Bible in 90 Days
12 Choose a place outside the camp where people may go to relieve themselves. 13 Carry a stick with you. When you relieve yourself, dig a hole. Cover up your dung. 14 The Lord your God moves around through your camp. He will protect you. He will help you defeat your enemies. So the camp must be holy. The Lord must not see anything unclean among you. Then he will not leave you.
Other Laws
15 An escaped slave might come to you. Do not hand him over to his master. 16 Let the slave live with you anywhere he likes. He may live in any town he chooses. Do not mistreat him.
17 No Israelite man or woman must ever become a temple prostitute. 18 Do not bring a male or female prostitute’s pay to the Temple of the Lord your God to pay what you have promised to the Lord. The Lord your God hates prostitution.
19 You may loan your fellow Israelite money or food or anything else. But don’t make him pay back more than what you loaned him. 20 You may charge a foreigner, but not a fellow Israelite. Then the Lord your God will bless everything you do. He will bless you in the land you are entering to take as your own.
21 You might make a promise to give something to the Lord your God. Do not be slow to pay it. The Lord your God demands it from you. Do not be guilty of sin. 22 But if you do not make the promise, you will not be guilty. 23 You must do whatever you say you will do. You chose to make the promise to the Lord your God.
24 You might go into your neighbor’s vineyard. You may eat as many grapes as you wish. But do not fill your basket with his grapes. 25 You might go into your neighbor’s grainfield. You may pick grain with your hands. But you must not cut down his grain with your sickle.
24 A man might marry a woman. But he might decide she doesn’t please him. He has found something bad about her. He writes out divorce papers for her. He gives them to her and sends her away from his house. 2 After she leaves his house, she goes and marries another man. 3 But her second husband does not like her either. So he writes out divorce papers for her. He gives them to her and sends her away from his house. Or the second husband might die. 4 In either case, her first husband who divorced her must not marry her again. She has become unclean. The Lord would hate this. Don’t bring this sin into the land the Lord your God is giving you to own.
5 A man who has just married must not be sent to war. And he must not be given any other duty. He should be free to stay home for a year to make his new wife happy.
6 A man might owe you something. But do not take his two stones for grinding grain—not even the upper one—in place of what he owes. This is how he makes his living.
7 A man might kidnap a fellow Israelite. He might make him a slave or sell him. The kidnapper must be killed. You must get rid of the evil among you.
8 Be careful when someone has a harmful skin disease. Do exactly what the priests, the Levites, teach you. Be careful to do what I have commanded them. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on your way out of Egypt.
10 You might make a loan to your neighbor. But don’t go into his house to get something in place of it. 11 Stay outside. Let the man himself go in and get what he promised you. 12 A poor man might give you his coat to show he will pay the loan back. But don’t keep his coat overnight. 13 Give his coat back to him at sunset. He needs his coat to sleep in. He will thank you. And the Lord your God will see that you have done a good thing.
14 Don’t cheat a hired servant who is poor and needy. He might be a fellow Israelite. Or he might be a foreigner living in one of your towns. 15 Pay him each day before sunset. He is poor and needs the money. Otherwise, he may complain to the Lord about you. And you will be guilty of sin.
16 Fathers must not be put to death when their children do wrong. And children must not be put to death when their fathers do wrong. Each person must die for his own sin.
17 Do not be unfair to a foreigner or an orphan. Don’t take a widow’s coat in place of a loan. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. And the Lord your God saved you from there. That is why I am commanding you to do this.
19 You might be gathering your harvest in the field. You might not see a bundle of grain. Don’t go back and get it. Leave it there for foreigners, orphans and widows. Then the Lord your God can bless everything you do. 20 You may beat your olive trees to knock the olives off. But don’t beat the trees a second time. Leave what is left for foreigners, orphans and widows. 21 You may harvest the grapes in your vineyard. But don’t pick the vines a second time. Leave what is left for foreigners, orphans and widows. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I am commanding you to do this.
25 Two people may have an argument. They should go to the court. And the judges will decide the case. They will declare one person to be right. And they will punish the one who is guilty. 2 The guilty person might have to be punished with a beating. If so, the judge will make him lie down. They will beat him in front of the judge. The number of lashes should match the crime. 3 But don’t hit him more than 40 times. If he is beaten more than that, it would disgrace him before others.
4 When an ox is working in the grain, do not cover its mouth to keep it from eating.
5 Two brothers might be living together. One of them might die without having a son. His widow must not marry someone outside her husband’s family. Her husband’s brother must marry her. This is his duty for her as a brother-in-law. 6 The first son she has must be named for the dead brother. Then his name will not be forgotten in Israel.
