Deuteronomy 31

1Moses went and addressed all Israel with these words.

2He said to them, "Today I am one hundred twenty years old; I can no longer go out and come in, and Yahweh said to me, 'You shall not cross this Jordan.'"

3Yahweh your God himself will cross ahead of you; he will annihilate these nations from ahead of you, and you will dispossess them. Joshua himself will cross ahead of you, as Yahweh has spoken.

4Yahweh will do to them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and to their land, which he destroyed.

5Yahweh will deliver them before you, and you shall do to them according to all the command that I have commanded you.

6Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or dismayed before them, for Yahweh your God—he is the one who goes with you; he will not fail you nor forsake you.

7Moses called Joshua and said to him before all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you will bring this people to the land that Yahweh swore to their fathers to give them, and you will cause them to possess it."

8Yahweh himself goes before you; he will be with you—he will not fail you or forsake you: do not fear or be dismayed.

9Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, sons of Levi, who carried the ark of Yahweh's covenant, and to all the elders of Israel.

10Moses commanded them: "At the end of seven years, in the appointed season of the release year, during the festival of booths,"

11When all Israel comes to appear before Yahweh your God in the place he chooses, read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

12Assemble the people—the men, the women, and the little ones, and your sojourners who are within your gates—so they may hear and learn to fear Yahweh your God and take care to do all the words of this law.

13And their children who have not known it may hear and learn to fear Yahweh your God all the days that you live in the land into which you cross over the Jordan to possess it.

14Yahweh said to Moses, "See, the days of your death have drawn near; summon 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.

15Yahweh appeared in the tent within a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of the cloud stood over the tent's entrance.

16Yahweh said to Moses, "See, you will lie down with your fathers, and this people will rise up and prostitute themselves after the foreign gods of the land where they go to dwell among them, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I made with them."

17My anger will flare against them that day, and I will abandon them and turn my face from them, and many calamities and adversities will devour and overtake them, so that they declare that day, "Have these calamities not reached us because our God is not in our midst?"

18I will surely hide my face that day because of all the evil they do, since they turn to other gods.

19Now write this song for yourselves, teach it to the children of Israel, and put it in their mouths, so that this song will be a witness for me against the children of Israel.

20For when I bring them into the land I swore to their fathers, a land overflowing with milk and honey, and they eat, grow full, and fatten up, they will turn to other gods, serve them, spurn me, and break my covenant.

21When many evils and troubles overtake them, this song will testify against them to their face as a witness, for it will not be forgotten from the mouth of their offspring; for I know their inclination, which they devise today before I bring them to the land that I swore.

22Moses wrote this song that day and taught it to the children of Israel.

23He commanded Joshua son of Nun and said, "Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the sons of Israel into the land that I swore to them, and I will be with you."

24When Moses finished writing the words of this law in a book until they were complete.

25Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of Yahweh's covenant, saying,

26Take this book of the law and set it beside the ark of Yahweh your God's covenant, so that it will be there against you as a witness.

27For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck—behold, while I am still alive with you today, you have rebelled against Yahweh, and even more so after my death.

28Assemble all the elders of your tribes and your officers to me, that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to testify against them.

29For I know that after my death you will act corruptly and veer from the road I commanded you to take, and calamity will overtake you in the days to come, because you will commit wrong in Yahweh's eyes to anger him through what your hands make.

30Moses spoke the words of this song in the hearing of all Israel's assembly until they were finished.