1. Then Moses went and spoke these words to all the Israelites:
2. “I am now 120 years old. I cannot lead you anymore. The Lord told me I would not cross the Jordan River.
3. The Lord your God will lead you across himself. He will destroy those nations for you. You will take over their land. Joshua will also lead you across. This is what the Lord has said.
4. The Lord will do to these nations what he did to Sihon and Og. They were the kings of the Amorites. He destroyed them and their land.
5. The Lord will give those nations to you. Do to them everything I told you.
6. Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid of them. Don’t be frightened. The Lord your God will go with you. He will not leave you or forget you.”
7. Then Moses called Joshua and spoke to him in front of the people. Moses said, “Be strong and brave. Lead these people into the land the Lord promised to give their ancestors. Help the people take it as their own.
8. The Lord himself will go before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forget you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t worry.”
9. So Moses wrote down the teachings. He gave them to the priests and all the elders of Israel. The priests are the sons of Levi. They carried the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord.
10-11. Then Moses commanded them: “Read these teachings for all Israel to hear. Do it at the end of every seven years. That is the year to forget what people owe. Do it during the Feast of Shelters. All the Israelites will come to appear before the Lord your God. They will stand at the place the Lord will choose.
12. Gather all the people: the men, women, children and foreigners living in your towns. Then they can listen and learn to respect the Lord your God. Then they can carefully obey everything in this law.
13. Their children do not know this law. They must hear it. They must learn to respect the Lord your God for as long as they live in the land. It is the land you are crossing the Jordan River to own.”
14. The Lord said to Moses, “Soon you will die. Get Joshua and come to the Meeting Tent. I will command him.” So Moses and Joshua went to the Meeting Tent.
15. The Lord appeared at the Meeting Tent in a cloud. The cloud stood over the entrance of the Tent.
16. And the Lord said to Moses, “You will soon die. Then these people will not be loyal to me. They will worship the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will leave me. And they will break the agreement I made with them.