7 But a man might not want to marry his brother’s widow. Then she should go to the elders at the town gate. And she should say, “My brother-in-law will not carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He refuses to do his duty for me.”
8 Then the elders of the town must call for the man and talk to him. But he might be stubborn and say, “I don’t want to marry her.”
9 If he does, the woman must go up to him in front of the elders. She must take off one of his sandals. She must spit in his face and say, “This is for the man who won’t continue his brother’s family!” 10 Then that man’s family shall be known in Israel as the Family of the Unsandaled.
11 Two men might be fighting. And one man’s wife comes to save her husband from his attacker. And she grabs the attacker by his sex organs. 12 You must cut off her hand. Give her no mercy.
13 Don’t carry two sets of weights with you, one heavy and one light. 14 Don’t have two different sets of measures in your house, one large and one small. 15 You must have true and honest weights and measures. Then you will live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 16 The Lord your God hates anyone who is dishonest and uses dishonest measures.
17 Remember what the Amalekites did to you when you came out of Egypt. 18 You were tired and worn out. And they met you on the road. They killed all those lagging behind. They were not afraid of God. 19 The Lord your God will give you rest from all the enemies around you. It will be in the land he is giving you to own. Then you shall destroy any memory of the Amalekites on the earth. Do not forget!
The First Harvest
26 Soon you will go into the land the Lord your God is giving you to own. You will take it over and live in it. 2 Then you must take some of the first harvest of crops. It will grow from the land the Lord your God is giving you. Put the food in a basket. Then go to the place where the Lord your God will choose to be worshiped. 3 Say to the priest on duty at that time, “Today I declare this before the Lord your God. I have come into the land the Lord promised to give us. He promised this to our ancestors.” 4 The priest will take your basket. He will set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then you shall announce before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt. He stayed there with only a few people. But they became a great, powerful and large nation there. 6 But the Egyptians were cruel to us. They made us suffer and work very hard. 7 So we prayed to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard us. He saw our trouble, hard work and suffering. 8 Then the Lord brought us out of Egypt. He did it with his great power and strength. He used great terrors, signs and miracles. 9 Then he brought us to this place. He gave us this land where much food grows. 10 Now I bring you part of the first harvest from this land. Lord, you have given me this land.” Then place the basket before the Lord your God. And bow down before him. 11 Then you and the Levites and foreigners among you should rejoice. The Lord your God has given good things to you and your family.
12 Bring a tenth of all your harvest the third year. This is the year to give a tenth of your harvest. Give it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows. Then they may eat in your towns and be full. 13 Then say to the Lord your God, “I have taken out of my house the part of my harvest that belongs to God. I have given it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows. I have done everything you commanded me. I have not broken your commands. And I have not forgotten any of them. 14 I have not eaten any of the holy part while I was in sorrow. I have not removed any of it while I was unclean. I have not offered it for dead people. I have obeyed you, the Lord my God. I have done everything you commanded me. 15 So look down from heaven, your holy home. Bless your people Israel. And bless the land you have given us. You promised it to our ancestors. It is a land where much food grows.”
Obey the Lord’s Commands
16 Today the Lord your God commands you to obey all these rules and laws. Be careful to do them with your whole being. 17 Today you have said that the Lord is your God. You have promised to do what he wants you to do. You have promised to keep his rules, commands and laws. You have said you will obey him. 18 And today the Lord has said that you are his very own people. He has promised it. But you must obey his commands. 19 The Lord will make you greater than all the other nations he made. He will give you praise, fame and honor. And you will be a holy people to the Lord your God. This is what he said.
The Law Written on Stones
27 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people. They said, “Keep all the commands I have given you today. 2 Soon you will cross the Jordan River. You will go into the land the Lord your God is giving you. On that day set up some large stones. Cover them with plaster. 3 When you cross over, write all the words of these teachings on them. Then you may enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. It is a land where much food grows. It is just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised. 4 After you have crossed the Jordan River, set up these stones. Set them on Mount Ebal as I command you today. And cover them with plaster. 5 Build an altar of stones there to the Lord your God. But don’t use any iron tool to cut the stones. 6 Build the altar of the Lord your God with stones from the field. Offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 7 Offer fellowship offerings there. Eat them and rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 Then write clearly all the words of these teachings on the stones.”
Curses of the Law
9 Then Moses and the Levites, who are the priests, spoke to all Israel. They said, “Be quiet, Israel. Listen! Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 Obey the Lord your God. Keep his commands and laws that I give you today.”
11 That day Moses also gave the people this command:
12 You will cross the Jordan River. Then these tribes must stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. 13 And these tribes must stand on Mount Ebal to announce the curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.
