Succession, Deposition, and Recitation of Text

31 And Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am a hundred and twenty years old today;[fn] I am not able to go out and to come in any longer, and Yahweh said to me, ‘You may not cross this Jordan.’ 3 Yahweh your God is about to cross before you;[fn] he will destroy these nations before you,[fn] and you shall dispossess them. Joshua will be crossing before you,[fn] just as Yahweh promised.[fn] 4 And Yahweh will do to them just as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and to their land, which he destroyed with them. 5 And Yahweh will deliver them to you before you,[fn] and you shall do to them according to every commandment that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and be courageous; you should not be afraid, and you should not be in dread from their presence,[fn] for Yahweh your God is the one going with you; he will not leave you alone and he will not forsake you.”

7 Then Moses summoned Joshua, and he said to him in the presence of all Israel,[fn] “Be strong and be courageous, for you will go with this people into the land that Yahweh swore to their ancestors[fn] to give to them, and you will give it to them as an inheritance. 8 Yahweh is the one going before you;[fn] he will be with you, and he will not leave you alone, and he will not forsake you; you shall not be afraid, and you shall not be discouraged.” 9 So Moses wrote this law, and he gave it to the priests, the descendants[fn] of Levi, the ones carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and to all the elders of Israel.

10 Then Moses commanded them, saying,[fn] “At the end of seven years, in the time of the year for canceling debts during the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before[fn] Yahweh their God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.[fn] 12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little children and your aliens that are in your towns,[fn] so that they may hear and so that they may learn and they may revere Yahweh your God, and they shall diligently observe[fn] all the words of this law. 13 And then their children,[fn] who have not known, they too may hear, and they may learn to revere Yahweh their God all the days that you live[fn] on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to get there[fn] to take possession of it.”

14 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Look, you are about to die;[fn] call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of assembly,[fn] so that I may instruct him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in[fn] the tent of assembly.[fn] 15 And Yahweh appeared in the tent in a column of cloud, and the column of the cloud stood at the entrance of the tent. 16 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Look, you are about to lie down with your ancestors,[fn] and this people will arise and they[fn] will play the prostitute after the foreign gods[fn] of the land to which they are going.[fn] 17 And my anger shall flare up against them[fn] on that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they[fn] shall become as prey, and disasters and troubles shall find[fn] them,[fn] and they[fn] shall say on that day, ‘Is it not because our[fn] God is not in our[fn] midst that these disasters have found[fn] us?’[fn] 18 But I will certainly hide my face on that day, because of all of the evil that they[fn] did because they[fn] turned to other gods.

19 “And so then write this song for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites;[fn] put it in their mouth, so that this song may be for me as a witness against the Israelites.[fn] 20 For when I bring them[fn] into the land that I swore to their[fn] ancestors,[fn] a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill,[fn] and they[fn] will become fat, and then they[fn] will turn to other gods, and they will serve them, and they will spurn me, and they[fn] will break my covenant. 21 And then[fn] many disasters and troubles will come upon them,[fn] and this song will give evidence before them[fn] as a witness, because it will not be forgotten from out of the mouth of their descendants,[fn] for I know their[fn] inclination that they[fn] are having today[fn] before I have brought them[fn] into the land that I swore.” 22 And Moses wrote this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.[fn]

23 Then he[fn] told Joshua the son of Nun, and said to him, “Be strong and be courageous, for you shall bring the Israelites[fn] into the land that I swore to them, and I will be with you.”

24 And then when Moses finished writing[fn] the words of this law on the scroll until they were complete,[fn] 25 then Moses commanded the Levites carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, saying,[fn] 26 “Take the scroll of this law and put it at the side of the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, and it will be there as a witness against you. 27 For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck even now while I am still alive with you today,[fn] rebelling against Yahweh, and how much more[fn] after my death. 28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officials, so that I may speak in their ears these words, and that I may call as witness against them heaven and earth. 29 For I know that after my death you will certainly act corruptly, and you will turn aside from the way that I have commanded you, and the disaster in the future days will befall you, because you will do evil[fn] in the eyes of Yahweh, provoking him with the work of your hands.”[fn] 30 So Moses spoke into the ears of the assembly of Israel the words of this song until they were complete.[fn]