Deuteronomy 31
Legacy Standard Bible
Be Strong and Courageous
31 So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am (A)120 years old today; (B)I am no longer able to come and go, and Yahweh has said to me, ‘(C)You shall not cross this Jordan.’ 3 (D)It is Yahweh your God who will cross ahead of you; He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. (E)Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, just as Yahweh has spoken. 4 And Yahweh will do to them just as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when He destroyed them. 5 (F)And Yahweh will give them over before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you. 6 (G)Be strong and courageous. (H)Do not be afraid or be in dread of them, for (I)Yahweh your God is the one who goes with you. (J)He will not fail you or forsake you.”
7 Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “(K)Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. 8 (L)And Yahweh is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. (M)He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
9 So Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi (N)who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 Then Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of (O)the year of the remission of debts, at the (P)Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes (Q)to appear before Yahweh your God at (R)the place which He will choose, (S)you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and little ones and [a]the sojourner who is within your gates, so that they may hear and so that they may (T)learn and fear Yahweh your God and be careful to do all the words of this law. 13 And their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear Yahweh your God, all the days you live on the land [b]which you are about to cross the Jordan to [c]possess.”
Yahweh Has Moses Write a Song
14 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, [d](U)the time for you to die is near; call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” (V)So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting. 15 (W)And Yahweh appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood at the doorway of the tent. 16 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, (X)you are about to lie down with your fathers; and (Y)this people will arise and play the harlot with the foreign gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and they (Z)will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have cut with them. 17 (AA)Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and (AB)I will forsake them and (AC)hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will find them, so that they will say in that day, ‘(AD)Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have found us?’ 18 But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods.
19 “So now, (AE)write this song for yourselves and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it in their mouths, so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel. 20 (AF)For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and are satisfied and (AG)become fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them and spurn Me and break My covenant. 21 Then it will be, (AH)when many evils and troubles have found them, that this song will answer them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from the mouths of their seed); for (AI)I know their intent which they are [e]developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.” 22 (AJ)So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the sons of Israel.
Joshua Is Commissioned
23 (AK)Then He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, “(AL)Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and (AM)I will be with you.”
24 And it happened, when Moses finished writing the words of this law in a book until they were complete, 25 that Moses commanded the Levites (AN)who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, saying, 26 “Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, that it may be there as a witness against you. 27 For I know (AO)your rebellion and (AP)your [f]stiff-neck; behold, while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against Yahweh; how much more, then, after my death? 28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and (AQ)call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will (AR)act corruptly and turn away from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the last days, for you will do that which is evil in the sight of Yahweh, provoking Him to anger with the work of your hands.”
The Song of Moses
30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were complete:
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 31:12 Lit your sojourner
- Deuteronomy 31:13 Lit where
- Deuteronomy 31:13 Lit possess it
- Deuteronomy 31:14 Lit your days to die are
- Deuteronomy 31:21 Lit making
- Deuteronomy 31:27 Or stubbornness
Deuteronomy 31
English Standard Version
Joshua to Succeed Moses
31 So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am (A)120 years old today. I am no longer able to (B)go out and come in. The Lord has said to me, (C)‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God (D)himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, (E)as the Lord has spoken. 4 And the Lord will do to them (F)as he did to Sihon (G)and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them (H)according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. 6 (I)Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, (J)for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. (K)He will not leave you or forsake you.”
7 Then (L)Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, (M)“Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 8 It is the Lord (N)who goes before you. He will be with you; (O)he will not leave you or forsake you. (P)Do not fear or be dismayed.”
The Reading of the Law
9 Then Moses (Q)wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, (R)who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, (S)“At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at (T)the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes (U)to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, (V)you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 (W)Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, (X)who have not known it, (Y)may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, (Z)as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
Joshua Commissioned to Lead Israel
14 And the Lord said to Moses, (AA)“Behold, the days approach when you must die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that (AB)I may commission him.” And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. 15 And (AC)the Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud. And the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent.
16 And the Lord said to Moses, (AD)“Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and (AE)whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will (AF)forsake me and (AG)break my covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and (AH)I will forsake them and (AI)hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, (AJ)‘Have not these evils come upon us because (AK)our God is not among us?’ 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because (AL)they have turned to other gods.
19 “Now therefore write (AM)this song and (AN)teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be (AO)a witness for me against the people of Israel. 20 For when I have brought them into the land (AP)flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and (AQ)grown fat, (AR)they will turn to other gods and serve them, and (AS)despise me and (AT)break my covenant. 21 And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as (AU)a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For (AV)I know what they are inclined to do even today, before I have brought them into the land that I swore to give.” 22 So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the people of Israel.
23 (AW)And the Lord[a] commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, (AX)“Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. (AY)I will be with you.”
24 When Moses had finished (AZ)writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, 25 Moses commanded (BA)the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, 26 “Take this Book of the Law (BB)and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for (BC)a witness against you. 27 For I know how rebellious and (BD)stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, (BE)you have been rebellious against the Lord. How much more after my death! 28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak (BF)these words in their ears and (BG)call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death (BH)you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And (BI)in the days to come (BJ)evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, (BK)provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”
The Song of Moses
30 Then Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the ears of all the assembly of Israel:
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 31:23 Hebrew he
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