19. Moses and Joshua, I am going to give you the words to a new song. Write them down and teach the song to the Israelites. If they learn it, they will know what I want them to do, and so they will have no excuse for not obeying me.
20. I am bringing them into the land that I promised their ancestors. It is a land rich with milk and honey, and the Israelites will have more than enough food to eat. But they will get fat and turn their backs on me and start worshipping other gods. The Israelites will reject me and break the agreement that I made with them.
21. When I punish the Israelites and their descendants with suffering and disasters, I will remind them that they know the words to this song, so they have no excuse for not obeying me.I will give them the land that I promised, but I know the way they are going to live later on.
22. Moses wrote down the words to the song straight away, and he taught it to the Israelites.
23. The Lord told Joshua, “Be brave and strong! I will help you lead the people of Israel into the land that I have promised them.”
24. Moses wrote down all these laws and teachings in a book,
25. then he went to the Levites who carried the sacred chest and said: