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Chapter 32

    [a]Give ear, O heavens, while I speak;
    Listen, O earth, to the words of my mouth.
Let my teaching fall down like rain,
    and my words descend like the dew.
Like rain upon the sprouts,
    and like showers upon the grass.
I will proclaim the name of the Lord,
    Oh, praise the greatness of our God.
He is a rock, his deeds are perfect,
    and all of his ways are just.
He is a God of truth who does no wrong;
    he is just and upright.
They have corrupted themselves,
    on account of their defect they are no longer his children,
    they are a perverse and crooked generation.
Is this the way to repay the Lord,
    O foolish and stupid people?
Is he not your father, who created you?
    Has he not made you and established you?
Remember the days of old,
    consider the years of past generations,
Ask your fathers, they will tell you,
    your elders, they will inform you.
When the Most High divided the inheritance among the nations,
    when he separated the sons of men,
he established the boundaries of the nations
    according to the number of the sons of God.
The Lord’s own portion was his people,
    Jacob his allotted inheritance.
10 He found him in a desert land,
    a waste and howling wilderness.
He shielded him, he instructed him;
    He guarded him as the apple of his eye.
11 Like an eagle that awakens its nest,
    and hovers over its young,
he spread his wings and snatched him,
    bearing him up on his pinions.
12 The Lord alone led him,
    there was no foreign god with him.
13 He made him ride on the heights of the earth,
    he ate from the produce of the fields;
he had him suck honey from the rock,
    and oil from the flinty rock,
14 curds from the herds and milk from the flocks,
    fat lambs and rams,
herds of bulls of Bashan and goats,
    the finest of the wheat,
from the blood of the grapes you drank wine.
15 But Jeshurun[b] grew fat and desirous,
    sated with food; he became heavy and obese.
He abandoned God who had made him,
    and rejected the rock of his salvation.
16 They provoked him with foreign gods,
    and angered him with abominations.
17 They sacrificed to demons that are not really gods,
    to foreign gods that they had not known,
    newly invented gods,
    gods whom your fathers did not fear.
18 You deserted the rock who formed you;
    you forgot God, who fathered you.
19 When the Lord saw it, he despised them;
    his sons and his daughters frustrated him.
20 He said, “I will hide my face from them
    and watch to see how they end,
for they are a perverse generation,
    children who are unfaithful.
21 They have made me jealous by what is not a god,
    angered me with their worthless things;
I will make them jealous of those who are not a people,
I will anger them with a foolish nation.
22 My anger has kindled fire to flame,
    it burns down to the lowest level of Sheol,[c]
it devours the earth and its produce,
    it ignites the foundation of the mountains.
23 I will pile disasters upon them,
    and use up my arrows against them.
24 I will send a wasting famine against them,
    consuming pestilence and bitter destruction;
I will send the fangs of wild beasts
    and the venom of the serpents that crawl in the dust.
25 Outside the sword will leave them childless,
    inside there will be only terror.
Upon the young man and the virgin,
    the infant and the old gray-haired man.
26 I said, ‘I will scatter them
    and wipe out remembrance of them from among humans,’
27 except that I dreaded the taunt of the enemy,
    lest the foe misunderstand and say,
‘Our hand has triumphed;
    the Lord has not done this!’ ”
28 They are a nation without sense,
    there is no understanding in them.
29 If only they were wise and would understand this,
    and consider how they will end.
30 How could one man put a thousand to flight,
    or two drive away ten thousand,
unless the rock had delivered them,
    and the Lord given them up?
31 For their rock is not like our rock,
    even our enemies would judge it so.
32 Their vine comes from the vine stock of Sodom,[d]
    and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are filled with poison,
    their clusters with bitterness.
33 Their wine is the venom of serpents,
    the cruel venom of cobras.
34 Is this not stored away with me,
    sealed up in my treasury?
35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense.
    Their foot will slip in due time,
for the day of destruction is at hand,
    and their doom hastens upon them.
36 The Lord will judge his people,
    he will have compassion on his servants
when he sees that their power is spent
    and there are none who remain, slave or free.
37 He will say, “Where are their gods,
    the rock in whom they trusted?
38 Who ate the fat of their offerings,
    and drank their wine libations?
Let them arise and help you
    and be your protection.
39 See now that I, I am he,
    there is no other god besides me.
It is I who put to death and give life,
    it is I who wound and heal.
No one can deliver you from out of my hand.
40 I lift my hand up to the heavens,
    and I swear, as I live forever,
41 I will sharpen my glistening sword;
    my hand will seize onto justice.
I will render vengeance on my enemies;
    I will repay those who hate me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
    and my sword will devour flesh,
the blood of the slain and the captives,
    the heads of the enemy leaders.”
43 Rejoice, O nations, with his people,
    bow to him, all you gods
    for he will avenge the blood of his servants
and take vengeance upon his foes,
    but he will be merciful to his land and his people.

44 Then Moses came and proclaimed all of the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua, the son of Nun.

45 Moses’ Last Appeal.[e]When Moses finished saying all these things to all of the Israelites, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all of the words that I bear witness to in your midst today and that I command your children to obey, observing all of the words of this law. 47 This is not a light matter for you; it is your very life. This will prolong your days in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”

48 Moses Dies on Mount Nebo. That same day the Lord said to Moses, 49 “Climb up Mount Abarim, Mount Nebo, that is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look out over the land that I am giving to the Israelites as a possession. 50 Then you will die on the mountain that you have ascended, and you will be gathered home to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered home to his people 51 because you broke faith with me before the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the Desert of Zin; you did not uphold my holiness in the midst of the Israelites. 52 Therefore, you shall only behold the land from a distance, you shall not enter into the land that I am giving to the Israelites.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 32:1 In order to make clear the sins that imperil the covenant, this song puts Israel through the mill in proper order. It is a hymn to the greatness of God, who is the strength of his people. It repeats the solemn admonitions of Moses and his successors.
  2. Deuteronomy 32:15 Jeshurun: i.e., Israel.
  3. Deuteronomy 32:22 Burns . . . to the lowest level of Sheol: Sheol is the abode of all the dead and known in the New Testament as Hades where only the wicked dead repose.
  4. Deuteronomy 32:32 The vine stock of Sodom: Israel’s enemies had come from sinful ancestors and their actions were evil (i.e., “filled with poison”).
  5. Deuteronomy 32:45 After a final appeal for fidelity, Moses hears repeated the prohibition against his entering the Promised Land (3:26-28). We do not know for sure what the fault of Moses and Aaron was; perhaps it was that they seemed to attribute a miracle to themselves (Num 20:12).

32 „Ascultaţi, ceruri, şi voi vorbi.
    Ascultă, pământule, cuvintele gurii mele.
Ca ploaia să cadă învăţătura mea
    şi ca roua să curgă cuvintele mele,
ca stropii de ploaie pe verdeaţă
    şi ca aversele pe iarbă.

Căci voi proclama Numele Domnului.
    Recunoaşte-ţi măreţia Dumnezeului nostru!
El este Stânca, lucrările Lui sunt desăvârşite,
    căci toate căile Lui sunt drepte.
Dumnezeu este credincios şi în El nu este nedreptate,
    El este drept şi cinstit.

Ei s-au stricat;
    spre ruşinea lor ei nu mai sunt fiii Lui,[a]
        ci o generaţie pervertită şi necinstită.
Astfel Îl răsplătiţi voi pe Domnul,
    popor nechibzuit şi neînţelept?
Nu este El Tatăl vostru, Creatorul[b] vostru,
    Cel Ce v-a întocmit şi v-a dat înfăţişare?

Aduceţi-vă aminte de zilele din trecut.
    Socotiţi anii care au trecut din generaţie în generaţie.
Întrebaţi-i pe părinţii voştri şi vă vor învăţa,
    pe bătrânii voştri şi vă vor spune.
Când Cel Preaînalt[c] le-a dat neamurilor moştenirea,
    când i-a despărţit pe fiii oamenilor,
El a aşezat hotarele popoarelor
    după numărul fiilor lui Israel[d].
Căci partea Domnului este poporul Lui,
    Iacov este moştenirea Lui.

10 El l-a găsit într-un ţinut pustiu,
    într-o singurătate plină de urlete deznădăjduite.
L-a înconjurat şi s-a îngrijit de el.
    L-a apărat ca pe lumina ochilor Lui,
11 asemenea vulturului care îşi scutură cuibul
    şi zboară deasupra puilor,
care îşi deschide aripile,
    îi ia şi-i poartă pe penele lui.
12 Domnul a condus singur pe poporul Său
    şi nu era nici un zeu străin alături de El.
13 El l-a urcat pe înălţimile ţării
    şi l-a hrănit cu roadele câmpului.
L-a hrănit cu miere din stâncă
    şi cu untdelemn din stânca cea mai tare,
14 cu iaurtul vitelor şi cu laptele oilor,
    cu grăsimea mieilor,
a berbecilor din Başan şi a ţapilor,
    cu grăsimea boabelor de grâu.
        Şi ai băut vin, sângele strugurilor.

15 Ieşurun[e] s-a îngrăşat şi s-a împotrivit!
    Te-ai îngrăşat, ai devenit greu şi mare!
El L-a părăsit pe Dumnezeul Care l-a creat
    şi a respins Stânca mântuirii lui.
16 Ei L-au făcut gelos prin zeii străini
    şi L-au mâniat prin urâciuni.
17 Ei au adus jertfe demonilor, nu lui Dumnezeu,
    unor zei pe care nu-i cunoşteau,
zei noi, sosiţi de curând,
    de care strămoşii voştri nu s-au temut.
18 Aţi părăsit Stânca care v-a creat,
    aţi uitat pe Dumnezeul Care v-a născut.

19 Domnul a văzut şi i-a dispreţuit;
    El s-a mâniat pe fiii şi pe fiicele Lui.
20 « Îmi voi ascunde faţa de ei, a zis El,
    şi voi privi la sfârşitul lor,
căci sunt o generaţie pervertită,
    sunt nişte copii necredincioşi.
21 M-au provocat la gelozie prin ceea ce nu este Dumnezeu
    şi M-au mâniat prin idolii lor de nimic.
De aceea şi Eu îi voi provoca la gelozie prin ceea ce nu este un popor;
    îi voi mânia printr-un neam fără pricepere.
22 Căci focul mâniei Mele s-a aprins
    şi va arde până în adâncul Locuinţei Morţilor[f].
Va distruge pământul împreună cu recoltele lui
    şi va arde temeliile munţilor.

23 Voi aduce nenorociri peste ei,
    voi arunca toate săgeţile Mele împotriva lor;
24 vor fi vlăguiţi de foamete,
    mâncaţi de molimă şi distruşi cu asprime.
Voi trimite împotriva lor colţii animalelor sălbatice
    şi veninul şerpilor.
25 Pe drum vor pieri de sabie,
    iar în odăi vor pieri de groază.
Vor pieri şi tânărul, şi fecioara,
    şi copilaşul, şi bătrânul.
26 Am zis că îi voi zdrobi
    şi le voi şterge amintirea printre neamuri,
27 dar mă tem de insultele duşmanilor,
    ca nu cumva vrăjmaşii lor să se amăgească singuri
şi să zică: ‘Tăria mâinilor noastre,
    şi nu Domnul a făcut toate aceste lucruri!’»

28 Ei sunt un neam lipsit de sfat
    şi nu mai există discernământ în ei.
29 Dacă ar fi fost înţelepţi, ar fi înţeles aceasta
    şi s-ar fi gândit la ceea ce li se va întâmpla.
30 Cum ar fi putut unul să urmărească o mie
    sau doi să pună pe fugă zece mii,
dacă nu i-ar fi vândut Stânca lor
    şi dacă Domnul nu i-ar fi întemniţat?
31 Căci stânca lor nu este ca Stânca noastră,
    chiar şi duşmanii noştri înţeleg aceasta.
32 Viţa lor izvorăşte din via Sodomei
    şi din câmpiile Gomorei.
Strugurii lor sunt plini de venin,
    iar ciorchinii sunt amari.
33 Vinul lor este venin de şerpi,
    veninul cobrelor nemiloase.
34 Oare nu este păstrat lucrul acesta la Mine
    şi pecetluit printre comorile Mele?
35 A Mea este răzbunarea; Eu voi răsplăti!
    Vine vremea când le vor aluneca picioarele,
întrucât zilele distrugerii sunt aproape
    şi destinul lor se va grăbi.

36 Căci Domnul Îşi va judeca poporul,
    dar va avea milă de robii Săi
când va vedea că li s-a dus puterea
    şi că n-a mai rămas nimeni, nici întemniţat, nici liber.
37 «Unde le sunt zeii, va întreba El,
    stânca ce le slujea drept adăpost,
38 zeii ce se hrăneau cu grăsimea jertfelor lor
    şi care beau vinul jertfelor lor de băutură?
Să se ridice ca să vă ajute!
    Să vă ofere un adăpost!

39 Vedeţi acum că Eu Însumi sunt El!
    Nu mai există alt dumnezeu în afară de Mine.
Eu dau la moarte şi tot Eu aduc la viaţă,
    Eu zdrobesc şi tot Eu vindec
        şi nimeni nu poate izbăvi din mâna Mea.
40 Îmi ridic mâna spre cer şi declar:
    Viu sunt Eu pe vecie,
41 că Îmi voi ascuţi fulgerul sabiei Mele
    şi voi începe, cu mâna Mea, să fac judecată.
Mă voi răzbuna pe duşmanii Mei
    şi voi pedepsi pe cei ce Mă urăsc.
42 Voi face ca săgeţile Mele să se îmbete de sânge,
    iar sabia Mea se va hrăni cu carne,
cu sângele celor ucişi şi al captivilor,
    şi cu capetele conducătorilor duşmanilor.»

43 Bucuraţi-vă[g], neamuri[h], împreună cu poporul Lui,
    pentru că El va răzbuna sângele slujitorilor Lui,
se va răzbuna pe duşmanii Lui
    şi va face ispăşire pentru ţara şi poporul Lui.“

44 Deci Moise a venit împreună cu Iosua[i], fiul lui Nun, şi a rostit toate cuvintele acestei cântări în auzul poporului. 45 Când Moise a terminat de rostit toate cuvintele acestea către întreg Israelul, 46 le-a zis: „Puneţi-vă la inimă toate cuvintele pe care eu vi le-am rostit astăzi, astfel încât să porunciţi copiilor voştri să păzească şi să împlinească toate cuvintele acestei Legi. 47 Căci nici un cuvânt nu este fără însemnătate, ele sunt viaţa voastră. Prin cuvintele acestea vă veţi lungi zilele în ţara voastră pe care o veţi stăpâni după ce veţi traversa Iordanul.“

Moise priveşte ţara de pe muntele Nebo

48 În aceeaşi zi Domnul i-a vorbit lui Moise: 49 „Urcă-te pe muntele Abarim, adică pe muntele Nebo[j], în ţara Moab, care este înaintea Ierihonului şi priveşte Canaanul pe care Eu îl dau lui Israel în stăpânire. 50 Tu vei muri pe muntele pe care te vei urca şi vei fi astfel adăugat la strămoşii tăi, după cum fratele tău Aaron a murit pe muntele Hor şi a fost adăugat la strămoşii lui, 51 din cauză că aţi fost necredincioşi faţă de Mine înaintea israeliţilor, la apele Meribei din Kadeş, în pustia Ţin, unde nu M-aţi sfinţit în mijlocul lui Israel. 52 Tu vei vedea pământul promisiunii de la distanţă, dar nu vei intra în ţara pe care o dau poporului Israel.“

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronom 32:5 Sensul în ebraică al celor două versuri este nesigur
  2. Deuteronom 32:6 Sau: Tatăl vostru, care v-a dobândit
  3. Deuteronom 32:8 Ebr.: Elion
  4. Deuteronom 32:8 TM; Q: fiilor lui Dumnezeu; LXX: îngerilor lui Dumnezeu
  5. Deuteronom 32:15 Ieşurun înseamnă cel drept, nume poetic al lui Israel, desemnând caracterul ideal al poporului
  6. Deuteronom 32:22 Ebr.: Şeol
  7. Deuteronom 32:43 Sau: Faceţi, neamuri, ca poporul Său să se bucure; sau: Lăudaţi-l, neamuri, pe poporul Său
  8. Deuteronom 32:43 TM; Q şi LXX: Bucuraţi-vă, ceruri, împreună cu El / şi toţi îngerii lui Dumnezeu să I se închine
  9. Deuteronom 32:44 Ebr.: Osea, o variantă a numelui lui Iosua (vezi Num. 13:8, 16 şi nota de la v. 16)
  10. Deuteronom 32:49 Muntele Nebo, cu vârful Pisga, făcea parte din lanţul muntos Abarim

32 Listen,(A) you heavens,(B) and I will speak;
    hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.(C)
Let 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.

I will proclaim(G) the name of the Lord.(H)
    Oh, praise the greatness(I) of our God!
He 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)

They are corrupt and not his children;
    to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation.(O)
Is 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)

Remember 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)
When 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)
For the Lord’s portion(AB) is his people,
    Jacob his allotted inheritance.(AC)

10 In 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)
11 like 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)
12 The Lord alone led(AJ) him;(AK)
    no foreign god was with him.(AL)

13 He 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,
14 with 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)

15 Jeshurun[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.
16 They made him jealous(AW) with their foreign gods
    and angered(AX) him with their detestable idols.
17 They 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.
18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
    you forgot(BC) the God who gave you birth.

19 The 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)
21 They 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)
22 For 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.
24 I 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)
25 In 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)
26 I said I would scatter(CB) them
    and erase their name from human memory,(CC)
27 but 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)

28 They are a nation without sense,
    there is no discernment(CF) in them.
29 If only they were wise and would understand this(CG)
    and discern what their end will be!(CH)
30 How 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)
31 For their rock is not like our Rock,(CL)
    as even our enemies concede.(CM)
32 Their 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)
33 Their 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)
35 It 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)

36 The 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]
37 He will say: “Now where are their gods,
    the rock they took refuge in,(DA)
38 the 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)
40 I lift my hand(DI) to heaven and solemnly swear:
    As surely as I live forever,(DJ)
41 when 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)
42 I 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.”

43 Rejoice,(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)

44 Moses came with Joshua[g](DT) son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. 45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he 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. 47 They 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

48 On 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. 50 There 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. 51 This 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) 52 Therefore, 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

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