The Bible

The Bible › Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 31

1Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2He said to them, “Today I am a hundred and twenty years old. I can no longer go out and come in, and Yahweh has told me, ‘You must not cross this Jordan.’ 3Yahweh your God himself will cross before you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will dispossess them. Joshua will cross before you, as Yahweh has said. 4Yahweh will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5Yahweh will hand them over before you, and you must deal with them according to the whole command that I commanded you. 6Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified of them, for Yahweh your God is the one who goes with you. He will not let you go or abandon you.”

7Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land Yahweh swore to their fathers to give them, and you will cause them to inherit it. 8Yahweh is the one who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not let you go or abandon you. Do not be afraid or dismayed.”

9Moses wrote this instruction and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi who carried the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. 10Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of release, at the Festival of Booths, 11when all Israel comes to appear before Yahweh your God at the place he chooses, read this instruction before all Israel, in their hearing. 12Assemble the people—the men, the women, the little children, and the resident foreigner within your towns—so that they may hear and learn to fear Yahweh your God and carefully carry out all the words of this instruction. 13Their children, who do not know it, must hear and learn to fear Yahweh your God all the days you live on the ground you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

14Yahweh said to Moses, “Look: your days are drawing near for you to die. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, so that I may commission him.” Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting. 15Yahweh appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood at the entrance of the tent.

16Yahweh said to Moses, “You are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise up and prostitute themselves after the foreign gods of the land into whose midst they are entering. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I made with them. 17My anger will burn against them on that day. I will abandon them and hide my face from them. They will become prey, and many disasters and troubles will find them. On that day they will say, ‘Have these disasters found me because my God is not among me?’ 18But I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done, because they have turned to other gods. 19Now write down this song for yourselves. 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. 20When I bring them into the ground I swore to their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they eat and are satisfied and grow fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them. They will spurn me and break my covenant. 21When many disasters and troubles find them, this song will answer as a witness before them, for it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants. I know the inclination they are forming today, before I bring them into the land I swore to give.” 22Moses wrote down this song that day and taught it to the sons of Israel.

23He commissioned Joshua son of Nun, saying, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the sons of Israel into the land I swore to them, and I will be with you.”

24When Moses had finished writing the words of this instruction in a scroll, to their completion, 25Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, saying, 26“Take this scroll of instruction and put it beside the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, so that it may be there as a witness against you. 27For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. Even today, while I am still alive with you, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. How much more after my death! 28Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them. 29For I know that after my death you will act utterly corruptly and turn aside from the way I commanded you. Disaster will meet you in days to come, because you will do what is evil in Yahweh’s eyes, provoking him with the work of your hands.” 30Then Moses spoke the words of this song, to their completion, in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel.

Translation notes 6

31:1 — Moses went. The received Hebrew reads “went.” Greek and Qumran evidence supports a different reading, “finished,” yielding “Moses finished speaking.” The translation provisionally retains the Hebrew base here; the alternative is a genuine textual question.

31:2 — Go out and come in. The expression can describe carrying out leadership responsibilities, rather than simply the ability to walk. The same account later says that Moses’ vigor had not failed.

31:7, 23 — Joshua’s commission. Verse 7 says that Joshua will “go with” the people; verse 23 says he will “bring” them. The distinction is retained. The first-person promise in verse 23 points to Yahweh as the speaker, though the Hebrew introduces it only with “he.”

31:10–13 — Public reading. The seven-year occasion joins the year of release with the Festival of Booths. The assembled hearers explicitly include women, children, and resident foreigners.

31:16–18 — Prostitution and the hidden face. Israel’s pursuit of other gods is pictured as sexual unfaithfulness. Hiding the face expresses withdrawal of protective presence. The people are a collective singular in parts of the Hebrew; the quoted “me” reflects that shared voice.

31:19–30 — Two witnesses. The song is taught for oral remembrance, and the written instruction is placed beside the ark. Both are described as testimony against a people expected to break the covenant.