14 Then the Lord said to Moses, a“Behold, the days approach when you must die; call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of meeting, that bI may inaugurate him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle of meeting.
15 Now athe Lord appeared at the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood above the door of the tabernacle.
16 And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will1 rest with your fathers; and this people will arise and bplay the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go tobe among them, and they will cforsake Me and dbreak My covenant which I have made with them.
17 Then My anger shall be aaroused against them in that day, and bI will forsake them, and I will chide My face from them, and they shall be1 devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, d‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God isenot among us?’
18 And aI will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods.
19 “Now therefore, write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be aa witness for Me against the children of Israel.
20 When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves aand grown fat, bthen they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant.
21 Then it shall be, awhen many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants, for bI know the inclination cof their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore togivethem.”
22 Therefore Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel.
23aThen He inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun, and said, b“Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you.”
24 So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished,
25 that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying:
26 “Take this Book of the Law, aand put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there bas a witness against you;
27afor I know your rebellion and your bstiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord, then how much more after my death?
28 Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing aand call heaven and earth to witness against them.
29 For I know that after my death you will abecome utterly corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And bevil will befall you cin the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.”
The Song of Moses
30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song until they were ended:
DEUTERONOMY, the second law, a title which plainly shows what is the object of this book, namely, a recapitulation of the law. It was given in the form of public addresses to the people; and as Moses spoke in the prospect of his speedy removal, he enforced obedience to it by many forcible appeals to the Israelites, concerning their long and varied experience both of the mercies and the judgments of God. The minute notices of the heathen people with whom they had come in contact, but who afterward disappeared from the pages of history, as well as the accounts of the fertility and products of Canaan, and the counsels respecting the conquest of that country, fix the date of this book and the time of its composition by the hand of Moses. The close, however, must have been added by another; and, indeed, it is supposed by some to have formed the original preface to the Book of Joshua.
Join 137,263+ readers
A Verse and a Thought, Every Morning
Consistent Bible study is hard to start.
The Berean gives you the starting point: one scripture and a focused commentary in your inbox each morning — read it in minutes, or go as deep as you like.
Free, daily, and spam-free. We never share your address. Unsubscribe anytime.
