CHAPTER 31
1 And so Moses went, and spake all these words to all Israel,
2 and said to them, I am today of an hundred and twenty years, I may no further go out and go in, most(ly) since also the Lord said to me, Thou shalt not pass this Jordan. (and said to them, Today I am a hundred and twenty years old, and I can no longer go out and come in, and the Lord hath said to me, Thou shalt not cross over this Jordan River.)
3 Therefore thy Lord God shall pass before thee (or And so the Lord thy God shall cross over before thee); he shall do away these folks in thy sight, and thou shalt wield them; and this Joshua shall go before thee, (in the lead), as the Lord spake.
4 And the Lord shall do to them as he did to Sihon, and to Og, the kings of (the) Amorites, and to their land; and he shall do them away.
5 Therefore when the Lord hath betaken to you also them (or And so when the Lord hath also delivered them to you), ye shall do in like manner to them, as I have commanded to you.
6 Do ye manly, and be ye comforted, (or Be ye strong, and be ye encouraged); do not ye dread in heart, neither dread ye at the sight of them, for thy Lord God himself is thy leader, and he shall not leave thee, neither forsake thee.
7 And Moses called Joshua, and said to him before all the multitude of the sons of Israel, Be thou comforted, and be thou strong, (or Be thou encouraged, and be thou strong); for thou shalt lead this people into the land that the Lord swore that he shall give to their fathers; and thou shalt part it by lot.
8 And the Lord himself, which is your leader, (or And the Lord himself, who is your leader), shall be with thee, he shall not leave [thee], neither forsake thee; do not thou dread outward (ly), neither dread thou in heart.
9 Therefore Moses wrote this law, and betook it to the priests, the sons of Levi, that bare the ark of the bond of peace of the Lord, and to all the elder men of Israel. (And so Moses wrote this law, and gave it to the levitical priests, who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.)
10 And Moses commanded to them, and said, After seven years, in the year of remission, (or release), in the solemnity of tabernacles, (And Moses commanded to them, and said, After seven years, in the Year of Restoration, or the Year of Forgiveness, at the Feast of Tabernacles,)
11 when all men of Israel shall come together, that they appear in the sight of their Lord God, in the place which the Lord choose, thou shalt read the words of this law before all Israel, while they hear, (when all the people of Israel shall come together, so that they can come before the Lord their God, in the place which the Lord shall choose, thou shalt read the words of this law before all Israel, while they hear,)
12 and while all the people is gathered together, as well to men, as to women, to little children, and to comelings that be within thy gates; that they hear, and learn, and dread your Lord God, and keep and [ful] fill all the words of this law; (and while all the people is gathered together, men and women, and little children, and the newcomers who be within thy gates; so that they can listen, and learn, and fear the Lord your God or and revere the Lord your God, and obey and fulfill all the words of this law;)
13 also that the sons of them, that now know not, may hear, and that they dread their Lord God in all days in which they live in the land to which ye shall go to get, when (the) Jordan is passed. (and also so that their children, who now do not know, can listen, and learn to fear the Lord their God or and learn to revere the Lord their God, in all the days in which they live in the land to which ye shall go to get, after that ye have crossed over the Jordan River.)
14 And the Lord said to Moses, Lo! the days of thy death be nigh; call thou Joshua, and stand ye in the tabernacle of witnessing, that I command to him, (or and stand ye together in the Tabernacle of the Witnessing, so that I can give him his charge, or his commission). Therefore Moses and Joshua went, and they stood in the tabernacle of (the) witnessing;
15 and the Lord appeared there in a pillar of cloud, that stood in the entering of the tabernacle (or that stood at the entrance to the Tabernacle).
16 And the Lord said to Moses, Lo! thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, and this people shall rise up, and it shall do fornication, or idolatry, going after alien gods in the land, into which it shall enter, that it dwell therein; there it shall forsake me, and shall make void the bond of peace, which I covenanted with it. (And the Lord said to Moses, Behold! soon thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, that is, thou shalt die, and then this people shall rise up, and they shall do fornication, or idolatry, going after foreign, or other, gods in the land, into which they shall enter, to live there; and they shall forsake me there, and they shall make void, or shall break, the covenant, which I made with them.)
17 And my strong vengeance shall be wroth against that people in that day, and I shall forsake it, and I shall hide my face from it, and it shall be into devouring; all evils and tormentings shall find it, so that it say in that day, Verily for the Lord is not with me, these evils have found me. (And my strong vengeance shall be stirred against them in that day, and I shall forsake them, and I shall hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured; and many evils and torments shall find them, so that they say on that day, Truly these evils have found us, because the Lord is not with us.)
18 Soothly I shall hide my face, and cover it in that day, for all the evils which this people hath done, for it hath followed alien gods. (And I shall hide my face, and cover it on that day, for all the evils which this people hath done, for they have followed foreign, or other, gods.)
19 Now therefore write ye to you this song, and teach ye the sons of Israel, that they hold it in mind, and sing it in mouth; and that this song be to me for a witnessing among the sons of Israel. (And so now write down this song for you, and teach ye it to the Israelites, so that they can remember it, and sing it with their mouths; and so that this song can be a witness for me against the Israelites.)
20 For I shall lead him into the land, for which I swore to his fathers, flowing with milk and honey; and when they have eaten, and be full-filled, and be made fat, they shall turn to alien gods, and they shall serve them; and they shall backbite me, and shall make void my covenant. (For I shall lead them into the land, for which I swore to their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey; and when they have eaten, and be filled full, and be made fat, then they shall turn to foreign, or to other, gods, and they shall serve them; and they shall backbite me, and they shall make void, or shall break, my covenant.)
21 After that many evils and tormentings have found them, this song shall answer to him for (a) witnessing, which song no forgetting shall do away from the mouth of thy seed. For I know the thoughts thereof today, what things it shall do, before that I bring it into the land which I promised to it. (And after that many evils and torments have found them, this song shall speak against them as a witness, which no forgetting shall do away from the mouths of their descendants. For I know their thoughts today, and what things they shall do, before that I bring them into the land which I promised them.)
22 Therefore Moses wrote the song, and he taught it to the sons of Israel. (And so Moses wrote down this song, and he taught it to the Israelites.)
23 And the Lord commanded to Joshua, the son of Nun, and said, Be thou comforted (or Be thou encouraged), and be thou strong; for thou shalt lead the sons of Israel into the land which I promised (them), and I shall be with thee.
24 Therefore after that Moses had written the words of this law in a book, and fulfilled them(or and finished them),
25 he commanded to the Levites that bare the ark of the bond of peace of the Lord, and said, (he commanded to the Levites who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and said,)
26 Take ye this book (of the law), and put ye it in the side of the ark of the bond of peace of your Lord God, that it be there against thee into witnessing. (Take ye this Book of the Law, and put ye it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, to be a witness there against thee.)
27 For I know thy striving, and thy most hard noll; yet while I lived and entered with you, ye did ever[more] strivingly against the Lord; how much more when I shall be dead. (For I know thy defiance, or thy rebellious nature, and thy stiff neck or and thy stubbornness; yet while I lived and went with you, ye often defied the Lord; so then how much more, after that I am dead?)
28 Gather ye to me all the greater men in birth, and teachers [or and doctors], by your lineages, and I shall speak to them, hearing these words, and I shall call (to witness) against them heaven and earth. (Gather ye to me all the men of great age, that is, the elders, of your tribes, and the officers, and I shall speak to them, and they shall hear all these words, and I shall call heaven and earth to witness against them.)
29 For I know, that after my death, ye shall do wickedly, and shall bow away soon from the way which I commanded to you; and evils shall come to you in the last time(s), when ye have done evil in the sight of the Lord, that ye stir him to wrath by the works of your hands. (For I know, that after my death, ye shall do wickedly, and shall soon turn away from the way which I commanded to you; and evils shall come to you in the days to come, when ye have done evil in the sight of the Lord, and so stir him to anger with the works of your hands.)
30 Therefore while all the company of the sons of Israel heard, Moses spake the words of this song, and he fulfilled it unto the end. (And so while all the congregation of the Israelites listened, Moses spoke the words of this song, and he spoke every word of it, from the beginning unto the end.)