Deuteronomy 32
Christian Standard Bible
Song of Moses
32 Pay attention, heavens, and I will speak;
listen, earth, to the words from my mouth.(A)
2 Let my teaching fall like rain
and my word settle like dew,
like gentle rain on new grass
and showers on tender plants.
3 For I will proclaim the Lord’s name.(B)
Declare the greatness of our God!
4 The Rock(C)—his work is perfect;
all his ways are just.(D)
A faithful God,(E) without bias,
he is righteous and true.
5 His people have acted corruptly toward him;(F)
this is their defect[a]—they are not his children
but a devious and crooked generation.(G)
6 Is this how you repay the Lord,
you foolish and senseless people?(H)
Isn’t he your Father and Creator?[b](I)
Didn’t he make you and sustain you?
7 Remember the days of old;
consider the years of past generations.
Ask your father, and he will tell you,
your elders, and they will teach you.
8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance[c]
and divided the human race,(J)
he set the boundaries of the peoples(K)
according to the number of the people of Israel.[d]
9 But the Lord’s portion is his people,
Jacob, his own inheritance.(L)
10 He found him in a desolate land,
in a barren, howling wilderness;
he surrounded him, cared for him,(M)
and protected him as the pupil of his eye.(N)
11 He watches over[e] his nest like an eagle
and hovers over his young;
he spreads his wings, catches him,
and carries him on his feathers.(O)
12 The Lord alone led him,
with no help from a foreign god.
13 He made him ride on the heights of the land(P)
and eat the produce of the field.
He nourished him with honey from the rock
and oil from flinty rock,
14 curds from the herd and milk from the flock,
with the fat of lambs,
rams from Bashan,(Q) and goats,
with the choicest grains of wheat;
you drank wine from the finest grapes.[f]
15 Then[g] Jeshurun[h](R) became fat and rebelled—
you became fat, bloated, and gorged.
He abandoned the God who made him
and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
16 They provoked his jealousy with different gods;
they enraged him with detestable practices.(S)
17 They sacrificed to demons, not God,
to gods they had not known,
new gods that had just arrived,
which your ancestors did not fear.(T)
18 You ignored the Rock who gave you birth;
you forgot the God who gave birth to you.
19 When the Lord saw this, he despised them,
angered by his sons and daughters.
20 He said, “I will hide my face from them;(U)
I will see what will become of them,
for they are a perverse generation—
unfaithful children.
21 They have provoked my jealousy
with what is not a god;[i]
they have enraged me with their worthless idols.(V)
So I will provoke their jealousy
with what is not a people;[j]
I will enrage them with a foolish nation.(W)
22 For fire has been kindled because of my anger
and burns to the depths of Sheol;(X)
it devours the land and its produce,
and scorches the foundations of the mountains.
23 “I will pile disasters on them;
I will use up my arrows against them.
24 They will be weak from hunger,
ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague;
I will unleash on them wild beasts with fangs,
as well as venomous snakes that slither in the dust.
25 Outside, the sword will take their children,
and inside, there will be terror;
the young man and the young woman will be killed,
the infant and the gray-haired man.(Y)
26 “I would have said: I will cut them to pieces[k]
and blot out the memory of them from mankind,(Z)
27 if I had not feared provocation from the enemy,
or feared that these foes might misunderstand
and say, ‘Our own hand has prevailed;
it wasn’t the Lord who did all this.’”
28 Israel is a nation lacking sense
with no understanding at all.(AA)
29 If only they were wise, they would comprehend this;
they would understand their fate.
30 How could one pursue a thousand,
or two put ten thousand to flight,(AB)
unless their Rock had sold them,
unless the Lord had given them up?(AC)
31 But their “rock” is not like our Rock,
as even our enemies concede.
32 For their vine is from the vine of Sodom
and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are poisonous;
their clusters are bitter.
33 Their wine is serpents’ venom,
the deadly poison of cobras.(AD)
34 “Is it not stored up with me,
sealed up in my vaults?
35 Vengeance and retribution belong to me.[l](AE)
In time their foot will slip,
for their day of disaster is near,
and their doom is coming quickly.”
36 The Lord will indeed vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants(AF)
when he sees that their strength is gone
and no one is left—slave or free.[m]
37 He will say, “Where are their gods,
the ‘rock’ they found refuge in?
38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
Let them rise up and help you;
let it[n] be a shelter for you.
39 See now that I alone am he;
there is no God but me.(AG)
I bring death and I give life;
I wound and I heal.
No one can rescue anyone from my power.(AH)
40 I raise my hand to heaven and declare:
As surely as I live forever,
41 when I sharpen my flashing sword,
and my hand takes hold of judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and repay those who hate me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood
while my sword devours flesh—
the blood of the slain and the captives,
the heads of the enemy leaders.”[o]
43 Rejoice, you nations, concerning his people,[p](AI)
for he will avenge the blood of his servants.[q]
He will take vengeance on his adversaries;[r](AJ)
he will purify his land and his people.[s]
44 Moses came with Joshua[t] son of Nun and recited all the words of this song in the presence of the people. 45 After Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all these words I am giving as a warning to you today,(AK) so that you may command your children to follow all the words of this law carefully.(AL) 47 For they are not meaningless words to you but they are your life,(AM) and by them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
Moses’s Impending Death
48 On that same day the Lord spoke to Moses,(AN) 49 “Go up Mount Nebo(AO) in the Abarim range in the land of Moab, across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan I am giving the Israelites as a possession. 50 Then you will die on the mountain that you go up, and you will be gathered to your people,(AP) just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.(AQ) 51 For both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the Waters of Meribath-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin by failing to treat me as holy in their presence. 52 Although from a distance you will view the land that I am giving the Israelites, you will not go there.”(AR)
Footnotes
- 32:5 Or him; through their fault; Hb obscure
- 32:6 Or Possessor
- 32:8 Or Most High divided the nations
- 32:8 One DSS reads number of the sons of God; LXX reads number of the angels of God
- 32:11 Or He stirs up
- 32:14 Lit drank the blood of grapes, fermenting wine
- 32:15 DSS, Sam, LXX add Jacob ate his fill;
- 32:15 = Upright One, referring to Israel
- 32:21 Lit with no gods
- 32:21 Lit with no people
- 32:26 LXX reads will scatter them
- 32:35 MT; LXX reads On a day of vengeance I will repay.
- 32:36 Or left—even the weak and impaired; Hb obscure
- 32:38 Sam, LXX, Tg, Vg read them
- 32:42 Or the long-haired heads of the enemy
- 32:43 LXX reads Rejoice, you heavens, along with him, and let all the sons of God worship him; rejoice, you nations, with his people, and let all the angels of God strengthen themselves in him; DSS read Rejoice, you heavens, along with him, and let all the angels worship him; Heb 1:6
- 32:43 DSS, LXX read sons
- 32:43 DSS, LXX add and he will repay those who hate him; v. 41
- 32:43 Syr, Tg; DSS, Sam, LXX, Vg read his people’s land
- 32:44 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads Hoshea; Nm 13:8,16
Deuteronomy 32
Common English Bible
32 Heaven! Pay attention and I will speak;
Earth! Listen to the words of my mouth.
2 My teaching will fall like raindrops;
my speech will settle like dew—
like gentle rains on grass,
like spring showers on all that is green—
3 because I proclaim the Lord’s name:
Give praise to our God!
4 The rock: his acts are perfection!
No doubt about it: all his ways are right!
He’s the faithful God, never deceiving;
altogether righteous and true is he.
5 But children who weren’t his own[a]
sinned against him with their defects;[b]
they are a twisted and perverse generation.
6 Is this how you thank the Lord,
you stupid, senseless people?
Isn’t he your father, your creator?
Didn’t he make you and establish you?
7 Remember the days long past;
consider the years long gone.
Ask your father, he will tell you about it;
ask your elders, they will give you the details:
8 When God Most High divided up the nations—
when he divided up humankind—
he decided the people’s boundaries
based on the number of the gods.[c]
9 Surely the Lord’s property was his people;
Jacob was his part of the inheritance.
10 God found[d] Israel in a wild land—
in a howling desert wasteland—
he protected him, cared for him,
watched over him with his very own eye.
11 Like an eagle protecting its nest,
hovering over its young,
God spread out his wings, took hold of Israel,
carried him on his back.
12 The Lord alone led Israel;
no foreign god assisted.
13 God[e] made Israel[f] glide over the highlands;
he fed him[g] with food from the field,
nursed him with honey from a boulder,
with oil from a hard rock:
14 curds from the herd, milk from the flock,
along with the best of lambs,
rams from Bashan, he-goats too,
along with the finest wheat—
and for drink, wine from the juiciest grapes!
15 Jacob ate until he was stuffed;[h]
Jeshurun[i] got fat, then rebellious.[j]
It was you who got fat, thick, stubborn![k]
Jeshurun[l] gave up on the God who made him,
thought the rock of his salvation was worthless.
16 They made God[m] jealous with strange gods,
aggravated him with detestable things.
17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God,
to deities of which they had no knowledge—
new gods only recently on the scene,
ones about which your ancestors had never heard.[n]
18 You deserted[o] the rock that sired you;
you forgot the God who gave birth to you!
19 The Lord saw this and rejected
out of aggravation his sons and his daughters.[p]
20 He said: I will hide my face from them—
I will see what becomes of them—
because they are a confused generation;
they are children lacking loyalty.
21 They provoked me with “no-gods,”
aggravated me with their pieces of junk.
So I am going to provoke them with “No-People,”
aggravate them with a nation of fools.
22 A fire burns in me—
it will blaze to the depths of the grave;[q]
it will destroy the land and its crops;
it will blacken the base of the mountains.
23 I’ll throw[r] on them disaster after disaster;
I’ll destroy them with my arrows:
24 devastating hunger, consuming plague, bitter sickness.
I’ll send animal fangs after them,
venom from dust crawlers too.
25 Outside, in the streets, the sword will bereave!
Inside, in the safest room, there will be terror
for young men and women,
nursing baby and senior citizen.
26 I thought about it: I could have struck them down,[s]
erased them from human memory,
27 but their enemies’ rage concerned me;
their opponents might misunderstand.
They might say, “Our strong hands,
not the Lord’s, did all this,”
28 because they are not a thoughtful nation;
they lack any insight.
29 If they had any wisdom, they would understand this;
they would discern what will become of them.
30 How could one person chase off a thousand in battle?
How could two people make ten thousand flee for their lives?
Only because their rock sold them off,
only because the Lord handed them over!
31 But, no, their rocks can’t compare to our rock!
Our enemies are completely stupid.[t]
32 Their roots run straight from Sodom—
from the fields of Gomorrah!
Their grapes are pure poison;
their grape clusters, nothing but bitter;
33 their wine is snake poison,
venom from a cruel cobra.
34 Don’t I have this stored up,
sealed in my vaults?
35 Revenge is my domain, so is punishment-in-kind,
at the exact moment their step slips up,
because the day of their destruction is just around the corner;
their final destiny is speeding on its way!
36 But the Lord will acquit his people,
will have compassion on those who serve him,
once he sees that their strength is all gone,
that both prisoners and free people are wiped out.[u]
37 The Lord will ask, “Where are their gods—
the rocks they trusted in—
38 who ate up the fat of their sacrifices,
who drank their sacred wine?
They should stand up and help you!
They should protect you now!
39 Now, look here: I myself, I’m the one;
there are no other gods with me.
I’m the one who deals death and gives life;
I’m the one who wounded, but now I will heal.
There’s no escaping my hand.
40 But now I’m lifting my hand to heaven—
I swear by my own eternity:
41 when I sharpen my blazing sword
and my hand grabs hold of justice,
I’ll pay my enemies back;
I’ll punish in kind everyone who hates me.
42 I’ll make my arrows drink much blood,
while my sword devours flesh,
the blood of the dead and captured,
flowing from the heads of enemy generals.”[v]
43 Heavens:[w] Rejoice with God![x]
All you gods: bow down to the Lord![y]
Because he will avenge his children’s[z] blood;
he will pay back his enemies;
he will punish in kind those who hate him;[aa]
he will cleanse his people’s land.[ab]
44 So Moses came and recited all the words of this poem in everyone’s hearing; Joshua,[ac] Nun’s son, joined him. 45 When Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he told them: Set your mind on all these words I’m testifying against you right now, because you must command your children to perform carefully all the words of this Instruction. 47 This is no trivial matter for you—this is your very life! It is by this means[ad] alone that you will prolong your life on the fertile land you are crossing the Jordan River to possess.
Moses’ death imminent
48 The Lord spoke to Moses that very same day: 49 “Hike up the Abarim mountains, to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho. Take a good look at the land of Canaan, which I’m giving to the Israelites as their property. 50 You will die on the mountain you have hiked up, and you will be gathered to your people just like your brother Aaron, who died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because the two of you were unfaithful toward me in front of the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh, in the Zin wilderness, because you didn’t treat me with proper respect before the Israelites. 52 You can look at the land from the other side of the river,[ae] but you won’t enter there.”[af]
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 32:5 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:5 LXX, Vulg; Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:8 DSS (4QDeutj), LXX; MT the Israelites
- Deuteronomy 32:10 Vulg, Syr, and others; Sam, LXX, Tg Onkelos sustained him
- Deuteronomy 32:13 Or he
- Deuteronomy 32:13 Or him
- Deuteronomy 32:13 Sam, Syr, LXX, Tg; MT he ate
- Deuteronomy 32:15 DSS (4QPhyln), Sam, LXX; MT lacks Jacob ate until he was stuffed.
- Deuteronomy 32:15 A poetic name for Israel; see also 33:5, 26.
- Deuteronomy 32:15 Or kicked
- Deuteronomy 32:15 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:15 Or he
- Deuteronomy 32:16 Or him
- Deuteronomy 32:17 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:18 LXX, Vulg; Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:19 Or, following LXX, DSS (4QPhyln), and correcting the Lord saw this and was jealous; he spurned his sons and daughters.
- Deuteronomy 32:22 Heb Sheol
- Deuteronomy 32:23 LXX
- Deuteronomy 32:26 Heb uncertain; LXX scattered them
- Deuteronomy 32:31 LXX; Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:36 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:42 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:43 DSS (4QDeutq), LXX; MT nations
- Deuteronomy 32:43 DSS (4QDeutq), LXX; MT his people
- Deuteronomy 32:43 This line is missing in Heb; it is found in DSS (4QDeutq); LXX him for the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 32:43 DSS (4QDeutq), LXX; MT his servants’
- Deuteronomy 32:43 DSS (4QDeutq), LXX; MT lacks this line.
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Sam, DSS (4QDeutq), LXX, Vulg; MT his land his people or his land for his people; or, correcting, he will wipe away his people’s tears.
- Deuteronomy 32:44 Sam, Syr, Tg Neofiti; MT Hoshea
- Deuteronomy 32:47 Or word
- Deuteronomy 32:52 Heb lacks of the river.
- Deuteronomy 32:52 LXX; MT, Sam, Vulg, Syr, Tg add to the land that I am giving to the Israelites
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible