Deuteronomy 31:19

19 "And so then write this song for yourselves and teach it to the {Israelites}; put it in their mouth, so that this song may be for me as a witness against the {Israelites}.

Deuteronomy 31:19 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 31:19

Now, therefore, write ye this song for you
Which was now dictated by the Lord, and given to Moses and Joshua to write, which is recorded in ( Deuteronomy 32:1-43 ) :

and teach it the children of Israel;
teach them by it, instructing them in the meaning of it: thus it was usual in ancient times to write things in verses, that they might be the more pleasingly attended to and regarded, and be longer retained in memory; and especially this practice was used with children, and still is:

put it in their mouths;
oblige them to get it by heart, or lay it up in their memories, and repeat it frequently, that it may be familiar to them, and not be forgotten by them:

that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel;
when in times to come they shall call to mind how in this song they were cautioned against such and such sins, and what they were threatened with should befall them on account of them, and how all things have come to pass exactly as foretold in it; which would be a testimony for God of his goodness to them, of his tender care of them, and concern for them, in the previous cautions he gave them; and of his foreknowledge of future events; and a testimony against them for their ingratitude and other sins.

Deuteronomy 31:19 In-Context

17 And {my anger shall flare up against them} on that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall become as prey, and disasters and troubles shall find them, and they shall say on that day, '[Is it] not because our God is not in our midst [that] these disasters have found us?'

18 But I will certainly hide my face on that day, because [of] all of the evil that they did because they turned to other gods.

19 "And so then write this song for yourselves and teach it to the {Israelites}; put it in their mouth, so that this song may be for me as a witness against the {Israelites}.

20 For when I bring them into the land that I swore to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, {they will eat their fill}, and they will become fat, and [then] they will turn to other gods, and they will serve them, and they will spurn me, and they will break my covenant.

21 {And then} many disasters and troubles will come upon them, and this song will give evidence before them as a witness, because it will not be forgotten from [out of] the mouth of their descendants, for I know their inclination that they [are] having {today} before I have brought them into the land that I swore."

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
• [b]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"