Deuteronomy 31:16-30

31:16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die,¹ and then these people will begin to prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land into which they² are going. They³ will reject⁴ me and break my covenant that I have made with them.⁵ 31:17 At that time⁶ my anger will erupt against them⁷ and I will abandon them and hide my face from them until they are devoured. Many disasters and distresses will overcome⁸ them⁹ so that they¹⁰ will say at that time, ‘Have not these disasters¹¹ overcome us¹² because our¹³ God is not among us¹⁴?’ 31:18 But I will certainly¹⁵ hide myself at that time because of all the wickedness they¹⁶ will have done by turning to other gods. 31:19 Now write down for yourselves the following song and teach it to the Israelites. Put it into their very mouths so that this song may serve as my witness against the Israelites! 31:20 For after I have brought them¹⁷ to the land I promised to their¹⁸ ancestors – one flowing with milk and honey – and they¹⁹ eat their fill²⁰ and become fat, then they²¹ will turn to other gods and worship them; they will reject me and break my covenant. 31:21 Then when²² many disasters and distresses overcome them²³ this song will testify against them,²⁴ for their²⁵ descendants will not forget it.²⁶ I know the²⁷ intentions they have in mind²⁸ today, even before I bring them²⁹ to the land I have promised.” 31:22 So on that day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites, 31:23 and the Lord³⁰ commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will take the Israelites to the land I have promised them, and I will be with you.”³¹

Anticipation of Disobedience

31:24 When Moses finished writing on a scroll the words of this law in their entirety, 31:25 he³² commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, 31:26 “Take this scroll of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. It will remain there as a witness against you, 31:27 for I know about your rebellion and stubbornness.³³ Indeed, even while I have been living among you to this very day, you have rebelled against the Lord; you will be even more rebellious after my death!³⁴ 31:28 Gather to me all your tribal elders and officials so I can speak to them directly about these things and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. 31:29 For I know that after I die you will totally³⁵ corrupt yourselves and turn away from the path I have commanded you to walk. Disaster will confront you in the days to come because you will act wickedly³⁶ before the Lord, inciting him to anger because of your actions.”³⁷ 31:30 Then Moses recited the words of this song from start to finish in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel.

¹tn Heb “lie down with your fathers” (so NASB); NRSV “ancestors.”

²tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style. The third person singular also occurs in the Hebrew text twice more in this verse, three times in v. 17, once in v. 18, five times in v. 20, and four times in v. 21. Each time it is translated as third person plural for stylistic reasons.

³tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

⁴tn Or “abandon” (TEV, NLT).

⁵tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

⁶tn Heb “on that day.” This same expression also appears later in the verse and in v. 18.

⁷tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

⁸tn Heb “find,” “encounter.”

⁹tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

¹⁰tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

¹¹tn Heb “evils.”

¹²tn Heb “me.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “us,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style.

¹³tn Heb “my.”

¹⁴tn Heb “me.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “us,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style.

¹⁵tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “certainly.”

¹⁶tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

¹⁷tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

¹⁸tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

¹⁹tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

²⁰tn Heb “and are satisfied.”

²¹tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

²²tn Heb “Then it will come to pass that.”

²³tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

²⁴tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

²⁵tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

²⁶tn Heb “it will not be forgotten from the mouth of his seed.”

²⁷tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

²⁸tn Heb “which he is doing.”

²⁹tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

³⁰tn Heb “he.” Since the pronoun could be taken to refer to Moses, the referent has been specified as “the Lord” in the translation for clarity. See also the note on the word “you” later in this verse.

³¹tc The LXX reads, “as the Lord promised them, and he will be with you.” This relieves the problem of Moses apparently promising to be with Joshua as the MT reads on the surface (“I will be with you”). However, the reading of the LXX is clearly an attempt to clarify an existing obscurity and therefore is unlikely to reflect the original.

³²tn Heb “Moses.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

³³tn Heb “stiffness of neck” (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV). See note on the word “stubborn” in Deut 9:6.

³⁴tn Heb “How much more after my death?” The Hebrew text has a sarcastic rhetorical question here; the translation seeks to bring out the force of the question.

³⁵tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “totally.”

³⁶tn Heb “do the evil.”

³⁷tn Heb “the work of your hands.”