Deuteronomy 31

1 And Moses went and spoke these words unto all Israel.

And so, Moses went out, and he spoke all these words to all of Israel.

2 And he said unto them: 'I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in; and the LORD hath said unto me: Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

And he said to them: “Today, I am one hundred and twenty years old. I am no longer able to go out and return, especially since the Lord has also said to me, ‘You shall not cross this Jordan.’

3 The LORD thy God, He will go over before thee; He will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt dispossess them; and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.

Therefore, the Lord your God will go across before you. He himself will abolish all these nations in your sight, and you shall possess them. And this man Joshua shall go across before you, just as the Lord has spoken.

4 And the LORD will do unto them as He did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and unto their land; whom He destroyed.

And the Lord will do to them just as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, and he will wipe them away.

5 And the LORD will deliver them up before you, and ye shall do unto them according unto all the commandment which I have commanded you.

Therefore, when the Lord will have delivered these to you also, you shall act similarly toward them, just as I have instructed you.

6 Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be affrighted at them; for the LORD thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.'

Act manfully and be strengthened. Do not be afraid, and do not dread at the sight of them. For the Lord your God himself is your commander, and he will neither dismiss nor abandon you.”

7 And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel: 'Be strong and of good courage; for thou shalt go with this people into the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

And Moses called Joshua, and, before all of Israel, he said to him: ‘Be strong and valiant. For you shall lead this people into the land which the Lord swore that he would give to their fathers, and you shall divide it by lot.

8 And the LORD, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee; fear not, neither be dismayed.'

And the Lord, who is your commander, will himself be with you. He will neither renounce nor abandon you. Do not be afraid, and do not dread.”

9 And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, that bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel.

And so, Moses wrote this law, and he handed 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.

10 And Moses commanded them, saying: 'At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,

And he instructed them, saying: “After seven years, in the year of remission, at the solemnity of the Feast of Tabernacles,

11 when all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which He shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

when all of Israel has convened in order to appear in the sight of the Lord your God, in the place which the Lord will choose, you shall read the words of this law before all of Israel, in their hearing.

12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law;

And when the people have gathered together, men as well as women and little children, and the new arrivals who are within your gates, they shall listen so that they may learn, and may fear the Lord your God, and may keep and fulfill all the words of this law,

13 and that their children, who have not known, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over the Jordan to possess it.'

and also so that their sons, who are now ignorant, may be able to listen, and may fear the Lord their God all the days that they live in the land to which you will travel, crossing the Jordan in order to obtain it.”

14 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Behold, thy days approach that thou must die; call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may give him a charge.' And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tent of meeting.

And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, the days of your death draw near. Call Joshua, and stand in the tabernacle of the testimony, so that I may instruct him.” Therefore, Moses and Joshua went and stood in the tabernacle of the testimony.

15 And the LORD appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud; and the pillar of cloud stood over the door of the Tent.

And the Lord appeared there, in a pillar of cloud, which stood at the entrance of the tabernacle.

16 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Behold, thou art about to sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go astray after the foreign gods of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake Me, and break My covenant which I have made with them.

And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers, and this people will rise up and will fornicate after foreign gods, in the land which they will enter so that they may live in it. In that place, they will forsake me, and they will make void the covenant that I have formed with them.

17 Then My anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come upon them; so that they will say in that day: Are not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?

And my fury will be enraged against them in that day. And I will abandon them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured. Every evil and affliction will find them, so much so that they will say in that day: ‘Truly, it is because God is not with me that these evils have found me.’

18 And I will surely hide My face in that day for all the evil which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.

But I will hide myself, and I will conceal my face in that day, because of all the evils that they have done, because they have followed strange gods.

19 Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach thou it the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel.

And so, write this canticle now, and teach it to the sons of Israel, so that they may retain it in memory, and may chant it by mouth, and so that this verse may be a testimony to me among the sons of Israel.

20 For when I shall have brought them into the land which I swore unto their fathers, flowing with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten their fill, and waxen fat; and turned unto other gods, and served them, and despised Me, and broken My covenant;

For I will lead them into the land, about which I swore to their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. And when they have eaten, and have been satiated and fattened, they will turn aside to foreign gods, and they will serve them. And they will disparage me, and they will nullify my covenant.

21 then it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are come upon them, that this song shall testify before them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed; for I know their imagination how they do even now, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.'

And after many evils and afflictions have overwhelmed them, this canticle will answer them as a testimony; it shall never pass into oblivion, away from the mouths of their offspring. For I know their thoughts and what they are about to do today, even before I lead them into the land which I have promised to them.”

22 So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

Therefore, Moses wrote the canticle, and he taught it to the sons of Israel.

23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said: 'Be strong and of good courage; for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore unto them; and I will be with thee.'

And the Lord instructed Joshua, the son of Nun, and he said: “Be strong and valiant. For you shall lead the sons of Israel into the land which I have promised, and I will be with you.”

24 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,

Therefore, after Moses had written the words of this law in a volume, and had finished it,

25 that Moses commanded the Levites, that bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying:

he instructed the Levites, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying:

26 'Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

“Take this book, and place it inside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, so that it may be there as a testimony against you.

27 For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck; behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?

For I know your contentiousness and your very stiff neck. Even while I am still living and entering with you, you have always acted with contention against the Lord. How much more so when I will be dead?

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

Gather to me all those greater by birth throughout your tribes, as well as your teachers, and I will speak these words in their hearing, and I will call heaven and earth as witnesses against them.

29 For I know that after my death ye will in any wise deal corruptly, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the end of days; because ye will do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him through the work of your hands.'

For I know that, after my death, you will act with iniquity, and you will quickly depart from the way that I have instructed to you. And so, evils will meet you in the end time, when you will have done evil in the sight of the Lord so as to provoke him through the works of your hands.”

30 And Moses spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were finished:

Thus did Moses speak, in the hearing of the entire assembly of Israel, the words of this canticle, and he completed it to its very end.