Devarim 31

1 1 And Moshe went and spoke these devarim unto kol Yisroel.

2 And he said unto them, I am me’ah v’esrim shanah today; I can no more go out and come in; also Hashem hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Yarden.

3 Hashem Eloheicha, He will go over before thee, and He will make shmad these Goyim from before thee, and thou shalt dispossess them; and Yehoshua (see Nechemyah 8:17 for Aramaic form, Yeshua), he shall go over before thee, as Hashem hath said.

4 And Hashem shall do unto them as He did to Sichon and to Og, melachim of the Emori, and unto the land of them, whom He made shmad.

5 And Hashem shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto kol hamitzvot which I have commanded you.

6 Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of their faces; for Hashem Eloheicha, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor abandon thee.

7 And Moshe called unto Yehoshua, and said unto him in the sight of kol Yisroel, Chazak! (be strong) and of a good courage; for thou must go with this people unto Ha’Aretz which Hashem hath sworn unto their avot to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. [See Yeshayah 49:8; Yn 14:1-3.]

8 And Hashem, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither abandon thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

9 And Moshe wrote this torah, and delivered it unto the kohanim, the Bnei Levi, which bore the Aron Brit Hashem and unto kol Ziknei Yisroel.

10 And Moshe commanded them, saying, At the end of every shevah shanim, in the mo’ed (appointed time) of the shnat hashemittah (year of release), in Chag HaSukkot,

11 When kol Yisroel is come to appear before Hashem Eloheicha in the place which He shall choose, thou shalt read this torah before kol Yisroel in their hearing.

12 Gather the people together, anashim and nashim, and banim, and ger that is within thy she’arim, in order that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear Hashem Eloheichem, and be shomer to do kol divrei hatorah hazot;

13 And that their banim, which have not known anything, may hear, and learn to fear Hashem Eloheichem, as long as ye live in ha’adamah whither ye go over Yarden to possess it.

14 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Behold, thy yamim approach that thou must die; call Yehoshua, and present yourselves in the Ohel Mo’ed, that I may give him a charge. And Moshe and Yehoshua went, and presented themselves in the Ohel Mo’ed.

15 And Hashem appeared in the Ohel in an ammud anan (pillar of cloud); and the ammud anan stood over the petach (entrance) of the Ohel.

16 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Behold, thou shalt sleep with Avoteicha; and this people will rise up, and play the harlot going after the elohei nekhar ha’aretz (g-ds of the foreigners of the land), whither they go to be among them, and will forsake Me, and break My Brit which I have cut them.

17 Then My anger shall be kindled against them in Yom Hahu, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured, and ra’ot rabbot (many evils) and tzarot (troubles) shall befall them; so that they will say in Yom Hahu, Are not these evils come upon us, because Elohai is not among us?

18 And I will surely hide My face in Yom Hahu for kol hara’ah which they shall have done, in that they are turned unto elohim acherim.

19 Now therefore write ye this shirah for you, and teach it the Bnei Yisroel; put it in their mouths, in order that this shirah may be an ed (witness) for Me against the Bnei Yisroel.

20 For when I shall have brought them into ha’adamah which I swore unto Avotav (their fathers), zavat cholov u’devash (that floweth with milk and honey); and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and grown fat; then will they turn unto elohim acherim, and serve them, and provoke Me, and break My Brit.

21 And it shall come to pass, when ra’ot rabbot and tzarot are befallen them, that this shirah shall testify against them as an ed (witness); for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their zera; for I know their yetzer (inclination) in which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into ha’aretz which I swore.

22 Moshe therefore wrote this shirah on that day, and taught it the Bnei Yisroel.

23 And he gave Yehoshua ben Nun a charge, and said, Chazak! And of a good courage; for thou shalt bring the Bnei Yisroel into Ha’Aretz which I swore unto them; and I will be with thee. [Isa 49:8]

24 And it came to pass, when Moshe had made an end of writing the divrei HaTorah hazot in a sefer, until they were finished,

25 That Moshe commanded the Levi’im, which bore the Aron Brit Hashem, saying,

26 Take this sefer haTorah, and put it at the side of the Aron Brit Hashem Eloheichem, that it may be there for an ed (witness) against thee.

27 For I know thy meri (rebellion), and thy oref hakasheh (stiff neck); behold, while I am yet alive with you today, ye have been mamrim (rebellious) against Hashem; and how much more after my death!

28 Gather unto me kol ziknei shvatim of you, and your shoterim, that I may speak these devarim in their hearing, and call Shomayim and Ha’Aretz to record as witnesses against them.

29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from HaDerech which I have commanded you; and hara’ah will befall you in the acharim hayamim; because ye will do rah (evil) in the sight of Hashem, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.

30 And Moshe spoke in the ears of kol Kahal Yisroel the divrei hashirah hazot (words of this song), until they were ended.

Devarim 31 Commentary

Chapter 31

Moses encourages the people, and Joshua. (1-8) The law to be read every seventh year. (9-13) The Israelites' apostacy foretold, A song given to be witness against them. (14-22) The law delivered to the Levites. (22-30)

Verses 1-8 Moses assures Israel of the constant presence of God with them. This is applied by the apostle to all God's spiritual Israel, to encourage their faith and hope; unto us is this gospel preached, as well as unto them; he will never fail thee, nor forsake thee, ( Hebrews 13:5 ) . Moses commends Joshua to them for a leader; one whose wisdom, and courage, and affection they had long known; one whom God had appointed to be their leader; and therefore would own and bless. Joshua is well pleased to be admonished by Moses to be strong and of good courage. Those shall speed well, who have God with them; therefore they ought to be of good courage. Through God let us do valiantly, for through him we shall do victoriously; if we resist the devil, he will flee from us.

Verses 9-13 Though we read the word in private, we must not think it needless to hear it read in public. This solemn reading of the law must be done in the year of release. The year of release was typical of gospel grace, which is called the acceptable year of the Lord; for our pardon and liberty by Christ, engage us to keep his commandments. It must be read to all Israel, men, women, children, and to the strangers. It is the will of God that all people should acquaint themselves with his word. It is a rule to all, therefore should be read to all. Whoever has read of the pains taken by many persons to get scraps of the Scriptures, when a whole copy could not be obtained, or safely possessed, will see how thankful we should be for the thousands of copies amongst us. They will also understand the very different situation in which the Israelites were placed for many ages. But the heart of man is so careless, that all will be found too little, to keep up a knowledge of the truths, precepts, and worship of God.

Verses 14-22 Moses and Joshua attended the Divine Majesty at the door of the tabernacle. Moses is told again that he must shortly die; even those who are most ready and willing to die, need to be often reminded of its coming. The Lord tells Moses, that, after his death, the covenant he had taken so much pains to make between Israel and their God, would certainly be broken. Israel would forsake Him; then God would forsake Israel. Justly does he cast those off who so unjustly cast him off. Moses is directed to deliver them a song, which should remain a standing testimony for God, as faithful to them in giving them warning, and against them, as persons false to themselves in not taking the warning. The word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of men's hearts, and meets them by reproofs and correction. Ministers who preach the word, know not the imaginations of men; but God, whose word it is, knows perfectly.

Verses 23-30 The solemn delivery of the book of the law to the Levites, to be deposited in, or rather by the side, of the ark, is again related. The song which follows in the next chapter is delivered to Moses, and by him to the people. He wrote it first, as the Holy Spirit taught him; and then spake it in the hearing of all the people. Moses tells them plainly, I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves. Many a sad thought, no doubt, it occasioned to this good man; but his comfort was, that he had done his duty, and that God would be glorified in their dispersion, if not in their settlement, for the foundation of God stands sure.

Chapter Summary

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.