Deuteronomy 31

1 And Moses goes and speaks these words to all Israel,

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

2 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 YHWH has given them before your face, and you have done to them according to all the command 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 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.”

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 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;

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 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.”

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 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,

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 commands them, saying, “At the end of seven years, in the appointed time, the year of release, in the Celebration of Shelters,

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

11 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.

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 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;

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 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.”

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 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,

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 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.

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

16 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;

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 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?

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

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 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,

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 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.”

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 And Moses writes this song on that day, and teaches it [to] the sons of Israel.

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

23 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.”

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

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

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

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

26 “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;

“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 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.

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 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,

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 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.”

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

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.