Deuteronomy 31

Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.

1And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.

2He said to them, "Today I am a hundred and twenty years old. I can no longer go out and come back in. And the LORD has said to me, 'You will not cross this Jordan River.'

2And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

Note"Go out and come in" is a Hebrew idiom for carrying on daily business, and especially for a leader marching an army out and bringing it home again; Moses is saying he can no longer lead. Israel is camped on the east side of the Jordan River, and the land they are to settle lies across it to the west, so "crossing the Jordan" throughout this chapter means entering that land.

3The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations in front of you, and you will take their land. Joshua will also cross over ahead of you, just as the LORD has said.

3The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said.

4The LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them.

4And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.

NoteSihon and Og were kings whose territories lay east of the Jordan; Israel had fought and defeated them on the way, and those lands were the first the people occupied. "Amorites" is a broad term for the peoples of that region.

5The LORD will hand them over to you, and you must do to them exactly as I have commanded you.

5And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.

Note"Exactly as I have commanded you" points back to instructions given earlier in Deuteronomy about how Israel was to deal with the nations already living in the land.

6Be strong and brave. Do not be afraid of them or frightened by them. The LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or leave you."

6Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

7Then Moses called Joshua and said to him, while all Israel watched, "Be strong and brave. You are the one who will go with these people into the land the LORD promised their ancestors he would give them, and you will divide it among them as their own.

7And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

NoteLand was held permanently by tribe and family and handed down; "divide it among them as their own" means assigning each group its lasting share. "Be strong and brave" is formal language used when someone is installed in an office or given a commission.

8The LORD himself goes ahead of you. He will be with you. He will not fail you or leave you. Do not be afraid, and do not lose heart."

8And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

9So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.

9And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel.

NoteLevi was one of the twelve tribes, set apart to handle worship and given no territory of its own. The ark of the covenant was a wooden chest carried on poles, holding the stone tablets of the agreement. A covenant was a formal binding agreement, like a treaty between a ruler and a people, with stated terms, obligations and consequences. "Elders" were the senior heads of families who governed locally.

10Then Moses gave them this order: "At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year when debts are canceled, during the Feast of Tabernacles,

10And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,

NoteEvery seventh year was a release year: debts were canceled and fields left unworked. The Feast of Tabernacles was a week-long autumn harvest festival at which people lived in temporary shelters made of branches, recalling the years in the desert; it was one of the occasions when the whole population traveled to the sanctuary.

11when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose, you are to read this law aloud so all Israel can hear it.

11When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

Note"The place he will choose" is a phrase Deuteronomy uses repeatedly for a single central sanctuary that God would later designate. The book never names it.

12Gather the people together: the men, the women, the children, and the foreigners living in your towns. Then they can listen and learn to respect the LORD your God, and be careful to obey every word of this law.

12Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

NoteThe KJV's "stranger within thy gates" means a foreigner settled in an Israelite town; such people held no tribal land but were covered by the law's protections and included in its public gatherings. "Gates" stands for the town itself, since towns were walled and entered by a gate. The Hebrew word rendered "respect" covers both fear and reverence, the regard owed to someone with authority over you.

13Then their children, who do not yet know this law, will hear it and learn to respect the LORD your God for as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to take."

13And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

14Then the LORD said to Moses, "The time for you to die is near. Call Joshua, and the two of you come and stand at the tent of meeting, so I can give him his orders." So Moses and Joshua went and stood at the tent of meeting.

14And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.

NoteThe tent of meeting was the portable tent-sanctuary that traveled with the camp and served as the place where God was consulted.

15The LORD appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood over the doorway of the tent.

15And the LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.

NoteThe pillar of cloud was the visible column that had gone ahead of Israel since they left Egypt, appearing as fire at night.

16The LORD said to Moses, "You are about to rest with your ancestors. Then these people will get up and be unfaithful to me by chasing after the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will abandon me and break the covenant I made with them.

16And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.

Note"Rest with your ancestors" is a standard idiom for dying and being buried with one's family. Where the rendering says "be unfaithful," the KJV has "go a whoring": Hebrew regularly describes the worship of other gods using the image of a married partner's infidelity, because the covenant was pictured as a marriage bond.

17On that day my anger will burn against them. I will abandon them and hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many terrible things and troubles will come on them. On that day they will say, 'Haven't these troubles come on us because our God is no longer with us?'

17Then 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 befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?

Note"Hide my face" is an idiom, the reverse of the blessing that God's face shine on someone. A face turned toward you meant attention and favor; hiding it meant withdrawing protection, not literally becoming invisible.

18And on that day I will certainly hide my face, because of all the evil they have done in turning to other gods.

18And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.

19So now, write down this song for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites. Have them say it out loud, so that this song may be my witness against the Israelites.

19Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.

NoteSongs were how a society without widespread reading kept a text intact: sung words are memorized and passed down. "Witness" here is a legal term, testimony given in a case, evidence that can be produced later against the accused.

20When I have brought them into the land I promised their ancestors, a land rich with milk and honey, they will eat all they want and grow fat. Then they will turn to other gods and serve them. They will reject me and break my covenant.

20For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.

Note"Flowing with milk and honey" is a stock phrase for land good for both grazing and farming; the honey may include syrup made from dates as well as the product of bees. "Grow fat" is an idiom for becoming prosperous and comfortable, not a remark about anyone's body.

21And when many terrible things and troubles have come on them, this song will speak against them as a witness, because their descendants will not forget it. I already know what they are planning to do, even now, before I have brought them into the land I promised them."

21And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.

NoteThe Hebrew word behind "what they are planning" means the bent or shape of someone's thinking, literally something molded, as a potter molds clay. It refers to an inclination rather than a specific plot.

22So that same day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites.

22Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

23Then he gave Joshua son of Nun his orders and said, "Be strong and brave. You will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them, and I will be with you."

23And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.

24When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book, from start to finish,

24And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,

25he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD:

25That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,

26"Take this book of the law and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, so that it may stay there as a witness against you.

26Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

NoteIn the ancient Near East a treaty document was commonly deposited in a temple, next to the emblem of the god who had witnessed it, and read out publicly at intervals. Placing the law beside the ark follows that practice.

27I know how stubborn and strong-willed you are. Look, while I am still alive here with you today, you have refused to obey the LORD. How much worse it will be after I die!

27For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?

NoteThe KJV's "stiff neck" is an image from an ox that sets its neck against the yoke and refuses to be steered.

28Bring together all the elders of your tribes and all your officers, so I can speak these words for them to hear, and call the heavens and the earth to be witnesses against them.

28Gather unto 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 record against them.

NoteThe "officers" were tribal officials; the Hebrew term suggests record-keepers or marshals who organized and mustered the people. Calling heaven and earth as witnesses follows the pattern of ancient treaties, which named witnesses who would hold both parties to the terms; here the permanent features of the world take that role.

29I know that after I die you will become completely corrupt and turn away from the path I have commanded you. In the days to come, disaster will come on you, because you will do what the LORD says is evil and make him angry by what your hands have made."

29For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

Note"In the days to come" translates a Hebrew phrase (KJV "in the latter days") meaning simply a later, unspecified time, not necessarily the end of the world. "What your hands have made" refers to idols, images produced by craftsmen.

30Then Moses spoke the words of this song for the whole assembly of Israel to hear, from start to finish.

30And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.