Deuteronomy 31:14–23

Prediction of Israel’s Rebellion

¹⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, ^a“Behold, the days approach when you must die; call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of meeting, that ^bI may ¹inaugurate him.”

So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle of meeting. ¹⁵Now ^cthe Lord appeared at the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood above the door of the tabernacle.

¹⁶And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will ²rest with your fathers; and this people will ^drise and ^eplay the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will ^fforsake Me and ^gbreak My covenant which I have made with them. ¹⁷Then My anger shall be ^haroused against them in that day, and ⁱI will forsake them, and I will ^jhide My face from them, and they shall be ³devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, ^k‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is ^lnot among us?’ ¹⁸And ^mI will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods.

¹⁹“Now therefore, write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be ⁿa witness for Me against the children of Israel. ²⁰When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves ^oand grown fat, ^pthen they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant. ²¹Then it shall be, ^qwhen many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants, for ^rI know the inclination ^sof their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them.”

²²Therefore Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel. ^23tThen He inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun, and said, ^u“Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you.”