^31:14Then the Lord said to Moses, “The day of your death is near. Summon Joshua and present yourselves in the tent¹¹ of meeting¹² so that I can commission him.”¹³ So Moses and Joshua presented themselves in the tent of meeting. ^31:15The Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud that¹⁴ stood above the door of the tent. ^31:16Then the Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die,¹⁵ and then these people will begin to prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land into which they¹⁶ are going. They¹⁷ will reject¹⁸ me and break my covenant that I have made with them.¹⁹^31:17At that time²⁰ my anger will erupt against them²¹ and I will abandon them and hide my face from them until they are devoured. Many disasters and distresses will overcome²² them²³ so that they²⁴ will say at that time, ‘Have not these disasters²⁵ overcome us²⁶ because our²⁷ God is not among us²⁸?’ ^31:18But I will certainly²⁹ hide myself at that time because of all the wickedness they³⁰ will have done by turning to other gods. ^31:19Now write down for yourselves the following song and teach it to the Israelites. Put it into their very mouths so that this song may serve as my witness against the Israelites! ^31:20For after I have brought them³¹ to the land I promised to their³² ancestors—one flowing with milk and honey—and they³³ eat their fill³⁴ and become fat, then they³⁵ will turn to other gods and worship them; they will reject me and break my covenant. ^31:21Then when³⁶ many disasters and distresses overcome them³⁷ this song will testify against them,³⁸ for their³⁹ descendants will not forget it.⁴⁰ I know the⁴¹ intentions they have in mind⁴² today, even before I bring them⁴³ to the land I have promised.” ^31:22So on that day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites, ^31:23and the Lord⁴⁴ commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will take the Israelites to the land I have promised them, and I will be with you.”⁴⁵

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Footnotes

11 The reads “by the door of the tent” in line with v. 10 but also, perhaps, as a reflection of its tendency to avoid over-familiarity with Yahweh and his transcendence.
12 Heb “tent of assembly” (מוֹעֵד אֹהֶל, ’ohel mo’ed); this is not always the same as the tabernacle, which is usually called מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan, “dwelling-place”), a reference to its being invested with God’s presence. The “tent of meeting” was erected earlier than the tabernacle and was the place where Yahweh occasionally appeared, especially to Moses (cf. Exod 18:7–16; 33:7–11; Num 11:16, 24, 26; 12:4).
13 Heb “I will command him.”
14 Heb “and the pillar of cloud.” This phrase was not repeated in the translation; a relative clause was used instead.
15 Heb “lie down with your fathers” (so ); “ancestors.”
16 Heb “he.” , , and the Targums read the plural “they,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style. The third person singular also occurs in the Hebrew text twice more in this verse, three times in v. 17, once in v. 18, five times in v. 20, and four times in v. 21. Each time it is translated as third person plural for stylistic reasons.
17 Heb “he.” , , and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
18 Or “abandon” (, ).
19 Heb “him.” , , and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
20 Heb “on that day.” This same expression also appears later in the verse and in v. 18.
21 Heb “him.” , , and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
22 Heb “find,” “encounter.”
23 Heb “him.” , , and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
24 Heb “he.” , , and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
25 Heb “evils.”
26 Heb “me.” , , and the Targums read the plural “us,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style.
27 Heb “my.”
28 Heb “me.” , , and the Targums read the plural “us,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style.
29 The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “certainly.”
30 Heb “he.” , , and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
31 Heb “him.” , , and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
32 Heb “his.” , , and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
33 Heb “he.” , , and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
34 Heb “and are satisfied.”
35 Heb “he.” , , and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
36 Heb “Then it will come to pass that.”
37 Heb “him.” , , and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
38 Heb “him.” , , and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
39 Heb “his.” , , and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
40 Heb “it will not be forgotten from the mouth of his seed.”
41 Heb “his.” , , and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
42 Heb “which he is doing.”
43 Heb “him.” , , and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. .
44 Heb “he.” Since the pronoun could be taken to refer to Moses, the referent has been specified as “the Lord” in the translation for clarity. See also the note on the word “you” later in this verse.
45 The reads, “as the Lord promised them, and he will be with you.” This relieves the problem of Moses apparently promising to be with Joshua as the reads on the surface (“I will be with you”). However, the reading of the is clearly an attempt to clarify an existing obscurity and therefore is unlikely to reflect the original.