Moses counsels Joshua and all Israel to be strong and of good courage—Law to be read to all Israel every seven years—Israel will follow false gods and corrupt themselves.

1 - And Moses went and spake these words unto all 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 L ORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

3 - The L ORD 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 L ORD hath said.

4 - And the L ORD 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.

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

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 L ORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

8 - And the L ORD, 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.

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 L ORD, and unto all the elders of 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,

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

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 L ORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

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

14 - ¶ And the L ORD 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.

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

16 - ¶ And the L ORD 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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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,

25 - That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the L ORD, saying,

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

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 L ORD ; and how much more after my death?

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.

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 L ORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

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