Deuteronomy 31-34
Names of God Bible
Joshua Becomes Israel’s Leader to Replace Moses
31 Moses continued to speak to all the Israelites:
2 “I’m 120 years old now, and I’m not able to lead you anymore. Besides, Yahweh has told me that I cannot cross the Jordan River. 3 Yahweh your Elohim is the one who will cross the river ahead of you. He will destroy those nations as you arrive, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua will also cross the river ahead of you, as Yahweh told you. 4 Yahweh will do to those nations what he did to King Sihon and King Og of the Amorites and to their lands when he destroyed them. 5 Yahweh will hand them over to you, and you must do to them everything that I commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Don’t tremble! Don’t be afraid of them! Yahweh your Elohim is the one who is going with you. He won’t abandon you or leave you.”
7 Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous. You will go with these people into the land that Yahweh will give them, as he swore to their ancestors. You will help them take possession of the land.[a] 8 Yahweh is the one who is going ahead of you. He will be with you. He won’t abandon you or leave you. So don’t be afraid or terrified.”
9 Moses wrote down these teachings and gave them to the Levitical priests who carried the ark of Yahweh’s promise and to all the leaders of Israel. 10 Then Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seventh year you must cancel debts. At that time, during the Festival of Booths, 11 all the Israelites will come into the presence of Yahweh your Elohim at the place he will choose. Read these teachings so that they can hear them. 12 Assemble the men, women, and children, as well as the foreigners who live in your cities. Have them listen and learn to fear Yahweh your Elohim and faithfully obey every word of these teachings. 13 Their children, who don’t know these teachings, must hear them and learn to fear Yahweh your Elohim as long as you live in the land that you are going to take possession of when you cross the Jordan River.”
14 Yahweh said to Moses, “The time of your death is coming soon. Call for Joshua. Both of you come to the tent of meeting, and I will give him his instructions.” Moses and Joshua came to the tent of meeting. 15 Then Yahweh appeared in a column of smoke at the entrance to the tent.
16 Yahweh said to Moses, “Soon you are going to lie down in death with your ancestors. When these people enter the land and are living among the foreigners there, they will chase after foreign gods as though they were prostitutes. They will abandon me and reject the promise[b] I made to them. 17 On that day I will become angry with them. I will abandon them and turn away from them. They will be destroyed, and many terrible disasters will happen to them. On that day they will ask, ‘Haven’t these disasters happened to us because our Elohim isn’t with us?’ 18 On that day I will certainly turn away from them because of all the evil they’ve done in turning to other gods.
19 “Write down this song, teach it to the Israelites, and have them sing it. This song will be a witness for me against the Israelites. 20 I will bring them into the land that I swore to give to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. When they have eaten all they want and have become fat,[c] they will turn to other gods and worship them. They will despise me and reject my promise. 21 When many terrible disasters happen to them, this song will testify against them, because it will never be forgotten by their descendants. I know what their hearts are set on doing, even now before I bring them into the land that I swore to give them.” 22 That day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites.
23 Yahweh gave this command to Joshua, son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous, because you will bring the Israelites into the land that I swore to give them, and I will be with you.”
24 Finally, Moses finished writing all the words of these teachings in a book. 25 He gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of Yahweh’s promise: 26 “Take this Book of Teachings, and put it next to the ark of the promise of Yahweh your Elohim, where it will be a witness against you. 27 I know how rebellious you are. You are impossible to deal with. While I am alive and still with you, you are rebelling against Yahweh. How much more rebellious will you be after I die? 28 Assemble all the leaders of your tribes and your officers in front of me. As they listen, I will speak these words and call on heaven and earth to testify against them. 29 I know that after I die you will become thoroughly corrupt and turn from the way I have commanded you to live. In the days to come disasters will happen to you because you will make Yahweh furious by doing what he considers evil.”
The Song of Moses
30 Then, as the whole congregation of Israel listened, Moses recited all the words of this song:
32 Listen, heaven, and I will speak.
Earth, hear the words from my mouth.
2 Let my teachings come down like raindrops.
Let my words drip like dew,
like gentle rain on grass,
like showers on green plants.
3 I will proclaim the name of Yahweh.
Give our Elohim the greatness he deserves!
4 He is a rock.
What he does is perfect.
All his ways are fair.
He is a faithful El, who does no wrong.
He is honorable and reliable.
5 He recognizes that his people are corrupt.
To their shame they are no longer his children.
They are devious and scheming.
6 Is this how you repay Yahweh,
you foolish and silly people?
Isn’t he your Ab and Owner,
who made you and formed you?
7 Remember a time long ago.
Think about all the past generations.
Ask your fathers to remind you,
and your leaders to tell you.
8 When Elyon gave nations their land,
when he divided the descendants of Adam,
he set up borders for the tribes
corresponding to the number of the sons of Israel.
9 But Yahweh’s people were his property.
Jacob was his own possession.
10 He found his people in a desert land,
in a barren place where animals howl.
He guarded them, took care of them,
and protected them because they were helpless.
11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
hovers over its young,
spreads its wings to catch them,
and carries them on its feathers,
12 so Yahweh alone led his people.
No foreign god was with him.
13 He made them ride on the heights of the earth
and fed them with the produce of the fields.
He gave them honey from rocks
and olive oil from solid rock.
14 They ate cheese from cows
and drank milk from sheep and goats.
He gave them fat from lambs,
rams from the stock of Bashan,
male goats, and the best wheat.
They drank the blood-red wine of grapes.
15 Jeshurun[d] got fat and disrespectful.
(You got fat! You were stuffed! You were gorged!)
They abandoned the Elohim who made them
and treated the rock of their salvation like a fool.
16 They made him furious because they worshiped foreign gods
and angered him because they worshiped worthless idols.
17 They sacrificed to demons that are not Elohim,
to gods they never heard of.
These were new gods, who came from nearby,
gods your ancestors never worshiped.
18 (You ignored the rock who fathered you
and forgot the El who gave you life.)
19 Yahweh saw this and rejected them,
because his own sons and daughters had made him angry.
20 He said, “I will turn away from them
and find out what will happen to them.
They are devious people,
children who can’t be trusted.
21 They made him furious because they worshiped foreign gods
and angered him because they worshiped worthless idols.
So I will use those who are not my people to make them jealous
and a nation of godless fools to make them angry.
22 My anger has started a fire
that will burn to the depths of hell.
It will consume the earth and its crops
and set the foundations of the mountains on fire.
23 I will bring one disaster after another on them.
I will use up all my arrows on them.
24 They will be starved by famines
and ravaged by pestilence and deadly epidemics.
I will send vicious animals against them
along with poisonous animals that crawl on the ground.
25 Foreign wars will kill off their children,
and even at home there will be horrors.
Young men and young women alike will die
as well as nursing babies and gray-haired men.
26 I said that I would cut them in pieces[e]
and erase everyone’s memory of them.
27 But I didn’t want their enemies to make me angry.
I didn’t want their opponents to misunderstand and say,
‘We won this victory!
It wasn’t Yahweh who did all this!’”
28 My people have lost their good sense.
They are not able to understand.
29 If only they were wise enough to understand this
and realize what will happen to them!
30 How could one person chase a thousand
or two people make ten thousand flee?
Their rock used these people to defeat them
and Yahweh gave them no help.
31 Their rock isn’t like our rock.
Even our enemies will agree with this.
32 Their grapevines come from the vineyards of Sodom
and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are poisonous,
and their clusters are bitter.
33 Their wine is snake venom,
the deadly poison of cobras.
34 Isn’t this what I’ve stored
under lock and key in my storehouses?
35 I will take revenge and be satisfied.
In due time their foot will slip,
because their day of disaster is near.
Their doom is coming quickly.
36 Yahweh will judge his people
and have compassion on his servants
when he sees that their strength is gone
and that no one is left, neither slaves nor free people.
37 Then he will ask, “Where are their gods?
Where is the rock they took refuge in?
38 Where are the gods who ate the fat from their sacrifices
and drank the wine from their wine offerings?
Let them come to help you!
Let them be your refuge!”
39 See, I am the only Elohim.
There are no others.
I kill, and I make alive.
I wound, and I heal,
and no one can rescue you from my power.
40 I raise my hand toward heaven and solemnly swear:
As surely as I live forever,
41 I will sharpen my flashing sword
and take justice into my own hands.
Then I will take revenge on my enemies
and pay back those who hate me.
42 My arrows will drip with blood
from those who were killed and taken captive.
My sword will cut off the heads
of the enemy who vowed to fight.
43 Joyfully sing with Yahweh’s people, you nations,
because he will take revenge for the death of his servants.
He will get even with his enemies
and make peace for his people’s land.[f]
Moses Is Allowed to See Canaan
44 Moses came with Hoshea,[g] son of Nun, and recited all the words of this song as the people listened. 45 When Moses had finished reciting all these words to Israel, 46 he said to them, “Pay attention to all these warnings I’ve given you today. Then you will command your children to faithfully obey every word of these teachings. 47 Don’t think these words are idle talk. They are your life! By these words you will be able to live for a long time in the land that you are going to take possession of when you cross the Jordan River.”
48 That same day Yahweh said to Moses, 49 “Go into the Abarim Mountains, to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho. Take a look at the land of Canaan that I’m giving the Israelites as their own property. 50 On this mountain where you’re going, you will die and join your ancestors in death, as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor. 51 This is because both of you were unfaithful to me at the oasis of Meribah at Kadesh in the Desert of Zin. You didn’t show the Israelites how holy I am. 52 You may see the land from a distance, but you may not enter the land I’m giving the Israelites.”
Moses Blesses the Twelve Tribes
33 Moses, the man of Elohim, blessed the Israelites with this blessing before he died. 2 He said,
“Yahweh came from Sinai.
For his people he rose from Seir like the sun.
He appeared like sunshine from Mount Paran.
He came with tens of thousands of holy ones.
On his right was a raging fire for them.[h]
3 You certainly love your people.
All your holy ones are in your hands.
They bow at your feet
to receive your instructions.[i]
4 Moses gave us these teachings.
They belong to the assembly of Jacob.
5 Yahweh was king of Jeshurun[j]
when the leaders of the people assembled
together with all the tribes of Israel.
6 “May the tribe of Reuben live and not die out,
though their people are few in number.”
7 This is what he said about the tribe of Judah:
“Hear the cry of Judah, O Yahweh,
and bring them to their people.
They must defend themselves.
Help them against their enemies.”
8 About the tribe of Levi he said,
“Your Thummim and Urim[k] belong to your faithful people.
You tested your people at Massah.
You quarreled with them at the oasis of Meribah.
9 They said that they didn’t know their father and mother.
They didn’t recognize their own brothers.
They didn’t acknowledge their own children.
But they obeyed your word
and were faithful to the terms of your promise.[l]
10 They teach Jacob your rules
and give Israel your teachings.
They burn incense for you to smell
and sacrifice burnt offerings on your altar.
11 Yahweh, bless them with strength
and be pleased with the work they do.
Break the backs of those who attack them and hate them
so that they can never get up again.”
12 About the tribe of Benjamin he said,
“Yahweh’s beloved people will live securely with him.
Yahweh will shelter them all day long,
since he, too, lives on the mountain slopes.”
13 About the tribes of Joseph he said,
“May Yahweh bless their land with water,
the best gift heaven can send,
with dew and deep springs below the ground.
14 May Yahweh bless their land with crops,
the best gift the sun can give,
the best produce of each month,
15 the finest fruits from the oldest mountains,
the best from the ancient hills,
16 and the most plentiful crops of the earth.
May Yahweh bless their land with the favor
of the one who was in the burning bush.
May these blessings come to the tribes of Joseph.
May they crown the people who are like princes in Israel.
17 They will be as majestic as a firstborn bull.
Their horns will be like the horns of a wild ox.
They will use them to push away nations
including those at the ends of the earth.
The tens of thousands from the tribe of Ephraim
and the thousands from the tribe of Manasseh will be like this.”
18 About the tribe of Zebulun he said,
“People of Zebulun, enjoy yourselves when you go to war,
and you people of Issachar, enjoy yourselves when you stay at home.
19 They will invite nations to their mountain,
and there they will offer the proper sacrifices.
They will be nourished by the abundance from the seas
and the treasures hidden in the sand.”
20 About the tribe of Gad he said,
“Blessed is the one who gives the people of Gad more land.
They wait there like a lion.
They can tear off an arm or a head.
21 They chose the best land for themselves.
Indeed, a commander’s piece of land was reserved for them.
They were leaders of the people
and did for Israel what Yahweh considers fair and honorable.”[m]
22 About the tribe of Dan he said,
“The people of Dan are a lion cub.
Out of Bashan they pounce on their enemies.”
23 About the tribe of Naphtali he said,
“The people of Naphtali enjoy Yahweh’s favor
and are filled with Yahweh’s blessings.
They will take possession of the lake and the land south of it.”
24 About the tribe of Asher he said,
“The people of Asher are the most blessed of the sons of Israel.
May they be the Israelites’ favorite tribe
and wash their feet in olive oil.
25 May the locks and bolts of your gates be made of iron and copper.
May your strength last as long as you live.
26 “There’s no one like your Elohim, Jeshurun!
He rides through the heavens to help you.
In majesty he rides through the clouds.
27 The eternal Elohim is your shelter,
and his everlasting arms support you.
He will force your enemies out of your way
and tell you to destroy them.
28 So Israel will live securely.
Jacob’s spring will be left alone
in a land of grain and new wine.
Dew will drip from Israel’s skies.
29 You are blessed, Israel!
Who is like you,
a nation saved by Yahweh?
He is a shield that helps you
and a sword that wins your victories.
Your enemies will come crawling to you,
and you will stomp on their backs.”
Moses’ Death and Burial
34 Then Moses went up on Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab. He went to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. Yahweh showed him the whole land. He could see Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the territory of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, 3 the Negev, and the Jordan Plain—the valley of Jericho (the City of Palms)—as far as Zoar.
4 Then Yahweh said to him, “This is the land I promised with an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I said I would give it to their descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you may not go there.”
5 As Yahweh had predicted, Yahweh’s servant Moses died in Moab. 6 He was buried in a valley in Moab, near Beth Peor. Even today no one knows where his grave is.
7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eyesight never became poor, and he never lost his physical strength. 8 The Israelites mourned for Moses in the plains of Moab for 30 days. Then the time of mourning for him was over.
9 Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the Ruach of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him. The Israelites obeyed him and did what Yahweh had commanded through Moses.
10 There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom Yahweh dealt with face to face. 11 He was the one Yahweh sent to do all the miraculous signs and amazing things in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his whole country. 12 Moses used his mighty hand to do all the spectacular and awe-inspiring deeds that were seen by all the Israelites.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 31:7 Or “And you will distribute the land to them.”
- Deuteronomy 31:16 Or “covenant.”
- Deuteronomy 31:20 Or “prosperous.”
- Deuteronomy 32:15 “Jeshurun” is another name for Israel.
- Deuteronomy 32:26 Hebrew meaning of “cut them in pieces” uncertain.
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Dead Sea Scrolls, Samaritan Pentateuch, Greek, Latin; Masoretic Text “his land and his people.”
- Deuteronomy 32:44 “Hoshea” is another name for Joshua.
- Deuteronomy 33:2 Hebrew meaning of “a raging fire” uncertain.
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Hebrew meaning of “They bow . . . your instructions” uncertain.
- Deuteronomy 33:5 “Jeshurun” is another name for Israel.
- Deuteronomy 33:8 The Urim and Thummim were used by the chief priest to determine God’s answer to questions.
- Deuteronomy 33:9 Or “covenant.”
- Deuteronomy 33:21 Hebrew meaning of this sentence uncertain.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
