Deuteronomy 31

1 Once Moses had finished giving these instructions to all the Israelites,

And Moses goes and speaks these words to all Israel,

2 he told them, I'm now a hundred and twenty years old. I can't get around like I used to, and the Lord has told me, “You are not to 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 is going to lead you across. He will destroy these nations as you advance, and you will take over their land. Joshua will cross ahead of you, as the Lord 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 The Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and their land when he destroyed them.

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 hand them over to you, and you will deal with them exactly as I've told 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! Be brave! Don't be frightened or terrified of them, because the Lord your God will go with you. He won't ever leave you or abandon 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 Moses called for Joshua and told him in front of all the Israelites, “Be strong! Be brave! You will accompany this people into the country that the Lord promised to give their forefathers, and you are to allocate it for them to own.

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 ahead of you. He will be with you. He won't ever leave you or abandon you. Don't be afraid and don't be 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 Moses wrote this law down and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the Ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the Israelite elders.

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 Moses gave them these orders, At the end of every seven years, the year when debts are canceled during the Festival of Shelters,

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 and when all the Israelites comes before the Lord your God at the place he will choose, you must read this law in the for everyone to hear.

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 Have the people gather together—the men, women, children, and the foreigners living with you—so that they can listen and learn to respect the Lord your God and to carefully observe all the instructions 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 don't know the law will listen and learn to respect the Lord your God as the whole time you live in the country that you are going to take over after you cross the Jordan.

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 told Moses, “Listen, you are soon going to die. Tell Joshua to meet you, and then both of you are to come and stand before me at the Tent of Meeting, so that I may appoint him as leader.” Moses and Joshua went to stand before the Lord 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 The Lord appeared there at the tent in a pillar of cloud. The cloud stood at 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 The Lord told Moses, “You will join your ancestors in death, and these people are going to prostitute themselves by worshiping the foreign gods of the country they are entering. They will abandon me and break the agreement I've 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 Then I will abandon them and turn away from them, so they will be destroyed, and they will experience many disasters and problems. At that time they'll say, ‘We're suffering these disasters because our God has abandoned 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 Then I will definitely ignore them because of all the evil they have done by worshiping 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 So write down this song and teach it to the Israelites. Help them learn to sing it, so it will provide evidence 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 Once I've led them into the country that I promised to give their forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will have plenty to eat and will do well. Then they will go and worship other gods, and they will abandon me and break my agreement.

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 Once they've experienced plenty of trouble and suffering, this song will testify against them, because their descendants won't forget the words. I know what they're like, even before I lead them into the country that I promised 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 Right then 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 appointed Joshua son of Nun as leader, and told him, “Be strong! Be brave! For you are going to lead the Israelites into the country that I promised 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 After Moses had finished writing down this Law in a book from start to finish,

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

25 he ordered the Levites who carried the Ark of the Lord's Agreement:

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

26 “Place this book of the Law beside the Ark of the Lord your God's Agreement, so that it will be kept there as a evidence 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 I know how stubborn and rebellious you are. If you've already started rebelling against the Lord while I'm still alive, how much worse will you get after I die?

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 Summon all the elders of your tribes and all your officers to gather here before me so that I can tell them this directly and call on heaven and earth as witnesses 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 I know that after my death you will become completely immoral, leaving the path I have ordered you to follow. In the future, evil things will happen to you because of the evil sins you commit in the sight of the Lord, making him angry by what you do.”

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 all the words of this song as the Israelites listened.

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