Deuteronomy

Moses gives speeches about laws and the importance of following God before the Israelites enter the Promised Land.

Chapter 31

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

*Moses went and told these words to everyone in Israel.

2 And 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.

*He told them, "I'm 120 years old today. I can't walk in and out anymore, and the Lord said I'm not to cross the Jordan River."

3 The 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.

*The Lord your God will lead the way for you, defeating other nations ahead of you. Then you can take their land. And Joshua will be with you, just like the Lord promised.

4 And 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.

*And God will treat them like how he treated Sihon and Og, the kings who ruled the Amorites, and also their land, which he completely destroyed.

5 And 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.

*And the Lord will make them surrender in front of you, so you can carry out the actions required by all the commands I have given you.

6 Be 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.

*Be brave and don't be scared. Don't worry about others. God is with you and won't let you down or leave you alone.

7 And 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.

*Moses told Joshua, in front of everyone in Israel, "Be brave and don't be afraid. You have to go with these people to the land that God promised to their ancestors to give them. It's your job to help them take it over."

8 And 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.

*And God is the one who goes ahead of you. He will always be with you and won't let you down or leave you. Don't be afraid or worried.

9 And 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.

*Moses wrote this rule and gave it to the priest descendants of Levi who carried the LORD's agreement box, as well as to all the older people in Israel.

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

*Moses told them, "Every seven years, during the special year of freedom celebration, at the festival of temporary shelters, do this."

11 When 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.

*When everyone from Israel comes to meet God in the place He chooses, you must read this law out loud for all of Israel to hear.

12 Gather 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:

*Bring everyone - men, women, kids, and people who are new to your town - together to listen and learn from what's written in these rules. This way, they can understand and follow them, and fear and respect the Lord God.

13 And 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.

*So, tell your kids about God, even if they're young, so they can learn to fear and obey Him while you're in the land beyond the Jordan River, which you're going to take control of.

14 And 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.

*And God told Moses, Your time to die is near. So, call Joshua and go together to the meeting place, so I can tell him what to do. Then, Moses and Joshua went and stood in the meeting place.

15 And 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.

*And God showed up in the tent as a tall cloud, standing by the entrance.

16 And 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.

*And God told Moses, "You will die with your ancestors. Then this people will follow foreign gods when they go to live with those who worship them. They will abandon me and break the agreement I made with them."

17 Then 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?

*Then, on that day, I will get very angry with them and leave them. I'll hide my face from them, and they'll be attacked and suffer many problems. They'll realize that their troubles happened because our God wasn't with them.

18 And 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.

*On that day, I will hide my presence because of all the bad things they did. This happened because they chose to follow other gods.

19 Now 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.

*So now, write this song for the people, and teach it to the children of Israel. Make them learn it well so it serves as proof against them.

20 For 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.

*When I guide them to the land I promised their ancestors, full of milk and honey; after they eat and are satisfied, getting richer - that's when they'll follow other gods, disobey me, and break our agreement.

21 And 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.

*When many problems happen to them, that song will testify against them. Their children won't forget it. I know what they're planning now, even before I bring them to the land I promised.

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

*Moses wrote this song that day and taught it to the Israeli children.

23 And 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.

*God told Joshua to be brave and strong, assuring him that he would help Joshua lead the Israelites into their promised land.

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

*Then, after Moses finished writing the laws in a book, the whole thing was done.

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

*Moses instructed the Levites, who carried the LORD's agreement box, to:

26 Take 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.

*Put this rule book in the ark, so it's a witness to you.

27 For 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?

*I understand that you want a simplified version of this verse. Here it is: "I know you are disobedient and stubborn. While I'm still here, you've been rebelling against God. How much worse will it be once I'm gone?"

28 Gather 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.

*Gather all your tribe's older people and leaders, so I can tell them important things and have heaven and earth witness it.

29 For 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.

*I understand that after I'm gone, you'll go astray and disobey my teachings. In the future, trouble will find you because you're doing bad things that make God angry by what you create.

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

*Moses spoke to all the people of Israel the words of this song until it was finished.

read summary

Back to Chapters

Back to Books

* work in progress, there will be mistakes