Deuteronomy 31 - Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Succession, Deposition, and Recitation of Text

31 And Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. ² And he said to them, “I am a hundred and twenty years old today;^[a] I am not able to go out and to come in any longer, and Yahweh said to me, ‘You may not cross this Jordan.’ ³ Yahweh your God is about to cross before you;^[b] he will destroy these nations before you,^[c] and you shall dispossess them. Joshua will be crossing before you,^[d] just as Yahweh promised.^{[e] 4} And Yahweh will do to them just as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and to their land, which he destroyed with them. ⁵ And Yahweh will deliver them to you before you,^[f] and you shall do to them according to every commandment that I have commanded you. ⁶ Be strong and be courageous; you should not be afraid, and you should not be in dread from their presence,^[g] for Yahweh your God is the one going with you; he will not leave you alone and he will not forsake you.”

⁷ Then Moses summoned Joshua, and he said to him in the presence of all Israel,^[h] “Be strong and be courageous, for you will go with this people into the land that Yahweh swore to their ancestors^[i] to give to them, and you will give it to them as an inheritance. ⁸ Yahweh is the one going before you;^[j] he will be with you, and he will not leave you alone, and he will not forsake you; you shall not be afraid, and you shall not be discouraged.” ⁹ So Moses wrote this law, and he gave it to the priests, the descendants^[k] of Levi, the ones carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and to all the elders of Israel.

¹⁰ Then Moses commanded them, saying,^[l] “At the end of seven years, in the time of the year for canceling debts during the Feast of Booths, ¹¹ when all Israel comes to appear before^[m] Yahweh their God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.^{[n] 12} Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little children and your aliens that are in your towns,^[o] so that they may hear and so that they may learn and they may revere Yahweh your God, and they shall diligently observe^[p] all the words of this law. ¹³ And then their children,^[q] who have not known, they too may hear, and they may learn to revere Yahweh their God all the days that you live^[r] on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to get there^[s] to take possession of it.”

¹⁴ Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Look, you are about to die;^[t] call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of assembly,^[u] so that I may instruct him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in^[v] the tent of assembly.^{[w] 15} And Yahweh appeared in the tent in a column of cloud, and the column of the cloud stood at the entrance of the tent. ¹⁶ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Look, you are about to lie down with your ancestors,^[x] and this people will arise and they^[y] will play the prostitute after the foreign gods^[z] of the land to which they are going.^{[aa] 17} And my anger shall flare up against them^[ab] on that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they^[ac] shall become as prey, and disasters and troubles shall find^[ad] them,^[ae] and they^[af] shall say on that day, ‘Is it not because our^[ag] God is not in our^[ah] midst that these disasters have found^[ai] us?’^{[aj] 18} But I will certainly hide my face on that day, because of all of the evil that they^[ak] did because they^[al] turned to other gods.

¹⁹ “And so then write this song for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites;^[am] put it in their mouth, so that this song may be for me as a witness against the Israelites.^{[an] 20} For when I bring them^[ao] into the land that I swore to their^[ap] ancestors,^[aq] a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill,^[ar] and they^[as] will become fat, and then they^[at] will turn to other gods, and they will serve them, and they will spurn me, and they^[au] will break my covenant. ²¹ And then^[av] many disasters and troubles will come upon them,^[aw] and this song will give evidence before them^[ax] as a witness, because it will not be forgotten from out of the mouth of their descendants,^[ay] for I know their^[az] inclination that they^[ba] are having today^[bb] before I have brought them^[bc] into the land that I swore.” ²² And Moses wrote this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.^[bd]

²³ Then he^[be] told Joshua the son of Nun, and said to him, “Be strong and be courageous, for you shall bring the Israelites^[bf] into the land that I swore to them, and I will be with you.”

