Deuteronomy 31

Joshua Takes Moses’ Place

31Then Moses continued to speak these ^bwords to all Israel, ²saying, “I am now 120 years old; ^cI can no longer act as your leader. ^dThe Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross this Jordan.’ ^e3The Lord your God is the One who will cross ahead of you. ^fHe will destroy these nations before you, and you will drive them out. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, as the Lord has said. ^g4The Lord will deal with them as He did Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and their land when He destroyed them. ^h5The Lord will deliver them over to you, and you must do to them exactly as I have commanded you. ⁶Be strong and courageous; ⁱdon’t be terrified or afraid of them. For it is the Lord your God who goes with you; ^jHe will not leave you or forsake you.” ^k

⁷Moses then summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with ^lthis people into the land the Lord swore to give to their fathers. ^mYou will enable them to take possession of it. ⁸The Lord is the One who will go before you. ⁿHe will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. ^oDo not be afraid or discouraged.”

⁹Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. ¹⁰Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation, ^pduring the Festival of Booths, ^q11when all Israel assembles ^rin the presence of the Lord your God at the place He chooses, ^syou are to read this law aloud before all Israel. ^t12Gather the people—men, women, children, and foreigners living within your gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear ^uthe Lord your God and be careful to follow all the words of this law. ¹³Then their children ^vwho do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

¹⁴The Lord said to Moses, “The time of your death is now approaching. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting so that I may commission him.” When Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting, ¹⁵the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, ^wand the cloud stood at the entrance to the tent. ^x

¹⁶The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to rest with your fathers, ^yand these people will soon commit adultery with the foreign gods ^zof the land they are entering. They will abandon Me ^aand break the covenant ^bI have made with them. ¹⁷My anger will burn against them on that day; ^cI will abandon them and hide My face from them so that they will become easy prey. ^deMany troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, ‘Haven’t these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us?’ ¹⁸I will certainly hide My face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. ¹⁹Therefore write down this song ^ffor yourselves and teach it to the Israelites; have them recite it, ^gso that this song may be a witness for Me against the Israelites. ²⁰When I bring them into the land I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, ^hthey will eat their fill ⁱand prosper. ^jThey will turn to other gods and worship them, despising Me ^kand breaking My covenant. ^l21And when many troubles and afflictions come to them, this song will testify against them, because ^mtheir descendants will not have forgotten it. For I know what they are prone to do, ⁿeven before I bring them into the land I swore to give them.” ²²So Moses wrote down this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.

²³The Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I swore to them, and I will be with you.” ^o

Moses Warns the People

²⁴When Moses had finished writing down on a scroll every single word ^pof this law, ²⁵he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, ²⁶“Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God so that it may remain there as a witness against you. ²⁷For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you are rebelling against the Lord now, while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after I am dead! ²⁸Assemble all your tribal elders and officers before me so that I may speak these words directly to them and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them. ^q29For I know that after my death you will become completely corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. Disaster will come to you in the future, because you will do what is evil in the Lord’s sight, infuriating Him with what your hands have made.” ^r30Then Moses recited aloud every single word ^sof this song to the entire assembly of Israel: