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Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
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Commentary & Explanation
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Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
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CHAPTER 31
Moses counsels Joshua and all Israel to be strong and of good
courage—Law to be read to all Israel every seven years—Israel
will follow gods and corrupt themselves.
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1 AND Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.
2 And he said unto them, I am an
ahundred 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
bgo 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
apossess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before
thee, as the LORD hath said.
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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
adestroyed.
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 acourage,
fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the bLORD thy God, he
it is that doth go with thee; he will not cfail thee,
nor dforsake thee.
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7 ¶ And Moses called unto
aJoshua, 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 awith thee, he will not fail thee, neither
forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
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9 ¶ And Moses awrote 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 belders of Israel.
10 And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of
every seven years, ain the solemnity of the year of
breleasea, in the
feast of tabernacles,
11 When all Israel is acome to
appear before the LORD thy God in the bplace which he shall
choose, thou shalt cread this dlaw before
all Israel in their hearing.
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10a in the solemnity of the year of
release This is a significant prophecy of that time of the reign of
King Zedekiah. The first year of Zedekiah was just such a 'year of release'
on the 15th of Tishri (September/October) when the law was to be
read during the feast of the tabernacles (that is booths or tents; see
Nehemiah 8:16-18 for the keeping of such feast of tabernacles event every
seven years during the 'year of release' see verse 11),
and King Zedekiah did commit the people to release their Hebrew sevant/slaves
as was the order of their covenant with God. And they released them as it was
under the watchful eye of King Nebuchadnezer that the people did recommit
themselves to the Lord their God. But after that first release, the did 'turn'
from that release and did reclaim their Hebrew slave/servants citing that it
ought not be unto the next seven years had past for they just then had made
their covenant and ought to enjoy seven years of service before thier
covenanted release. Will seven more years did elapse and again in the 'year
of release' during the feast of the tabernacles, having turned their aliance
unto Egypt and from Babylon, the Jews DID NOT again release their Hebrew
servant/slaves as the law of the covenant did require. After this then second
failed release did the Lord send forth Jeremiah to testify against them and
seal upon them this fate (see Jeremiah 34:All particularly verses 8-22)
spoken as a 'prophetic song of testimony against them, by the mouth of Moses.
And from thence was Jerusalem destroyed and the remnant of Judah taken
captive unto Babylon. [Note: it was likely at such an event that King Benjamin
did address his people about the temple of Zarahemla as recorded in the first
chapters of the book of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon.]
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12 Gather the people together, men, and women, and
children, and thy astranger 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 alearn to fear the
LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to
possess it.
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14 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy
adays approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present
yourselves in the btabernacle 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.
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16 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou
shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a
awhoring after the bgods of the strangers
of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me,
and cbreak 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 ahide 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 aface
in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are
turned unto other gods.
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19 Now therefore awrite ye this
bsong 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 aprovoke me, and break
my covenant.
21 And it shall come to pass, when many evils and
troubles are befallen them, that this asong shall
testify against them as a witnessa;
for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know
btheir imagination which they go about, even now, before I
have brought them into the land which I sware.
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21a this song shall testify against them
as a witness Hundreds of years before the events of the days of
King Zedekiah did Moses proclaim this prophecy against Israel, particularly
the Jews of Jerusalem who would so break the covenant of the Lord of the
release of thier Hebrew servants/slaves in the year of release. (See note
of verse 6 above and Jeremiah chapter 34 particularly verse 8 to the end.
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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
acharge, 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.
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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 abook of the
blaw, and put it in the side of the
cark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there
for a dwitness against
theea.
27 For I know thy arebellion, and
thy bstiff 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?
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26a 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 It is likely that this is were the book of the law was to be
found in the days of Josiah. And Josiah did read it to his people then and
under Josiah the people were recommitted to living by the law of the covenant
with God. After the wicked reign of Jehoiakim and the forgetting of the law
of the covenant in his day, King Zedekiah again read the law of the Lord unto
the people and committed them to live by that law of the Hebrew God. But
they did not, rather pursuing that wicked ways of the reign of Jehoiakim
instead of the ways of God. And thus the witness and song of the prophecy of
Moses was sealed against them in the days of Zedekiah.
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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
acorrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way
which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the
blatter 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.
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