Study Desk

so that you may again take possession of the land where your ancestors once lived. And he will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your ancestors ever were.

The Lord your God will give you and your descendants obedient hearts, so that you will love him with all your heart, and you will continue to live in that land.

It is not up in the sky. You do not have to ask, ‘Who will go up and bring it down for us, so that we can hear it and obey it?'

Nor is it on the other side of the ocean. You do not have to ask, ‘Who will go across the ocean and bring it to us, so that we may hear it and obey it?'

No, it is here with you. You know it and can quote it, so now obey it.

The Lord your God himself will go before you and destroy the nations living there, so that you can occupy their land; and Joshua will be your leader, as the Lord has said.

The Lord himself will lead you and be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you, so do not lose courage or be afraid."

So Moses wrote down God's Law and gave it to the levitical priests, who were in charge of the Lord 's Covenant Box, and to the leaders of Israel.

Call together all the men, women, and children, and the foreigners who live in your towns, so that everyone may hear it and learn to honor the Lord your God and to obey his teachings faithfully.

In this way your descendants who have never heard the Law of the Lord your God will hear it. And so they will learn to obey him as long as they live in the land that you are about to occupy across the Jordan."

Then the Lord said to Moses, "You do not have much longer to live. Call Joshua and bring him to the Tent, so that I may give him his instructions." Moses and Joshua went to the Tent,

"Now, write down this song. Teach it to the people of Israel, so that it will stand as evidence against them.

"Take this book of God's Law and place it beside the Covenant Box of the Lord your God, so that it will remain there as a witness against his people.

Assemble all your tribal leaders and officials before me, so that I can tell them these things; I will call heaven and earth to be my witnesses against them.

With their idols they have made me angry, jealous with their so-called gods, gods that are really not gods. So I will use a so-called nation to make them angry; I will make them jealous with a nation of fools.

I would have destroyed them completely, so that no one would remember them.

Moses and Joshua son of Nun recited this song, so that the people of Israel could hear it.

he said, "Be sure to obey all these commands that I have given you today. Repeat them to your children, so that they may faithfully obey all of God's teachings.

The Lord loves his people and protects those who belong to him. So we bow at his feet and obey his commands.

So Jacob's descendants live in peace, secure in a land full of grain and wine, where dew from the sky waters the ground.