Deuteronomy 31

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

And Moses goes and speaks these words to all 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.’

and he says to them, “I [am] a son of one hundred and twenty years today; I am not able to go out and to come in anymore, and YHWH has said to me, You do not pass over this 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.

Your God YHWH—He is passing over before you; He destroys these nations from before you, and you have possessed them; Joshua—he is passing over before you, as YHWH has spoken.

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.

And YHWH has done to them as he has done to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorite, and to their land, whom He destroyed.

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

And YHWH has given them before your face, and you have done to them according to all the command which I have commanded you;

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 courageous, do not fear, nor be terrified because of them, for your God YHWH [is] He who is going with you; He does not fail you nor forsake 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.

And Moses calls for Joshua and says to him before the eyes of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you go in with this people to the land which YHWH has sworn to their fathers to give to them, and you cause them to inherit it;

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.”

and YHWH [is] He who is going before you, He Himself is with you; He does not fail you nor forsake you; do not fear, nor be frightened.”

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.

And Moses writes this law and gives it to the priests (sons of Levi, those carrying the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH), and to all [the] elderly 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 commands them, saying, “At the end of seven years, in the appointed time, the year of release, in the Celebration of Shelters,

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.

in the coming in of all Israel to see the face of YHWH in the place which He chooses, you proclaim this law before all Israel in their ears.

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.

Assemble the people, the men, and the women, and the infants, and your sojourner who [is] within your gates, so that they hear, and so that they learn, and have feared your God YHWH, and observed 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 their sons, who have not known, hear and have learned to fear your God YHWH [for] all the days which you are living on the ground to where you are passing over the Jordan to possess it.”

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.

And YHWH says to Moses, “Behold, your days have drawn near to die; call Joshua, and station yourselves in the Tent of Meeting, and I charge him”; and Moses goes—Joshua also—and they station themselves in 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 YHWH is seen in the tent in a pillar of a cloud; and the pillar of the cloud stands at the opening 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 YHWH says to Moses, “Behold, you are lying down with your fathers, and this people has risen and gone whoring after the gods of the stranger of the land, into the midst of which it has entered, and it has forsaken Me and broken My covenant which I made with it;

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?’

and My anger has burned against it in that day, and I have forsaken them, and hidden My face from them, and it has been for consumption, and many evils and distresses have found it, and it has said in that day, [Is] it not because my God is not in my midst that these evils have found me?

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

And I certainly hide My face in that day for all the evil which it has done, for it has turned to 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.

And now, write this song for yourselves, and teach it [to] the sons of Israel; put it in their mouths, so that this song is to Me for a witness against the sons 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.

When I bring them to the ground flowing with milk and honey, which I have sworn to their fathers, and they have eaten, and been satisfied, and been fat, and have turned to other gods, and they have served them, and despised Me, and broken My covenant,

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 it has been, when many evils and distresses meet it, that this song has testified to its face for a witness; for it is not forgotten out of the mouth of its seed, for I have known its imagining which it is doing today, before I bring them into the land of which I have sworn.”

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

And Moses writes this song on that day, and teaches it [to] the sons 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 commands Joshua son of Nun, and says, “Be strong and courageous, for you bring in the sons of Israel to the land which I have sworn to them, and I am with you.”

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

And it comes to pass, when Moses finishes to write the words of this law on a scroll, until their completion,

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

that Moses commands the Levites carrying the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH, saying,

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 Scroll of the Law, and you have set it on the side of the Ark of the Covenant of your God YHWH, and it has been against you for a witness there;

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 known your rebellion and your stiff neck; behold, in my being yet alive with you today, you have been rebelling against YHWH, and surely also 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.

Assemble to me all the elderly of your tribes, and your authorities, and I speak these words in their ears, and cause the heavens and the earth to testify 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 have known that you act very corruptly after my death, and have turned aside from the way which I commanded you, and evil has met you in the latter end of the days, because you do evil in the eyes of YHWH, to make Him angry with 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:

And Moses speaks the words of this song in the ears of all the assembly of Israel, until their completion: