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Deuteronomy 31

Read Deuteronomy Chapter 31

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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,

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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,

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

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.

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?

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.

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.

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

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Explanation

Deuteronomy 31

In short

Moses, now too old to lead, passes his role to Joshua and tells the people that God will go with them. He also arranges for God's law to be read aloud every seven years so everyone will remember it, and he records a song that will remind them of what happens when they turn away from God.

What the text says

Moses announces he is 120 years old and cannot lead anymore, though God will go ahead of the people and destroy their enemies as he did with other nations (verses 1-5). He tells the people to be strong and not fear, because God goes with them (verse 6). He calls Joshua before everyone and gives him the same encouragement (verses 7-8).

Moses writes down the law and gives it to the Levites and elders (verse 9). He commands that every seven years, at the Feast of Tabernacles, the law must be read aloud before all Israel, including men, women, children, and visitors (verses 10-12). This is so each generation will hear and fear God (verses 12-13).

God tells Moses he will soon die and commands him to bring Joshua to the tabernacle (verse 14). God appears in a cloud and tells Moses that after his death, the people will break the covenant and turn to other gods (verse 16). God says he will then hide from them and they will face troubles (verse 17-18). God orders Moses to write a song that will serve as a witness against Israel when they turn away (verses 19-21). Moses writes and teaches the song that day (verse 22) and charges Joshua to lead them into the land (verse 23).

After finishing the law in writing, Moses commands the Levites to place the book beside the ark as a witness (verses 24-26). Moses reminds them of their rebellion and predicts they will turn from God's way after he dies (verses 27-29). Moses speaks the song to the whole congregation (verse 30).

Takeaways

  • Moses prepares Israel for a future without him by installing Joshua as leader and ensuring God's law will be regularly heard by all people.
  • God predicts that despite knowing his instructions, Israel will break the covenant, and two written records (the law and a song) will serve as evidence against them.
  • The law and the song are meant to be remembered through generations so each new generation learns to follow God.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.