Deuteronomy 31

Joshua the New Leader of Israel

Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them: “I ^aam one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer ^bgo out and come in. Also the Lord has said to me, ^c‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God ^aHimself crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. ^bJoshua himself crosses over before you, just ^cas the Lord has said. 4 ^aAnd the Lord will do to them ^bas He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when He destroyed them. 5 ^aThe Lord will give them over to you, that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you. 6 ^aBe strong and of good courage, ^bdo not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, ^cHe is the One who goes with you. ^dHe will not leave you nor forsake you.”
7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, ^a“Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8 And the Lord, ^aHe is the One who goes before you. ^bHe will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

The Law to Be Read Every Seven Years

9 So Moses wrote this law ^aand delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, ^bwho bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, saying: “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the ^ayear of release, ^bat the Feast of Tabernacles, 11 when all Israel comes to ^aappear before the Lord your God in the ^bplace which He chooses, ^cyou shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 ^aGather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, ^awho have not known it, ^bmay hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.”

Prediction of Israel’s Rebellion

14 Then 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. 15 Now ^athe Lord appeared at the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood above the door of the tabernacle.
16 And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will ¹rest with your fathers; and this people will ^arise and ^bplay the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will ^cforsake Me and ^dbreak My covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then My anger shall be ^aaroused against them in that day, and ^bI will forsake them, and I will ^chide My face from them, and they shall be ¹devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, ^d‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is ^enot among us?’ 18 And ^aI 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 ^aa witness for Me against the children of Israel. 20 When 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 ^aand grown fat, ^bthen they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant. 21 Then it shall be, ^awhen 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 ^bI know the inclination ^cof their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them.”
22 Therefore Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel. 23 ^aThen He inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun, and said, ^b“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.”
24 So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, 25 that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying: 26 “Take this Book of the Law, ^aand put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there ^bas a witness against you; 27 ^afor I know your rebellion and your ^bstiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord, then how much more after my death? 28 Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing ^aand call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will ^abecome utterly corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And ^bevil will befall you ^cin the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.”

The Song of Moses

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

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