The Song of Moses

32 (A)Listen, you heavens, and I will speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth!
(B)May my teaching drip as the rain,
My speech trickle as the dew,
(C)As droplets on the fresh grass,
And as the showers on the vegetation.
(D)For I proclaim the name of the Lord;
(E)Ascribe greatness to our God!
(F)The Rock! His work is perfect,
(G)For all His ways are [a]just;
(H)A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Righteous and just is He.
[b](I)They have acted corruptly against Him,
They are not His children, because of their defect;
(J)But are a perverse and crooked generation.
Is this what you (K)do to the Lord,
(L)You foolish and unwise people?
(M)Is He not your Father who has purchased you?
(N)He has made you and established you.
Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of all generations.
(O)Ask your father and he will inform you,
Your elders, and they will tell you.
(P)When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
When He separated the sons of [c]mankind,
He set the boundaries of the peoples
(Q)According to the number of the [d]sons of Israel.
(R)For the Lords portion is His people;
Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.
10 (S)He found him in a desert land,
And in the howling wasteland of a wilderness;
He encircled him, He cared for him,
He guarded him as (T)the [e]apple of His eye.
11 (U)As an eagle stirs up its nest,
And hovers over its young,
(V)He spread His wings, He caught them,
He carried them on His pinions.
12 (W)The Lord alone guided him,
(X)And there was no foreign god with him.
13 (Y)He had him ride on the high places of the earth,
And he ate the produce of the field;
(Z)And He had him suck honey from the rock,
And [f](AA)oil from the flinty rock,
14 Curds of the herd, and milk of the flock,
With fat of lambs
And rams, the breed of Bashan, and of goats,
(AB)With the best of the wheat;
And you drank wine of the (AC)blood of grapes.

15 (AD)But [g]Jeshurun became fat and kicked—
You have become fat, thick, and obstinate—
(AE)Then he abandoned God (AF)who made him,
And [h]rejected (AG)the Rock of his salvation.
16 (AH)They made Him jealous with strange gods;
(AI)With abominations they provoked Him to anger.
17 (AJ)They sacrificed to demons, who were not God,
(AK)To gods whom they have not known,
(AL)New gods who came lately,
Whom your fathers did not know.
18 You forgot (AM)the Rock who fathered you,
(AN)And forgot the God who gave you birth.

19 (AO)The Lord saw this, and spurned them
(AP)Because of the provocation by His sons and daughters.
20 Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them,
(AQ)I will see what their end will be;
(AR)For they are a perverse generation,
(AS)Sons in whom there is no faithfulness.
21 (AT)They have made Me jealous with what is not God;
They have provoked Me to anger with their [i](AU)idols.
(AV)So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation,
22 (AW)For a fire has flared in My anger,
And it burns to the lowest part of [j]Sheol,
(AX)And devours the earth with its yield,
And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

23 (AY)I will add misfortunes to them;
(AZ)I will use up My arrows on them.
24 (BA)They will be wasted by famine, and emaciated by [k]plague
(BB)And a bitter epidemic;
(BC)And the teeth of beasts I will send against them,
(BD)With the venom of crawling things of the dust.
25 (BE)Outside the sword will make them childless,
And inside, terror—
(BF)Both young man and virgin,
The nursing child with the man of gray hair.
26 I would have said, “(BG)I will wipe them out,
(BH)I will remove the mention of [l]their name from humanity,”
27 Had I not feared the provocation by the enemy,
That their adversaries would misjudge,
That they would say, “(BI)Our hand is [m]triumphant,
And the Lord has not performed all this.”’

28 (BJ)For they are a nation [n]destitute of counsel,
And there is no understanding in them.
29 (BK)If only they were wise and they understood this;
(BL)If only they would discern their [o]future!
30 (BM)How could one chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Unless their (BN)Rock had sold them,
And the Lord had given them up?
31 Indeed, their rock is not like our Rock;
(BO)Even our enemies [p]themselves judge this.
32 For their vine is from the vine of Sodom,
And from the fields of Gomorrah;
Their grapes are grapes of (BP)poison,
Their clusters, bitter.
33 Their wine is the venom of [q]serpents,
And the [r]deadly poison of vipers.

34 (BQ)Is it not stored up with Me,
Sealed up in My treasuries?
35 (BR)Vengeance is Mine, and retribution;
(BS)In due time their foot will slip.
(BT)For the day of their disaster is near,
And the impending things are hurrying to them.’
36 (BU)For the Lord will vindicate His people,
(BV)And will have compassion on His servants,
When He sees that their [s]strength is gone,
And there is none remaining, bond or free.
37 And He will say, ‘(BW)Where are their gods,
The rock in which they took refuge?
38 (BX)Those who ate the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink offering?
(BY)Let them rise up and help you,
Let them be your protection!
39 (BZ)See now that I, I am He,
(CA)And there is no god besides Me;
(CB)It is I who put to death and give life.
(CC)I have wounded and it is I who heal,
(CD)And there is no one who can save anyone from My hand.
40 Indeed, (CE)I raise My hand to heaven,
And say, as I live forever,
41 (CF)If I have sharpened [t]My flashing sword,
And My hand has taken hold of justice,
(CG)I will return vengeance on My adversaries,
And I will repay those who hate Me.
42 (CH)I will make My arrows drunk with blood,
(CI)And My sword will devour flesh,
With the blood of the slain and the captives,
From the long-haired [u]leaders of the enemy.’
43 (CJ)Rejoice, you nations, with His people;
(CK)For He will avenge the blood of His servants,
(CL)And will return vengeance on His adversaries,
(CM)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, with [v](CN)Joshua the son of Nun. 45 When Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “(CO)Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you will command (CP)your sons to [w]follow carefully, all the words of this Law. 47 For it is not a [x]trivial matter for you; indeed (CQ)it is your life. And (CR)by this word you will prolong your days in the land, [y]which you are about to cross the Jordan to [z]possess.”

48 Now (CS)the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying, 49 (CT)Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab [aa]opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel as a possession. 50 Then you are to die on the mountain where you ascend, and be (CU)gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 (CV)because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the (CW)wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel. 52 (CX)For you will see the land at a distance but (CY)you will not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 32:4 Or judgment
  2. Deuteronomy 32:5 Lit It has
  3. Deuteronomy 32:8 Or Adam
  4. Deuteronomy 32:8 As in MT; DSS sons of God; LXX angels of God
  5. Deuteronomy 32:10 Lit pupil
  6. Deuteronomy 32:13 I.e., olive oil
  7. Deuteronomy 32:15 I.e., Israel
  8. Deuteronomy 32:15 Lit declared void
  9. Deuteronomy 32:21 Lit nonexistent things
  10. Deuteronomy 32:22 I.e., the netherworld
  11. Deuteronomy 32:24 Lit burning heat
  12. Deuteronomy 32:26 Lit them
  13. Deuteronomy 32:27 Lit high
  14. Deuteronomy 32:28 Lit perishing of
  15. Deuteronomy 32:29 Or latter end
  16. Deuteronomy 32:31 Lit are judges
  17. Deuteronomy 32:33 Lit dragons
  18. Deuteronomy 32:33 Lit cruel
  19. Deuteronomy 32:36 Lit hand
  20. Deuteronomy 32:41 Lit the lightning of My sword
  21. Deuteronomy 32:42 Lit head
  22. Deuteronomy 32:44 Lit Hoshea
  23. Deuteronomy 32:46 Lit be careful to perform
  24. Deuteronomy 32:47 Lit empty word
  25. Deuteronomy 32:47 Lit where
  26. Deuteronomy 32:47 Lit possess it
  27. Deuteronomy 32:49 Lit which is opposite

32 Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
My doctrine shall drop as the rain;
My speech shall distil as the dew,
As the small rain upon the tender grass,
And as the showers upon the herb.
For I will proclaim the name of Jehovah:
Ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
The Rock, his work is perfect;
For all his ways are justice:
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
Just and right is he.
They have [a]dealt corruptly with him, they are not his children, [b]it is their blemish;
They are a perverse and crooked generation.
Do ye thus requite Jehovah,
O foolish people and unwise?
Is not he thy father that hath [c]bought thee?
He hath made thee, and established thee.
Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of many generations:
Ask thy father, and he will show thee;
Thine elders, and they will tell thee.
When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
When he separated the children of men,
He set the bounds of the peoples
According to the number of the children of Israel.
For Jehovah’s portion is his people;
Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
10 He found him in a desert land,
And in the waste howling wilderness;
He compassed him about, he cared for him,
He kept him as the apple of his eye.
11 As an eagle that stirreth up her nest,
That fluttereth over her young,
[d]He spread abroad his wings, he took them,
He bare them on his pinions.
12 Jehovah alone did lead him,
And there was no foreign god with him.
13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth,
And he did eat the increase of the field;
And he made him to suck honey out of the rock,
And oil out of the flinty rock;
14 Butter of the herd, and milk of the flock,
With fat of lambs,
And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats,
With the [e]finest of the wheat;
And of the blood of the grape thou drankest wine.
15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked:
Thou art waxed fat, thou art grown thick, thou art become sleek;
Then he forsook God who made him,
And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
16 They moved him to jealousy with strange gods;
With abominations provoked they him to anger.
17 They sacrificed unto demons, which were no God,
To gods that they knew not,
To new gods that came up of late,
Which your fathers dreaded not.
18 Of the Rock that [f]begat thee thou art unmindful,
And hast forgotten God that gave thee birth.
19 And Jehovah saw it, and abhorred them,
Because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.
20 And he said, I will hide my face from them,
I will see what their end shall be:
For they are a very perverse generation,
Children in whom is no faithfulness.
21 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God;
They have provoked me to anger with their vanities:
And I will move them to jealousy with those that are not a people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger,
And burneth unto the lowest Sheol,
And devoureth the earth with its increase,
And setteth on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 I will heap evils upon them;
I will spend mine arrows upon them:
24 They shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured with [g]burning heat
And bitter destruction;
And the teeth of beasts will I send upon them,
With the poison of crawling things of the dust.
25 Without shall the sword bereave,
And in the chambers terror;
It shall destroy both young man and virgin,
The suckling with the man of gray hairs.
26 I said, I would scatter them afar,
I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men;
27 Were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy,
Lest their adversaries should judge amiss,
Lest they should say, Our hand is exalted,
And Jehovah hath not done all this.
28 For they are a nation void of counsel,
And there is no understanding in them.
29 Oh that they were wise, that they understood this,
That they would consider their latter end!
30 How should one chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Except their Rock had sold them,
And Jehovah had delivered them up?
31 For their rock is not as our Rock,
Even our enemies themselves being judges.
32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom,
And of the fields of Gomorrah:
Their grapes are grapes of gall,
Their clusters are bitter:
33 Their wine is the poison of serpents,
And the cruel venom of asps.
34 Is not this laid up in store with me,
Sealed up [h]among my treasures?
35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense,
At the time when their foot shall slide:
For the day of their calamity is at hand,
And the things that are to come upon them shall make haste.
36 For Jehovah will judge his people,
And repent himself for his servants;
When he seeth that their power is gone,
And there is none remaining, shut up or left at large.
37 And he will say, Where are their gods,
The rock in which they took refuge;
38 Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink-offering?
Let them rise up and help you,
Let them be your protection.
39 See now that I, even I, am he,
And there is no god with me:
I kill, and I make alive;
I wound, and I heal;
And there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
40 For I lift up my hand to heaven,
And say, As I live for ever,
41 If I whet [i]my glittering sword,
And my hand take hold on judgment;
I will render vengeance to mine adversaries,
And will recompense them that hate me.
42 I will make mine arrows drunk with blood,
And my sword shall devour flesh;
With the blood of the slain and the captives,
[j]From [k]the head of the leaders of the enemy.
43 [l]Rejoice, O [m]ye nations, with his people:
For he will avenge the blood of his servants,
And will render vengeance to his adversaries,
And will make expiation for his land, for his people.

44 And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun. 45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel; 46 and he said unto them, Set your heart unto all the words which I testify unto you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, even all the words of this law. 47 For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over the Jordan to possess it.

48 And Jehovah spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying, 49 Get thee up into this mountain of Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession; 50 and die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people: 51 because ye trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. 52 For thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither into the land which I give the children of Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 32:5 Or, corrupted themselves, they etc.
  2. Deuteronomy 32:5 Or, but a blot upon them
  3. Deuteronomy 32:6 Or, possessed. Or, gotten
  4. Deuteronomy 32:11 Or, Spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her pinions.
  5. Deuteronomy 32:14 Hebrew fat of kidneys of wheat.
  6. Deuteronomy 32:18 Or, bare
  7. Deuteronomy 32:24 Hebrew burning coals. See Hab. 3:5.
  8. Deuteronomy 32:34 Or, in my treasuries
  9. Deuteronomy 32:41 Hebrew the lightning of my sword.
  10. Deuteronomy 32:42 Or, From the beginning of revenges upon the enemy
  11. Deuteronomy 32:42 Or, the hairy head of the enemy
  12. Deuteronomy 32:43 Or, Praise his people, ye nations
  13. Deuteronomy 32:43 Or, ye nations, his people