Deuteronomy 31
Big idea: Moses is a hundred and twenty and the handover begins. He says the same words twice — be strong and courageous, he will not fail you nor forsake you — first to the nation, then to Joshua in front of them all. He writes the law down and orders it read aloud every seventh year to men, women, little ones and the foreigners within your gates, so that children who have not known may hear and learn. And then God tells him the truth about what is coming: this people will rise up and play the prostitute after strange gods. So Moses is given one more assignment — write a song, teach it to them, put it in their mouths — because a song survives where a scroll gets shelved, and it will testify when everything else has been forgotten.
Chapter 31 commissions the song as a witness. Chapter 32 is the song itself.
31:1–8 — Be strong and courageous
Moses went and spoke to all Israel: I am one hundred twenty years old today; I can no more go out and come in, and Yahweh has said to me, you shall not go over this Jordan. Yahweh your God himself will go over before you; he will destroy these nations and you shall dispossess them. Joshua will go over before you, as Yahweh has spoken. Yahweh will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land. He will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandment I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Don't be afraid or scared of them, for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you; he will not fail you nor forsake you. Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel: Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. Yahweh himself is who goes before you; he will be with you; he will not fail you nor forsake you. Don't be afraid. Don't be discouraged.
1 Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 He said to them, “I am one hundred twenty years old today. I can no more go out and come in. Yahweh has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ 3 Yahweh your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua will go over before you, as Yahweh has spoken. 4 Yahweh will do to them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 Yahweh will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandment which I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them, for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.” 7 Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8 Yahweh himself is who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged.”
31:9–13 — Read it in their hearing
Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of Yahweh's covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. And he commanded them: at the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, at the feast of booths, when all Israel has come to appear before Yahweh your God in the place he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people — the men, the women, the little ones, and the foreigners within your gates — that they may hear, learn, fear Yahweh your God, and observe to do all the words of this law; and that their children, who have not known, may hear and learn to fear Yahweh your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over the Jordan to possess it.
9 Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of booths, 11 when all Israel has come to appear before Yahweh your God in the place which he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and the foreigners who are within your gates, that they may hear, learn, fear Yahweh your God, and observe to do all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, who have not known, may hear and learn to fear Yahweh your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over the Jordan to possess it.”
31:14–30 — Write this song, and put it in their mouths
Yahweh said to Moses: your days approach that you must die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the Tent of Meeting, that I may commission him. They went, and Yahweh appeared in a pillar of cloud over the Tent's door. And Yahweh said: you shall sleep with your fathers; this people will rise up and play the prostitute after the strange gods of the land, and will forsake me and break my covenant. Then my anger will be kindled, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them; many evils and troubles will come on them, and they will say in that day, haven't these evils come on us because our God is not among us? But I will surely hide my face in that day, for all the evil they have done in turning to other gods. Now therefore write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against them. For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods. And when many evils have come on them, this song will testify before them as a witness, for it will not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants. So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the children of Israel. He commissioned Joshua: be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them; I will be with you. When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book, he commanded the Levites who bore the ark: take this book of the law and put it by the side of the ark, that it may be there for a witness against you. For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck — while I am yet alive with you today you have been rebellious; how much more after my death?
14 Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, your days approach that you must die. Call Joshua, and present yourselves in the Tent of Meeting, that I may commission him.” Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the Tent of Meeting. 15 Yahweh appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood over the Tent’s door. 16 Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers. This people will rise up and play the prostitute after the strange gods of the land where they go to be among them, and will forsake me and break my covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come on them; so that they will say in that day, ‘Haven’t these evils come on us because our God is not among us?’ 18 I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods. 19 “Now therefore write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. 20 For when I have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they have eaten and filled themselves, and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant. 21 It will happen, when many evils and troubles have come on them, that this song will testify before them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants; for I know their ways and what they are doing today, before I have brought them into the land which I promised them.” 22 So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel. 23 He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and courageous; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them. I will be with you.” 24 When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, 25 Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, saying, 26 “Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of Yahweh your God’s covenant, that it may be there for a witness against you. 27 For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. Behold, while I am yet alive with you today, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. How much more after my death? 28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn away from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will happen to you in the latter days, because you will do that which is evil in Yahweh’s sight, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.” 30 Moses spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were finished.
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).