Deuteronomy 31: Be Strong and Courageous
Moses commissions Joshua, writes down the law, and is told to teach a song that will witness against Israel's coming unfaithfulness.
Deuteronomy 31 (WEB)
1 Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.
2 He said to them, “I am one hundred twenty years old this day. I can no more go out and come in. Yahweh has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’
3 Yahweh your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua will go over before you, as Yahweh has spoken.
4 Yahweh will do to them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land; whom he destroyed.
5 Yahweh will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandment which I have commanded you.
6 Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them; for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.”
7 Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it.
8 Yahweh himself is who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged.”
9 Moses wrote this law, and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and to all the elders of Israel.
10 Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of tents,
11 when all Israel has come to appear before Yahweh your God in the place which he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and the foreigners who are within your gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear Yahweh your God, and observe to do all the words of this law;
13 and that their children, who have not known, may hear, and learn to fear Yahweh your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over the Jordan to possess it.”
14 Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, your days approach that you must die. Call Joshua, and present yourselves in the Tent of Meeting, that I may commission him.” Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the Tent of Meeting.
15 Yahweh appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood over the Tent’s door.
16 Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers. This people will rise up, and play the prostitute after the strange gods of the land, where 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 come on them; so that they will say in that day, ‘Haven’t these evils come on us because our God is not among us?’
18 I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods.
19 “Now therefore write this song for yourselves, and teach it to 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 have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they have eaten and filled themselves, and grown fat; then they will turn to other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant.
21 It will happen, when many evils and troubles have come on them, that this song will testify before them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants; for I know their ways and what they are doing this day, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.”
22 So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.
23 He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and courageous; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them. I will be with you.”
24 When Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
25 Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, saying,
26 “Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, that it may be there for a witness against you.
27 For I know your rebellion, and your stiff neck. Behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. How much more after my death?
28 Assemble to 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 witness against them.
29 For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will happen to you in the latter days; because you will do that which is evil in the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.”
30 Moses spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were finished.
Deuteronomy 31 (KJV)
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 Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
3 The Lord 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 Lord hath said.
4 And the Lord 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 Lord 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 Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.
8 And the Lord, 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 Lord, 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 Lord 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 Lord 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 Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
14 And the Lord 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 Lord 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 Lord 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 Lord, saying,
26 Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord 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 Lord; 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 Lord, 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.
Deuteronomy 31 (ASV)
1 And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.
2 And he said unto them, I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: and Jehovah hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
3 Jehovah thy God, he will go over before thee; he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt dispossess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as Jehovah hath spoken.
4 And Jehovah will do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and unto their land; whom he destroyed.
5 And Jehovah will deliver them up before you, and ye shall do unto them according unto all the commandment which I have commanded you.
6 Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be affrighted at them: for Jehovah 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 good courage: for thou shalt go with this people into the land which Jehovah hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.
8 And Jehovah, 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, that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and unto all the elders of Israel.
10 And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,
11 when all Israel is come to appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and thy sojourner that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear Jehovah your God, and observe to do all the words of this law;
13 and that their children, who have not known, may hear, and learn to fear Jehovah your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over the Jordan to possess it.
14 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tent of meeting.
15 And Jehovah appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud: and the pillar of cloud stood over the door of the Tent.
16 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and play the harlot after the strange gods 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 come upon 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 evil which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.
19 Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach thou 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, flowing with milk and honey, and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxed fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant.
21 And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are come upon them, that this song shall testify before them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they frame this day, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.
22 So Moses 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 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, that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, saying,
26 Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah 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 Jehovah; and how much more after my death?
28 Assemble 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 witness 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 that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.
30 And Moses spake in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were finished.
Summary
At one hundred and twenty years old, Moses tells Israel he can no longer lead them and that he will not cross the Jordan, but the Lord himself will go over before them and Joshua will lead. He charges the people and Joshua to be strong and courageous, for the Lord will not fail or forsake them. Moses writes down this law and gives it to the priests and elders, commanding that it be read aloud to all Israel—men, women, children, and foreigners—every seventh year, so each generation may learn to fear the Lord. The Lord summons Moses and Joshua to the Tent of Meeting, appears in a pillar of cloud, and formally commissions Joshua. Sobering, the Lord foretells that after Moses dies the people will turn to other gods and break the covenant, and he tells Moses to write a song to teach Israel as a witness against them. Moses writes the song and commands the Levites to place the book of the law beside the ark as a witness, knowing well the people's rebellious bent. The chapter holds together the assurance of God's faithful presence and a clear-eyed honesty about human unfaithfulness.
Main Characters
- Moses — The aged leader who hands off his ministry, writes down the law, and prepares Israel for the future he knows will hold both God's faithfulness and their failure.
- Joshua — Moses' successor, commissioned by God in the Tent of Meeting and charged to be strong and courageous as he leads Israel into the land.
- The priests and Levites — Those entrusted with the book of the law, to read it publicly every seventh year and to place it beside the ark as a witness.
- Yahweh (the LORD) — The God who promises to go before his people and never forsake them, even as he foretells their unfaithfulness and provides a witnessing song.
Key Verse
Deuteronomy 31:6 (WEB)
Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them; for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.
Lessons Learned
- Courage rests not on our strength but on God's promise never to leave us.
- God's work continues beyond any one leader; he raises up successors for his purposes.
- Every generation must hear God's word for itself if it is to know and fear him.
- God is honest about our weakness even as he assures us of his faithfulness.
- Courage is grounded in God's presence. “Be strong and courageous… for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6, WEB). Boldness flows from who goes with us, not from ourselves.
- God's work outlasts his servants. Moses commissions Joshua, for the Lord has appointed a successor (Deuteronomy 31:7-8, 23, WEB). No leader is indispensable; the Lord himself carries his purposes forward.
- Each generation needs the word. The law is read aloud “that their children, who have not known, may hear, and learn to fear Yahweh your God” (Deuteronomy 31:13, WEB). Faith is not inherited automatically; it must be taught afresh.
- God is realistic about our hearts. “I know your rebellion, and your stiff neck” (Deuteronomy 31:27, WEB). He provides for our failure in advance, never blindsided by our sin—and never abandoning us in it.
- What is the basis of the courage Moses urges on Joshua and the people? How is it different from mere self-confidence?
- How does Moses model a healthy transition of leadership? What can the church learn from it?
- Why is the public, regular reading of God's word to every generation so important (31:9-13)?
- God foretells Israel's unfaithfulness yet still commits to them. How does this combination of honesty and faithfulness comfort or challenge you?
- Where in your life right now do you need to hear “be strong and courageous… he will not fail you nor forsake you”?
- Their courage rests entirely on the promise that God himself goes with them and will never forsake them (31:6, 8). This is not bravado but faith—confidence in God's presence rather than in their own ability. The same promise is given to believers in Hebrews 13:5.
- Moses publicly affirms and charges his successor, points the people to God rather than himself, and ensures the word is preserved. He releases his role gracefully, trusting God to carry on. Healthy leaders prepare others and decrease so God's work may continue.
- Faith does not pass on by osmosis; each new generation must encounter God's word directly. The seven-year public reading ensured that children, women, men, and foreigners alike would hear and learn to fear the Lord. Discipleship requires intentional teaching.
- It is deeply comforting that God commits to a people he knows will fail. His faithfulness does not depend on ours. Yet it also challenges complacency. Let the group marvel that the God who foreknew our sin still bound himself to us—ultimately in Christ.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name a fear or daunting task and to receive God's promise of his unfailing presence. Keep the focus on God's faithfulness rather than self-generated courage, and pray the promise over one another.