9 And Moses writeth this law, and giveth it unto the priests (sons of Levi, those bearing the ark of the covenant of Jehovah), and unto all the elders of Israel,
and command the people, saying, `When ye see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then ye journey from your place, and have gone after it;
`And Aaron hath finished -- his sons also -- covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, in the journeying of the camp, and afterwards do the sons of Kohath come in to bear `it', and they do not come unto the holy thing, that they have died; these `things are' the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting.
For the lips of a priest preserve knowledge, And law they do seek from his mouth, For a messenger of Jehovah of Hosts he `is'.
for if ye were believing Moses, ye would have been believing me, for he wrote concerning me;
for the law through Moses was given, the grace and the truth through Jesus Christ did come;
saying, `Teacher, Moses wrote to us, If any one's brother may die, having a wife, and he may die childless -- that his brother may take the wife, and may raise up seed to his brother.
and they said, `Moses suffered to write a bill of divorce, and to put away.' And Jesus answering said to them, `For the stiffness of your heart he wrote you this command,
Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, That I did command him in Horeb, For all Israel -- statutes and judgments.
Cut off have been My people for lack of knowledge, Because thou knowledge hast rejected, I reject thee from being priest to Me, And thou forgettest the law of thy God, I forget thy sons, I also!
as it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil hath come upon us, and we have not appeased the face of Jehovah our God to turn back from our iniquities, and to act wisely in Thy truth.
and saith to them, `Ye `are' heads of the fathers of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, ye and your brethren, and ye have brought up the ark of Jehovah, God of Israel, unto `the place' I have prepared for it; because at the first `it was' not ye, Jehovah our God made a breach upon us, because we sought Him not according to the ordinance.' And the priests and the Levites sanctify themselves, to bring up the ark of Jehovah, God of Israel; and sons of the Levites bear the ark of God, as Moses commanded, according to the word of Jehovah, on their shoulder, with staves, above them.
Then said David, `None `are' to carry the ark of God, except the Levites, for on them hath Jehovah fixed to carry the ark of God, and to serve Him -- unto the age.'
And all the elders of Israel come in, and the priests lift up the ark,
And it cometh to pass, in the journeying of the people from their tents to pass over the Jordan, and of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and at those bearing the ark coming in unto the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark have been dipped in the extremity of the waters (and the Jordan is full over all its banks all the days of harvest) -- that the waters stand; those coming down from above have risen -- one heap, very far above Adam the city, which `is' at the side of Zaretan; and those going down by the sea of the plain, the Salt Sea, have been completely cut off; and the people have passed through over-against Jericho; and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stand on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan -- established, and all Israel are passing over on dry ground till that all the nation hath completed to pass over the Jordan.
`Assemble unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your authorities, and I speak in their ears these words, and cause to testify against them the heavens and the earth,
And Moses writeth this song on that day, and doth teach it the sons of Israel, and He commandeth Joshua son of Nun, and saith, `Be strong and courageous, for thou dost bring in the sons of Israel unto the land which I have sworn to them, and I -- I am with thee.' And it cometh to pass, when Moses finisheth to write the words of this law on a book till their completion, that Moses commandeth the Levites bearing the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, saying, `Take this Book of the Law, and thou hast set it on the side of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and it hath been there against thee for a witness;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Deuteronomy 31
Commentary on Deuteronomy 31 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 31
In this chapter Moses, having finished his sermon,
Deu 31:1-8
Loth to part (we say) bids oft farewell. Moses does so to the children of Israel: not because he was loth to go to God, but because he was loth to leave them, fearing that when he had left them they would leave God. He had finished what he had to say to them by way of counsel and exhortation: here he calls them together to give them a word of encouragement, especially with reference to the wars of Canaan, in which they were now to engage. It was a discouragement to them that Moses was to be removed at a time when he could so ill be spared: though Joshua was continued to fight for them in the valley, they would want Moses to intercede for them on the hill, as he did, Ex. 17:10. But there is no remedy: Moses can no more go out and come in, v. 2. Not that he was disabled by any decay either of body or mind; for his natural force was not abated, ch. 34:7. But he cannot any longer discharge his office; for,
Deu 31:9-13
The law was given by Moses; so it is said, Jn. 1:17. He was not only entrusted to deliver it to that generation, but to transmit it to the generations to come; and here it appears that he was faithful to that trust.
Deu 31:14-21
Here,
Deu 31:22-30
Here,