Deuteronomy 32:28-44

Good News Translation

²⁸ “Israel is a nation without sense;
    they have no wisdom at all.
²⁹ They fail to see why they were defeated;
    they cannot understand what happened.
³⁰ Why were a thousand defeated by one,
    and ten thousand by only two?
The Lord, their God, had abandoned them;
    their mighty God had given them up.
³¹ Their enemies know that their own gods are weak,
    not mighty like Israel's God.
³² Their enemies, corrupt as Sodom and Gomorrah,
    are like vines that bear bitter and poisonous grapes,
³³     like wine made from the venom of snakes.

³⁴ “The Lord remembers what their enemies have done;
    he waits for the right time to punish them.
^35 (A)The Lord will take revenge and punish them;
    the time will come when they will fall;
    the day of their doom is near.
^36 (B)The Lord will rescue his people
    when he sees that their strength is gone.
He will have mercy on those who serve him,
    when he sees how helpless they are.
³⁷ Then the Lord will ask his people,
    ‘Where are those mighty gods you trusted?
³⁸ You fed them the fat of your sacrifices
    and offered them wine to drink.
Let them come and help you now;
    let them run to your rescue.

³⁹ “‘I, and I alone, am God;
    no other god is real.
I kill and I give life, I wound and I heal,
    and no one can oppose what I do.
⁴⁰ As surely as I am the living God,
    I raise my hand and I vow
⁴¹     that I will sharpen my flashing sword
    and see that justice is done.
I will take revenge on my enemies
    and punish those who hate me.
⁴² My arrows will drip with their blood,
    and my sword will kill all who oppose me.
I will spare no one who fights against me;
    even the wounded and prisoners will die.’

^43 (C)“Nations, you must praise the Lord's people—
    he punishes all who kill them.
He takes revenge on his enemies
    and forgives the sins of his people.”