Deuteronomy 32:18-25

Contemporary English Version

¹⁸You turned away
    from God, your Creator;
you forgot the Mighty Rock,^[a]
    the source of your life.
¹⁹You were the Lord's children,
    but you made him angry.
Then he rejected you ²⁰and said,
“You are unfaithful
    and can't be trusted.
So I won't answer your prayers;
I'll just watch and see
    what happens to you.
²¹^(A) You worshiped worthless idols,
and made me jealous
    and angry!
Now I will send a cruel^[b]
    and worthless nation
to make you jealous and angry.

²²“My people, I will breathe out fire
that sends you down
    to the world of the dead.
It will scorch your farmlands
and burn deep down
    under the mountains.
²³I'll send disaster after disaster
    to strike you like arrows.
²⁴You'll be struck by starvation
    and deadly diseases,
by the fangs of wild animals
    and poisonous snakes.
²⁵Young and old alike
will be killed in the streets
    and terrified at home.