14 The Levites will say to all the people of Israel in a loud voice:
15 “Anyone will be cursed who makes an idol or statue and secretly sets it up. The Lord hates idols made by man.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
16 “Anyone will be cursed who dishonors his father or his mother.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
17 “Anyone will be cursed who moves the stone that marks his neighbor’s border.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
18 “Anyone will be cursed who leads a blind person away from the road.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
19 “Anyone will be cursed who is unfair to foreigners, orphans or widows.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
20 “A man will be cursed who has physical relations with his father’s wife. It is a dishonor to his father.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
21 “Anyone will be cursed who has unnatural physical relations with an animal.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
22 “A man will be cursed who has physical relations with his sister. She may be his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
23 “A man will be cursed who has physical relations with his mother-in-law.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
24 “Anyone will be cursed who kills his neighbor secretly.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
25 “Anyone will be cursed who takes money to murder an innocent person.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
26 “Anyone will be cursed who does not agree with the words of these teachings and does not obey them.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
Blessings for Obeying
28 You must completely obey the Lord your God. And you must carefully follow all his commands I am giving you today. Then the Lord your God will make you greater than any other nation on earth. 2 Obey the Lord your God. Then all these blessings will come and stay with you:
3 You will be blessed in the city. You will be blessed in the country.
4 Your children will be blessed. Your crops will be blessed. Your cattle will be blessed with calves and your sheep with lambs.
5 Your basket and your kitchen will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and when you go out.
7 The Lord will let you defeat the enemies that come to fight you. They will attack you from one direction. But they will run from you in seven directions.
8 The Lord your God will bless you with full barns. He will bless everything you do. He will bless the land he is giving you.
9 The Lord will make you his holy people, as he promised. But you must obey his commands. You must do what he wants you to do. 10 Then everyone on earth will see that you are the Lord’s people. They will be afraid of you. 11 The Lord will make you rich. You will have many children. Your cattle will have many calves. Your land will give good crops. It is the land that the Lord promised your ancestors he would give to you.
12 The Lord will open up his storehouse. The skies will send rain on your land at the right time. And he will bless everything you do. You will lend to other nations. But you will not need to borrow from them. 13 The Lord will make you like the head and not like the tail. You will be on top and not on bottom. But you must obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. Be careful to keep them. 14 Do not disobey anything I command you today. Do exactly as I command. Do not follow other gods or serve them.
Curses for Disobeying
15 But you might not obey the Lord your God. You might not carefully follow all his commands and laws I am giving you today. Then all these curses will come upon you and stay:
16 You will be cursed in the city. You will be cursed in the country.
17 Your basket and your kitchen will be cursed.
18 Your children will be cursed. Your crops will be cursed. The calves of your cattle will be cursed. And the lambs of your flocks will be cursed.
19 You will be cursed when you go in and when you go out.
20 The Lord will send you curses, confusion and punishment in everything you do. You will be destroyed. You will suddenly be ruined. You did wrong when you left him. 21 The Lord will give you terrible diseases. He will destroy you from the land you are going to take. 22 The Lord will punish you with disease, fever, swelling, heat, no rain, plant diseases and mildew. Then you will die. 23 The sky above will look like bronze. And the ground below will be like iron. 24 The Lord will turn the rain into dust and sand. It will fall from the skies until you are destroyed.
25 The Lord will let your enemies defeat you. You will attack them from one direction. But you will run from them in seven directions. And you will become a thing of horror among all the kingdoms on earth. 26 Your dead bodies will be food for all the birds and wild animals. There will be no one to scare them away. 27 The Lord will punish you with boils like those the Egyptians had. You will have bad growths, sores and itches that can’t be cured. 28 The Lord will give you madness, blindness and a confused mind. 29 You will have to feel around in the daylight like a blind man. You will fail in everything you do. People will hurt you and steal from you every day. There will be no one to save you.
30 You will be engaged to a woman. But another man will rape her. You will build a house. But you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard. But you will not get its grapes. 31 Your ox will be killed before your eyes. But you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away from you. And it will not be brought back. Your sheep will be given to your enemies. And no one will rescue them. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation. You will grow tired looking for them every day. But there is nothing you can do. 33 People you don’t know will eat the crops your land and hard work have produced. You will be mistreated and abused all your life. 34 The things you see will cause you to go mad. 35 The Lord will give you sore boils on your knees and legs. They cannot be cured. They will go from the soles of your feet to the tops of your heads.
36 The Lord will send you and your king away to a nation you do not know. There you will serve other gods made of wood and stone. 37 You will become a hated thing to the nations where the Lord sends you. They will laugh at you and make fun of you.
