Deuteronomy 31:14–23

The ’s Instruction to Moses

¹⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “You haven’t much longer to live. Call Joshua and bring him to the Tent, so that I may give him his instructions.” Moses and Joshua went to the Tent, ¹⁵and the Lord appeared to them there in a pillar of cloud that stood by the door of the Tent.

¹⁶The Lord said to Moses, “You will soon die, and after your death the people will become unfaithful to me and break the covenant that I made with them. They will abandon me and worship the pagan gods of the land they are about to enter. ¹⁷When that happens, I will become angry with them; I will abandon them, and they will be destroyed. Many terrible disasters will come upon them, and then they will realize that these things are happening to them because I, their God, am no longer with them. ¹⁸And I will refuse to help them then, because they have done evil and worshipped other gods.

¹⁹“Now, write down this song. Teach it to the people of Israel, so that it will stand as evidence against them. ²⁰I will take them into this rich and fertile land, as I promised their ancestors. There they will have all the food they want, and they will live comfortably. But they will turn away and worship other gods. They will reject me and break my covenant, ²¹and many terrible disasters will come on them. But this song will still be sung, and it will stand as evidence against them. Even now, before I take them into the land that I promised to give them, I know what they are thinking.”

²²That same day Moses wrote down the song and taught it to the people of Israel.

^23*Then the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun and said to him, “Be confident and determined. You will lead the people of Israel into the land that I promised them, and I will be with you.”