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The Song of Moses

32 “Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

“Let my teaching drop as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
As the light rain upon the tender grass,
And as the spring showers upon the herb.

“For I proclaim the name [and presence] of the Lord;
Ascribe greatness and honor to our God!

“The Rock! His work is perfect,
For all His ways are just;
A God of faithfulness without iniquity (injustice),
Just and upright is He.

“They (Israel) have acted corruptly toward Him.
They are not His children, because of their [moral] defect;
But are a perverse and crooked generation.

“Do you thus repay the Lord,
O foolish and unwise people?
Is not He your Father who has acquired you [as His own]?
He has made you and established you [as a nation].

“Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of many generations.
Ask your father, and he will inform you,
Your elders, and they will tell you.

“When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
When He separated the sons of man,
He set the boundaries of the peoples
According to the number of the sons of Israel.

“For the Lord’s portion and chosen share is His people;
Jacob (Israel) is the allotment of His inheritance.
10 
“He found him in a desert land,
In the howling wasteland of a wilderness;
He kept circling him, He took care of him,
He protected him as the [a]apple of His eye.
11 
“As an eagle that protects its nest,
That flutters over its young,
He spread out His wings and took them,
He carried them on His pinions.(A)
12 
“So the Lord alone led him;
There was no foreign god with him.
13 
“He made him (Israel) ride on the high places of the earth,
And he ate the produce of the field;
And He made him suck honey from the rock,
And [olive] oil from the flinty rock,
14 
Butter and curds of cows, and milk of the flock,
With fat of lambs,
And rams, the breed of Bashan, and goats,
With the finest of the wheat;
And you drank wine, the blood of grapes.

15 
“But Jeshurun (Israel) became fat and kicked [at God].
You became fat, thick, sleek, and obstinate!
Then he abandoned God who had made him,
And scorned the Rock of his salvation.
16 
“They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods [by denying Him the honor and loyalty that is rightfully and uniquely His];
And with repulsive acts they provoked Him to anger.
17 
“They sacrificed to demons, not to God,
To gods whom they have not known,
New gods who came lately,
Whom your fathers never feared.
18 
“You were unmindful of the Rock who bore you,
And you forgot the God who gave you birth.

19 
“The Lord saw it, and rejected them,
Out of indignation with His sons and His daughters.
20 
“Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them,
I will see what their end shall be;
For they are a perverse generation,
Sons in whom there is no faithfulness.
21 
‘They have made Me [b]jealous with what is not God;
They have provoked Me to anger with their idols.
So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
22 
‘For a fire is kindled by My anger,
And it burns to the depths of Sheol (the place of the dead, the nether world),
It devours the earth with its yield,
And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

23 
‘I will heap misfortunes on them;
I will use My arrows on them.
24 
‘They will be wasted by hunger, and consumed by plague
And a bitter destruction;
And I will send the teeth of beasts against them,
With the venom of crawling things of the dust.
25 
‘Outside the sword will bereave,
And inside [the chambers] terror—
For both young man and virgin,
For the nursing child and the man of gray hair.
26 
‘I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces [scattering them far away],
I will remove the memory of them from men,”
27 
Had I not feared the provocation of the enemy,
That their adversaries would misjudge,
That they would say, “Our [own] hand has prevailed,
And the Lord has not done all this.”’

28 
“For they are a nation devoid of counsel,
And there is no understanding in them.
29 
“O that they were wise, that they understood this,
That they could discern their future and ultimate fate!
30 
“How could one chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Unless their Rock had sold them,
And the Lord had given them up?
31 
“For their rock is not like our Rock,
Even our enemies themselves judge this.
32 
“For their vine is from the vine of Sodom,
And from the fields of Gomorrah;
Their grapes are grapes of poison,
Their clusters, bitter.
33 
“Their wine is the venom of serpents,
And the deadly poison of vipers.

