Deuteronomy 31 — Hebrew and Greek compared
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
Deuteronomy 31
The Transition of Authority
Moses’ Final Encouragement
Verse 31:1 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:1 Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:1 Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel’s sons.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Hebrew has Moses going and speaking these words; Greek has Moses finishing all these words, addressed to all Israel’s sons. The transition differs, but both continue with Moses’ farewell address and Joshua’s succession. A different ultimate course of the narrative is not established.
Verse 31:2 Divergent
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:2 He said: Today I am one hundred and twenty years old. I can no longer go out and come in, and YHWH told me, You shall not cross this Jordan.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:2 He said: Today I am one hundred and twenty years old. I can no longer come in and go out, and the Lord told me, You shall not cross this Jordan.
Classification & Notes
[Divergent] Text: Greek reverses the coming-and-going order. Both give the same age and prohibition; the idiom may concern leadership capacity, not simply physical motion.
Verse 31:3 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:3 YHWH your God Himself crosses before you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will dispossess them. Joshua will cross before you, as YHWH said.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:3 The Lord your God, who goes ahead of you, will Himself destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of them. Joshua goes ahead of you, as the Lord said.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Hebrew explicitly names crossing; Greek going ahead. Joshua is the historical successor named Iēsous in Greek; the shared name-form does not identify him as Jesus of Nazareth.
Verse 31:4 Divergent
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:4 YHWH will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, the Amorite kings, and their land, when He destroyed them.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:4 The Lord will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings beyond the Jordan, and their land, when He destroyed them.
Classification & Notes
[Divergent] Text: Greek adds two and beyond the Jordan. It does not add God after Lord, contrary to the draft.
Verse 31:5 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:5 YHWH will hand them over before you, and you shall deal with them according to the entire command I gave you.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:5 The Lord handed them over to you, and you shall deal with them as I commanded you.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Greek has the aorist handed over; Hebrew’s clause is prospective. The Greek past form is retained, alongside its preceding reference to the defeated kings and its following instruction for action. It also compresses the entire command phrase. The tense difference does not by itself prove that the whole westward conquest is already completed in the Greek narrative.
Verse 31:6 Divergent
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be terrified of them, for YHWH your God goes with you. He will not let you fail or abandon you.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:6 Be courageous and strong. Do not fear, be timid, or be terrified of them, for the Lord your God goes ahead with you, among you. He will certainly not let you go or abandon you.
Classification & Notes
[Divergent] Text: Greek adds a third fear prohibition and among you, and describes God going ahead. The opening imperatives are singular in Greek, plural in Hebrew.
Saints: Hebrews applies the promise of non-abandonment to confidence and contentment. It gives the promise in divine first-person speech.
Commissioning of Joshua
Verse 31:7 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:7 Moses summoned Joshua and said before all Israel: Be strong and courageous, for you will enter with this people into the land YHWH swore to their fathers to give them, and you will give it to them as an inheritance.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:7 Moses summoned Joshua and said before all Israel: Be courageous and strong, for you will enter ahead of this people into the land the Lord swore to our fathers to give them, and you will give it to them as an inheritance.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Hebrew says with this people and their fathers; Greek ahead of this people and our fathers. The first expression differs in how Joshua’s leadership is pictured, the second in inclusive address. Both commission Joshua to lead the same people into the same promised inheritance.
Verse 31:8 Divergent
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:8 YHWH Himself goes ahead of you. He will be with you; He will not let you fail or abandon you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:8 The Lord goes with you. He will not let you go or abandon you. Do not fear or be timid.
Classification & Notes
[Divergent] Text: Greek compresses going ahead and being with into going with, and lacks a separate He will be with you clause.
The Writing and Reading of the Law
Verse 31:9 Divergent
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:9 Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, Levi’s sons, who carry YHWH’s covenant ark, and to all Israel’s elders.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:9 Moses wrote the words of this law in a book and gave it to the priests, Levi’s sons, who carry the Lord’s covenant ark, and to the elders of Israel’s sons.
Classification & Notes
[Divergent] Text: Greek adds words and in a book and specifies Israel’s sons; it lacks all before elders.
Verse 31:10 Divergent
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:10 Moses commanded them: At the end of seven years, at the appointed time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths,
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:10 That day Moses commanded them: After seven years, at the time of the year of release, at the Feast of Booths,
Classification & Notes
[Divergent] Text: Greek adds that day. Release names the sabbatical institution here; the term is not automatically translated forgiveness of sins.
Verse 31:11 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:11 when all Israel comes to appear before YHWH your God at the place He chooses, read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:11 when all Israel comes together to appear before the Lord your God at the place the Lord chooses, read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Hebrew read is singular; Greek plural. Greek explicitly names the Lord as the chooser and describes coming together.
Verse 31:12 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:12 Assemble the people—men, women, little ones, and the resident foreigner within your towns—so that they hear, learn, fear YHWH your God, and carefully perform all the words of this law.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:12 Assemble the people—men, women, offspring, and the resident foreigner within your cities—so that they hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and they will heed and perform all the words of this law.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Greek joins learning directly to fear and uses heeding rather than careful keeping in the final clause. Offspring corresponds to Hebrew little ones.
Verse 31:13 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:13 Their children who do not know shall hear and learn to fear YHWH your God all the days you live on the ground you are crossing the Jordan to possess.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:13 Their children who do not know shall hear and learn to fear the Lord your God all the days they live on the land you are crossing the Jordan to inherit.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Hebrew measures the days by you living; Greek by they, the children, living. The pronoun difference is retained. Both require the children to hear and learn reverence and situate that instruction in continued life in the land; neither explicitly terminates instruction when the first generation dies.
The Song as a Witness and Final Charge
Verse 31:14 Divergent
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:14 YHWH said to Moses: Your time to die has drawn near. Summon Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, so that I may commission him. Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:14 The Lord said to Moses: Your time to die has drawn near. Summon Joshua and stand beside the doors of the Tent of Testimony, and I will commission him. Moses and Joshua went to the Tent of Testimony and stood beside the doors of the Tent of Testimony.
Classification & Notes
[Divergent] Text: Greek expressly locates the meeting beside the doors and repeats Tent of Testimony three times; Hebrew names the Tent of Meeting twice without specifying its doors here. The fuller Greek location is retained.
Both recount the same summons of Moses and Joshua; the tent title and doorway wording do not establish a different sanctuary.
Verse 31:15 Divergent
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:15 YHWH appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood at the tent’s entrance.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:15 The Lord descended in a cloud and stood beside the doors of the Tent of Testimony, and the pillar of cloud stood beside the tent’s doors.
Classification & Notes
[Divergent] Text: Hebrew describes the Lord appearing in the tent in a cloud pillar; Greek describes His descent in cloud and adds a separate standing action beside the doors before the pillar’s standing. The narrated actions and location language differ, but both portray the divine appearance at the same commissioning scene.
Verse 31:16 Similar
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:16 YHWH said to Moses: You are about to lie down with your fathers. This people will rise and prostitute itself after the foreign gods of the land it is entering. It will abandon Me and break the covenant I made with it.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:16 The Lord said to Moses: You are about to sleep with your fathers. This people will rise and prostitute itself after the foreign gods of the land it is entering. They will abandon Me and dissolve the covenant I made with them.
Classification & Notes
[Similar] Text: Both retain the sexual metaphor for disloyal worship. Greek changes the collective people to plural they in the final actions; Hebrew stays singular.
Verse 31:17 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:17 My anger will burn against it that day. I will abandon them and hide My face from them. It will be devoured, and many calamities and troubles will find it. That day it will say: Have these calamities not found me because my God is not within me?
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:17 I will burn with anger against them that day. I will abandon them and turn My face from them. It will be devoured, and many calamities and afflictions will find it. That day it will say: These calamities found me because the Lord my God is not within me.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Greek adds Lord and expresses the people’s admission as a declaration where Hebrew uses a rhetorical question. Hebrew hides the face; Greek turns it away. Both describe withdrawal and the people’s acknowledgment that their calamity follows divine absence; Greek does not introduce an acknowledgment denied by Hebrew’s question.
Verse 31:18 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:18 I will surely hide My face that day because of all the evil it has done by turning to other gods.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:18 I will surely turn My face away from them that day because of all the evils they have done by turning to foreign gods.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Greek explicitly adds from them, makes evil and the people plural, and says foreign gods. Both emphatically describe withdrawn divine presence.
Verse 31:19 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:19 Now write this song for yourselves and teach it to Israel’s sons. Put it in their mouths, so that this song may be My witness against Israel’s sons.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:19 Now write the words of this song and teach it to Israel’s sons. Put it in their mouth, so that this song may be My witness among Israel’s sons.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Greek adds words, lacks for yourselves, and keeps writing, teaching, and putting in plural address. Hebrew changes to singular commands after write. The witness may function against the people in either text.
Verse 31:20 Divergent
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:20 I will bring it into the ground I swore to its fathers, flowing with milk and honey. It will eat, be satisfied, and grow fat, then turn to other gods and serve them. They will despise Me and break My covenant.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:20 I will bring them into the good land I swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. They will eat, be filled, and become sated, then turn to foreign gods and worship them. They will provoke Me and dissolve My covenant.
Classification & Notes
[Divergent] Text: Greek adds good and to give them, keeps plural people-reference, and replaces fattening and despising with satiety and provocation.
Verse 31:21 Divergent
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:21 When many calamities and troubles find it, this song will answer as a witness before it, for it will not be forgotten from its offspring’s mouth. I know its inclination already at work today, before I bring it into the land I swore to give.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:21 This song will stand opposed as a witness before them, for it will not be forgotten from their mouth or their offspring’s mouth. I know their wickedness, what they do here today, before I bring them into the good land I swore to their fathers.
Classification & Notes
[Divergent] Text: Greek lacks the opening when-many-calamities clause and adds the present people’s mouth, here, good and fathers. It specifies wickedness where Hebrew speaks of inclination. The omission and expansions are retained; both make the song a witness against the predicted apostasy and require its transmission to descendants. The Greek does not explicitly confine its testimony to a different period.
Verse 31:22 Same
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:22 Moses wrote this song that day and taught it to Israel’s sons.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:22 Moses wrote this song that day and taught it to Israel’s sons.
Classification & Notes
[Same] Text: The writing and teaching agree.
Verse 31:23 Divergent
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:23 He commissioned Joshua son of Nun: Be strong and courageous, for you will bring Israel’s sons into the land I swore to them, and I will be with you.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:23 Moses commissioned Joshua: Be courageous and strong, for you will bring Israel’s sons into the land the Lord swore to them, and He will be with you.
Classification & Notes
[Divergent] Text: Greek explicitly makes Moses the commissioner and places the Lord’s oath and presence in third-person speech; Hebrew has an implicit commissioner with divine first-person promises.
Greek also lacks son of Nun. This changes the presentation from divine speech to Moses’ mediation, while both commission Joshua under the same divine promise; compare God’s announced commission in verse 14. See the selected critical-edition comparisons in the appendix.
Verse 31:24 Similar
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:24 When Moses finished writing the words of this law in a book, to their very end,
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:24 When Moses finished writing all the words of this law in a book, to their very end,
Classification & Notes
[Similar] Text: Greek adds all. Both emphasize completion.
Verse 31:25 Similar
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:25 Moses commanded the Levites who carry YHWH’s covenant ark:
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:25 he commanded the Levites who carry the Lord’s covenant ark:
Classification & Notes
[Similar] Text: Greek leaves Moses implicit from verse twenty-four rather than repeating his name.
Verse 31:26 Same
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:26 Take this book of the law and place it beside YHWH your God’s covenant ark, so that it may remain there as a witness against you.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:26 Take this book of the law and place it beside the Lord your God’s covenant ark, so that it may remain there as a witness against you.
Classification & Notes
[Same] Text: Both selected running texts say book of this law and place it beside the ark. NETS also has law here; no alternative book title is asserted.
Verse 31:27 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:27 I know your rebellion and stiff neck. While I am still alive with you today, you have rebelled against YHWH; how much more after my death!
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:27 I know your provocation and stiff neck. While I am still alive with you today, you have provoked God; how much more after my death!
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Greek names provocation and God where Hebrew names rebellion and YHWH. The stiff-neck image and comparison agree.
Verse 31:28 Divergent
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:28 Assemble all your tribes’ elders and your officers before me, so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:28 Assemble your tribal leaders, elders, judges, and court scribes before me, so that I may speak all these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them.
Classification & Notes
[Divergent] Text: Greek lists tribal leaders and elders separately and adds judges; it describes the officers as court scribes. It places all with the words rather than the officials. The administrative enumeration differs without proving that Hebrew’s gathering excludes its judges; both summon Israel’s leadership to hear the same witness.
Verse 31:29 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:29 I know that after my death you will become thoroughly corrupt and turn from the way I commanded you. Calamity will meet you in days to come, because you will do evil in YHWH’s eyes, provoking Him through your handiwork.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:29 I know that after my death you will act utterly lawlessly and turn from the way I commanded you.
Calamities will meet you in the last days, because you will do evil before the Lord, provoking Him through your handiwork.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Greek explicitly characterizes corruption as lawlessness and makes calamity plural. Last days renders its temporal phrase without asserting a particular later end-times chronology.
Verse 31:30 Same
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
31:30 Moses spoke the words of this song to their end in the hearing of Israel’s entire assembly.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
31:30 Moses spoke the words of this song to their end in the hearing of Israel’s entire assembly.
Classification & Notes
[Same] Text: Both introduce the complete recitation of the song before Israel’s assembly.