Deuteronomy 31

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

1Then Moses went and spoke these words to all the people of Israel.

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

2He said to them, "I am now one hundred and twenty years old. I can no longer lead you, and the LORD has told me, 'You will not cross this Jordan River.'

3Jehovah thy God, he will go over before thee; he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt dispossess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as Jehovah hath spoken.

3The LORD your God will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations to make room for you, and you will take over their land. Joshua will also lead you across, just as the LORD promised.

4And Jehovah will do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and unto their land; whom he destroyed.

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

5And Jehovah will deliver them up before you, and ye shall do unto them according unto all the commandment which I have commanded you.

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

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

6Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or terrified of them, because the LORD your God is going with you. He will never fail you or abandon you."

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

7Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him in front of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous! You are the one who will lead this people into the land the LORD promised to their ancestors, and you will help them take possession of it.

8And Jehovah, 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.

8The LORD himself will go ahead of you; he will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you. Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged."

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

9Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the descendants of Levi, who carried the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant, and to all the leaders of Israel.

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

10Then Moses gave them this command: "At the end of every seven years, during the year of canceling debts and during the Festival of Shelters,

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

11when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place he chooses, you must read this law out loud to all the people.

12Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and thy sojourner that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear Jehovah your God, and observe to do all the words of this law;

12Gather everyone together—the men, women, children, and the foreigners living in your towns—so they can listen, learn to respect the LORD your God, and carefully obey every word of this law.

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

13Do this so their children, who do not know these laws yet, can hear them and learn to respect the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."

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

14The LORD said to Moses, "The time for you to die is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting so I can give him his instructions." So Moses and Joshua went and stood in the Tent of Meeting.

15And Jehovah appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud: and the pillar of cloud stood over the door of the Tent.

15Then the LORD appeared at the Tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood above the entrance to the Tent.

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

16The LORD said to Moses, "You are about to die and rest with your ancestors. Then these people will begin to be unfaithful by following the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will abandon me and break the covenant I 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 come upon them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?

17On that day my anger will burn against them. I will abandon them and hide my face from them. They will be destroyed, and many disasters and troubles will come upon them. In that day they will ask, 'Have these disasters happened to us because our God is no longer with us?'

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

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

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

19Now write down this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Have them sing it so that it may be a witness for me against them.

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

20I will bring them into the land I promised to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. When they have eaten their fill and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and worship them. They will despise me and break my covenant.

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

21When many disasters and troubles come upon them, this song will testify against them because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are thinking even now, before I have led them into the land I promised."

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

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

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

23Then the LORD gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: "Be strong and courageous, for you will lead the Israelites into the land I promised them, and I will be with you."

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,

24Moses finished writing all the words of this law in a book from beginning to end.

25that Moses commanded the Levites, that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, saying,

25Then he gave this command to the Levites who carried the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant:

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

26"Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD your God. There it will stay as a witness against you.

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

27For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. If you have been rebelling against the LORD while I am still alive with you, how much more will you rebel after I die!

28Assemble 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 witness against them.

28Gather all the elders of your tribes and your officials before me so I can speak these words to them and call heaven and earth to witness 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 that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

29I know that after I die you will become utterly corrupt and turn away from the path I have commanded you. In the future, disaster will fall on you because you will do evil in the LORD's sight, making him angry by what your hands have made."

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

30Then Moses recited the words of this entire song to the whole assembly of Israel, from beginning to end.