Deuteronomy 31
Expanded Bible
Joshua Takes Moses’ Place
31 Then Moses went and spoke these words to all the Israelites: 2 “I am now one hundred twenty years old, and I cannot lead you anymore. The Lord told me I would not cross the Jordan River [Num. 20:12]; 3 the Lord your God will lead you across himself. He will destroy those nations for you, and you will take ·over [possession of] their land. Joshua will also lead you across, as the Lord has said [1:37; Num. 27:18–22; Josh. 1]. 4 The Lord will do to those nations what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, when he destroyed them and their land [Num. 21:21–35]. 5 The Lord will give those nations to you; do to them ·everything [L according to all the commandments] I ·told [commanded] you. 6 Be strong and ·brave [courageous; Josh. 1:6–9]. Don’t be afraid of them and don’t be frightened, because the Lord your God will go with you. He will not ·leave [fail] you or ·forget [abandon; forsake] you.”
7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in front of the people, “Be strong and ·brave [courageous], because you will lead these people into the land the Lord ·promised [swore] to give their ·ancestors [fathers], and help them take it as their own. 8 The Lord himself will go before you. He will be with you; he will not ·leave [fail] you or ·forget [abandon; forsake] you. Don’t be afraid and don’t worry.”
Moses Writes the Teachings
9 So Moses wrote down these ·teachings [laws; instructions] and gave them to the priests and all the elders of Israel. (The priests are the sons of Levi, who carry the Ark of the ·Agreement [Treaty; Covenant; Ex. 25:10] with the Lord.)
The Lord Calls Moses and Joshua
14 The Lord said to Moses, “·Soon you will [L Look, the day is approaching for you to] die. ·Get [Call] Joshua and ·come [present him] to the Meeting Tent so that I may command him.” So Moses and Joshua ·went to [presented themselves at] the Meeting Tent.
15 The Lord appeared at the Meeting Tent in a pillar of cloud; the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the Tent [C representing the presence of God; Ex. 13:21; 40:34–38]. 16 And the Lord said to Moses, “You will soon ·die [L lie down/T sleep with your fathers]. Then these people will ·not be loyal to me but will worship [L prostitute themselves with] the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will ·leave [abandon; forsake] me, breaking the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] I ·made [L cut] with them. 17 ·Then [L On that day] I will become very angry at them, and I will ·leave [abandon; forsake] them. I will ·turn away [L hide my face] from them, and they will be ·destroyed [devoured; consumed]. Many terrible things will happen to them. ·Then [L On that day] they will say, ‘·It is [L Is it not…?] because God is not with us that these terrible things are happening.’ 18 I will surely ·turn away [L hide my face] from them ·then [L on that day], because they have done wrong and have turned to other gods.
19 “Now write down this song and teach it to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. ·Then have them sing it [L Place it in their mouth], because it will be my witness against ·them [L the sons/T children of Israel]. 20 When I bring them into the land I ·promised [swore] to their ·ancestors [fathers], a ·fertile land [L land flowing with milk and honey; Ex. 3:8], they will eat as much as they want and get fat. Then they will turn to other gods and serve them. They will ·reject [despise] me and break my ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty]. 21 Then when many troubles and terrible things happen to them, this song will testify against them, because the song will not be forgotten by their ·descendants [L seed]. I know what they ·plan [incline; Gen. 6:5; 8:21] to do, even before I take them into the land I ·promised [swore to] them.” 22 So Moses wrote down the song that day, and he taught it to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel].
23 Then the Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and ·brave [courageous; Josh. 1:6–9], because you will lead the people of Israel to the land I promised them, and I will be with you [Ex. 3:12].”
24 After Moses finished writing all the words of the ·teachings [laws; instructions] in a ·book [scroll], 25 he gave a command to the Levites, who carried the Ark of the ·Agreement [Treaty; Covenant; Ex. 25:10] with the Lord. 26 He said, “Take this ·Book [Scroll] of the ·Teachings [Laws; Instructions] and put it beside the Ark of the ·Agreement [Treaty; Covenant; Ex. 25:10] with the Lord your God. It must stay there as a witness against you. 27 I know how ·stubborn [L stiff-necked] and ·disobedient [rebellious] you are. You have ·disobeyed [rebelled against] the Lord while I am alive and with you, and you will ·disobey [rebel against me] even more after I die! 28 ·Gather [Assemble] all the elders of your tribes and all your ·officers [scribes] to me so that I may say these things ·for them to hear [L in their ears], and so that I may ask heaven and earth to ·testify [witness] against them [30:19]. 29 I know that after I die you will become completely ·evil [corrupt]. You will turn away from the ·commands I have given [L way I commanded] you. Terrible things will happen to you in the future when you do what the Lord says is evil, and you will make him angry with the ·idols you have made [L work of your hands].”
Moses’ Song
30 And Moses spoke this whole song ·for all the people of Israel to hear [L in the ears of the whole assembly of Israel]:
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