Moses’ Last Counsel

31 So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. And he said to them, “I am (A)120 years old today; (B)I am no longer able to [a]go out and come in, and the Lord has told me, ‘(C)You shall not cross this Jordan.’ (D)It is the Lord your God who is going to cross ahead of you; He Himself will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. (E)Joshua is the one who is going to cross ahead of you, just as the Lord has spoken. And the Lord will do to them just as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when He destroyed them. (F)The Lord will turn them over to you, and you will do to them in accordance with all the commandments which I have commanded you. (G)Be strong and courageous, (H)do not be afraid or in dread of them, for (I)the Lord your God is the One who is going with you. (J)He will not desert you or abandon you.”

Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “(K)Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you will give it to them as an inheritance. And (L)the Lord is the one who is going ahead of you; He will be with you. (M)He will not desert you or abandon you. Do not fear and do not be dismayed.”

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 31:2 I.e., as Israel’s leader

31 After Moses had said all these things to the people of Israel, he told them, “I am now 120 years old! I am no longer able to lead you,[a] for the Lord has told me that I shall not cross the Jordan River. But the Lord himself will lead you and will destroy the nations living there, and you shall overcome them. Joshua is your new commander, as the Lord has instructed. The Lord will destroy the nations living in the land, just as he destroyed Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites. The Lord will deliver over to you the people living there, and you shall destroy them as I have commanded you. Be strong! Be courageous! Do not be afraid of them! For the Lord your God will be with you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you.”

Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him, as all Israel watched, “Be strong! Be courageous! For you shall lead these people into the land promised by the Lord to their ancestors; see to it that they conquer it. Don’t be afraid, for the Lord will go before you and will be with you; he will not fail nor forsake you.”

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 31:2 I am no longer able to lead you, literally, “I am no longer able to go out and come in.”