Joshua to Succeed Moses

¹So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. ²And he said to them, “I am d120 years old today. I am no longer able to ego out and come in. The Lord has said to me, f‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ ³The Lord your God ghimself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, has the Lord has spoken. ⁴And the Lord will do to them ias he did to Sihon jand Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. ⁵And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them kaccording to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. ⁶lBe strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, mfor it is the Lord your God who goes with you. nHe will not leave you or forsake you.”

⁷Then oMoses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, l“Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. ⁸It is the Lord pwho goes before you. He will be with you; nhe will not leave you or forsake you. qDo not fear or be dismayed.”

The Reading of the Law

⁹Then Moses rwrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, swho carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. ¹⁰And Moses commanded them, t“At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at uthe Feast of Booths, ¹¹when all Israel comes vto appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, wyou shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. ¹²xAssemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, ¹³and that their children, ywho have not known it, zmay hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, aas long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

Joshua Commissioned to Lead Israel

¹⁴And the Lord said to Moses, b“Behold, the days approach when you must die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that cI may commission him.” And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. ¹⁵And dthe Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud. And the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent.

¹⁶And the Lord said to Moses, b“Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and ewhore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will fforsake me and gbreak my covenant that I have made with them. ¹⁷Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and hI will forsake them and ihide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, j‘Have not these evils come upon us because kour God is not among us?’ ¹⁸And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because lthey have turned to other gods.

¹⁹“Now therefore write mthis song and nteach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be oa witness for me against the people of Israel. ²⁰For when I have brought them into the land pflowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and qgrown fat, rthey will turn to other gods and serve them, and sdespise me and gbreak my covenant. ²¹And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as ta witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For uI know what they are inclined to do even today, before I have brought them into the land that I swore to give.” ²²So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the people of Israel.

²³vAnd the Lord1 commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, w“Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. xI will be with you.”

²⁴When Moses had finished ywriting the words of this law in a book to the very end, ²⁵Moses commanded zthe Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, ²⁶“Take this Book of the Law aand put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for ba witness against you. ²⁷For I know how rebellious and cstubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, dyou have been rebellious against the Lord. How much more after my death! ²⁸Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak ethese words in their ears and fcall heaven and earth to witness against them. ²⁹For I know that after my death gyou will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And hin the days to come ievil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, jprovoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”

The Song of Moses

³⁰Then Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the ears of all the assembly of Israel:

Mem

⁹⁷Oh how xI love your law!

It is my ymeditation all the day.

⁹⁸Your commandment makes me zwiser than my enemies,

for it is ever with me.

⁹⁹I have more understanding than all my teachers,

for ayour testimonies are my meditation.

¹⁰⁰I understand more than bthe aged,8

for I ckeep your precepts.

¹⁰¹I dhold back my feet from every evil way,

in order to keep your word.

¹⁰²I do not turn aside from your rules,

for you have taught me.

¹⁰³How esweet are your words to my taste,

sweeter than honey to my mouth!

¹⁰⁴Through your precepts I get understanding;

therefore fI hate every false way.

Nun

¹⁰⁵gYour word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

¹⁰⁶I have hsworn an oath and confirmed it,

to keep your irighteous rules.

¹⁰⁷I am severely jafflicted;

kgive me life, O Lord, according to your word!

¹⁰⁸Accept lmy freewill offerings of praise, O Lord,

and mteach me your rules.

¹⁰⁹I hold my life nin my hand continually,

but I do not oforget your law.

¹¹⁰The wicked have laid pa snare for me,

but qI do not stray from your precepts.

¹¹¹Your testimonies are rmy heritage forever,

for they are sthe joy of my heart.

¹¹²I tincline my heart to perform your statutes

forever, uto the end.9

Samekh

¹¹³I hate vthe double-minded,

but I love wyour law.

¹¹⁴You are my xhiding place and my yshield;

I zhope in your word.

¹¹⁵aDepart from me, you evildoers,

that I may bkeep the commandments of my God.

¹¹⁶Uphold me caccording to your promise, that I may live,

and let me not be dput to shame in my ehope!

¹¹⁷fHold me up, that I may be safe

and have regard for your statutes continually!

¹¹⁸You gspurn all who hgo astray from your statutes,

for their cunning is in vain.

¹¹⁹All the wicked of the earth you discard like idross,

therefore jI love your testimonies.

¹²⁰My flesh ktrembles for fear of you,

and I am afraid of your judgments.

True and False Fasting

¹“Cry aloud; do not hold back;

clift up your voice like a trumpet;

ddeclare to my people their transgression,

to the house of Jacob their sins.

²eYet they seek me daily

and delight to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that did righteousness

and did not forsake the judgment of their God;

they ask of me righteous judgments;

they delight to draw near to God.

³f‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?

Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’

Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,1

gand oppress all your workers.

⁴Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight

and to hit with a wicked fist.

Fasting like yours this day

will not make your voice to be heard on high.

⁵hIs such the fast that I choose,

ia day for a person to humble himself?

Is it to bow down his head like a reed,

and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?

Will you call this a fast,

and a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶“Is not this the fast that I choose:

jto loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the straps kof the yoke,

to let the oppressed2 go free,

and to break every yoke?

⁷Is it not lto share your bread with the hungry

and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him,

mand not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

⁸nThen shall your light break forth like the dawn,

oand your healing shall spring up speedily;

pyour righteousness shall go before you;

qthe glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

⁹Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you take away rthe yoke from your midst,

sthe pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

¹⁰tif you pour yourself out for the hungry

and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

nthen shall your light rise in the darkness

and your gloom be as the noonday.

¹¹And the Lord will guide you continually

and satisfy your desire in scorched places

and make your bones strong;

and you shall be ulike a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters do not fail.

¹²vAnd your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;

you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

you shall be called the repairer of the breach,

the restorer of streets to dwell in.

¹³w“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,

from doing your pleasure3 on my holy day,

and call the Sabbath a delight

and the holy day of the Lord honorable;

if you honor it, not going your own ways,

or seeking xyour own pleasure,4 or talking idly;5

¹⁴then you shall take delight in the Lord,

yand I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;6

zI will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,

afor the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Giving to the Needy

¹“Beware of rpracticing your righteousness before other people in order sto be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

²t“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may ube praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have vreceived their reward. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. wAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Lord's Prayer

⁵“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love xto stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. yTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶But when you pray, zgo into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. aAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁷“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as bthe Gentiles do, for cthey think that they will be heard dfor their many words. ⁸Do not be like them, efor your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹fPray then like this:

g“Our Father in heaven,

hhallowed be iyour name.1

¹⁰jYour kingdom come,

kyour will be done,2

lon earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹mGive us nthis day our daily bread,3

¹²and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

¹³And olead us not into temptation,

but pdeliver us from qevil.4

¹⁴rFor if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ¹⁵sbut if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Fasting

¹⁶“And twhen you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. uTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷But when you fast, vanoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. wAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

¹⁹x“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ymoth and rust5 destroy and where thieves zbreak in and steal, ²⁰xbut lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²²a“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, ²³abut if byour eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

²⁴c“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and dmoney.6

Do Not Be Anxious

²⁵e“Therefore I tell you, fdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶gLook at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. hAre you not of more value than they? ²⁷And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ispan of life?7 ²⁸And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, jeven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, kO you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For lthe Gentiles seek after all these things, and myour heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But nseek first othe kingdom of God and his righteousness, pand all these things will be added to you.

³⁴q“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.