⁶⁵ For the Lord had said to them that they would all die in the wilderness. None of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

¹⁵ So Moses appealed to the Lord, ¹⁶ “May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all,^[a](A) appoint a man over the community ¹⁷ who will go out before them and come back in before them,^(B) and who will bring them out and bring them in, so that the Lord’s community won’t be like sheep without a shepherd.”^(C)

¹⁸ The Lord replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.^{(D) 19} Have him stand before the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and commission^(E) him in their sight. ²⁰ Confer some of your authority on him so that the entire Israelite community will obey him. ²¹ He will stand before the priest Eleazar who will consult the Lord for him with the decision of the Urim.^(F) He and all the Israelites with him, even the entire community, will go out and come back in at his command.”

²² Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua, had him stand before the priest Eleazar and the entire community, ²³ laid his hands on him, and commissioned him, as the Lord had spoken through Moses.

¹⁷ “These are the names of the men who are to distribute the land as an inheritance for you: the priest Eleazar and Joshua son of Nun.

³⁸ Joshua son of Nun, who attends you, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will enable Israel to inherit it.^(A)

²⁸ But commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will cross over ahead of the people and enable them to inherit this land that you will see.’^(A)

³ The Lord your God is the one who will cross ahead of you.^(A) He will destroy these nations before you, and you will drive them out. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, as the Lord has said.^{(B) 4} The Lord will deal with them as he did Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and their land when he destroyed them.^{(C) 5} The Lord will deliver them over to you, and you must do to them exactly as I have commanded you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous;^(D) don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you;^(E) he will not leave you or abandon you.”^(F)

⁷ Moses then summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with^[a] this people into the land the Lord swore to give to their ancestors.^(G) You will enable them to take possession of it. ⁸ The Lord is the one who will go before you.^(H) He will be with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.^(I) Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

¹⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “The time of your death is now approaching. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting so that I may commission him.” When Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting, ¹⁵ the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud,^(A) and the cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.^(B)

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to rest with your ancestors,^(C) and these people will soon prostitute themselves with the foreign gods^(D) of the land they are entering. They will abandon me^(E) and break the covenant^(F) I have made with them. ¹⁷ My anger will burn against them on that day;^(G) I will abandon them and hide my face from them so that they will become easy prey.^(H) Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, ‘Haven’t these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us?’ ¹⁸ I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. ¹⁹ Therefore write down this song^(I) for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites; have them sing it,^[a] so that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites. ²⁰ When I bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey,^(J) they will eat their fill^(K) and prosper.^[b] They will turn to other gods and worship them, despising me^(L) and breaking my covenant.^{(M) 21} And when many troubles and afflictions come to them, this song will testify against them, because^[c] their descendants will not have forgotten it. For I know what they are prone to do,^[d] even before I bring them into the land I swore to give them.” ²² So Moses wrote down this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.

²³ The Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I swore to them, and I will be with you.”^(N)