Deuteronomy 30–31

CHAPTER 30

Yahweh Will Take You Back

¹“So it will be, when all of these things have come upon you, ^athe blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you cause these things to return to your heart ^bin all the nations where Yahweh your God has banished you,

²and you ^areturn to Yahweh your God and listen to His voice ^bwith all your heart and soul according to all that I am commanding you today, you and your sons,

³then Yahweh your God will ^1areturn ²you from captivity and return His compassion on you, and He ^bwill gather you again from all the peoples where Yahweh your God has ^cscattered you.

⁴“If those of you who are banished are at the ends of the sky, ^afrom there Yahweh your God will gather you, and from there He will take you back.

⁵“^aAnd Yahweh your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and ^bmultiply you more than your fathers.

⁶“Moreover ^aYahweh your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed, ^bto love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.

⁷“^aAnd Yahweh your God will ¹inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.

⁸“And you shall return and listen to the voice of Yahweh, and you shall do all His commandments which I am commanding you today.

⁹“^aThen Yahweh your God will ¹prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the ²offspring of your ³body and in the ⁴offspring of your cattle and in the ⁵produce of your ground, for ^bYahweh will return to rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers,

¹⁰¹when you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which ^aare written in this book of the law, ²when you return to Yahweh your God ^bwith all your heart and soul.

¹¹“For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far from you.

¹²“It is not in heaven, ¹that you should say, ‘^aWho will go up to heaven for us and get it for us and make us hear it, that we may do it?’

¹³“Nor is it beyond the sea, ¹that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us and get it for us and make us hear it, that we may do it?’

¹⁴“But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

Choose Life

¹⁵“See, ^aI have set before you today life and ¹prosperity, and death and ²calamity;

¹⁶in that I am commanding you today ^ato love Yahweh your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you ^bmay live and multiply, and that Yahweh your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.

¹⁷“But if your heart turns away and you will not listen, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them,

¹⁸I declare to you today that ^ayou shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter ¹and possess it.

¹⁹“^aI call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, ^bthe blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your seed,

^20aby loving Yahweh your God, by listening to His voice, and ^bby holding fast to Him; ^cfor ¹this is your life and the length of your days, ²that you may live in ^dthe land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

CHAPTER 31

Be Strong and Courageous

¹So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.

²And he said to them, “I am ^a120 years old today; ^bI am no longer able to come and go, and Yahweh has said to me, ‘^cYou shall not cross this Jordan.’

³“^aIt is Yahweh 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 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“^aAnd Yahweh will give them over 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 be in dread of them, for ^cYahweh your God is the one who goes with you. ^dHe will not fail you or forsake you.”

⁷Then 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 Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance.

⁸“^aAnd Yahweh 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.”

⁹So Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi ^awho carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and to all the elders of Israel.

¹⁰Then Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of ^athe year of the remission of debts, at the ^bFeast of Booths,

¹¹when all Israel comes ^ato appear before Yahweh 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 little ones and ¹the sojourner who is within your gates, so that they may hear and so that they may ^alearn 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 ¹which you are about to cross the Jordan to ²possess.”

Yahweh Has Moses Write a Song

¹⁴Then Yahweh 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.

^15aAnd Yahweh appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood at the doorway of the tent.

¹⁶And Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, ^ayou are about to lie down with your fathers; and ^bthis people will arise and play the harlot with the foreign gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and they ^cwill forsake Me and break My covenant which I have cut 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 find them, so that they will say in that day, ‘^dIs 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, ^awrite 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“^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 fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them and spurn Me and break My covenant.

²¹“Then it will be, ^awhen 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 ^bI know their intent which they are ¹developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.”

^22aSo Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the sons of Israel.

Joshua Is Commissioned

^23aThen 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.”

²⁴And it happened, when Moses finished writing the words of this law in a book until they were complete,

²⁵that Moses commanded the Levites ^awho 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 ^ayour rebellion and ^byour ¹stiff-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 ^acall the heavens and the earth to witness against them.

²⁹“For I know that after my death you will ^aact 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

³⁰Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were complete: