Joshua is appointed the leader of Israel

1Moses again spoke to the whole nation of Israel:

2I am a hundred and twenty years old, and I am no longer able to be your leader. And besides that, the LORD your God has told me that he won't let me cross the River Jordan.31.2: Nu 20.12. 3-5But he has promised that he and Joshua will lead you across the Jordan to attack the nations that live on the other side. The LORD will destroy those nations just as he destroyed Sihon and Og, those two Amorite kings. Just remember—whenever you capture a place, kill everyone who lives there.31.4: Nu 21.21-35.

6Be brave and strong! Don't be afraid of the nations on the other side of the Jordan. The LORD your God will always be at your side, and he will never abandon you.

7Then Moses called Joshua up in front of the crowd and said:

Joshua, be brave and strong as you lead these people into their land. The LORD made a promise long ago to Israel's ancestors that this land would some day belong to Israel. That time has now come, and you must divide up the land among the people. 8The LORD will lead you into the land. He will always be with you and help you, so don't ever be afraid of your enemies.31.8: Js 1.5; He 13.5.

Read these laws

9Moses wrote down all these laws and teachings and gave them to the priests and the leaders of Israel. The priests were from the Levi tribe, and they carried the sacred chest that belonged to the LORD. 10-11Moses told these priests and leaders:31.10: a Dt 15.12; b Dt 16.13-15.

Each year the Israelites must come together to celebrate the Festival of Shelters at the place where the LORD chooses to be worshipped. You must read these laws and teachings to the people at the festival every seventh year, the year when loans do not need to be repaid.31.10,11 every seventh year…repaid: See 15.1,2 and the note there. 12-13Everyone must come—men, women, children, and even the foreigners who live in your towns. And each new generation will listen and learn to worship the LORD their God with fear and trembling and to do exactly what is said in God's Law.

Israel will reject the Lord

14The LORD told Moses, “You will soon die, so bring Joshua to the sacred tent, and I will appoint him the leader of Israel.”

Moses and Joshua went to the sacred tent, 15and the LORD appeared in a thick cloud right over the entrance to the tent. 16The LORD said:

Moses, you will soon die. But Israel is going into a land where other gods are worshipped, and Israel will reject me and start worshipping these gods. The people will break the agreement I made with them, 17and I will be so furious that I will abandon them and ignore their prayers. I will send disasters and suffering that will nearly wipe them out. Finally, they will realize that the disasters happened because I abandoned them. 18They will pray to me, but I will ignore them because they were evil and started worshipping other gods.

19Moses and Joshua, I am going to give you the words to a new song. Write them down and teach the song to the Israelites. If they learn it, they will know what I want them to do, and so they will have no excuse for not obeying me. 20I am bringing them into the land that I promised their ancestors. It is a land rich with milk and honey, and the Israelites will have more than enough food to eat. But they will get fat and turn their backs on me and start worshipping other gods. The Israelites will reject me and break the agreement that I made with them.

21When I punish the Israelites and their descendants with suffering and disasters, I will remind them that they know the words to this song, so they have no excuse for not obeying me.

I will give them the land that I promised, but I know the way they are going to live later on.

22Moses wrote down the words to the song31.22 the words to the song: See 32.1-43. straight away, and he taught it to the Israelites.

23The LORD told Joshua, “Be brave and strong! I will help you lead the people of Israel into the land that I have promised them.”31.23: Nu 27.23; Js 1.6.

24Moses wrote down all these laws and teachings in a book, 25then he went to the Levites who carried the sacred chest and said:

26This is The Book of God's Law. Keep it beside the sacred chest that holds the agreement the LORD your God made with Israel. This book is proof that you know what the LORD wants you to do. 27I know how stubborn and rebellious you and the rest of the Israelites are. You have rebelled against the LORD while I have been alive, and it will only get worse after I am gone. 28So call together the leaders and officials of the tribes of Israel. I will bring this book and read every word of it to you, and I will call the sky and the earth as witnesses that all of you know what you are supposed to do.

29I am going to die soon, and I know that in the future you will stop caring about what is right and what is wrong, and so you will disobey the LORD and stop living the way I told you to live. The LORD will be angry, and terrible things will happen to you.

The song of Moses

30Moses called a meeting of all the people of Israel, so he could teach them the words to the song that the LORD had given him. And here are the words: