✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Deuteronomy 31

KJV · Chapter 31/34

1And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.

2And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

3The Lord thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said.

4And the Lord shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.

5And the Lord shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.

6Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

7And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

8And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

9And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all the elders of Israel.

10And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,

11When all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

12Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

13And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

14And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.

15And the Lord appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.

16And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.

17Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?

18And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.

19Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.

20For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.

21And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.

22Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

23And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.

24And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,

25That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying,

26Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

27For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the Lord; and how much more after my death?

28Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.

29For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

30And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

At 120 years old, Moses formally commissions Joshua as his successor before the entire people, hands over the written Law to the priests for periodic public reading, and receives word from God that after his death Israel would turn away from the covenant — so he is instructed to write a prophetic song as a permanent witness against the people.

Explanation

The public, carefully prepared transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua, including the repeated exhortation to 'be strong and of good courage... do not be afraid or discouraged,' models a healthy leadership succession, in which the outgoing leader actively encourages and validates his successor before the whole community, avoiding power struggles or doubts about legitimacy. The instruction to read the Law publicly every seven years, during the Feast of Tabernacles, ensured that even future generations who were illiterate or without personal access to copies of the text could regularly hear and learn the commandments. God's command for Moses to write a song as a 'witness' against the people is remarkable: rather than hiding or downplaying the prediction of Israel's future failure, God chooses to preserve it permanently in a memorable form (a song), knowing that songs are remembered and repeated across generations even when written texts are forgotten.

Fun facts

  • The custom of publicly reading the Law every seven years during the Feast of Tabernacles, instituted here, is dramatically revived centuries later in Nehemiah 8, when Ezra reads the Law to the people newly returned from Babylonian exile, sparking a significant spiritual revival.
  • The choice to preserve a prophetic message through a song, rather than simply as legal text, reflects a timeless teaching principle: music and poetry are retained in a community's collective memory far more durably than ordinary prose — a principle used repeatedly throughout biblical history, as in the Psalms.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Deuteronomy 31:1Marks a narrative transition: Moses addresses the whole people once more, moving the book toward its close.
  2. Deuteronomy 31:2Moses announces his own advanced age, a hundred and twenty years, and calmly accepts that he will not cross the Jordan.
  3. Deuteronomy 31:3Reassures the people by saying that God Himself will go ahead to destroy the nations, with Joshua leading in practice.
  4. Deuteronomy 31:4Reinforces their confidence by citing the already-known victories over Sihon and Og as a guarantee of what is still to come.
  5. Deuteronomy 31:5Determines that the treatment given to the next nations should follow exactly the instructions already given before.
  6. Deuteronomy 31:6One of the most quoted encouragement speeches in the book: be strong and courageous, without fear, because God never fails nor forsakes.
  7. Deuteronomy 31:7Moses publicly transfers leadership to Joshua, repeating the same call to courage in front of the whole people.
  8. Deuteronomy 31:8Repeats to Joshua the same assurance given to the people: God goes ahead of him and will never leave him nor forsake him.
  9. Deuteronomy 31:9The law was to be read aloud to the whole people every seven years, at the Feast of Tabernacles, including the children who did not yet know it: a deliberate mechanism to keep the law from being lost from one generation to the next.
  10. Deuteronomy 31:10Establishes a periodic public reading of the law, set for the year of release, during the Feast of Tabernacles.
  11. Deuteronomy 31:11This reading was to take place before all Israel gathered at the sanctuary, heard by everyone.
  12. Deuteronomy 31:12The summons includes everyone — men, women, children, and foreigners — to learn and to fear God.
  13. Deuteronomy 31:13The purpose of repeating the reading is to also reach the children who did not yet know the law, shaping the next generation.
  14. Deuteronomy 31:14God tells Moses directly that his death is near and summons Joshua to the tent of meeting to receive instructions.
  15. Deuteronomy 31:15God’s presence appears visibly at the tent through a pillar of cloud over the entrance.
  16. Deuteronomy 31:16Even before Moses dies, God already tells him that the people will turn away and worship other gods as soon as they enter the land. The text does not pretend to be optimistic about the covenant’s future; it foresees its breaking well in advance.
  17. Deuteronomy 31:17Anticipates God’s reaction to that future unfaithfulness: hiding His face, leaving the people vulnerable to disasters that would make them wonder whether God was still with them.
  18. Deuteronomy 31:18Confirms that this distance from God would be a direct consequence of the people turning to other gods.
  19. Deuteronomy 31:19The song Moses writes at God’s command, given in the next chapter, is meant to stand as a witness that will keep accusing the people even after they forget the written law. A song is harder to forget than a text kept in a book.
  20. Deuteronomy 31:20Specifically foresees that the abundance of the promised land would bring the risk of forgetfulness and unfaithfulness, breaking the covenant.
  21. Deuteronomy 31:21The song taught to them would serve as a permanent witness, reminding the people of this tendency even before it actually happened.
  22. Deuteronomy 31:22Moses carries out the order and writes the song that very day, teaching it to the people.
  23. Deuteronomy 31:23God Himself encourages Joshua directly, repeating the promise to be with him during the conquest of the land.
  24. Deuteronomy 31:24Marks the completion of Moses’ writing of the law, recorded in full in a book.
  25. Deuteronomy 31:25Moses gives specific instructions to the Levites responsible for carrying the ark of the covenant.
  26. Deuteronomy 31:26The book of the law was to be kept beside the ark, serving as a permanent witness against future disobedience.
  27. Deuteronomy 31:27Moses is blunt about the people’s character: already rebellious while he was alive, they would no doubt be worse after his death.
  28. Deuteronomy 31:28Formally summons the elders and officers to hear his final words, calling on heaven and earth as witnesses.
  29. Deuteronomy 31:29Sadly predicts the people’s future corruption, foreseeing that evil would come as a direct consequence of abandoning the commandments.
  30. Deuteronomy 31:30Closes the chapter with Moses reciting the entire song before the whole assembly of Israel gathered together.

Chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play