DeuteronomyChapter 31

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¹Moses finished speaking these words to all Israel. ²Then he said to them, "I am now 120 years old. I can no longer come and go. And the LORD has told me, 'You will not cross the Jordan.' ³The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations in front of you. And you will drive them out. Joshua will also cross over ahead of you, as the LORD has said. ⁴The LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites. He destroyed them and their land. ⁵The LORD will hand them over to you. You must do to them exactly what I have commanded you. ⁶Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified of them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will never leave you or forsake you." ⁷Then Moses called Joshua. He spoke to him in front of all Israel. He said, "Be strong and courageous, for you will go with these people into the land. The LORD promised their fathers with an oath to give it to them. You will give it to them to keep as their own. ⁸The LORD himself goes ahead of you. He will be with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or lose heart." ⁹So Moses wrote down this law. He gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi. They carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD. He also gave it to all the elders of Israel. ¹⁰Then Moses gave them a command. He said, "Do this at the end of every seven years. That is the set time in the year when debts are canceled. Do it during the Feast of Tabernacles. ¹¹All Israel will come to stand before the LORD your God at the place he will choose. Then read this law out loud so all Israel can hear it. ¹²Gather the people together. Bring the men, women, and children, and the foreigners who live in your towns. Then they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God. They can learn to carefully follow all the words of this law. ¹³Their children who do not know the law will listen too. They will learn to fear the LORD your God. Do this as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to take." ¹⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, "Look, it is almost time for you to die. Call Joshua. Then both of you come to the Tent of Meeting. There I will give him his orders." So Moses and Joshua went and stood at the Tent of Meeting. ¹⁵Then the LORD appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud. The cloud stood over the door of the tent. ¹⁶And the LORD said to Moses, "You will soon rest with your fathers. Then these people will rise up and chase after the foreign gods of the land they are going into. They will be like a prostitute with those gods. They will forsake me. They will break the covenant I made with them. ¹⁷On that day my anger will burn against them. I will leave them. I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many troubles and hard times will come on them. On that day they will say, 'Haven't these disasters come on us because our God is not with us anymore?' ¹⁸On that day I will surely hide my face. I will do it because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. ¹⁹So now write down this song for yourselves. Teach it to the Israelites. Have them say it out loud. Then it will be a witness for me against them. ²⁰I will bring them into the land I promised their fathers with an oath. It is a land flowing with milk and honey. They will eat all they want and grow rich. Then they will turn to other gods and worship them. They will reject me and break my covenant. ²¹When many troubles and hard times have come on them, this song will speak against them like a witness. That is because their children will not forget it from their lips. For I know what they lean toward doing. I know it even before I bring them into the land I promised them with an oath." ²²So on that same day Moses wrote down this song. He taught it to the Israelites. ²³Then the LORD gave Joshua son of Nun his orders. He said, "Be strong and courageous. You will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them with an oath. And I will be with you." ²⁴Moses finished writing the words of this law in a book, from beginning to end. ²⁵Then he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD: ²⁶"Take this Book of the Law. Put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God. It will stay there as a witness against you. ²⁷I know how stubborn you are and how you go against God. Even now, while I am still alive, you rebel against the LORD. You will rebel even more after I die! ²⁸Gather all the elders of your tribes and all your officers in front of me. Then I can speak these words so they hear them. I will call heaven and earth to be witnesses against them. ²⁹I know that after I die you will become completely wicked. You will turn away from the path I have commanded you. In the days to come, disaster will fall on you. That is because you will do evil in the eyes of the LORD. You will make him angry by what your hands have made." ³⁰Then Moses said the words of this song out loud, from beginning to end. He said them to the whole gathering of Israel: