Deuteronomy31

Moses, at 120 years old, announces his impending death and commissions Joshua to lead Israel into Canaan, assuring them of the LORD's presence. He commands the Law to be read publicly every seven years to all Israel. The LORD foretells Israel's future apostasy and instructs Moses to write a song to serve as a witness against their rebellion.

Moses Encourages Israel and Names Successor

1
Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.
2
He said to them, “I am one hundred twenty years old this day. I can no more go out and come in. the LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ ​
3
The LORD your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua will go over before you, as the LORD has spoken. ​
4
The LORD will do to them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land; whom he destroyed.
5
The LORD will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandment which I have commanded you.
6
Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them; for the LORD your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.” ​
7
Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it. ​
8
The LORD himself is who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged.”

The Reading of the Law Commanded

9
Moses wrote this law, and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. ​
10
Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of booths, ​
11
when all Israel has come to appear before the LORD your God in the place which he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
12
Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and the foreigners who are within your gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law; ​
13
and that their children, who have not known, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over the Jordan to possess it.”

God Charges Joshua and Prophesies Apostasy

14
The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, your days approach that you must die. Call Joshua, and present yourselves in the Tent of Meeting, that I may commission him.” Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the Tent of Meeting. ​
15
The LORD appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood over the Tent’s door. ​
16
The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers. This people will rise up, and play the prostitute after the strange gods of the land, where they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. ​
17
Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come on them; so that they will say in that day, ‘Haven’t these evils come on us because our God is not among us?’ ​
18
I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods.
19
“Now therefore write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. ​
20
For when I have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they have eaten and filled themselves, and grown fat; then they will turn to other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant. ​
21
It will happen, when many evils and troubles have come on them, that this song will testify before them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants; for I know their ways and what they are doing this day, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.”
22
So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.
23
He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and courageous; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them. I will be with you.” ​

The Law Written and Stored

24
When Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
25
Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,
26
“Take this scroll of the Torah, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against you. ​
27
For I know your rebellion, and your stiff neck. Behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, you have been rebellious against the LORD. How much more after my death? ​
28
Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them.
29
For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will happen to you in the latter days; because you will do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.” ​
30
Moses spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were finished.

Study Notes for Deuteronomy 31

Verse 2

Moses states his age (120 years) and confirms God's prohibition against him crossing the Jordan (Num. 20:12). His inability to 'go out and come in' signifies the end of his active leadership.

Verse 3

This verse establishes the continuity of divine leadership. God (Yahweh) will go before them to conquer the nations, while Joshua will serve as the immediate human leader, fulfilling the covenant promises.

Verse 6

The command, 'Be strong and of a good courage,' is a foundational theme in the transition narrative. It is based entirely on the theological assurance that God will remain perpetually faithful to them (he will not 'fail thee, nor forsake thee').

Verse 7

Moses publicly commissions Joshua in the sight of all Israel. This public act ensures that the people recognize the legitimate transfer of authority and that Joshua’s leadership is divinely sanctioned.

Verse 9

This verse marks the completion of the written Torah (Deuteronomy 1–30) up to this point, which Moses entrusts to the priests and Levites, who were responsible for safeguarding and interpreting the covenant text.

Verse 10

Moses institutes the command for the public reading of the Law during the Feast of Tabernacles, specifically in the Sabbatical year (the 'year of release,' Lev. 25:2–7). This ensured the covenant was renewed and remembered regularly.

Verse 12

The instruction to gather all segments of society ('men, and women, and children, and thy stranger') highlights the universal scope of the covenant obligation; all inhabitants were responsible for hearing and obeying the Law.

Verse 14

This is the formal divine summons for the transition. God calls Moses to prepare for death and charges Joshua directly in the Tabernacle, formally legitimizing his succession.

Verse 15

The appearance of the pillar of cloud, representing God's active presence (the *Shekinah*), emphasizes the solemnity and divine authority of the charge being given to the new leaders.

Verse 16

God delivers a stark prophecy of Israel's future apostasy immediately after commissioning Joshua. The phrase 'go a whoring after the gods' is the standard prophetic metaphor for covenant infidelity and idolatry.

Verse 17

God foretells the consequences of breaking the covenant: divine hiddenness ('I will hide my face') and subsequent suffering. This experience will prompt Israel to recognize that their troubles stem from forsaking God.

Verse 19

God commands the writing of a 'song' (Deut. 32) to serve as an enduring, self-condemning witness against Israel. The poetic form was easily memorized and would testify against them when they broke the covenant.

Verse 20

The prophecy links prosperity ('waxen fat') with spiritual decline. Material comfort often leads to arrogance and forgetting the source of blessings, causing Israel to turn to foreign gods (cf. Deut. 8:11–14).

Verse 23

This is the final, repeated charge to Joshua, reinforcing the theme of divine presence: 'I will be with thee.' God assures Joshua not only of the task but also of the enablement necessary to complete it.

Verse 26

The Book of the Law was placed beside the Ark of the Covenant. Its location near the dwelling place of God ensured its status as a divine witness and a standard against which Israel's behavior would be judged.

Verse 27

Moses expresses profound disappointment, knowing that the people's stubborn rebellion ('stiff neck') during his lifetime would only intensify once his authoritative presence was removed.

Verse 29

Moses prophesies future corruption, confirming God's earlier warning (v. 16). The phrase 'in the latter days' refers to the distant future, emphasizing the long-term consequences of disobedience and idolatry.

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