he said, “I am now 120 years old, and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan River.’
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “I am one hundred twenty years old today. I can no more go out and come in. Yahweh has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’
- KJV And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
- BSB he said to them, “I am now a hundred and twenty years old; I am no longer able to come and go, and the LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’
- NKJV And he said to them: “I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’
- NASB And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today; I am no longer able to go out and come in, and the Lord has told me, ‘You shall not cross this Jordan.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
At 120 years old, Moses announces he will not lead them across the Jordan. God's purposes continue even as his servants pass on.
Overview
Moses acknowledges his age and his exclusion from entering Canaan, recalling God's earlier decree. His humble acceptance of God's will, even in personal disappointment, models submission to the Lord. The passing of Moses and the continuance of God's plan remind us that God's work does not depend on any one servant, but on the Lord who raises up successors and ultimately gives the true and eternal leader in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Deut 34:7Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died. His eye was not dim, nor his strength gone.
- Num 27:17who may go out before them, and who may come in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in; that the congregation of Yahweh not be as sheep which have no shepherd.”
- 1 Kgs 3:7Now, Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father. I am just a little child. I don’t know how to go out or come in.
- Num 20:12Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
- Deut 3:26–27But Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes, and didn’t listen to me. Yahweh said to me, “Let this satisfy you. Speak no more to me of this matter.
- Exod 7:7Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
- 2 Pet 1:13–14I think it right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you;
- Deut 1:37Also Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes, saying, “You also shall not go in there.
- Josh 14:10–11“Now, behold, Yahweh has kept me alive, as he spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that Yahweh spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. Now, behold, I am eighty-five years old, today.
- Acts 20:25“Now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I went about preaching God’s Kingdom, will see my face no more.
- Acts 7:23But when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.
- Num 27:13–14When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered;
- Ps 90:10The days of our years are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty years; yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for it passes quickly, and we fly away.
- Deut 32:48–52Yahweh spoke to Moses that same day, saying,
- 2 Sam 21:17But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “Don’t go out with us to battle any more, so that you don’t quench the lamp of Israel.”
- Deut 4:21–22Furthermore Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in to that good land, which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance;
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 31:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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