38 You will plant much seed in your field. But your harvest will be small. Locusts will eat the crop. 39 You will plant vineyards and work hard in them. But you will not pick the grapes or drink the wine. The worms will eat them. 40 You will have olive trees in all your land. But you will not get any olive oil. The olives will drop off the trees. 41 You will have sons and daughters. But you will not be able to keep them. They will be taken captive. 42 Locusts will destroy all your trees and crops.
43 The foreigners who live among you will get stronger and stronger. And you will get weaker and weaker. 44 Foreigners will lend money to you. But you will not be able to lend to them. They will be like the head. And you will be like the tail.
45 All these curses will come upon you. They will chase you and catch you and destroy you. This will happen because you did not obey the Lord your God. You did not keep the commands and laws he gave you. 46 The curses will be signs and miracles to you and your descendants forever. 47 You had plenty of everything. But you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a pure heart. 48 So you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. You will be hungry, thirsty, naked and poor. The Lord will put a load on you until he has destroyed you.
The Curse of an Enemy Nation
49 The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away. It will be from the end of the world. The nation will swoop down like an eagle. You won’t understand their language. 50 They will look mean. They will not respect old people or feel sorry for the young. 51 They will eat the calves from your cattle and the harvest of your field. And you will be destroyed. They will not leave you any grain, new wine or oil. They will not leave you any calves from your herds or lambs from your flocks. You will be ruined. 52 That nation will surround and attack all your cities. You trust in your high, strong walls. But they will fall down. That nation will surround all your cities everywhere in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
53 Your enemy will surround you. Those people will make you starve. You will eat your own babies. You will eat the bodies of the sons and daughters the Lord gave you. 54 Even the most gentle and kind man among you will become cruel. He will be cruel to his brother, his wife whom he loves and his children who are still alive. 55 He will not even give them any of the flesh of his children he is eating. It will be all he has left. Your enemy will surround you. Those people will make you starve in all your cities. 56 The most gentle and kind woman among you will become cruel. She is so gentle and kind she would hardly even walk on the ground. But she will be cruel to her husband whom she loves. And she will be cruel to her son and daughter. 57 She will give birth to a baby. But she will plan to eat the baby and what comes after the birth itself. She will eat them while the enemy surrounds the city. Those people will make you starve in all your cities.
58 Be careful to obey everything in these teachings. They are written in this book. You must respect the glorious and wonderful name of the Lord your God. 59 The Lord will give terrible diseases to you and your descendants. You will have long and serious diseases. You will have long and miserable sicknesses. 60 And the Lord will give you all the diseases of Egypt that you dread. And the diseases will stay with you. 61 The Lord will also give you every disease and sickness not written in this Book of the Teachings. Then you will be destroyed. 62 You people may have outnumbered the stars. But only a few of you will be left. You did not obey the Lord your God. 63 Once the Lord was happy with you. He gave you good things. He made you grow in number. But now the Lord will be happy to ruin and destroy you. You will be removed from the land you are entering to own.
64 Then the Lord will scatter you among the nations. He will scatter you from one end of the earth to the other. There you will serve other gods of wood and stone. They are gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known. 65 You will have no rest among those nations. You will have no place that is yours. The Lord will make your mind worried, your sight weak and your soul sad. 66 You will live with danger. You will be afraid night and day. You will not be sure that you will live. 67 In the morning you will say, “I wish it were evening.” And in the evening you will say, “I wish it were morning.” Terror will be in your heart because of the things you have seen. 68 The Lord will send you back to Egypt in ships. I, Moses, said you would never go back to Egypt. And there you will try to sell yourselves as slaves to your enemies. But no one will buy you.
The Agreement in Moab
29 The Lord commanded Moses to make an agreement with the Israelites in Moab. This agreement was in addition to the agreement he had made with them at Mount Sinai.
2 Moses called all the Israelites together. And he said to them:
You have seen everything the Lord did to the king of Egypt. You saw what he did to the king’s leaders and to the whole country. 3 With your own eyes you saw the great troubles, signs and miracles. 4 But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands. You don’t really understand what you see with your eyes or hear with your ears. 5 The Lord led you through the desert for 40 years. During that time neither your clothes nor sandals wore out. 6 You ate no bread. You drank no wine or beer. This was so you would understand that he is the Lord your God.
7 You came to this place. Then Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out to fight us. But we defeated them. 8 We captured their land. And we gave it to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh to own.
9 You must carefully obey everything in this agreement. Then you will succeed in everything you do. 10 Today you are all standing here before the Lord your God. Here are your leaders and important men. Your elders, officers and all the other men of Israel are here. 11 Here are your wives and children and the foreigners who live among you. They chop your wood and carry your water. 12 You are all here to enter into an agreement and a promise with the Lord your God. The Lord is making this agreement with you today. 13 This will make you today the Lord’s own people. He will be your God. This is what he told you. He promised it to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 14 But the Lord is not just making this agreement and its promises with you. 15 You are standing here before the Lord your God today. But he is also making it with those who are not here today.
16 You know how we lived in Egypt. You know how we passed through the countries when we came here. 17 You saw their hated idols made of wood, stone, silver and gold. 18 Make sure no man, woman, family group or tribe among you leaves the Lord. Don’t let them go and serve the gods of those nations. That would be like a plant that grows bitter, poisonous fruit.
19 That kind of person might hear these curses. But he blesses himself. And he thinks, “I will be safe. I will continue doing what I want to do.” That person might destroy all of your land, both wet and dry. 20 The Lord will not forgive that person. His anger will be like a burning fire against that man. All the curses written in this book will come on him. And the Lord will destroy any memory of him on the earth. 21 The Lord will separate him from all the tribes of Israel for punishment. All the curses of the agreement will happen to him. They are written in this Book of the Teachings.
22 Your children who will come after you will see this. And foreigners from faraway lands will see this. They will see the disasters that come to this land. And they will see the diseases the Lord will send on it. They will say, 23 “The land is nothing but burning cinders and salt. Nothing is planted. Nothing grows. Nothing blooms. It is like Sodom and Gomorrah, and Admah and Zeboiim. The Lord destroyed them because he was very angry.” 24 All the other nations will ask, “Why has the Lord done this to the land? Why is he so angry?”
25 And the answer will be, “It is because the people broke the agreement of the Lord, the God of their ancestors. He made it with them when he brought them out of Egypt. 26 They went and served other gods. They bowed down to gods they did not even know. The Lord did not allow that. 27 So the Lord became very angry at the land. And he brought all the curses on it that are written in this book. 28 The Lord became angry and furious with them. So he took them out of their land. And he put them in another land where they are today.”
29 There are some things the Lord our God has kept secret. But there are some things he has let us know. These things belong to us and our children forever. It is so we will do everything in these teachings.
The Israelites Will Return
30 All these blessings and curses I have said will happen to you. The Lord your God will send you away to other nations. There you will think about these things. 2 Then you and your children will return to the Lord your God. And you will obey him with your whole being. You will obey everything I command you today. 3 Then the Lord your God will give you back your riches. He will feel sorry for you. And he will bring you back again from the nations where he sent you. 4 He may send you to the ends of the earth. But he will gather you. He will bring you back from there. 5 He will bring you back to the land that belonged to your ancestors. It will be yours. He will give you success. And there will be more of you than there were of your ancestors. 6 The Lord your God will prepare you and your descendants to serve him. You will love him with your whole being. Then you will live. 7 The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies. They hate you and are cruel to you. 8 And you will again obey the Lord. You will keep all his commands that I give you today. 9 The Lord your God will make you successful in everything you do. You will have many children. Your cattle will have many calves. Your fields will produce good crops. He will again be happy with you, just as he was with your ancestors. 10 But you must obey the Lord your God. You must obey his commands and rules that are written in this Book of the Teachings. You must follow the Lord your God with your whole being.
Life or Death
11 This command I give you today is not too hard for you. It is not beyond what you can do. 12 It is not up in heaven. You do not have to ask, “Who will go up to heaven and get it for us? Then we can obey it and keep it.” 13 It is not on the other side of the sea. You do not have to ask, “Who will go across the sea and get it? Who will tell it to us? Then we can keep it.” 14 No, the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart. So, you may obey it.
15 Look, today I offer you life and success, death and destruction. 16 I command you today to love the Lord your God. Do what he wants you to do. Keep his commands, his rules and his laws. Then you will live and grow in number. And the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are going to take as your own.
17 But you might turn away from the Lord. You might not obey him. You might be led to bowing down and serving other gods. 18 I tell you today that you will be destroyed. And you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to enter and own.
19 Today I ask heaven and earth to be witnesses. I am offering you life or death, blessings or curses. Now, choose life! Then you and your children may live. 20 Love the Lord your God. Obey him. Stay close to him. He is your life. And he will let you live many years in the land. This is the land he promised to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Joshua Takes Moses’ Place
31 Then Moses went and spoke these words to all the Israelites: 2 “I am now 120 years old. I cannot lead you anymore. The Lord told me I would not cross the Jordan River. 3 The Lord your God will lead you across himself. He will destroy those nations for you. You will take over their land. Joshua will also lead you across. This is what the Lord has said. 4 The Lord will do to these nations what he did to Sihon and Og. They were the kings of the Amorites. He destroyed them and their land. 5 The Lord will give those nations to you. Do to them everything I told you. 6 Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid of them. Don’t be frightened. The Lord your God will go with you. He will not leave you or forget you.”
7 Then Moses called Joshua and spoke to him in front of the people. Moses said, “Be strong and brave. Lead these people into the land the Lord promised to give their ancestors. Help the people take it as their own. 8 The Lord himself will go before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forget you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t worry.”
Moses Writes the Teachings
9 So Moses wrote down the teachings. He gave them to the priests and all the elders of Israel. The priests are the sons of Levi. They carried the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. 10-11 Then Moses commanded them: “Read these teachings for all Israel to hear. Do it at the end of every seven years. That is the year to forget what people owe. Do it during the Feast of Shelters. All the Israelites will come to appear before the Lord your God. They will stand at the place the Lord will choose. 12 Gather all the people: the men, women, children and foreigners living in your towns. Then they can listen and learn to respect the Lord your God. Then they can carefully obey everything in this law. 13 Their children do not know this law. They must hear it. They must learn to respect the Lord your God for as long as they live in the land. It is the land you are crossing the Jordan River to own.”
The Lord Calls Moses and Joshua
14 The Lord said to Moses, “Soon you will die. Get Joshua and come to the Meeting Tent. I will command him.” So Moses and Joshua went to the Meeting Tent.
15 The Lord appeared at the Meeting Tent in a cloud. The cloud stood over the entrance of the Tent. 16 And the Lord said to Moses, “You will soon die. Then these people will not be loyal to me. They will worship the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will leave me. And they will break the agreement I made with them. 17 Then I will become very angry at them. I will leave them. I will turn away from them. And they will be destroyed. Many terrible things will happen to them. Then they will say, ‘God is not with us. That is why these terrible things are happening.’ 18 I will turn away from them then. They have done wrong. They have turned to other gods.
19 “Now write down this song. And teach it to the Israelites. Then have them sing it. It will testify against them. 20 I will bring them into the land I promised to their ancestors. It is a land where much food grows. They will eat as much as they want and get fat. But then they will turn to other gods and serve them. They will reject me and break my agreement. 21 Then many troubles and terrible things will happen to them. And this song will testify against them. The song will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they plan to do, even before I take them into the land I promised them.” 22 So Moses wrote down the song that day. And he taught it to the Israelites.
23 Then the Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and brave. Lead the people of Israel to the land I promised them. And I will be with you.”
24 Moses wrote all the words of the teachings in a book. 25 Then he gave a command to the Levites. They carried the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. 26 He said, “Take this Book of the Teachings. Put it beside the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord your God. It must stay there as a witness against you. 27 I know how stubborn and disobedient you are. You have disobeyed the Lord while I am alive and with you. You will disobey even more after I die! 28 Gather all the older leaders of your tribes and all your officers. I will say these things for them to hear. And I will ask heaven and earth to testify against them. 29 I know that after I die you will become completely evil. You will turn away from the commands I have given you. Then terrible things will happen to you in the future. You will do what the Lord says is evil. You will make him angry with the idols you have made.”
Moses’ Song
30 And Moses spoke this whole song for all the people of Israel to hear:
32 Hear, heavens, and I will speak.
Listen, earth, to what I say.
2 My teaching will drop like rain.
My words will fall like dew.
They will be like showers on the grass.
They will pour down like rain on young plants.
3 I will announce the name of the Lord.
Praise God because he is great!
4 He is like a rock. What he does is perfect.
He is always fair.
He is a faithful God who does no wrong.
He is right and fair.
5 They have done evil against him.
To their shame they are no longer his children.
They are an evil and lying people.
6 This is not the way to repay the Lord.
You are foolish and unwise.
He is your Father and Maker.
He made you and formed you.
7 Remember the old days.
Think of the years already passed.
Ask your father. He will tell you.
Ask your elders. They will inform you.
8 The Most High God gave the nations their lands.
He divided up the human race.
He set up borders for the people.
He even numbered the Israelites.
9 The Lord took his people as his share.
The people of Jacob were his very own.
10 He found them in a desert.
It was a windy, empty land.
He surrounded them and brought them up.
He guarded them as those he loved very much.
11 He was like an eagle building its nest.
It flutters over its young.
It spreads its wings to catch them.
It carries them on its feathers.
12 The Lord alone led them.
There were no foreign gods among them.
13 The Lord brought them to the heights of the land.
He fed them the fruit of the fields.
He gave them honey from the rocks.
He brought oil from the solid rock.
14 There were milk curds from the cows and milk from the sheep.
There were fat sheep and goats.
There were sheep and goats from Bashan.
There was the best of the wheat.
You drank the juice of grapes.
15 Israel grew fat and kicked.
They were fat and full and firm.
They left the God who made them.
They rejected the Rock who saved them.
16 They made God jealous with foreign gods.
They made him angry with hated idols.
17 They made sacrifices to demons, not God.
They were gods they had never known.
They were new gods from nearby.
Your ancestors did not fear them.
18 You left God who is the Rock, your Father.
You forgot the God who gave you birth.
19 The Lord saw this and rejected them.
His sons and daughters had made him angry.
20 He said, “I will turn away from them.
I will see what will happen to them.
They are evil people.
They are unfaithful children.
21 They used things that are not gods to make me jealous.
They used worthless idols to make me angry.
So I will use those who are not a nation to make them jealous.
I will use a nation that does not understand to make them angry.
22 My anger has started a fire.
It burns down to where the dead are.
It will burn up the ground and its crops.
And it will set fire to the mountains.
23 “I will pile troubles upon them.
I will shoot my arrows at them.
24 They will be starved and sick.
They will be destroyed by terrible diseases.
I will send them vicious animals
and gliding, poisonous snakes.
25 In the streets the sword will kill.
In their homes there will be terror.
Young men and women will die.
So will babies and gray-haired men.
26 I will scatter them as I said.
And no one will remember them.
27 But I didn’t want their enemy to brag.
Their enemy might misunderstand.
They might say, ‘We have won!
The Lord has done none of this.’”
28 Israel has no sense.
They do not understand.
29 I wish they were wise and understood this.
I wish they could see what will happen to them.
30 One person cannot chase 1,000 people.
And 2 people cannot fight 10,000.
This only happens if the Lord has sold them.
Their Rock would have to give them up.
31 The rock of these people is not like our Rock.
Our enemies agree to that.
32 Their vine comes from Sodom.
Their fields are like Gomorrah.
Their grapes are full of poison.
Their bunches of grapes are bitter.
33 Their wine is like snake poison,
like the deadly poison of cobras.
34 “I have been saving this.
I have it locked in my storehouses.
35 I will punish those who do wrong. I will repay them.
Sometime their foot will slip.
Their day of trouble is near.
And their punishment will come quickly.”
36 The Lord will defend his people.
He will have mercy on his servants.
He will see that their strength is gone.
He will see that nobody is left, slaves or free.
37 Then he will say, “Where are their gods?
Where is the rock they trusted?
38 Who ate the fat from their sacrifices?
Who drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let those gods come to help you!
Let them protect you!
39 “Now you will see that I am the one God!
There is no god but me.
I send life and death.
I can hurt, and I can heal.
No one can escape from me.
40 I raise my hand toward heaven and make this promise:
As surely as I live forever,
41 I will sharpen my flashing sword.
And I will take it in my hand to judge.
I will punish my enemies.
I will pay back those who hate me.
42 My arrows will be covered with their blood.
My sword will eat their flesh.
The blood will flow from those who are killed and the captives.
The heads of the enemy leaders will be cut off.”
43 Be happy, nations, with his people.
He will repay you for the blood of his servants.
He will punish his enemies.
And he will remove the sin of his land and people.
44 Moses came with Joshua son of Nun. And they spoke all the words of this song for the people to hear. 45 When Moses finished speaking these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them: “Pay attention to all the words I have said to you today. Command your children to obey carefully everything in these teachings. 47 These should not be unimportant words for you. They mean life for you! By these words you will live a long time in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to own.”
Moses Goes Up to Mount Nebo
48 The Lord spoke to Moses again that same day. He said, 49 “Go up the Abarim Mountains. Go to Mount Nebo in the country of Moab. It is across from Jericho. Look at the land of Canaan. I am giving it to the Israelites to own. 50 You will die on that mountain that you climb. This is how your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor. 51 You both sinned against me at the waters of Meribah Kadesh. That is in the Desert of Zin. You did not honor me as holy there among the Israelites. 52 So now you will only look at the land from far away. You will not enter the land I am giving the people of Israel.”
Moses Blesses the People
33 Moses, the man of God, gave this blessing to the Israelites before he died. 2 He said:
“The Lord came from Mount Sinai.
He rose like the sun from Edom.
He showed his greatness from Mount Paran.
He came with thousands of angels.
He came from the southern mountains.
3 The Lord surely loves his people.
He takes care of all those who belong to him.
They bow down at his feet.
And they are taught by him.
4 Moses gave us the teachings.
They belong to the people of Jacob.
5 The Lord became king of Israel.
The leaders of the people gathered then.
The tribes of Israel came together.
6 “Let the people of Reuben live and not die.
But let the people be few.”
7 Moses said this about the people of Judah:
“Lord, listen to Judah’s prayer.
Bring them back to their people.
They defend themselves with their hands.
Help them fight their enemies!”
8 Moses said this about the people of Levi:
“Lord, your Thummim and Urim belong
to Levi whom you love.
Lord, you tested him at Massah.
You argued with him at the waters of Meribah.
9 He said about his father and mother,
‘I don’t care about them.’
He did not recognize his brothers.
He did not know his children.
But he protected your word.
And he guarded your agreement.
10 He teaches your laws to the people of Jacob
and your teachings to the people of Israel.
He burns incense before you.
And he makes whole burnt offerings on your altar.
11 Lord, make them strong.
Be pleased with the work they do.
Defeat those who attack them.
Don’t let their enemies rise up again.”
12 Moses said this about the people of Benjamin:
“The Lord’s loved ones will lie down in safety.
The Lord protects them all day long.
The ones the Lord loves rest with him.”
13 Moses said this about the people of Joseph:
“May the Lord bless their land with the best fruits.
Send rain from heaven above.
And bring the water from the springs below.
14 Let the sun produce the best fruits.
Let each month bring its best fruits.
15 Let the old mountains give the finest crops.
And let the everlasting hills give the best fruits.
16 Let the full earth give the best fruits.
Let the Lord who lived in the burning bush be pleased.
May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph.
May they rest on the forehead of the one who was separated from his brothers.
17 Joseph has the majesty of a firstborn bull.
He is as strong as a wild ox.
He will stab other nations,
even those nations far away.
These are the ten thousands of Ephraim.
And these are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 Moses said this about the people of Zebulun:
“Be happy when you go out, Zebulun.
And be happy in your tents, Issachar.
19 They will call the people to the mountain.
And there they will offer the right sacrifices.
They will do well from all that is in the sea.
And they will do well from the treasures hidden in the sand on the shore.”
20 Moses said this about the people of Gad:
“Praise God who gives Gad more land!
Gad lives there like a lion.
He tears off arms and heads.
21 They chose the best land for themselves.
They received a large share, like that given to an officer.
When the leaders of the people gathered,
the people of Gad did what the Lord said was right.
And they judged Israel fairly.”
22 Moses said this about the people of Dan:
“Dan is like a lion’s cub,
who jumps out of Bashan.”
23 Moses said this about the people of Naphtali:
“Naphtali enjoys the Lord’s special kindnesses.
They are full of his blessings.
Their land goes south to Lake Galilee.”
24 Moses said this about the people of Asher:
“Asher is the most blessed of the sons.
He should be his brothers’ favorite.
Let him bathe his feet in olive oil.
25 Your gates will have locks of iron and bronze.
You will be strong as long as you live.
26 “There is no one like the God of Israel.
He rides through the skies to help you.
He rides on the clouds in his majesty.
27 The everlasting God is your place of safety.
His arms will hold you up forever.
He will force your enemy out ahead of you.
He will say, ‘Destroy the enemy!’
28 The people of Israel will lie down in safety.
Jacob’s spring is theirs alone.
Theirs is a land full of grain and wine.
There the skies drop their dew.
29 Israel, you are blessed!
No one else is like you.
You are a people saved by the Lord.
He is your shield and helper.
He is your glorious sword.
Your enemies will be afraid of you.
You will walk all over their holy places.”
Moses Dies
34 Then Moses climbed up Mount Nebo. He went from the plains of Moab to the top of Mount Pisgah. It is across from Jericho. From there the Lord showed him all the land. He could see from Gilead to Dan. 2 He could see all of Naphtali and the lands of Ephraim and Manasseh. He could see all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea. 3 He could see the southern desert and the whole Valley of Jericho up to Zoar. Jericho is called the city of palm trees. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I said to them, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ I have let you look at it, Moses. But you will not cross over there.”
5 Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in Moab. It was as the Lord had said. 6 The Lord buried Moses in Moab in the valley opposite Beth Peor. But even today no one knows where his grave is. 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eyes were not weak. And he was still strong. 8 The Israelites cried for Moses for 30 days. They stayed in the plains of Moab until the time of sadness was over.
9 Joshua son of Nun was then filled with wisdom. Moses had put his hands on Joshua. So the Israelites listened to Joshua. And they did what the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 There has never been another prophet like Moses. The Lord knew Moses face to face. 11 The Lord sent Moses to do signs and miracles in Egypt. He did them to the king, to all his officers and to the whole land of Egypt. 12 Moses had great power. He did wonderful things for all the Israelites to see.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.