Deuteronomy 31:1–34:12
1 So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.
2 And he said to them, “I am aa hundred and twenty years old today; bI am no longer able to come and go, and the Lord has said to me, ‘cYou shall not cross this Jordan.’
3 “aIt is the Lord your God who will cross ahead of you; He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. bJoshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, just as the Lord has spoken.
4 “The Lord 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 “aThe Lord will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you.
6 “aBe strong and courageous, bdo not be afraid or tremble at them, for cthe Lord your God is the one who goes with you. dHe will not fail you or forsake you.”
7 Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “aBe strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance.
8 “aThe Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. bHe 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 awho carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.
10 Then Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of athe year of remission of debts, at the bFeast of Booths,
11 when all Israel comes ato appear before the Lord your God at bthe place which He will choose, cyou shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing.
12 “Assemble the people, the men and the women and children and 1the alien who is in your 2town, so that they may hear and alearn and fear the Lord your God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law.
13 “Their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live on the land 1which you are about to cross the Jordan to 2possess.”
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, 1athe time for you to die is near; call Joshua, and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” bSo Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting.
15 aThe Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood at the doorway of the tent.
16 The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, ayou are about to lie down with your fathers; and bthis people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and cwill forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.
17 “aThen My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and bI will forsake them and chide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will come upon them; so that they will say in that day, ‘dIs it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come upon 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 “Now therefore, awrite this song for yourselves, and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it 1on their lips, so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel.
20 “aFor 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 bbecome 1prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and spurn Me and break My covenant.
21 “Then it shall come about, awhen many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify before them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from the 1lips of their descendants); for bI know their intent which they are 2developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.”
22 aSo Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the sons of Israel.
23 aThen He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “bBe strong and courageous, for you shall bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and cI will be with you.”
24 It came about, when Moses finished writing the words of this law in a book until they were complete,
25 that Moses commanded the Levites awho carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying,
26 “Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may 1remain there as a witness against you.
27 “For I know ayour rebellion and byour 1stubbornness; behold, while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against the Lord; 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 acall the heavens and the earth to witness against them.
29 “For I know that after my death you will aact corruptly and turn from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days, for you will do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger with the work of your hands.”
30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were complete:
1 “aGive ear, O heavens, and let me speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 “aLet my teaching drop as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
bAs the droplets on the fresh grass
And as the showers on the herb.
3 “aFor I proclaim the name of the Lord;
bAscribe greatness to our God!
4 “aThe Rock! His work is perfect,
cA God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Righteous and upright is He.
5 “1aThey have acted corruptly toward Him,
They are not His children, because of their defect;
bBut are a perverse and crooked generation.
6 “Do you thus arepay the Lord,
bO foolish and unwise people?
cIs not He your Father who has bought you?
dHe has made you and established you.
Consider the years of all generations.
aAsk your father, and he will inform you,
Your elders, and they will tell you.
8 “aWhen the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
When He separated the sons of 1man,
He set the boundaries of the peoples
bAccording to the number of the sons of Israel.
9 “aFor the Lord’s portion is His people;
Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.
10 “aHe found him in a desert land,
And in the howling waste of a wilderness;
He encircled him, He cared for him,
He guarded him as bthe pupil of His eye.
11 “aLike an eagle that stirs up its nest,
That hovers over its young,
bHe spread His wings and caught them,
He carried them on His pinions.
12 “aThe Lord alone guided him,
bAnd there was no foreign god with him.
13 “aHe made him ride on the high places of the earth,
And he ate the produce of the field;
bAnd He made him suck honey from the rock,
And coil from the flinty rock,
14 Curds of cows, and milk of the flock,
With fat of lambs,
And rams, the breed of Bashan, and goats,
aWith the finest of the wheat—
And of the bblood of grapes you drank wine.
15 “aBut 1Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—
You are grown fat, thick, and sleek—
bThen he forsook God cwho made him,
And scorned dthe Rock of his salvation.
16 “aThey made Him jealous with strange gods;
bWith abominations they provoked Him to anger.
17 “aThey sacrificed to demons who were not God,
bTo gods whom they have not known,
cNew gods who came lately,
Whom your fathers did not dread.
18 “You neglected athe Rock who begot you,
bAnd forgot the God who gave you birth.
19 “aThe Lord saw this, and spurned them
bBecause of the provocation of His sons and daughters.
20 “Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them,
aI will see what their end shall be;
bFor they are a perverse generation,
cSons in whom is no faithfulness.
21 ‘aThey have made Me jealous with what is not God;
They have provoked Me to anger with their 1bidols.
cSo I will make them jealous with those who are not a people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation,
22 aFor a fire is kindled in My anger,
And burns to the lowest part of 1Sheol,
bAnd consumes the earth with its yield,
And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 ‘aI will heap misfortunes on them;
bI will use My arrows on them.
24 ‘aThey will be wasted by famine, and consumed by 1plague
bAnd bitter destruction;
cAnd the teeth of beasts I will send upon them,
dWith the venom of crawling things of the dust.
25 ‘aOutside the sword will bereave,
And inside terror—
bBoth young man and virgin,
The nursling with the man of gray hair.
26 ‘I would have said, “aI will cut them to pieces,
bI will remove the memory of them from men,”
27 Had I not feared the provocation by the enemy,
That their adversaries would misjudge,
That they would say, “aOur hand is 1triumphant,
And the Lord has not done all this.” ’
28 “aFor they are a nation 1lacking in counsel,
And there is no understanding in them.
29 “aWould that they were wise, that they understood this,
bThat they would discern their 1future!
30 “aHow could one chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Unless their bRock had sold them,
And the Lord had given them up?
31 “Indeed their rock is not like our Rock,
aEven our enemies 1themselves judge this.
32 “For their vine is from the vine of Sodom,
And from the fields of Gomorrah;
Their grapes are grapes of apoison,
Their clusters, bitter.
33 “Their wine is the venom of 1serpents,
And the 2deadly poison of cobras.
34 ‘aIs it not laid up in store with Me,
Sealed up in My treasuries?
35 ‘aVengeance is Mine, and retribution,
bIn due time their foot will slip;
cFor the day of their calamity is near,
And the impending things are hastening upon them.’
36 “aFor the Lord will vindicate His people,
bAnd will have compassion on His servants,
When He sees that their 1strength is gone,
And there is none remaining, bond or free.
37 “And He will say, ‘aWhere are their gods,
The rock in which they sought refuge