Deuteronomy 32

New International Version

32 Listen,^(A) you heavens,^(B) and I will speak;
    hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.^(C)
²Let my teaching fall like rain^(D)
    and my words descend like dew,^(E)
like showers^(F) on new grass,
    like abundant rain on tender plants.

³I will proclaim^(G) the name of the Lord.^(H)
    Oh, praise the greatness^(I) of our God!
⁴He is the Rock,^(J) his works are perfect,^(K)
    and all his ways are just.
A faithful God^(L) who does no wrong,
    upright^(M) and just is he.^(N)

⁵They are corrupt and not his children;
    to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation.^(O)
⁶Is this the way you repay^(P) the Lord,
    you foolish^(Q) and unwise people?^(R)
Is he not your Father,^(S) your Creator,^[a]
    who made you and formed you?^(T)

⁷Remember the days of old;^(U)
    consider the generations long past.^(V)
Ask your father and he will tell you,
    your elders, and they will explain to you.^(W)
⁸When the Most High^(X) gave the nations their inheritance,
    when he divided all mankind,^(Y)
he set up boundaries^(Z) for the peoples
    according to the number of the sons of Israel.^[b]^(AA)
⁹For the Lord’s portion^(AB) is his people,
    Jacob his allotted inheritance.^(AC)

¹⁰In a desert^(AD) land he found him,
    in a barren and howling waste.^(AE)
He shielded^(AF) him and cared for him;
    he guarded him as the apple of his eye,^(AG)
¹¹like an eagle that stirs up its nest
    and hovers over its young,^(AH)
that spreads its wings to catch them
    and carries them aloft.^(AI)
¹²The Lord alone led^(AJ) him;^(AK)
    no foreign god was with him.^(AL)

¹³He made him ride on the heights^(AM) of the land
    and fed him with the fruit of the fields.
He nourished him with honey from the rock,^(AN)
    and with oil^(AO) from the flinty crag,
¹⁴with curds and milk from herd and flock
    and with fattened lambs and goats,
with choice rams of Bashan^(AP)
    and the finest kernels of wheat.^(AQ)
You drank the foaming blood of the grape.^(AR)

¹⁵Jeshurun^[c]^(AS) grew fat^(AT) and kicked;
    filled with food, they became heavy and sleek.
They abandoned^(AU) the God who made them
    and rejected the Rock^(AV) their Savior.
¹⁶They made him jealous^(AW) with their foreign gods
    and angered^(AX) him with their detestable idols.
¹⁷They sacrificed^(AY) to false gods,^(AZ) which are not God—
    gods they had not known,^(BA)
    gods that recently appeared,^(BB)
    gods your ancestors did not fear.
¹⁸You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
    you forgot^(BC) the God who gave you birth.

¹⁹The Lord saw this and rejected them^(BD)
    because he was angered by his sons and daughters.^(BE)
²⁰“I will hide my face^(BF) from them,” he said,
    “and see what their end will be;
for they are a perverse generation,^(BG)
    children who are unfaithful.^(BH)
²¹They made me jealous^(BI) by what is no god
    and angered me with their worthless idols.^(BJ)
I will make them envious by those who are not a people;
    I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.^(BK)
²²For a fire will be kindled by my wrath,^(BL)
    one that burns down to the realm of the dead below.^(BM)
It will devour^(BN) the earth and its harvests^(BO)
    and set afire the foundations of the mountains.^(BP)

²³“I will heap calamities^(BQ) on them
    and spend my arrows^(BR) against them.
²⁴I will send wasting famine^(BS) against them,
    consuming pestilence^(BT) and deadly plague;^(BU)
I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts,^(BV)
    the venom of vipers^(BW) that glide in the dust.^(BX)
²⁵In the street the sword will make them childless;
    in their homes terror^(BY) will reign.^(BZ)
The young men and young women will perish,
    the infants and those with gray hair.^(CA)
²⁶I said I would scatter^(CB) them
    and erase their name from human memory,^(CC)
²⁷but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy,
    lest the adversary misunderstand^(CD)
and say, ‘Our hand has triumphed;
    the Lord has not done all this.’”^(CE)

²⁸They are a nation without sense,
    there is no discernment^(CF) in them.
²⁹If only they were wise and would understand this^(CG)
    and discern what their end will be!^(CH)
³⁰How could one man chase a thousand,
    or two put ten thousand to flight,^(CI)
unless their Rock had sold them,^(CJ)
    unless the Lord had given them up?^(CK)
³¹For their rock is not like our Rock,^(CL)
    as even our enemies concede.^(CM)
³²Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom^(CN)
    and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are filled with poison,^(CO)
    and their clusters with bitterness.^(CP)
³³Their wine is the venom of serpents,
    the deadly poison of cobras.^(CQ)

³⁴“Have I not kept this in reserve
    and sealed it in my vaults?^(CR)
³⁵It is mine to avenge;^(CS) I will repay.^(CT)
    In due time their foot will slip;^(CU)
their day of disaster is near
    and their doom rushes upon them.^(CV)”

³⁶The Lord will vindicate his people^(CW)
    and relent^(CX) concerning his servants^(CY)
when he sees their strength is gone
    and no one is left, slave^(CZ) or free.^[d]
³⁷He will say: “Now where are their gods,
    the rock they took refuge in,^(DA)
³⁸the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices
    and drank the wine of their drink offerings?^(DB)
Let them rise up to help you!
    Let them give you shelter!

³⁹“See now that I myself am he!^(DC)
    There is no god besides me.^(DD)
I put to death^(DE) and I bring to life,^(DF)
    I have wounded and I will heal,^(DG)
    and no one can deliver out of my hand.^(DH)
⁴⁰I lift my hand^(DI) to heaven and solemnly swear:
    As surely as I live forever,^(DJ)
⁴¹when I sharpen my flashing sword^(DK)
    and my hand grasps it in judgment,
I will take vengeance^(DL) on my adversaries
    and repay those who hate me.^(DM)
⁴²I will make my arrows drunk with blood,^(DN)
    while my sword devours flesh:^(DO)
the blood of the slain and the captives,
    the heads of the enemy leaders.”

⁴³Rejoice,^(DP) you nations, with his people,^[e]^[f]
for he will avenge the blood of his servants;^(DQ)
he will take vengeance on his enemies^(DR)
and make atonement for his land and people.^(DS)

⁴⁴Moses came with Joshua^[g]^(DT) son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. ⁴⁵When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, ⁴⁶he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day,^(DU) so that you may command^(DV) your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. ⁴⁷They are not just idle words for you—they are your life.^(DW) By them you will live long^(DX) in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Moses to Die on Mount Nebo

⁴⁸On that same day the Lord told Moses,^(DY) ⁴⁹“Go up into the Abarim^(DZ) Range to Mount Nebo^(EA) in Moab, across from Jericho,^(EB) and view Canaan,^(EC) the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. ⁵⁰There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die^(ED) and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died^(EE) on Mount Hor^(EF) and was gathered to his people. ⁵¹This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh^(EG) in the Desert of Zin^(EH) and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites.^(EI) ⁵²Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance;^(EJ) you will not enter^(EK) the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”

Footnotes

Deuteronomy 32:6 Or Father, who bought you
Deuteronomy 32:8 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) sons of God
Deuteronomy 32:15 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel.
Deuteronomy 32:36 Or and they are without a ruler or leader
Deuteronomy 32:43 Or Make his people rejoice, you nations
Deuteronomy 32:43 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) people, / and let all the angels worship him, /
Deuteronomy 32:44 Hebrew Hoshea, a variant of Joshua

Deuteronomy 4

New International Version

Obedience Commanded

4 Now, Israel, hear the decrees^(A) and laws I am about to teach^(B) you. Follow them so that you may live^(C) and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. ²Do not add^(D) to what I command you and do not subtract^(E) from it, but keep^(F) the commands^(G) of the Lord your God that I give you.

³You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor.^(H) The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, ⁴but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.

⁵See, I have taught^(I) you decrees and laws^(J) as the Lord my God commanded^(K) me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering^(L) to take possession of it. ⁶Observe^(M) them carefully, for this will show your wisdom^(N) and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”^(O) ⁷What other nation is so great^(P) as to have their gods near^(Q) them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? ⁸And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws^(R) as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

⁹Only be careful,^(S) and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach^(T) them to your children^(U) and to their children after them. ¹⁰Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb,^(V) when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn^(W) to revere^(X) me as long as they live in the land^(Y) and may teach^(Z) them to their children.” ¹¹You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain^(AA) while it blazed with fire^(AB) to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.^(AC) ¹²Then the Lord spoke^(AD) to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form;^(AE) there was only a voice.^(AF) ¹³He declared to you his covenant,^(AG) the Ten Commandments,^(AH) which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. ¹⁴And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws^(AI) you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

¹⁵You saw no form^(AJ) of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb^(AK) out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully,^(AL) ¹⁶so that you do not become corrupt^(AM) and make for yourselves an idol,^(AN) an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, ¹⁷or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air,^(AO) ¹⁸or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. ¹⁹And when you look up to the sky and see the sun,^(AP) the moon and the stars^(AQ)—all the heavenly array^(AR)—do not be enticed^(AS) into bowing down to them and worshiping^(AT) things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. ²⁰But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace,^(AU) out of Egypt,^(AV) to be the people of his inheritance,^(AW) as you now are.

²¹The Lord was angry with me^(AX) because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance. ²²I will die in this land;^(AY) I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land.^(AZ) ²³Be careful not to forget the covenant^(BA) of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol^(BB) in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. ²⁴For the Lord your God is a consuming fire,^(BC) a jealous God.^(BD)

²⁵After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt^(BE) and make any kind of idol,^(BF) doing evil^(BG) in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, ²⁶I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses^(BH) against you^(BI) this day that you will quickly perish^(BJ) from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. ²⁷The Lord will scatter^(BK) you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive^(BL) among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. ²⁸There you will worship man-made gods^(BM) of wood and stone,^(BN) which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.^(BO) ²⁹But if from there you seek^(BP) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart^(BQ) and with all your soul.^(BR) ³⁰When you are in distress^(BS) and all these things have happened to you, then in later days^(BT) you will return^(BU) to the Lord your God and obey him. ³¹For the Lord your God is a merciful^(BV) God; he will not abandon^(BW) or destroy^(BX) you or forget^(BY) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

The Lord Is God

³²Ask^(BZ) now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth;^(CA) ask from one end of the heavens to the other.^(CB) Has anything so great^(CC) as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? ³³Has any other people heard the voice of God^[a] speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?^(CD) ³⁴Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation,^(CE) by testings,^(CF) by signs^(CG) and wonders,^(CH) by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,^(CI) or by great and awesome deeds,^(CJ) like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

³⁵You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.^(CK) ³⁶From heaven he made you hear his voice^(CL) to discipline^(CM) you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. ³⁷Because he loved^(CN) your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength,^(CO) ³⁸to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance,^(CP) as it is today.

³⁹Acknowledge^(CQ) and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.^(CR) ⁴⁰Keep^(CS) his decrees and commands,^(CT) which I am giving you today, so that it may go well^(CU) with you and your children after you and that you may live long^(CV) in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.

Cities of Refuge^(CW)

⁴¹Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan, ⁴²to which anyone who had killed a person could flee if they had unintentionally^(CX) killed a neighbor without malice aforethought. They could flee into one of these cities and save their life. ⁴³The cities were these: Bezer in the wilderness plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth^(CY) in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

⁴⁴This is the law Moses set before the Israelites. ⁴⁵These are the stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt ⁴⁶and were in the valley near Beth Peor east of the Jordan, in the land of Sihon^(CZ) king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt. ⁴⁷They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. ⁴⁸This land extended from Aroer^(DA) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Sirion^[b]^(DB) (that is, Hermon^(DC)), ⁴⁹and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Dead Sea,^[c] below the slopes of Pisgah.