Deuteronomy 31-32
Common English Bible
Moses announces his death
31 Then Moses said[a] these words to all Israel, 2 telling them:
I’m 120 years old today. I can’t move around well anymore. Plus, the Lord told me “You won’t cross the Jordan River.” 3 But the Lord your God, he’s the one who will cross over before you! He’s the one who will destroy these nations before you so you can displace them. Joshua too will cross over before you just like the Lord indicated. 4 The Lord will do to these enemies the same thing he did to the Amorite kings Sihon and Og, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 The Lord will lay them out before you, and you will do to them exactly what the command I’ve given you dictates. 6 Be strong! Be fearless! Don’t be afraid and don’t be scared by your enemies, because the Lord your God is the one who marches with you. He won’t let you down, and he won’t abandon you.
7 Then Moses called Joshua and, with all Israel watching, said to him: “Be strong and fearless because you are the one who will lead[b] this people to the land the Lord swore to their ancestors to give to them; you are the one who will divide up the land for them. 8 But the Lord is the one who is marching before you! He is the one who will be with you! He won’t let you down. He won’t abandon you. So don’t be afraid or scared!”
Regular reading of the Instruction
9 Then Moses wrote this Instruction down and gave it to the priests—the Levites who carry the chest containing the Lord’s covenant—and to all of the Israelite elders. 10 Moses then commanded them:
At the end of seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation, during the Festival of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the location he selects, you must read this Instruction aloud, in the hearing of all the people. 12 Gather everyone—men, women, children, and the immigrants who live in your cities—in order that they hear it, learn it, and revere the Lord your God, carefully doing all the words of this Instruction, 13 and so that their children, who don’t yet know the Instruction, may hear it and learn to revere the Lord your God for as long as you live on the ground you are crossing the Jordan River to possess.
Joshua commissioned
14 Then the Lord said to Moses: “It’s almost time for you to die. Summon Joshua. The two of you must present yourselves at the meeting tent so I can command him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the meeting tent. 15 The Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud; the cloud pillar stood at the tent’s entrance. 16 The Lord then said to Moses:
“Soon you will rest with your ancestors, and the people will rise up and act unfaithfully, going after strange gods of the land they are entering. They will abandon me, breaking my covenant that I made with them. 17 At that point my anger will burn against them, and I’ll be the one who abandons them! I’ll hide my face from them. They will become nothing but food for their enemies,[c] and all sorts of bad things and misfortunes will happen to them. Then they will say: ‘Haven’t these terrible things happened to us because our God is no longer with us?’ 18 But I will hide my face at that time because of the many wrong things they have done, because they have turned to other gods! 19 So in light of all that, you must write down this poem and teach it to the Israelites. Put it in their mouths so that the poem becomes a witness for me against them. 20 When I bring the Israelites to the land I swore to their ancestors, which is full of milk and honey, and they eat, get full, then fat, and then turn toward other gods, serving them and disrespecting me and breaking my covenant, 21 then, when all kinds of bad things and misfortunes happen to them, this poem will witness against them, giving its testimony, because it won’t be lost from the mouths of their descendants. Yes, I know right now what they are inclined to do, even before I’ve brought them into the land I swore.”
22 So Moses wrote this poem down that very day, and he taught it to the Israelites.
23 Then the Lord commissioned Joshua, Nun’s son: “Be strong and fearless because you are the one who will bring the Israelites to the land I swore to them. I myself will be with you.”
Life after Moses
24 Once Moses had finished writing in their entirety all the words of this Instruction scroll, 25 he commanded the Levites who carry the chest containing the Lord’s covenant as follows:
26 “Take this Instruction scroll and put it next to the chest containing the Lord your God’s covenant. It must remain there as a witness against you 27 because I know how rebellious and hardheaded you are. If you are this rebellious toward the Lord while I’m still alive, it’s bound to get worse once I’m dead! 28 Assemble all of your tribes’ elders and your officials in front of me, so I can speak these words in their hearing, and so I can call heaven and earth as my witnesses against them, 29 because I know that after I’m dead, you will ruin everything, departing from the path I’ve commanded you. Terrible things will happen to you in the future because you will do evil in the Lord’s eyes, aggravating him with the things your hands have made.”