²⁴ And then when Moses finished writing^[bg] the words of this law on the scroll until they were complete,^{[bh] 25} then Moses commanded the Levites carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, saying,^{[bi] 26} “Take the scroll of this law and put it at the side of the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, and it will be there as a witness against you. ²⁷ For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck even now while I am still alive with you today,^[bj] rebelling against Yahweh, and how much more^[bk] after my death. ²⁸ Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officials, so that I may speak in their ears these words, and that I may call as witness against them heaven and earth. ²⁹ For I know that after my death you will certainly act corruptly, and you will turn aside from the way that I have commanded you, and the disaster in the future days will befall you, because you will do evil^[bl] in the eyes of Yahweh, provoking him with the work of your hands.”^{[bm] 30} So Moses spoke into the ears of the assembly of Israel the words of this song until they were complete.^[bn]

Footnotes

1. Deuteronomy 31:2 Literally “the day”
2. Deuteronomy 31:3 Literally “to the face of you”
3. Deuteronomy 31:3 Literally “to the face of you”
4. Deuteronomy 31:3 Literally “to the face of you”
5. Deuteronomy 31:3 Literally “spoke”
6. Deuteronomy 31:5 Literally “will give them Yahweh to the face of you”
7. Deuteronomy 31:6 Literally “not you should dread from their face”
8. Deuteronomy 31:7 Literally “before the eyes of all Israel”
9. Deuteronomy 31:7 Or “their fathers”
10. Deuteronomy 31:8 Literally “to the face of you”
11. Deuteronomy 31:9 Or “sons”
12. Deuteronomy 31:10 Literally “to say”
13. Deuteronomy 31:11 Literally “at/in the coming of all of Israel to see”
14. Deuteronomy 31:11 Literally “in their ears”
15. Deuteronomy 31:12 Literally “gates”
16. Deuteronomy 31:12 Literally “they shall keep to do”
17. Deuteronomy 31:13 Hebrew “child”
18. Deuteronomy 31:13 Literally “that you are alive”
19. Deuteronomy 31:13 Literally “there”
20. Deuteronomy 31:14 Literally “are near your days to die”
21. Deuteronomy 31:14 Or “meeting”
22. Deuteronomy 31:14 Or “at”
23. Deuteronomy 31:14 Or “meeting”
24. Deuteronomy 31:16 Or “fathers”
25. Deuteronomy 31:16 Hebrew “he”
26. Deuteronomy 31:16 Literally “the gods of the foreigner/foreign person of the land”
27. Deuteronomy 31:16 Literally “which he is going to”
28. Deuteronomy 31:17 Literally “shall become my nose against it/him”
29. Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “he”
30. Deuteronomy 31:17 Or “encounter”
31. Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “him”
32. Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “he”
33. Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “my” but represents all the people
34. Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “my”
35. Deuteronomy 31:17 Or “encountered”
36. Deuteronomy 31:17 Hebrew “me”
37. Deuteronomy 31:18 Hebrew “he”
38. Deuteronomy 31:18 Hebrew “he”
39. Deuteronomy 31:19 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
40. Deuteronomy 31:19 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
41. Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “him,” referring to the people
42. Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “his”
43. Deuteronomy 31:20 Or “fathers”
44. Deuteronomy 31:20 Literally “he will eat and he will be satisfied”
45. Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “he”
46. Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “he”
47. Deuteronomy 31:20 Hebrew “he”
48. Deuteronomy 31:21 Literally “And it shall happen”
49. Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “him”
50. Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “him”
51. Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “his offspring/descendant”
52. Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “his”
53. Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “he”
54. Deuteronomy 31:21 Literally “the day”
55. Deuteronomy 31:21 Hebrew “him”
56. Deuteronomy 31:22 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
57. Deuteronomy 31:23 That is, Yahweh
58. Deuteronomy 31:23 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
59. Deuteronomy 31:24 Literally “And it happened as/when to finish Moses to write”
60. Deuteronomy 31:24 Literally “until their to be complete/”
61. Deuteronomy 31:25 Literally “to say”
62. Deuteronomy 31:27 Literally “the day”
63. Deuteronomy 31:27 Literally “and also for/indeed”
64. Deuteronomy 31:29 Hebrew “the evil”; the definite article indicates the general concept of evil
65. Deuteronomy 31:29 Literally “to provoke him with/by the work of your hands”
66. Deuteronomy 31:30 Literally “until their to be complete”