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.
17. Then I will become very angry at them. I will leave them. I will turn away from them. And they will be destroyed. Many terrible things will happen to them. Then they will say, ‘God is not with us. That is why these terrible things are happening.’
18. I will turn away from them then. They have done wrong. They have turned to other gods.
19. “Now write down this song. And teach it to the Israelites. Then have them sing it. It will testify against them.
20. I will bring them into the land I promised to their ancestors. It is a land where much food grows. They will eat as much as they want and get fat. But then they will turn to other gods and serve them. They will reject me and break my agreement.
21. Then many troubles and terrible things will happen to them. And this song will testify against them. The song will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they plan to do, even before I take them into the land I promised them.”
22. So Moses wrote down the song that day. And he taught it to the Israelites.
23. Then the Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and brave. Lead the people of Israel to the land I promised them. And I will be with you.”
24. Moses wrote all the words of the teachings in a book.
25. Then he gave a command to the Levites. They carried the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord.
26. He said, “Take this Book of the Teachings. Put it beside the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord your God. It must stay there as a witness against you.
27. I know how stubborn and disobedient you are. You have disobeyed the Lord while I am alive and with you. You will disobey even more after I die!
28. Gather all the older leaders of your tribes and all your officers. I will say these things for them to hear. And I will ask heaven and earth to testify against them.
29. I know that after I die you will become completely evil. You will turn away from the commands I have given you. Then terrible things will happen to you in the future. You will do what the Lord says is evil. You will make him angry with the idols you have made.”
30. And Moses spoke this whole song for all the people of Israel to hear: