Bible in 90 Days

¹² “You should have a place to go away from the tents. ¹³ You should have a tool there to dig with. Use it to dig a hole when you sit down outside. Then use it to cover the waste from your body. ¹⁴ Because the Lord your God walks among your tents to set you free and make you win the battle against those who hate you, the place where your tents are must be holy. He must not see anything among you that is unclean and turn away from you.

Different Laws

¹⁵ “If a servant runs away from his owner and comes to you, do not return him to his owner. ¹⁶ Let him stay with you, in the place he chooses in one of your towns, where it pleases him. Do not make it hard for him.

¹⁷ “No daughter of Israel is to sell the use of her body in worship to a strange god. And no son of Israel is to sell the use of his body for a strange god. ¹⁸ You must not bring the pay of a woman who sells the use of her body or of a man who does sex sins into the house of the Lord your God for any promised gift. For the Lord your God hates both of these. ¹⁹ Do not make your brothers pay you for the use of money, food, or anything you might give them to use. ²⁰ You may make a stranger pay you for the use of money, but not your brother. So the Lord your God may bring good to you in all you do in the land you are going into to have for your own.

²¹ “When you make a promise to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it. It would be sin in you, for the Lord your God will be sure to ask you for it. ²² But if you do not make a promise, it would not be sin in you. ²³ Be careful to do what you say you are going to do. Keep the promise you have made to the Lord your God because you want to.

²⁴ “When you go into your neighbor’s grape-field, you may eat grapes until you are full. But do not put any in your basket. ²⁵ When you go into your neighbor’s grain field, you may pick the heads with your hand. But do not cut down any of your neighbor’s standing grain.

24 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and he does not like her because he finds something bad in her, he will write her a paper of divorce and give it to her and send her away from his house. ² When she leaves his house, she may go and become another man’s wife. ³ If the second husband turns against her and gives her a paper of divorce and sends her out of his house, or if the second husband dies who took her for his wife, ⁴ then her first husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her for his wife again, because she has become unclean. It is a hated thing to the Lord and you must not bring sin on the land the Lord your God is giving you.

⁵ “When a man takes a new wife, he must not go with the army or be given any other work. He should be free to be at home one year to make the wife he has taken happy.

⁶ “No one should take a man’s stones that he uses to crush grain as a promise to pay what he owes, for he would be taking away a man’s living.

⁷ “If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the sons of Israel, and makes it hard for him, or sells him, then that robber must die. You must get rid of the sin from among you.

⁸ “When there is a very bad skin disease, be careful to do all the Levite religious leaders tell you to do. Be careful to do what I have told them. ⁹ Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on your way out of Egypt.

¹⁰ “When you let your neighbor use anything of yours, do not go into his house to take what he would give you to make his promise sure. ¹¹ Stay outside. The man who is using something of yours will bring the object out to you. ¹² If he is a poor man, do not keep what he gives you through the night. ¹³ Return his coat to him when the sun goes down so he may sleep in it and be thankful for you. You will be doing what is right before the Lord your God.

¹⁴ “Do not make it hard for a paid servant who is poor and in need, if he is one of your brothers or one of the strangers who is living in one of your towns. ¹⁵ Give him his pay on the day he earns it before the sun goes down. He is poor and he needs it. Then he will not cry to the Lord against you and you would be guilty of sin.

¹⁶ “Fathers are not to be put to death for their children. Children are not to be put to death for their fathers. Each man will be put to death for his own sin.

¹⁷ “Do what is fair for a stranger or a child whose parents are dead. Do not take the clothing of a woman whose husband has died to make sure she will pay what she owes. ¹⁸ Remember that you were servants in Egypt, and that the Lord your God set you free. So I am telling you to do this.

¹⁹ “When you gather the grain in your field and have forgotten some of it, do not return to the field to get it. Leave it for the stranger, the child whose parents have died, and the woman whose husband has died. Then the Lord your God will bring good to you in all the work of your hands. ²⁰ When you beat your olive trees, do not beat the branches a second time. Leave the fruit for the stranger, the child whose parents have died, and the woman whose husband has died. ²¹ When you gather the grapes from your vines, do not gather a second time. Leave them for the stranger, the child whose parents have died, and the woman whose husband has died. ²² Remember that you were servants in the land of Egypt. Because of this, I am telling you to do this.

25 “Two men might argue and go to court. The judges will decide between them, saying that the right man is not guilty and that the sinful man is guilty. ² If the sinful man should be beaten, the leader will make him lie down and be beaten in front of him. The number of times he is beaten will be decided upon by how bad his sin is. ³ The number may be as much as forty, but no more. If he is beaten more than this, your brother would be put to much shame in your eyes.

⁴ “When the bull is made to walk on the grain to break it open, do not stop him from eating some.

⁵ “When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the dead man’s wife must not be married outside the family to a strange man. The husband’s brother will take her as his wife and do what he should for her as a brother-in-law. ⁶ The first son born to her will take the name of the dead brother so his name will not be forgotten in Israel. ⁷ But the man might not want to take his brother’s wife. Then his brother’s wife should go to the leaders at the gate and say, ‘My husband’s brother will not make his brother’s name to be remembered in Israel. He is not willing to do the duty of a brother-in-law to me.’ ⁸ Then the leaders of his city will call him and speak to him. If he still says, ‘I do not want to take her,’ ⁹ then his brother’s wife will come to him in front of the leaders. She will pull his shoe off his foot and spit in his face. And she will say, ‘This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s house.’ ¹⁰ In Israel his name will be called, ‘The house of him whose shoe is pulled off.’

¹¹ “If two men are fighting together and the wife of one comes to save her husband from the one who is hitting him and if she puts out her hand and takes hold of his sex part, ¹² you must cut off her hand. Do not show pity.

¹³ “You must not have two different weights in your bag, one large and one small. ¹⁴ You must not have in your house different ways of showing how big or small something is. ¹⁵ You must have a full and fair weight. You must have a fair way to show how big something is. Then you will live long in the land the Lord your God gives you. ¹⁶ For the Lord hates everyone who does such things, who lies and is not fair.

¹⁷ “Remember what Amalek did to you on your way out of Egypt. ¹⁸ He met you on the way when you were weak and tired. And he fought with those who were behind. He did not fear God. ¹⁹ When the Lord your God gives you rest from all those around you who hate you, in the land the Lord your God gives you for your own, you must forget all about Amalek, so no one under heaven will remember him. Do not forget to do this.

Gifts at Gathering Time

26 “When you go into the land the Lord your God gives you, it will be yours and you will live in it. ² You must take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you gather from the land the Lord your God gives you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to have His name. ³ Go to the religious leader who is working at that time, and say to him, ‘I make known this day to the Lord my God that I have come into the land which the Lord promised to our fathers to give us.’ ⁴ Then the religious leader will take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵ And you will say before the Lord your God, ‘My father was a traveling Aramean. He went to Egypt, few in number, and stayed there. But there he became a nation, great, powerful, and with many people. ⁶ The Egyptians made it hard for us. They brought us much trouble and made us work very hard. ⁷ Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers. The Lord heard our voice and saw our troubles, our work, and how hard our lives were. ⁸ And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and a long arm, causing much fear by doing powerful works. ⁹ He has brought us to this place. He has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰ Now see, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground that You have given me, O Lord.’ Then you will set it down before the Lord your God, and worship Him. ¹¹ You and the Levite and the stranger who is among you will be full of joy because of all the good the Lord your God has given you and those of your house.

¹² “When you have finished paying all the tenth of the food you received in the third year, the year of giving a tenth, then give it to the Levite, the stranger, the child whose parents have died, and the woman whose husband has died. So they may eat it in your towns and be filled. ¹³ Then say before the Lord your God, ‘I have taken the share for holy use from my house. I have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the child whose parents have died, and the woman whose husband has died. I have done this because of all Your Laws which You have told me to do. I have not sinned or forgotten any of Your Laws. ¹⁴ I have not eaten of it while in sorrow, or taken any of it while I was unclean, or given any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done all You have told me to do. ¹⁵ Look down from Your holy place in heaven and bring good to Your people Israel. Bring good to the ground You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You promised our fathers.’

The Lord’s Special People

¹⁶ “This day the Lord your God tells you to obey these Laws. Be careful to obey them with all your heart and with all your soul. ¹⁷ Today you have said that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in His ways, keep all His Laws, and listen to His voice. ¹⁸ And the Lord today has made it known that you are His own people, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His Laws. ¹⁹ He has told you that He will set you high above all the nations He has made. You will be praised, remembered, and honored. You will be a holy nation to the Lord your God, as He has said.”

The Law Written on Stones

27 Then Moses and the leaders of Israel said to the people, “Keep all the Laws which I tell you today. ² On the day you cross the Jordan to the land the Lord your God gives you, set up large stones and cover them with plaster. ³ Write on them all the words of this Law when you cross the river and go into the land the Lord your God gives you. It is a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you. ⁴ When you cross the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal and cover them with plaster, as I tell you today. ⁵ Build an altar of stones there to the Lord your God. Do not work on them with an iron tool. ⁶ And build the altar of the Lord your God with stones that are not cut. Then give a burnt gift on it to the Lord your God. ⁷ Give peace gifts and eat there. And be full of joy before the Lord your God. ⁸ Write all the words of this Law on the stones. Make it easy to read.”

What Happens to Those Who Do Not Obey

⁹ Then Moses and the Levite religious leaders said to all Israel, “Be quiet and listen, O Israel! This day you have become the people of the Lord your God. ¹⁰ So obey the Lord your God. Keep all of His Laws which I tell you today.”

¹¹ Moses told the people that same day, ¹² “Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin will stand on Mount Gerizim when you cross the Jordan. They will pray that good will come to the people. ¹³ And Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali will stand on Mount Ebal to tell of the curses. ¹⁴ The Levites will say with a loud voice to all the people of Israel:

¹⁵ ‘Cursed is every man who makes a god or something to look like a god, the work of the hands of the able workman, and sets it up in secret. It is hated by the Lord.’ Then all the people will answer, ‘Let it be so.’

¹⁶ ‘Cursed is the one who puts his father or mother to shame.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

¹⁷ ‘Cursed is the man who moves his neighbor’s land-mark.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

¹⁸ ‘Cursed is the one who leads a blind person on the road the wrong way.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

¹⁹ ‘Cursed is the one who is not fair to a stranger, a child whose parents have died, and the woman whose husband has died.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

²⁰ ‘Cursed is the man who lies with his father’s wife because he has taken off the clothes of her who belongs to his father.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

²¹ ‘Cursed is the man who lies with any animal.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

²² ‘Cursed is the man who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or mother.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

²³ ‘Cursed is the man who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

²⁴ ‘Cursed is the one who hits his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

²⁵ ‘Cursed is the one who receives pay to kill a person who is not guilty.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

²⁶ ‘Cursed is the one who does not obey the words of this Law.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

28 “Be faithful in obeying the Lord your God. Be careful to keep all His Laws which I tell you today. And the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. ² All these good things will come upon you if you will obey the Lord your God. ³ Good will come to you in the city, and good will come to you in the country. ⁴ Good will come to your children, and the fruit of your ground, and the young of your animals. Your cattle and flock will have many young ones. ⁵ Good will come to your basket and your bread pan. ⁶ Good will come to you when you come in, and when you go out.

⁷ “The Lord will cause you to win the battles against those who fight against you. They will come against you one way, and run away from you seven ways. ⁸ The Lord will send good upon you in your store-houses and in all your work. He will bring good to you in the land the Lord your God gives you. ⁹ The Lord will make you a holy nation to Himself, as He promised you. But you must keep the Laws of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. ¹⁰ Then all the nations of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord and they will be afraid of you. ¹¹ The Lord will give much to you. He will give you many children, and many young ones among your animals, and much food from the ground, in the land the Lord promised to your fathers to give you. ¹² The Lord will open for you His good store-house, the heavens. He will give rain to your land at the right time. He will bring good to all the work you do. You will give to many nations. But you will not use anything that belongs to them. ¹³ The Lord will make you the head and not the tail. If you listen to the Laws of the Lord your God which I tell you today and be careful to obey them, you will only be above and not below. ¹⁴ Do not turn aside from any of the words I tell you today, to the right or to the left. Do not follow other gods and work for them.

¹⁵ “If you will not obey the Lord your God or be careful to do all His Laws which I tell you today, all these curses will come upon you. ¹⁶ You will be cursed in the city, and in the country. ¹⁷ Your basket and your bread pan will be cursed. ¹⁸ Your children will be cursed, and the fruit of your ground, and the young of your cattle and flock. ¹⁹ You will be cursed when you come in and when you go out.

²⁰ “The Lord will send upon you curses, trouble and sharp words in all you try to do, until you are destroyed. You will be quick to die, because of the sinful things you do, and because you have turned away from Me. ²¹ The Lord will make disease to be with you until He has destroyed you from the land you are going in to take. ²² The Lord will punish you with a wasting disease, a hot sickness, growing pain, heat like fire, the sword, and diseases that destroy your food. They will follow you until you die. ²³ The heavens above your head will be brass. And the earth under you will be iron. ²⁴ The Lord will change the rain of your land into dust. It will come down on you until you are destroyed. ²⁵ The Lord will cause you to lose the battle against those who hate you. You will go one way against them, but run seven ways away from them. You will fill all the nations of the earth with fear. ²⁶ Your dead bodies will be food for all the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth. There will be no one to make them afraid and to send them away.

²⁷ “The Lord will punish you with the sores of Egypt, growing sores, and skin diseases, that will not be healed. ²⁸ The Lord will punish you by making you crazy, and blind, and troubled in your mind. ²⁹ You will have to feel for your way at noon, as the blind man feels his way in darkness. And your way will not go well. It will be made hard for you, and you will always be robbed. There will be no one to save you. ³⁰ You will marry a wife. But another man will lie with her. You will build a house. But you will not live in it. You will plant vines. But you will not eat the fruit. ³¹ Your bull will be killed in front of you. But you will not eat of it. Your donkey will be taken from you, and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to those who hate you. No one will help you. ³² Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation. Your eyes will watch for them always and you will have much desire for them. But there will be nothing you can do. ³³ A nation you have not known will eat the food of your field and of your work. You will suffer under the power of others always. ³⁴ You will be driven crazy by what you see. ³⁵ The Lord will make sores on your knees and legs that you cannot heal, from the bottom of your foot to the top of your head. ³⁶ The Lord will bring you and your chosen king to a nation that you and your fathers have not known. There you will work for other gods, of wood and stone. ³⁷ You will become a people who are hated, who are made fun of, and a shame among the people where the Lord will send you.

³⁸ “You will sow much seed in the field, but gather little, for the locust will eat it. ³⁹ You will plant and take care of vines, but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, for worms will eat them. ⁴⁰ You will have olive trees everywhere. But you will not pour the oil upon yourself, for your olives will fall off. ⁴¹ You will have sons and daughters, but you will not keep them, for they will be taken away. ⁴² The locust will own all your trees and the food of your field. ⁴³ The stranger among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will become less and less. ⁴⁴ He will give to you. But you will not give to him. He will be the head and you will be the tail. ⁴⁵ All these curses will come upon you. They will follow you and come upon you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping all the Laws He gave you. ⁴⁶ They will be something special to see, and a powerful work upon you and your children forever. ⁴⁷ Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart because of all He has given you, ⁴⁸ you will serve those who hate you, whom the Lord will send against you. You will be hungry, thirsty, without clothing, and needing all things. He will put a heavy load on your neck until He has destroyed you.

⁴⁹ “The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, as fast as an eagle flies. It will be a nation whose language you will not understand, ⁵⁰ a nation that shows a hard face. It will have no respect for the old, or show favor to the young. ⁵¹ It will eat the young ones of your cattle and the food of your field until you are destroyed. It will leave you no grain, new wine, oil, or the young of your cattle or flock, until it has caused you to die. ⁵² Your towns will be taken over by its armies until your high strong walls that you have trusted in come down everywhere in your land. Its armies will take over all your towns everywhere in the land the Lord your God has given you. ⁵³ During this time and because of the trouble caused by those who hate you, you will eat your own children, the flesh of your sons and daughters whom the Lord your God has given you. ⁵⁴ The most gentle man among you will be against his brother, the wife he loves, and the children he still has. ⁵⁵ He will not give them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because it is all he has left for himself. This is how bad the trouble will be that those who hate you will bring to all your towns. ⁵⁶ The most gentle woman among you may be careful not to set the bottom of her foot on the ground. But she will be hard to the husband she loves, to her son and daughter, ⁵⁷ to the afterbirth which comes out of her body, and to the children who are born from her. She will eat them in secret because she has nothing else. This is how bad the trouble will be that those who hate you will bring to all your towns.

⁵⁸ “If you are not careful to obey all the words of the Law which are written in this book, to fear this honored name of the Lord your God, ⁵⁹ then the Lord will bring bad diseases on you and your children, hard and lasting diseases and sicknesses. ⁶⁰ He will bring all the diseases upon you that you were afraid of in Egypt. And they will stay with you. ⁶¹ The Lord will bring upon you every sickness and every trouble which is not written in the book of this Law also, until you are destroyed. ⁶² You will have been as many as the stars of heaven but there will be few of you left, because you did not obey the Lord your God. ⁶³ As the Lord was happy with you and caused good to come to you and you were many, He will be happy to bring trouble upon you and destroy you. And you will be taken from the land you are going in to take. ⁶⁴ The Lord will spread you out among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will serve other gods, of wood and stone, which you and your fathers have not known. ⁶⁵ You will find no rest among those nations. There will be no place of rest for the bottom of your foot. But there the Lord will give you fear in your heart, eyes that become weak, and sorrow in your soul. ⁶⁶ Your life will be full of doubts. You will be afraid night and day. And you will not be sure of anything in your life. ⁶⁷ In the morning you will say, ‘If it were only evening!’ In the evening you will say, ‘If it were only morning!’ because of the fear of your heart, and the things your eyes see. ⁶⁸ The Lord will bring you back to Egypt in ships, in the way I said, ‘You will never see it again.’ There you will try to sell yourselves as men and women servants to those who hate you. But no one will buy you.”

The Agreement in Moab

29 These are the words of the agreement the Lord told Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, as well as the agreement He had made with them at Mount Sinai.

² Moses called all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all the Lord did in front of you in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants and all his land. ³ You have seen great tests and powerful works. ⁴ Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to know, or eyes to see, or ears to hear. ⁵ I have led you forty years in the desert. Your clothes did not wear out. And your shoes did not wear out on your feet. ⁶ You did not eat bread, or drink wine or strong drink, so you might know that I am the Lord your God. ⁷ When you came to this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came to meet us to fight. But we won the fight. ⁸ We took their land and gave it as a gift to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half family group of Manasseh. ⁹ So be careful to keep the words of this agreement and obey them so all that you do will go well.

¹⁰ “Today you all stand before the Lord your God, you, your rulers, your families, your leaders, all the men of Israel, ¹¹ your children, your wives, the stranger who is among your tents, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who gets your water. ¹² You are here to take part in the agreement with the Lord your God, and in His promise which the Lord your God is making with you today. ¹³ So today He will make you His people. He will be your God, just as He told you and as He promised your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

¹⁴ “I am not making this agreement and this promise with you alone. ¹⁵ I am making them with those who stand here with us today before the Lord our God, and with those who are not here with us today. ¹⁶ You know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we passed through the land of the nations on our way here. ¹⁷ You have seen their sinful things and their gods of wood, stone, silver and gold, which they had with them. ¹⁸ Be careful not to have any man or woman or family or group among you whose heart turns away from the Lord our God today to go and worship the gods of those nations. Do not let there be a root among you giving poison fruit and bad-tasting plants. ¹⁹ When one hears the words of this curse, he will say in his pride, ‘I have peace even though I am strong-willed in my heart.’ This will destroy the land that is watered along with the dry land. ²⁰ The Lord will never be willing to forgive him. But the Lord will be jealous and His anger will burn against that man. Every curse written in this book will be upon him. And the Lord will take out his name from under heaven. ²¹ The Lord will set him apart for trouble from all the families of Israel, with all the curses of the agreement which are written in this book of the Law.

²² “The children to come, your sons who grow up after you, and the stranger who comes from a land far away, will see the troubles and diseases the Lord has sent upon the land. And they will say, ²³ ‘The whole land is sulphur and salt, a burning waste, not planted and not giving any plants, and no grass grows in it. It is like Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in His anger.’ ²⁴ All the nations will say, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why was He so angry?’ ²⁵ Then men will say, ‘It is because they did not keep the agreement of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. ²⁶ They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods they had not known and whom He had not given to them. ²⁷ So the anger of the Lord burned against that land. Every curse was brought upon it that is written in this book. ²⁸ The Lord drove them from their land in much anger. And He sent them into another land, as it is today.’

²⁹ “The secret things belong to the Lord our God. But the things that are made known belong to us and to our children forever, so we may obey all the words of this Law.

Good Comes to Those Who Return to the Lord

30 “When all these things have come upon you, the good things and the curses which I have told you about, you will remember them in all the nations where the Lord your God has sent you. ² When you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul by all I have told you today, ³ then the Lord your God will have you return from where you were held. He will have loving-pity for you. He will gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has sent you. ⁴ Even if you are driven to the ends of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. ⁵ The Lord your God will bring you into the land your fathers lived in and it will be yours. He will bring good to you and make you more in number than your fathers. ⁶ The Lord your God will take away the sin from your heart and from the heart of your children. You will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so you may live. ⁷ Then the Lord your God will send all these curses upon those who hate you and upon those who made it hard for you. ⁸ You will obey the Lord again, and keep all His Laws which I tell you today. ⁹ And the Lord your God will bring much good upon all the work you do, and upon your children, and the young of your cattle, and the food of your field. For the Lord will again be happy to bring good to you, just as He was happy with your fathers. ¹⁰ But you must obey the Lord your God to keep His Laws which are written in this book of the Law. You must turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.

Life or Death

¹¹ “For this Law I give you today is not too hard for you, or too far from you. ¹² It is not in heaven. You do not need to say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to make us hear it, so we may obey it?’ ¹³ It is not farther than the sea. You do not need to say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us and bring it to us to make us hear it, so we may obey it?’ ¹⁴ But the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may obey it.

¹⁵ “See, I have put in front of you today life and what is good, and death and what is bad. ¹⁶ I tell you today to love the Lord your God. Walk in His ways. Keep all His Laws and all that He has decided. Then you will live and become many. And the Lord your God will bring good to you in the land you are going in to take. ¹⁷ But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but leave to worship other gods and serve them, ¹⁸ I tell you today that you will die for sure. You will not live long in that land across the Jordan which you are about to take for your own. ¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to speak against you today. I have put in front of you life and death, the good and the curse. So choose life so you and your children after you may live. ²⁰ Love the Lord your God and obey His voice. Hold on to Him. For He is your life, and by Him your days will be long. You will be allowed to live in the land the Lord promised to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Joshua Is the New Leader

31 Then Moses spoke these words to all Israel. ² He said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to come and go. And the Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross this Jordan.’ ³ The Lord your God Himself will cross before you. He will destroy these nations in front of you. And you will take their place. Joshua will cross before you also, as the Lord has said. ⁴ The Lord will do the same to them that He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land when He destroyed them. ⁵ The Lord will give them to you. Then you will do to them as I have told you. ⁶ Be strong and have strength of heart. Do not be afraid or shake with fear because of them. For the Lord your God is the One Who goes with you. He will be faithful to you. He will not leave you alone.”

⁷ Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in front of all Israel, “Be strong and have strength of heart. For you will go with this people into the land the Lord has promised to their fathers to give them. And you will bring them in to take it. ⁸ The Lord is the One Who goes before you. He will be with you. He will be faithful to you and will not leave you alone. Do not be afraid or troubled.”

Reading of the Law Every Seven Years

⁹ So Moses wrote this Law and gave it to the religious leaders, the sons of Levi who carried the special box of the Law of the Lord, and to all the leaders of Israel. ¹⁰ Then Moses told them, “At the end of every seven years, at the time when money owed is done away with at the Special Supper of Tents, ¹¹ when all Israel comes to stand before the Lord your God at the place He will choose, you must read this Law so all Israel will hear it. ¹² Gather together the people in your town, the men and the women, the children, and the stranger. So they may hear and learn and fear the Lord your God. Be careful to obey all the words of this Law. ¹³ Then their children, who have not known it, will hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to take.”

The Lord’s Last Words to Moses

¹⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “See, the time for you to die is near. Call Joshua, and go to the meeting tent, so I may tell him what to do.” So Moses and Joshua went to the meeting tent. ¹⁵ The Lord showed Himself in a pillar of cloud which stayed at the door of the tent. ¹⁶ And the Lord said to Moses, “See, you will soon die and be with your fathers. Then these people will soon act like a woman who sells the use of her body. They will follow the strange gods of the land where they are going. They will turn away from Me and break My agreement which I have made with them. ¹⁷ Then My anger will burn against them. I will leave them alone and hide My face from them and they will be destroyed. Many hard things and big troubles will come upon them. So they will say in that day, ‘Have not these troubles come upon us because our God is not with us?’ ¹⁸ But I will hide My face in that day because of all the sinful things they will do, for they will turn to other gods. ¹⁹ So write this song for yourselves. Teach it to the people of Israel. Put it on their lips, so this song may speak for Me against all the people of Israel. ²⁰ For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I promised to their fathers, and they eat and are filled and have become rich, they will turn to other gods and serve them. They will turn against Me and break My agreement. ²¹ When many hard things and big troubles come upon them, this song will speak for Me against them. It will not be forgotten from the lips of their children and their children’s children. I know the plans they are making today, before I have brought them into the land I promised them.” ²² So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the people of Israel.

²³ Then the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, “Be strong and have strength of heart. For you will bring the people of Israel into the land I promised them. And I will be with you.”

²⁴ Moses wrote the words of this Law in a book from beginning to the end. ²⁵ Then Moses said to the Levites who carried the special box of the Law of the Lord, ²⁶ “Take this book of the Law and put it beside the special box of the Law of the Lord your God. It will be there to speak against you. ²⁷ For I know how strong your will is and that you do not want to obey. See, while I am still alive with you today, you have gone against the Lord. How much worse it will be after my death! ²⁸ Gather together and bring to me all the leaders and heads of your families. I will speak these words to them and call heaven and earth to speak against them. ²⁹ For I know that after my death you will sin and turn from the way I have told you. Much trouble will come to you in the days to come. For you will do what is sinful in the eyes of the Lord. You will make Him angry through the work of your hands.”

³⁰ Then Moses spoke all the words of this song to all the people of Israel.

The Song of Moses

32 “Listen, O heavens, and let me speak. Let the earth hear the words of my mouth. ² Let my teaching fall as the rain, and my voice like the water on the grass in the early morning, like rain upon the new grass, and rain upon the plant. ³ For I will make known the name of the Lord. I will tell of the greatness of God! ⁴ The Rock! His work is perfect. All His ways are right and fair. A God Who is faithful and without sin, right and good is He. ⁵ They have acted in sin toward Him, but they are not His children, because the mark of sin is on them. They are a bad and sinful people. ⁶ Is this how you pay the Lord, you foolish people who are not wise? Is He not your Father Who has bought you? He has made you and given you your place. ⁷ Remember the days long ago. Think of the years of all people. Ask your father and he will show you. Ask your leaders. They will tell you. ⁸ When the Most High divided up the world among the nations, he divided the children of men. He set the place where each nation was to live by the number of the sons of Israel. ⁹ For the Lord’s share is His people. He chose the people of Jacob for Himself. ¹⁰ He found him in a desert land, in the empty waste of a desert. He came around him and cared for him. He kept him as He would His own eye. ¹¹ Like an eagle that shakes its nest, that flies over its young, He spread His wings and caught them. He carried them on His wings. ¹² The Lord alone led him. There was no strange god with him. ¹³ He made him sit on the high places of the earth. And he ate the food of the field. He made him eat honey from the rock, oil out of hard rock, ¹⁴ milk from cows and milk from the flock, the fat of lambs, rams of Bashan, goats, and the best of the grain. And you drank wine of the blood of grapes.

¹⁵ “But Jeshurun grew fat and would not obey. You became fat and full of food. Then he turned away from God Who made him. He hated the Rock of His saving power. ¹⁶ They made Him jealous with strange gods. They made Him angry with hated things. ¹⁷ They gave gifts to demons who were not God, to gods they have not known, new gods who came later, whom your fathers did not fear. ¹⁸ You did not think of the Rock Who gave you birth. You forgot the God Who gave you birth.

¹⁹ “The Lord saw this, and hated them. His sons and daughters made Him angry. ²⁰ Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them. I will see what their end will be. For they are a sinful people, children who are not faithful. ²¹ They have made Me jealous with what is not God. They have made Me angry with their false gods. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people. I will make them angry with a foolish nation. ²² For a fire is started by My anger. It burns to the very bottom of the place of the dead. It burns up the earth and all that grows on the earth. It burns the base of the mountains.

²³ ‘I will send much trouble upon them. I will use My arrows against them. ²⁴ They will be wasted with hunger. They will be destroyed by burning heat and disease. I will send the teeth of wild animals against them, with the poison of things moving in the dust. ²⁵ The sword will bring death in the street, and bring fear in the homes. It will destroy both young man and young woman, the baby and the man with white hair. ²⁶ I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces. I will make all people forget about them.” ²⁷ But I was afraid that those who hate them would fight in anger against them and would not understand. They would say, “We have won with our own strength. The Lord has not done this.”’

²⁸ “For they are a nation without wise teaching. There is no understanding in them. ²⁹ If they were wise, they would understand this. They would know their future! ³⁰ How could one run after a thousand? How could two make ten thousand run away, unless their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had given them up? ³¹ For their rock is not like our Rock. Even those who hate us judge this. ³² Their vine is from the vine of Sodom, and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of poison. Their fruit tastes bitter. ³³ Their wine is the poison of snakes that kill.

³⁴ ‘Are they not kept in store with Me, shut in with My stores of riches? ³⁵ It is Mine to punish when their foot makes a false step. The day of their trouble is near. Their fall is coming fast upon them.’ ³⁶ For the Lord will judge His people. He will have loving-pity on His servants when He sees their strength is gone, and none are left of those who are free or of those who are not free. ³⁷ Then He will say, ‘Where are their gods? Where is the rock where they went to be safe? ³⁸ Who ate the fat of their burnt gifts and drank the wine of their drink gifts? Let them come and help you. Let them be your hiding place! ³⁹ See now that it is I. I am He. There is no god except Me. It is I Who kills and gives life. I hurt, and I heal. And there is no one who can take from My hand. ⁴⁰ For I lift up My hand to heaven, and promise that, as I live forever, ⁴¹ I will make My shining sword sharp. My hand takes hold of what is right and fair. I will punish those who are against Me. And I will punish those who hate Me. ⁴² I will make My arrows drunk with blood. My sword will eat flesh with the blood of those who are killed and those who are in prison, from the long-haired leaders of those who hate Me.’ ⁴³ Be glad, O nations, with His people! For He will punish because of the blood of His servants. He will punish those who fight against Him. And He will take away the sin of His land and His people.”

⁴⁴ Moses came with Joshua the son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people. ⁴⁵ When Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, ⁴⁶ he said to them, “Take into your heart all the words I tell you today. Tell them to your children, so they may be careful to do all the words of this Law. ⁴⁷ This word is of great worth to you. It is your very life. By this word you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to take.”

Moses to Die on Mount Nebo

⁴⁸ The Lord said to Moses that same day, ⁴⁹ “Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, in the land of Moab beside Jericho. Look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for their own. ⁵⁰ Then die on the mountain you go up, and join your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and joined his people. ⁵¹ This is because you were not faithful to Me among the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin and you did not honor Me as holy among the people of Israel. ⁵² You will see the land from far away, but you will not go into the land I am giving the people of Israel.”

Moses’ Last Words to Israel

33 Moses the man of God prayed before his death that good would come to the people of Israel. ² He said, “The Lord came from Sinai. He came upon us from Seir. He shined from Mount Paran. He came among 10,000 holy ones. He came with fire at His right hand. ³ Yes, He loves His people. All Your holy ones are in Your hand. They followed in Your steps. They receive Your Word. ⁴ Moses gave us the Law, which belongs to the people of Jacob. ⁵ The Lord was King in Jeshurun, when the leaders of the people were gathered, all the families of Israel together.

⁶ “May Reuben live and not die. Do not let his men be few.”

⁷ About Judah he said, “O Lord, hear the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people. He fought for them with his hands. Give him help against those who fight against him.”

⁸ About Levi he said, “Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your man of God. You proved him at Massah, and at the waters of Meribah. ⁹ He said of his father and mother, ‘I do not think of them.’ He kept himself apart from his brothers, and his own children. Yes, they obeyed Your Word and kept Your agreement. ¹⁰ They will teach Your Laws to Jacob. They will teach Your Laws to Israel. They will put special perfume before You, and whole burnt gifts on Your altar. ¹¹ O Lord, give him good things. Receive the work of his hands. Crush those who go against him and those who hate him, so they may not get up again.”

¹² About Benjamin he said, “May the one the Lord loves live by Him and be safe. The Lord covers him all the day long. And he lives between His shoulders.”

¹³ About Joseph he said, “May the Lord bring good to his land, with the best gifts from heaven above, with water on the grass in the early morning, and from the deep waters below, ¹⁴ with the best things from the sun, and the best foods of the months. ¹⁵ May the Lord bring good to his land with the best things of the old mountains, and the best things of the hills that last forever, ¹⁶ with the best things of the earth and all that is in it, and the favor of Him Who lived in the bush. Let these gifts come upon the head of Joseph, upon the crown of the head of the one who is ruler among his brothers. ¹⁷ His great power is like the first-born of his bull. His horns are like the horns of the wild bull. With them he will push all the nations to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and the thousands of Manasseh.”

¹⁸ About Zebulun he said, “Be full of joy, Zebulun, in your going out. Be full of joy, Issachar, in your tents. ¹⁹ They will call the people to the mountain. There they will give gifts that are right with God. For they will take out the riches of the seas and the hidden riches of the sand.”

²⁰ About Gad he said, “Happy is the one who gives much land to Gad! He lies down like a lion, and tears the arm and the crown of the head. ²¹ He chose the best part for himself, for that was the ruler’s share. He came with the leaders of the people. He did what the Lord wanted him to do. And he obeyed His Law with Israel.”

²² About Dan he said, “Dan is a young lion, that jumps out from Bashan.”

²³ About Naphtali he said, “O Naphtali, filled with favor, and full of the good things of the Lord, take the sea and the south for your own.”

²⁴ About Asher he said, “May Asher be given more than the other sons. May he be favored by his brothers. Let him put his foot in oil. ²⁵ Your locks will be iron and brass. And your strength will last like your days.

²⁶ “There is none like the God of Jeshurun. He comes through the heavens to help you, through the sky in His great power. ²⁷ The God Who lives forever is your safe place. His arms are always under you. He drove away from in front of you those who hate you, and said, ‘Destroy!’ ²⁸ So Israel lives in a safe place, the well of Jacob is safe, in a land of grain and new wine. Rain falls from His heavens. ²⁹ Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a nation saved by the Lord! He is the battle-covering Who helps you. He is the sword of your great power. So those who hate you will be afraid in front of you. And you will walk upon their high places.”

The Death of Moses

34 Now Moses went up from the valleys of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, beside Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, ² all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the sea in the west, ³ the Negev and the plain in the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. ⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your children.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not go there.” ⁵ So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, as the Word of the Lord said. ⁶ And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, beside Beth-peor. But no man knows where he is buried to this day. ⁷ Moses was 120 years old when he died. But his eyes were not weak, and his strength had not left him. ⁸ The children of Israel cried for Moses in the valley of Moab for thirty days. Then the days of crying and sorrow for Moses came to an end.

⁹ Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel listened to him and did what the Lord had told Moses. ¹⁰ There has never been another man who speaks for God in Israel like Moses. The Lord knew him face to face. ¹¹ There has never been another like him who has done all the powerful works the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land. ¹² There has never been another who has shown all the great power and all the great fear which Moses did for all Israel to see.