Deuteronomy 31

1 When Moses/I finished saying all that to the Israeli people,

And Moses went and spoke these words unto all Israel.

2 he/I said to them, “Now I am 120 years old. I am no longer able to go everywhere [that you go] (OR, to be your leader). Furthermore, Yahweh has told me that I will not cross the Jordan [River].

And he said unto them, I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I am not able any more to go out and come in; for the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

3 But Yahweh our God will go ahead of you. He will [enable you to] destroy the nations that are living there, in order that you can occupy their land. Joshua will be your leader, which is what Yahweh already told me.

The Lord thy God it is who goeth over before thee; he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt dispossess them: Joshua it is who goeth over before thee, as the Lord hath spoken.

4 Yahweh will do to those nations what he did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amor people-group when he destroyed their armies [MTY].

And the Lord will do unto them as he hath done to Sichon and to 'Og, the kings of the Emorites, and unto their land, whom he hath destroyed.

5 Yahweh will enable you to conquer those nations, but you must [kill all of the people of those nations, which is] what I have commanded you to do.

And the Lord will give them up before you; and ye shall do unto them according unto the whole of the commandment which I have commanded you.

6 Be brave and confident. Do not be afraid of those people. [Do not forget that] it is Yahweh our God who will go with you. He will always help [LIT] you and never abandon you.”

Be strong and of a good courage, be not afraid and be not dismayed on account of them; for the Lord thy God it is that goeth with thee; he will not let thee fail, nor forsake thee.

7 Then Moses/I summoned Joshua, and while all the Israeli people were listening, he/I said to him, “Be brave and confident. You are the one who will lead these people into the land that Yahweh promised to our ancestors that he would give to them, and you will enable them to occupy it.

And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him before the eyes of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage; for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give unto them; and thou shalt divide it for them as a possession.

8 It is Yahweh who will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will always help [LIT] you. He will never abandon you. So do not be afraid or dismayed.”

And the Lord it is that goeth before thee; he will be with thee, he will not let thee fail, nor will he forsake thee: fear not, nor be thou discouraged.

9 Moses/I wrote down all these laws [on two scrolls] and gave [one scroll] to the priests, who carried the chest containing the Ten Commandments, and [gave the other scroll] to the Israeli elders.

And Moses wrote down this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all the elders of Israel.

10 Moses/I told them, “At the end of every seven years, at the time that all debts are canceled, [read this to the people] during the Festival of [Living in Temporary] Shelters.

And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of [every] seven years, at the fixed time of the year of release, on the feast of tabernacles,

11 Read it to all the Israeli people when they gather at the place that Yahweh chooses for them to worship him.

When all Israel come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he will choose, shalt thou read this law in the presence of all Israel in their hearing.

12 Gather together everyone—men, women, children, even the foreigners [who are living] in your towns—in order that they may hear [these laws] and learn to revere Yahweh our God, and to faithfully obey everything that is written in these laws.

Assemble the people together, the men, and the women, and the children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates; in order that they may hear, and in order that they may learn how they are to fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law;

13 [If they do that], your descendants who have never known these laws will hear them and will also learn to revere Yahweh our God, during all the years that they live in the land that you are about to cross the Jordan [River] to occupy.”

And that their children, who have not yet any knowledge, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, all the days which ye live in the land whither ye go over the Jordan to possess it.

14 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Listen carefully. You will soon die. Summon Joshua, and you go to the Sacred Tent with him, in order that I may appoint him [to be the new leader].” So Joshua and Moses/I went to the Sacred Tent.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die; call Joshua, and place yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge: and Moses and Joshua went, and placed themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.

15 There Yahweh appeared to them/us in a pillar of cloud, and that cloud was close to the door of the tent.

And the Lord appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud; and the pillar of cloud stood at the door of the tabernacle.

16 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “You will soon die [EUP]. Then these people will become unfaithful [MET] to me. They will abandon me and (break/stop obeying) the agreement that I made with them. They will begin to worship the foreign/pagan gods [that are worshiped by the people] of the land that they will enter.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers: and then will this people rise up, and go astray after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be in the midst of them, and they will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.

17 When that happens, I will become very angry with them. I will abandon them [DOU] and I will no longer help them [IDM], and I will destroy them {they will be destroyed}. Many terrible things will happen to them, with the result that they will say, ‘[We are certain that] [RHQ] these things are happening to us because our God is no longer with us.’

And my anger shall be kindled against them on that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be given to be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall overtake them; and they will say on that day, Is it not, because my God is not in the midst of me, that these evils have overtaken me?

18 And because of all the evil things that they will have done, and [especially because] they will have started to worship other gods, I will refuse to help [IDM] them.

But I will assuredly hide my face on that day on account of all the evils which they have wrought, because they have turned unto other gods.

19 “So, [I am going to give you] a song. Write it [on a scroll] and teach it to the Israeli people and cause them to memorize it. It will be like a witness that accuses them.

Now therefore write ye for yourselves this song, and teach it the children of Israel, put it in their mouth; in order that this song may become for me a witness against the children of Israel.

20 I am about to take them into a very fertile [IDM] land, a land that I solemnly promised their ancestors that I would give to them. There they will have plenty to eat, with the result that their [stomachs] will [always] be full and they will become fat. But then they will turn to other gods and start to worship them, and they will despise me and (break/stop obeying) the agreement that I made with them.

For when I shall have brought them into the land which I have sworn unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and grown fat: then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.

21 And they will experience many terrible disasters. After that happens, their descendants will never forget this song, and it will be like a witness [that says, ‘Now you know why Yahweh punished your ancestors].’ I will soon take them into the land that I vowed that I would give to them; but now, before I do that, I know what they are thinking [that they will do when they are living there].”

And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles have befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouth of their seed; for I know their inclination which they have shown, even this day, before I have brought them into the land which I have sworn.

22 So on the day that [Yahweh gave Moses/me this song], he/I wrote it down, and he/I taught it to the Israeli people.

And Moses wrote down this song on the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

23 Then Yahweh (appointed/set apart) Joshua and said to him, “Be brave and confident, because you will lead the Israeli people into the land that I vowed that I would give to them. And I will be with you.”

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

24 Then Moses/I finished writing on a scroll all the laws that Yahweh had told to him/me.

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,

25 Then Moses/I told the descendants of Levi, who were carrying the Sacred Chest that contained the Ten Commandments,

That Moses commanded the Levites, the bearers of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying,

26 “Take this scroll on which these laws [are written], and place it beside the Sacred Chest that contains the agreement that Yahweh our God made with you, in order that it may remain there to testify [about what Yahweh will do] to the people [if they disobey him].

Take this book of the law, and put it at the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may remain there against thee for a witness.

27 [I say this] because I know that these people are very stubborn [DOU]. They have rebelled against Yahweh all during the time that I have been [with them], and they will rebel much more after I die!

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

28 So gather all the elders of the tribes and your officials, in order that I can tell them the words [of this song], and request all those who are in heaven and on the earth to be witnesses to testify against these people.

Assemble unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers; and I will speak in their ears these words, and I will call as witnesses against them the heavens and the earth.

29 I say that because I know that after I die, the people will become very wicked. They will turn away from doing everything that I have commanded them to do. And in the future, because of all the evil things that they will do, they will cause Yahweh to become angry with them. And he will cause them to experience disasters.”

For I know that after my death ye will to a surety become corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and that the evil will befall you in the latter days, when ye do the evil in the eyes of the Lord, to incense him through the work of your hands.

30 Then, while all the Israeli people listened, Moses/I sang/recited this entire song to them:

And Moses spoke in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.