34 
‘Is it not laid up in store with Me,
Sealed up in My treasuries?
35 
‘Vengeance is Mine, and retribution,
In due time their foot will slip;
For the day of their disaster is at hand,
And their doom hurries to meet them.’
36 
“For the Lord will vindicate His people,
And will have compassion on His servants,
When He sees that their strength (hand) is gone,
And none remains, whether bond or free.
37 
“And He will say, ‘Where are their gods,
The rock in which they took refuge?
38 
‘Who ate the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise up and help you,
Let them be your hiding place!
39 
‘See now that I, I am He,
And there is no god besides Me;
It is I who put to death and I who give life.
I have wounded and it is I who heal,
And there is no one who can deliver from [the power of] My hand.
40 
‘Indeed, I lift up My hand to heaven,
And say (swear an oath), as I live forever,
41 
If I sharpen the lightning of My sword,
And My hand takes hold of judgment,
I will render vengeance on My adversaries,
And I will repay those who hate Me.
42 
‘I will make My arrows drunk with blood,
And My sword will devour flesh,
With the blood of the slain and the captives,
From the heads of the leaders of the enemy.’
43 
“Rejoice, O nations, with His people;
For He will avenge the blood of His servants,
And will render vengeance on His adversaries,
And will atone for His land and His people.”

44 Then Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and [c]Joshua the son of Nun. 45 When Moses had finished speaking all these words to all [the people of] Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words of warning which I am speaking to you today; and you shall command your children to observe them carefully—to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is not an empty or trivial matter for you; indeed it is your [very] life. By [honoring and obeying] this word you will live long in the land, which you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

48 And the Lord said to Moses that very same day, 49 “Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel as a possession. 50 Then die on the mountain which you climb, and be gathered to your people [in death], just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with Me among of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat Me as holy among of the sons of Israel.(B) 52 For you shall see the land opposite you from a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel.”

The Blessing of Moses

33 This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God [d]blessed the sons of Israel before his death. He said,

“The Lord came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from Seir;
He shone forth from Mount Paran,
And He came from among ten thousand holy ones;
At His right hand was a [e]flaming fire, a law, for them.

“Indeed, He loves His people;
All [f]Your holy ones are in Your hand.
They followed in Your steps;
They accept and receive direction from You.

“Moses commanded us with a law,
As a possession for the assembly of Jacob.

“The Lord was King in Jeshurun (Israel),
When the heads of the people were gathered,
The tribes of Israel together.


“May [the tribe of] Reuben live and not die out,
[g]But let his men be few.”

And [Moses said] this of [h]Judah:

“Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people.
With his hands he contended for them,
And may You be a help against his enemies.”

Of Levi he said,

“Your [i]Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man [Aaron],
Whom You tested and proved at Massah,
With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;(C)

Who [j]said of his father and mother,
‘I did not consider them’;
Nor did he acknowledge his brothers,
Nor did he regard his own sons,
For the priests observed Your word,
And kept Your covenant.
10 
“The priests shall teach Your ordinances (judgments) to Jacob,
And Your law to Israel.
They shall put incense [k]before You,
And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
11 
“O Lord, bless Levi’s substance (ability),
And accept and take pleasure in the work of his hands;
Crush and shatter the loins of those who rise up against him,
And of those who hate him, so that they do not rise again.”

12 Of Benjamin he said,

“May the beloved of the Lord [l]dwell in safety by Him;
He shields and covers him all the day long,
And he dwells between His shoulders.”

13 And of [m]Joseph he said,

“Blessed by the Lord be his land,
With the precious things of heaven, with the dew,
And from the deep water that lies beneath,
14 
With the precious fruits of the sun,
And with the precious produce of the months.
15 
“With the best things of the ancient mountains,
And with the precious things of the everlasting hills,
16 
With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor and goodwill of Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let these blessings come upon the head of Joseph,
And upon the crown of the head of him who was distinguished [as a prince] among his brothers.(D)
17 
“His majesty is like a firstborn young bull,
And his horns like the horns of the wild ox;
With them he will gore the peoples,
All of them together, to the ends of the earth.
And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And those are the thousands of Manasseh.”

18 Of Zebulun he said,

[n]Rejoice, Zebulun, in your interests abroad,
And, Issachar, in your tents [at home].
19 
“They will call the peoples to the mountain (Mount Carmel);
There they will offer sacrifices of righteousness;
For they will draw out the abundance of the seas,
And the hidden treasures of the sand.”

20 Of Gad he said,

“Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad;
He lurks like a lioness,
And tears the arm and the crown of the head.
21 
“He selected the best [land] for himself,
For there the leader’s portion was reserved;
Yet he came with the leaders of the people;
He carried out the justice (righteous will) of the Lord,
And His ordinances (judgments) with Israel.”(E)

22 Of Dan he said,

“Dan is a lion’s cub,
That leaps forth from Bashan.”

23 Of Naphtali he said,

“O Naphtali, satisfied with favor,
And full of the blessing of the Lord,
Take possession of the sea [of Galilee] and the south.”

24 Of Asher he said,

“More blessed than sons is Asher;
May he be favored by his brothers,
And may he dip his foot in oil.
25 
“Your strongholds will be iron and bronze,
And as your days are, so will your strength, your rest and security be.

26 
“There is none like the God of Jeshurun (Israel),
Who rides the heavens to your help,
And through the skies in His majestic glory.
27 
“The eternal God is your refuge and dwelling place,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
He drove out the enemy from before you,
And said, ‘Destroy!’
28 
“So Israel dwells in safety and security,
The fountain of Jacob alone and secluded,
In a land of grain and new wine;
His heavens also drop down dew.
29 
“Happy and blessed are you, O Israel;
Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,
The Shield of your help,
And the Sword of your majesty!
Your enemies will cringe before you,
And you will tread on their high places [tramping down their idolatrous altars].”

The Death of Moses

34 [o]Now Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, from Gilead to Dan, and all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah to the western sea (Mediterranean Sea), and the Negev (South country) and the plain in the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows where his burial place is to this day. Although Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eyesight was not dim, nor his natural strength abated.(F) So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the Lord commanded Moses. 10 Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 [none equal to him] in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land, 12 and in all the mighty power and all the great and terrible deeds which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 32:10 Lit pupil.
  2. Deuteronomy 32:21 God does not tolerate the transfer of the honor and worship that is due Him to any other being or object.
  3. Deuteronomy 32:44 Lit Hoshea.
  4. Deuteronomy 33:1 Jacob’s (Israel’s) blessing on his twelve sons is recorded in Gen 49:1-27.
  5. Deuteronomy 33:2 Or fiery law.
  6. Deuteronomy 33:3 Lit His.
  7. Deuteronomy 33:6 Or Nor. The Hebrew can be taken either way, though the parallelism of thought slightly favors “nor let.” However, some argue for the wording “but let” due to the fact that Reuben had committed the grave offense of fornication with Bilhah, his father’s concubine (Gen 49:3, 4; also see note Gen 22:24). It is maintained that Moses’ blessing for Reuben is somewhat mixed, asking that the tribe not become extinct, but that it always be few in number.
  8. Deuteronomy 33:7 The tribe of Judah later absorbed the tribe of Simeon (Josh 19:1-9), therefore, a specific blessing for Simeon is omitted from this passage.
  9. Deuteronomy 33:8 I.e. unspecified articles used like lots when the high priest asked God’s counsel for Israel.
  10. Deuteronomy 33:9 The law required that the high priest act just as impartially when one of his immediate family died, as if the departed were not related to him (Lev 21:10-12); however, another application may be intended—referring to the events at the foot of Sinai, when the Levites killed other Israelites as Moses directed them (Ex 32:26-28).
  11. Deuteronomy 33:10 Lit in Your nose.
  12. Deuteronomy 33:12 The temple in Jerusalem was located almost between the ridges of the territory of Benjamin, suggesting “between his shoulders” (see also Josh 15:8). Moses saw it as a symbol of the Lord’s presence covering Benjamin continually.
  13. Deuteronomy 33:13 Because of Reuben’s sin with Bilhah, Joseph received the double blessing of the firstborn. The descendants of Joseph became the tribes established by his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (see v 17).
  14. Deuteronomy 33:18 Not until 1934 was this prophecy notably in process of fulfillment, when Haifa’s bay became one of the great harbors of the Mediterranean Sea, with commerce affecting the whole world.
  15. Deuteronomy 34:1 The author of this final section regarding the death of Moses is uncertain.

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