Deuteronomy 31:12-22

12 Gather the people-men, women, children, and foreigners living within your gates-so that they may listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and be careful to follow all the words of this law.

13 Then their children who do not know [the law] will listen and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."

14 The Lord said to Moses, "The time of your death is now approaching. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, so that I may commission him." When Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting,

15 the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.

16 The Lord said to Moses, "You are about to rest with your fathers, and this people will soon commit adultery with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will abandon Me and break the covenant I have made with them.

17 My anger will burn against them on that day; I will abandon them and hide My face from them so that they will become easy prey.^[a] Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, 'Haven't these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us?'

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

19 Therefore write down this song^[b] for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites; have them recite it,^[c] so that this song may be a witness for Me against the Israelites.

20 When I bring them into the land I swore to [give] their fathers, [a land] flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper.^[d] They will turn to other gods and worship them, despising Me and breaking My covenant.

21 And when many troubles and afflictions come to them, this song will testify against them, because^[e] their descendants will not have forgotten it. For I know what they are prone to do,^[f] even before I bring them into the land I swore [to give them]."

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

Deuteronomy 31:12-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 31

Moses being old, and knowing he should quickly die, and must not go over Jordan with the people of Israel, acquaints them with it, and encourages them and Joshua to go over notwithstanding, and not be afraid of their enemies, since the Lord would go with them, and deliver them into their hands, De 31:1-8; and having written the law, he delivered it to the priests, and ordered that it should be read at the end of every seven years before all the people, that they and theirs might learn it, and fear the Lord, De 31:9-13; and whereas the death of Moses was very near, and the Lord foreseeing the people would quickly fall into idolatry, which would bring great calamities upon them, he directed Moses to write a song, which should be a witness for him, and against them, in ages to come; which Moses accordingly did, De 31:14-22; and Moses having given a charge to Joshua, and finished the writing of the law in a book, gave it to the Levites to put it in the side of the ark, De 31:23-27; and then ordered the chief of the tribes to be gathered together, that he might deliver the song, which by the direction and under the inspiration of God he had written, De 31:28-30; which song is recorded in De 32:1-43.

Footnotes

• [a] Lit will be for devouring
• [b] Dt 32
• [c] Lit Israelites; put it in their mouths
• [d] Lit be fat
• [e] Lit because the mouths of
• [f] Or know the plans they are devising