Deuteronomy 31:14-23

New International Reader's Version

The Israelites Will Refuse to Obey the Lord

¹⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “The day when you will die is near. Have Joshua go to the tent of meeting. Join him there. That is where I will appoint him as the new leader.” So Joshua and Moses went to the tent of meeting.

¹⁵ Then the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud. It stood over the entrance to the tent. ¹⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “You are going to join the members of your family who have already died. The Israelites will not be faithful to me. They will soon join themselves to the false gods that are worshiped in the land they are entering. The people will desert me. They will break the covenant I made with them. ¹⁷ In that day I will become angry with them. I will desert them. I will turn my face away from them. And they will be destroyed. Many horrible troubles and hard times will come on them. On that day they will say, ‘Trouble has come on us. Our God isn’t with us!’ ¹⁸ I will certainly turn away from them on that day. I will do it because they did a very evil thing when they turned to other gods.

¹⁹ “I want you to write down a song and teach it to the Israelites. Have them sing it. It will be my witness against them. ²⁰ I will bring them into a land that has plenty of milk and honey. I promised the land to their people of long ago. In that land they will eat until they have had enough. They will get fat. When they do, they will turn to other gods and worship them. They will turn their backs on me. They will break my covenant. ²¹ Many horrible troubles and hard times will come on them. Then the song I am giving you will be a witness against them. That is because the song will not be forgotten by their children and their children’s children. I know what they are likely to do. I know it even before I bring them into the land I promised them.” ²² So that day Moses wrote the song down. And Moses taught it to the Israelites.

²³ The Lord gave a command to Joshua, the son of Nun. He said, “Be strong and brave. You will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them. I myself will be with you.”