The poem of Instruction
30 Then Moses recited in their entirety the words of this poem in the hearing of the entire assembly of Israel:
32 Heaven! Pay attention and I will speak;
Earth! Listen to the words of my mouth.
2 My teaching will fall like raindrops;
my speech will settle like dew—
like gentle rains on grass,
like spring showers on all that is green—
3 because I proclaim the Lord’s name:
Give praise to our God!
4 The rock: his acts are perfection!
No doubt about it: all his ways are right!
He’s the faithful God, never deceiving;
altogether righteous and true is he.
5 But children who weren’t his own[d]
sinned against him with their defects;[e]
they are a twisted and perverse generation.
6 Is this how you thank the Lord,
you stupid, senseless people?
Isn’t he your father, your creator?
Didn’t he make you and establish you?
7 Remember the days long past;
consider the years long gone.
Ask your father, he will tell you about it;
ask your elders, they will give you the details:
8 When God Most High divided up the nations—
when he divided up humankind—
he decided the people’s boundaries
based on the number of the gods.[f]
9 Surely the Lord’s property was his people;
Jacob was his part of the inheritance.
10 God found[g] Israel in a wild land—
in a howling desert wasteland—
he protected him, cared for him,
watched over him with his very own eye.
11 Like an eagle protecting its nest,
hovering over its young,
God spread out his wings, took hold of Israel,
carried him on his back.
12 The Lord alone led Israel;
no foreign god assisted.
13 God[h] made Israel[i] glide over the highlands;
he fed him[j] with food from the field,
nursed him with honey from a boulder,
with oil from a hard rock:
14 curds from the herd, milk from the flock,
along with the best of lambs,
rams from Bashan, he-goats too,
along with the finest wheat—
and for drink, wine from the juiciest grapes!
15 Jacob ate until he was stuffed;[k]
Jeshurun[l] got fat, then rebellious.[m]
It was you who got fat, thick, stubborn![n]
Jeshurun[o] gave up on the God who made him,
thought the rock of his salvation was worthless.
16 They made God[p] jealous with strange gods,
aggravated him with detestable things.
17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God,
to deities of which they had no knowledge—
new gods only recently on the scene,
ones about which your ancestors had never heard.[q]
18 You deserted[r] the rock that sired you;
you forgot the God who gave birth to you!
19 The Lord saw this and rejected
out of aggravation his sons and his daughters.[s]
20 He said: I will hide my face from them—
I will see what becomes of them—
because they are a confused generation;
they are children lacking loyalty.
21 They provoked me with “no-gods,”
aggravated me with their pieces of junk.
So I am going to provoke them with “No-People,”
aggravate them with a nation of fools.
22 A fire burns in me—
it will blaze to the depths of the grave;[t]
it will destroy the land and its crops;
it will blacken the base of the mountains.
23 I’ll throw[u] on them disaster after disaster;
I’ll destroy them with my arrows:
24 devastating hunger, consuming plague, bitter sickness.
I’ll send animal fangs after them,
venom from dust crawlers too.
25 Outside, in the streets, the sword will bereave!
Inside, in the safest room, there will be terror
for young men and women,
nursing baby and senior citizen.
26 I thought about it: I could have struck them down,[v]
erased them from human memory,
27 but their enemies’ rage concerned me;
their opponents might misunderstand.
They might say, “Our strong hands,
not the Lord’s, did all this,”
28 because they are not a thoughtful nation;
they lack any insight.
29 If they had any wisdom, they would understand this;
they would discern what will become of them.
30 How could one person chase off a thousand in battle?
How could two people make ten thousand flee for their lives?
Only because their rock sold them off,
only because the Lord handed them over!
31 But, no, their rocks can’t compare to our rock!
Our enemies are completely stupid.[w]
32 Their roots run straight from Sodom—
from the fields of Gomorrah!
Their grapes are pure poison;
their grape clusters, nothing but bitter;
33 their wine is snake poison,
venom from a cruel cobra.
34 Don’t I have this stored up,
sealed in my vaults?
35 Revenge is my domain, so is punishment-in-kind,
at the exact moment their step slips up,
because the day of their destruction is just around the corner;
their final destiny is speeding on its way!
36 But the Lord will acquit his people,
will have compassion on those who serve him,
once he sees that their strength is all gone,
that both prisoners and free people are wiped out.[x]
37 The Lord will ask, “Where are their gods—
the rocks they trusted in—
38 who ate up the fat of their sacrifices,
who drank their sacred wine?
