joshua, the son of Nun, saying to him, Be strong and take heart: for you are to go at the head of the children of Israel into the land which I made an oath to give them; and I will be with you.

24 When Moses had finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end,

Now after writing all the words of this law in a book till the record of them was complete,

25 he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD:

Moses said to the Levites who were responsible for taking up the ark of the Lord's agreement,

26 “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, so that it may remain there as a witness against you.

Take this book of the law and put it by the ark of the Lord's agreement, so that it may be a witness against you.

27 For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you are already rebelling against the LORD while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after my death!

For I have knowledge of your hard and uncontrolled hearts: even now, while I am still living, you will not be ruled by the Lord; how much less after my death?

28 Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officers so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them.

Get together before me all those who are in authority in your tribes, and your overseers, so that I may say these things in their hearing, and make heaven and earth my witnesses against them.

29 For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. And in the days to come, disaster will befall you because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger by the work of your hands.”

For I am certain that after my death you will give yourselves up to sin, wandering from the way which I have given you; and evil will overtake you in the end, because you will do evil in the eyes of the Lord, moving him to wrath by the work of your hands.

30 Then Moses recited aloud to the whole assembly of Israel the words of this song from beginning to end:

Then in the hearing of all the meeting of Israel, Moses said the words of this song, to the end.