Deuteronomy 32
New American Standard Bible
The Song of Moses
32 “(A)Listen, you heavens, and I will speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth!
2 (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.
3 (D)For I proclaim the name of the Lord;
(E)Ascribe greatness to our God!
4 (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.
5 [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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 (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.
9 (R)For the Lord’s 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
- Deuteronomy 32:4 Or judgment
- Deuteronomy 32:5 Lit It has
- Deuteronomy 32:8 Or Adam
- Deuteronomy 32:8 As in MT; DSS sons of God; LXX angels of God
- Deuteronomy 32:10 Lit pupil
- Deuteronomy 32:13 I.e., olive oil
- Deuteronomy 32:15 I.e., Israel
- Deuteronomy 32:15 Lit declared void
- Deuteronomy 32:21 Lit nonexistent things
- Deuteronomy 32:22 I.e., the netherworld
- Deuteronomy 32:24 Lit burning heat
- Deuteronomy 32:26 Lit them
- Deuteronomy 32:27 Lit high
- Deuteronomy 32:28 Lit perishing of
- Deuteronomy 32:29 Or latter end
- Deuteronomy 32:31 Lit are judges
- Deuteronomy 32:33 Lit dragons
- Deuteronomy 32:33 Lit cruel
- Deuteronomy 32:36 Lit hand
- Deuteronomy 32:41 Lit the lightning of My sword
- Deuteronomy 32:42 Lit head
- Deuteronomy 32:44 Lit Hoshea
- Deuteronomy 32:46 Lit be careful to perform
- Deuteronomy 32:47 Lit empty word
- Deuteronomy 32:47 Lit where
- Deuteronomy 32:47 Lit possess it
- Deuteronomy 32:49 Lit which is opposite
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
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