They should stand up and help you!
They should protect you now!
39 Now, look here: I myself, I’m the one;
there are no other gods with me.
I’m the one who deals death and gives life;
I’m the one who wounded, but now I will heal.
There’s no escaping my hand.
40 But now I’m lifting my hand to heaven—
I swear by my own eternity:
41 when I sharpen my blazing sword
and my hand grabs hold of justice,
I’ll pay my enemies back;
I’ll punish in kind everyone who hates me.
42 I’ll make my arrows drink much blood,
while my sword devours flesh,
the blood of the dead and captured,
flowing from the heads of enemy generals.”[y]
43 Heavens:[z] Rejoice with God![aa]
All you gods: bow down to the Lord![ab]
Because he will avenge his children’s[ac] blood;
he will pay back his enemies;
he will punish in kind those who hate him;[ad]
he will cleanse his people’s land.[ae]
44 So Moses came and recited all the words of this poem in everyone’s hearing; Joshua,[af] Nun’s son, joined him. 45 When Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he told them: Set your mind on all these words I’m testifying against you right now, because you must command your children to perform carefully all the words of this Instruction. 47 This is no trivial matter for you—this is your very life! It is by this means[ag] alone that you will prolong your life on the fertile land you are crossing the Jordan River to possess.
Moses’ death imminent
48 The Lord spoke to Moses that very same day: 49 “Hike up the Abarim mountains, to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho. Take a good look at the land of Canaan, which I’m giving to the Israelites as their property. 50 You will die on the mountain you have hiked up, and you will be gathered to your people just like your brother Aaron, who died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because the two of you were unfaithful toward me in front of the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh, in the Zin wilderness, because you didn’t treat me with proper respect before the Israelites. 52 You can look at the land from the other side of the river,[ah] but you won’t enter there.”[ai]
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 31:1 LXX, DSS (1QDeutb) When Moses had finished speaking
- Deuteronomy 31:7 Sam, Vulg, Syr; MT, Tg accompany
- Deuteronomy 31:17 Heb lacks for their enemies.
- Deuteronomy 32:5 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:5 LXX, Vulg; Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:8 DSS (4QDeutj), LXX; MT the Israelites
- Deuteronomy 32:10 Vulg, Syr, and others; Sam, LXX, Tg Onkelos sustained him
- Deuteronomy 32:13 Or he
- Deuteronomy 32:13 Or him
- Deuteronomy 32:13 Sam, Syr, LXX, Tg; MT he ate
- Deuteronomy 32:15 DSS (4QPhyln), Sam, LXX; MT lacks Jacob ate until he was stuffed.
- Deuteronomy 32:15 A poetic name for Israel; see also 33:5, 26.
- Deuteronomy 32:15 Or kicked
- Deuteronomy 32:15 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:15 Or he
- Deuteronomy 32:16 Or him
- Deuteronomy 32:17 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:18 LXX, Vulg; Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:19 Or, following LXX, DSS (4QPhyln), and correcting the Lord saw this and was jealous; he spurned his sons and daughters.
- Deuteronomy 32:22 Heb Sheol
- Deuteronomy 32:23 LXX
- Deuteronomy 32:26 Heb uncertain; LXX scattered them
- Deuteronomy 32:31 LXX; Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:36 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:42 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:43 DSS (4QDeutq), LXX; MT nations
- Deuteronomy 32:43 DSS (4QDeutq), LXX; MT his people
- Deuteronomy 32:43 This line is missing in Heb; it is found in DSS (4QDeutq); LXX him for the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 32:43 DSS (4QDeutq), LXX; MT his servants’
- Deuteronomy 32:43 DSS (4QDeutq), LXX; MT lacks this line.
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Sam, DSS (4QDeutq), LXX, Vulg; MT his land his people or his land for his people; or, correcting, he will wipe away his people’s tears.
- Deuteronomy 32:44 Sam, Syr, Tg Neofiti; MT Hoshea
- Deuteronomy 32:47 Or word
- Deuteronomy 32:52 Heb lacks of the river.
- Deuteronomy 32:52 LXX; MT, Sam, Vulg, Syr, Tg add to the land that I am giving to the Israelites
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