Deuteronomy 31
The full text of Deuteronomy 31 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel:
2 "I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The LORD has said to me, 'You shall not cross the Jordan.'
3 The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the LORD said.
4 And the LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land.
5 The LORD will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you.
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land the LORD swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance.
8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
9 So Moses wrote down 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 Then Moses commanded them: "At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Festival of Tabernacles,
11 when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing.
12 Assemble the people—men, women and children, and the foreigners residing in your towns—so they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law.
13 Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."
14 The LORD said to Moses, "Now the day of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, where I will commission him." So Moses and Joshua came and presented themselves at the tent of meeting.
15 Then the LORD appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the tent.
16 And the LORD said to Moses: "You are going to rest with your ancestors, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them.
17 On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and calamities will come on them, and on that day they will ask, 'Have not these disasters come on us because our God is not with us?'
18 And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.
19 Now write down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them.
20 When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their ancestors, and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and worship them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant.
21 And when many disasters and calamities come on them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath."
22 So Moses wrote down this song that day and taught it to the Israelites.
23 The LORD gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: "Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you."
24 After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end,
25 he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD:
26 "Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God. There it will remain as a witness against you.
27 For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been rebellious against the LORD while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die!
28 Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officials, so that I can speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to testify against them.
29 For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster will fall on you because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD and arouse his anger by what your hands have made."
30 And Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to end in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:
Translation notes (8)
- Deuteronomy 31:6a "Be strong and courageous" (chizqu ve'imtsu) is a recurring command given when commissioning someone (see verses 7, 23; Joshua 1:6-9). The phrase "He will never leave you nor forsake you" is quoted in Hebrews 13:5 as a promise for all God's people.
- Deuteronomy 31:16a "Prostitute themselves" (vezanah 'acharei) is a prophetic metaphor that describes covenant infidelity as adultery, picturing Israel's turning to other gods as a marital betrayal of the LORD (a theme developed in Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). "Rest with your ancestors" is the standard idiom for death.
- Deuteronomy 31:17a The Hebrew phrase "Hide my face" (vehistarti panai) is a key biblical expression for God withdrawing His protective presence, which is experienced as judgment. This concept is developed widely in the Psalms and prophets. The people's stricken question in this verse is left unanswered.
- Deuteronomy 31:19a "This song" refers to the Song of Moses in chapter 32. A song, easily memorized and sung, is given as a lasting witness (Hebrew: 'ed) that will testify against Israel when they turn away, preserving the law in a form that cannot be lost.
- Deuteronomy 31:20a The Hebrew phrase "eat their fill and thrive" (ve'akhal vesava' vedashen) literally means "eat and be satisfied and grow fat." This verse highlights a recurring warning in Deuteronomy, where prosperity itself becomes the reason for forgetting the LORD (see Deuteronomy 8:11-14; 32:15).
- Deuteronomy 31:21a The Hebrew word yitsro means "their inclination" or "their bent," referring to "what they are disposed to do." This is the same root later used in rabbinic thought for the human inclination (yetser). The LORD foreknows the people's tendency toward apostasy even before the land is given.
- Deuteronomy 31:26a The written law is deposited beside the ark, not inside it where the tablets were, as a permanent legal witness (Hebrew: 'ed). This document is kept alongside the covenant it ratifies, available to testify against any breach of the covenant.
- Deuteronomy 31:29a The Hebrew phrase "in days to come" (be'acharit hayyamim) can mean simply "in the future" or carry the more significant sense of "in the latter days" or "end of days." This phrase is used both ways in the Hebrew Bible, and its meaning here is left open.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own translation of Scripture, made directly from the original Hebrew rather than revised from an older English Bible. Completed in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation available, and it is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Reading the TBV here on the web is free — the full study edition, with original-language tools and notes on every verse, lives in the Trinity Bible app.
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