Old Testament · Law

Deuteronomy chapter 31

Moses went out and spoke these words to all of Israel.He said to them, “I’m a hundred and twenty years old now. I can’t lead you anymore. And has told me, ‘You will not cross this River.’”“Yahweh your God—He Himself will cross over ahead of you. He will these nations in front of you, and you will take over their land. —he’s the one who will cross over ahead of you, just as Yahweh promised.”“Yahweh will do to them what He did to , the kings of the , and to their land—He wiped them out.”“Yahweh will to you, and you must deal with them exactly according to the I’ve given you.”“Be . Don’t be afraid of them and don’t panic, because Yahweh your God is the One going with you. He won’t . He won’t you.”Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in front of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, because you’re the one who will go with this people into the land that Yahweh to their ancestors He would give them—and you will help them of it.”“Yahweh Himself is the One who . He will be with you. He won’t let you down and He won’t abandon you. Don’t be afraid and don’t .”Moses wrote down this set of and gave it to the priests, the who carried the , and to all the elders of Israel.Moses commanded them: “At the end of every seven years, at the scheduled time during the year of , during the ,”“when all Israel comes to appear before Yahweh your God at —you must read these instructions out loud so all Israel can hear them.”“Gather the people together—men, women, children, and the living in your towns—so they can hear it and learn to Yahweh your God and carefully follow every word of these instructions.”“Their children who don’t yet know these things—they need to hear them too, so they learn to respect Yahweh your God for as long as you live in the land you’re crossing the Jordan to take.”Yahweh said to Moses, “The time is getting close for you to die. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the so I can give him his .” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the meeting tent.Then Yahweh appeared at the tent in a , and the column of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent.Yahweh said to Moses, “Look—you’re about to die and . And then this people will get up and the foreign gods of the land they’re entering. They’ll abandon Me and break the I made with them.”“On that day My anger will burn against them. I will abandon them and from them. They’ll be devoured, and all kinds of terrible disasters will find them. Then they’ll say, ‘Aren’t these disasters hitting us because our God isn’t with us anymore?’”“And I will absolutely hide My face on that day because of all the wrong they’ve done in turning to other gods.”“So now, write down this song for yourselves and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, so that this song will be My against the people of Israel.”“Because when I bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors—a land —and they eat their fill and get comfortable, they’ll turn to other gods and serve them. They’ll and break My covenant.”“And when many terrible disasters hit them, this song will testify against them as a witness, because their descendants will never forget it. I already know what they’re , even now, before I’ve brought them into the land I swore to give them.”So Moses wrote down this song that same day and taught it to the people of Israel.Then Yahweh Joshua son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, because you are the one who will bring the people of Israel into the land I swore to give them. And .”When Moses had finished writing down every word of these instructions in a ,Moses commanded the Levites who carried the chest of Yahweh’s covenant:“Take this scroll of instructions and place it of Yahweh your God’s covenant. It will stay there as a witness against you.”“Because I know how and you are. Look—while I’m still alive with you today, you’ve been rebelling against Yahweh. How much worse will it be after I die?”“Gather all the elders of your tribes and your officials to me so I can speak these words directly to them and call against them.”“Because I know that after I die you will absolutely and turn away from the path I commanded you to follow. And in the days to come, disaster will find you—because you’ll do what’s wrong in Yahweh’s eyes and provoke Him with .”Then Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to end, with the whole of Israel listening: