M O S E S
TO
INDEX
HIS TESTAMENT TO JOSHUA
Chapter 1
1.
m ... ...
2.
When after the exodus led
by Moses the people had gone up to Amman across the Jordan, Moses made this
prophecy.
3. Moses called Joshua, the
son of Nun; a man approved by the Lord that he might become the minister for the
people in the tent of testimony with all the holy objects.
4. That he might lead the
people into the land which had been promised to their fathers, which God had
declared by covenant and by an oath that he would give to them through the
leadership of Joshua.
5. Then Moses spoke to
Joshua this word; "Go forth with all your strength that you may do
everything which has been commanded in such a way as will cause you no blame in
the sight of God.
6.
For this is what the Lord
of the world has decreed; He created the world on behalf of his people, but He
did not make this purpose of creation openly known from the beginning of the
world, so that the nations might be found guilty.
7. But that they might
indeed abjectly declare themselves guilty by their own words, and He designed
and devised me, whom He had prepared from the beginning of the world, to be the
mediator of His covenant.
8. Therefore now do I speak
plainly to you the years of my life having come to an end.
As it is also evident to the whole community, I am going to sleep with my
fathers, but you Joshua take this writing that you may remember to preserve the
books, which I shall entrust to you.
9. You shall arrange them,
anoint them with cedar, and deposit them in earthenware jars in the place, which
has been chosen from the beginning of the creation of the world.
There where his name may be called upon until the day of recompense when
the Lord will surely have regard for his people".
Summary
from entrance to exile.
1. The
people under your leadership will enter into the land, which God firmly promised
to their fathers to give unto them.
2.
In that land you will
bless them and give each of them their individual portions, and you shall firmly
establish a kingdom for them with discernment and justice, and appoint local
magistrates in accordance with the will of the Lord.
3. The twelve tribes now
together will move the tent of testimony to the place where the God of heaven
will build a place for his sanctuary.
4. There the two holy tribes
will be settled, but the ten tribes will establish their own kingdom with its
own ordinances.
5. And they will offer their
sons to foreign gods, and set up idols in the temple to worship them, even in
the house of the Lord they will perpetrate idolatry.
6.
Then a king shall come
against them from the east, and will burn their city with fire, and also the
temple, and carry off the holy vessels, and exile the people.
7. They will be captives in
other lands, but after a time the Lord will inspire a king by whom He will
return many, and they will again build the walls.
8. But they will not follow
the truth of God, but certain of them will pollute the high altar, these who are
not at all priests, but slaves, yea sons of slaves.
9. Their leaders in those
days will be admirers of greedy persons, accepting vile offerings, and sell
injustice for bribes, for which reason their city and all their dwelling places
will be filled with crime and iniquities.
10. For they will have in
their midst judges who act with impiety towards the Lord, and judge as they
please, and a western king shall come against them, who will subdue them.
And burn the city and the temple with fire, and crucify many of
the people around their city.
1. Then
destructive and godless men will guide them, men who represent themselves as
righteous, but who in fact speak in the anger of their mind, for they will be
deceitful pleasing only themselves.
2.
False in every way
imaginable, loving feasts at any hour of the day, devouring, glutinous,
consuming the goods of the poor while saying that their acts are according to
justice.
3. They being exterminators,
deceitfully seeking to conceal themselves so as not to be known as being
completely godless for the criminal deeds they perform all the day long.
4. Saying in their hearts;
we will have feasts, luxurious wining and dining indeed we shall behave
ourselves as princes. With their minds and hearts they will touch impure things
while with their mouth they will boast to speak great things.
5.
Some will even say; do
not touch me lest you pollute me in the position I occupy.
6. Then punishment and wrath
will come upon them as never before, and a king of the kings of the earth,
(Satan) with
supreme authority will come against them who will kill those that confess their
circumcision.
7. He will punish them by
torture and by fire and the sword, and compel them to publicly worship idols,
and in secret chambers blaspheme against the word and the law.
8. Then the Lord's kingdom
will appear to all creation, and the devil will have an end, and the Lord will
lead sorrow away, and He will avenge them of their enemies.
9.
For the heavenly One will
arise and go forth from his holy habitation with indignation and wrath on behalf
of his sons.
10. And the earth will
tremble to be shaken to its very ends, and the high mountains will be made low,
and fall like covered valleys.
11. The sun will not give its
light, and in darkness the horns of the moon will flee, they will be broken in
pieces, and be turned into blood, and even the circle of the stars will be
thrown into disarray.
12. And the sea will retire
all the way to the abyss so that the sources thereof shall fail, and the rivers
will vanish.
13.
For the Most High will
come forth, and in full view will work vengeance on the nations, all their idols
will be destroyed. Then you will be
happy O Israel; you will mount up above the necks and the wings of the Eagle,
for all things will be fulfilled.
14.
God will raise you to the
heights, and affix you firmly in the heaven of the stars, in the place of their
dwelling.
15. You will behold from on
high, and see your enemies on the earth, and recognizing them you will rejoice
and give thanks, yea you will confess your Creator.
Joshua
questions Moses.
1. But
you Joshua son of Nun, keep these words and this book, for from my death until
His coming will pass a set number of times.
2.
You therefore Joshua son
of Nun be strong, for God has chosen you as my successor in the same covenant.
3. And Joshua hearing these
words, which was written in the testament, tore his garment and fell at Moses
feet, but Moses encouraged him, and Joshua said,
4.
"Why do you console
me Moses, in what way may I be consoled concerning this bitter message which you
have spoken, a message full of tears and sobbing?
5. For you are departing,
and what place will receive you, or where will be the marker of your sepulcher,
or who as a man will dare to move your body from place to place?
6. For all that died there
are sepulchers in the earth, but yours is from the
rising to the setting sun, and from the south to the limits of the north, the
whole world is your sepulcher.
7. And now you going away,
who now will sustain this people, who now have compassion on them, and be a
leader for them on their way?
8.
Or who will pray for them
not omitting a single day so that I may lead them into the land of their
forefathers?
9. How can I be a guardian
of this people like as a father to his only son, or as a mother is to her virgin
daughter prepared to be given to a husband.
Or as a mother who guards her body from the sun, and that her feet, which
run upon the ground, are not without shoes?
10.
Can I be responsible for
food for them as they desire, and drink according to their will?
There were a hundred thousand of them, but by your prayers they have
increased much.
11. And what wisdom and
intelligence do I have to either judge or give an opinion in the house?
12. Moreover when the kings
of the Amorites hear of your death, believing that this sacred spirit who is
worthy of the Lord is no longer with us, they believe that they can storm us
saying;
13. Let us go up against
them, for if the enemies have till now acted impiously for a single time against
their Lord, there is now no longer an advocate for them to bear messages to the
Lord on their behalf, in the way that Moses was for them.
14. For at every hour day and
night he prayed looking steadfastly toward Him who governs the whole earth with
mercy and justice, and reminding the Lord of the ancestral covenant, and the
resolute oath.
15. Thus they will say; he is
no longer with them, let us therefore go up and crush them from the face of the
earth. What then will happen to
these people Moses?
Moses
replies to Joshua.
1. Moses
then raised Joshua to his feet, and responded to him; do not demean yourself
Joshua, but free yourself from care, and pay attention at my words.
2. God has raised all the
nations that are in the world, just as He has raised us, and He has foreseen
both them and us from the beginning of creation to the end of the age.
3.
Nothing, even
to the least thing has been over-looked by Him, but having seen all things, He
is the cause of them. He
saw before-hand all things that were to come into the world, and behold, they
have come to pass.
4.
… …
Established me for them, and for their sins, on their behalf.
5. This then is not on
account of either my strength or weakness but that His mercies and long
suffering have lighted on me.
6.
So likewise I say to you
Joshua that it is not on account of the piety of this people that they will
drive out the nations.
7.
But all that are in His
right hand, those that truly fulfill the commandment of God, will flourish and
finish the good way. But those who sin by disregarding the commandments will
deprive themselves of the good things, which were declared before.
8.
They then will indeed be
punished by the nations with many tortures, but it is not possible for the
nations to drive them out, or to extinguish them completely.
9. For God has foreseen all
things in the world, and He will go forth and establish his covenant and the
oath which He made.
