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
The Message
The Song
32 1-5 Listen, Heavens, I have something to tell you.
Attention, Earth, I’ve got a mouth full of words.
My teaching, let it fall like a gentle rain,
my words arrive like morning dew,
Like a sprinkling rain on new grass,
like spring showers on the garden.
For it’s God’s Name I’m preaching—
respond to the greatness of our God!
The Rock: His works are perfect,
and the way he works is fair and just;
A God you can depend upon, no exceptions,
a straight-arrow God.
His messed-up, mixed-up children, his non-children,
throw mud at him but none of it sticks.
6-7 Don’t you realize it is God you are treating like this?
This is crazy; don’t you have any sense of reverence?
Isn’t this your father who created you,
who made you and gave you a place on Earth?
Read up on what happened before you were born;
dig into the past, understand your roots.
Ask your parents what it was like before you were born;
ask the old-ones, they’ll tell you a thing or two.
8-9 When the High God gave the nations their stake,
gave them their place on Earth,
He put each of the peoples within boundaries
under the care of divine guardians.
But God himself took charge of his people,
took Jacob on as his personal concern.
10-14 He found him out in the wilderness,
in an empty, windswept wasteland.
He threw his arms around him, lavished attention on him,
guarding him as the apple of his eye.
He was like an eagle hovering over its nest,
overshadowing its young,
Then spreading its wings, lifting them into the air,
teaching them to fly.
God alone led him;
there was not a foreign god in sight.
God lifted him onto the hilltops,
so he could feast on the crops in the fields.
He fed him honey from the rock,
oil from granite crags,
Curds of cattle and the milk of sheep,
the choice cuts of lambs and goats,
Fine Bashan rams, high-quality wheat,
and the blood of grapes: you drank good wine!
15-18 Jeshurun put on weight and bucked;
you got fat, became obese, a tub of lard.
He abandoned the God who made him,
he mocked the Rock of his salvation.
They made him jealous with their foreign trendy gods,
and with obscenities they vexed him no end.
They sacrificed to no-god demons,
gods they knew nothing about,
The latest in gods, fresh from the market,
gods your ancestors would never call “gods.”
You walked out on the Rock who gave you your life,
forgot the birth-God who brought you into the world.
19-25 God saw it and spun around,
angered and hurt by his sons and daughters.
He said, “From now on I’m looking the other way.
Wait and see what happens to them.
Oh, they’re a turned-around, upside-down generation!
Who knows what they’ll do from one moment to the next?
They’ve goaded me with their no-gods,
infuriated me with their hot-air gods;
I’m going to goad them with a no-people,
with a hollow nation incense them.
My anger started a fire,
a wildfire burning deep down in Sheol,
Then shooting up and devouring the Earth and its crops,
setting all the mountains, from bottom to top, on fire.
I’ll pile catastrophes on them,
I’ll shoot my arrows at them:
Starvation, blistering heat, killing disease;
I’ll send snarling wild animals to attack from the forest
and venomous creatures to strike from the dust.
Killing in the streets,
terror in the houses,
Young men and virgins alike struck down,
and yes, breast-feeding babies and gray-haired old men.”
26-27 I could have said, “I’ll hack them to pieces,
wipe out all trace of them from the Earth,”
Except that I feared the enemy would grab the chance
to take credit for all of it,
Crowing, “Look what we did!
God had nothing to do with this.”
28-33 They are a nation of idiots,
they don’t know enough to come in out of the rain.
If they had any sense at all, they’d know this;
they would see what’s coming down the road.
How could one soldier chase a thousand enemies off,
or two men run off two thousand,
Unless their Rock had sold them,
unless God had given them away?
For their rock is nothing compared to our Rock;
even our enemies say that.
They’re a vine that comes right out of Sodom,
who they are is rooted in Gomorrah;
Their grapes are poison grapes,
their grape-clusters bitter.
Their wine is rattlesnake venom,
mixed with lethal cobra poison.
34-35 Don’t you realize that I have my shelves
well stocked, locked behind iron doors?
I’m in charge of vengeance and payback,
just waiting for them to slip up;
And the day of their doom is just around the corner,
sudden and swift and sure.
36-38 Yes, God will judge his people,
but oh how compassionately he’ll do it.
When he sees their weakened plight
and there is no one left, slave or free,
He’ll say, “So where are their gods,
the rock in which they sought refuge,
The gods who feasted on the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink-offerings?
Let them show their stuff and help you,
let them give you a hand!
39-42 “Do you see it now? Do you see that I’m the one?
Do you see that there’s no other god beside me?
I bring death and I give life, I wound and I heal—
there is no getting away from or around me!
I raise my hand in solemn oath;
I say, ‘I’m always around. By that very life I promise:
When I sharpen my lightning sword
and execute judgment,
I take vengeance on my enemies
and pay back those who hate me.
I’ll make my arrows drunk with blood,
my sword will gorge itself on flesh,
Feasting on slain and captive alike,
the proud and vain enemy corpses.’”
43 Celebrate, nations, join the praise of his people.
He avenges the deaths of his servants,
Pays back his enemies with vengeance,
and cleanses his land for his people.
44-47 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua son of Nun. When Moses had finished saying all these words to all Israel, he said, “Take to heart all these words to which I give witness today and urgently command your children to put them into practice, every single word of this Revelation. Yes. This is no small matter for you; it’s your life. In keeping this word you’ll have a good and long life in this land that you’re crossing the Jordan to possess.”
48-50 That same day God spoke to Moses: “Climb the Abarim Mountains to Mount Nebo in the land of Moab, overlooking Jericho, and view the land of Canaan that I’m giving the People of Israel to have and hold. Die on the mountain that you climb and join your people in the ground, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and joined his people.
51-52 “This is because you broke faith with me in the company of the People of Israel at the Waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin—you didn’t honor my Holy Presence in the company of the People of Israel. You’ll look at the land spread out before you but you won’t enter it, this land that I am giving to the People of Israel.”
Deuteronomy 32
New English Translation
Invocation of Witnesses
32 Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;
hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
2 My teaching will drop like the rain,
my sayings will drip like the dew,[a]
as rain drops upon the grass,
and showers upon new growth.
3 For I will proclaim the name[b] of the Lord;
you must acknowledge the greatness of our God.
4 As for the Rock,[c] his work is perfect,
for all his ways are just.
He is a reliable God who is never unjust,
he is fair[d] and upright.
5 His people have been unfaithful[e] to him;
they have not acted like his children[f]—this is their sin.[g]
They are a perverse[h] and deceitful generation.
6 Is this how you repay[i] the Lord,
you foolish, unwise people?
Is he not your father, your Creator?
He has made you and established you.
7 Remember the ancient days;
bear in mind[j] the years of past generations.[k]
Ask your father and he will inform you,
your elders, and they will tell you.
8 When the Most High[l] gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided up humankind,[m]
he set the boundaries of the peoples,
according to the number of the heavenly assembly.[n]
9 For the Lord’s allotment is his people,
Jacob is his special possession.[o]
10 The Lord[p] found him[q] in a desolate land,[r]
in an empty wasteland where animals howl.[s]
He continually guarded him[t] and taught him;[u]
he continually protected him[v] like the pupil[w] of his eye.
11 Like an eagle that stirs up[x] its nest,
that hovers over its young,
so the Lord[y] spread out his wings and took him,[z]
he lifted him up on his pinions.
12 The Lord alone was guiding him,[aa]
no foreign god was with him.
13 He enabled him[ab] to travel over the high terrain of the land,
and he ate of the produce of the fields.
He provided honey for him from the cliffs,[ac]
and olive oil[ad] from the hardest of[ae] rocks,[af]
14 butter from the herd
and milk from the flock,
along with the fat of lambs,
rams and goats of Bashan,
along with the best of the kernels of wheat;
and from the juice[ag] of grapes you drank wine.
Israel’s Rebellion
15 But Jeshurun[ah] became fat and kicked;
you[ai] got fat, thick, and stuffed!
Then he deserted the God who made him,
and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt.
16 They made him jealous with other gods,[aj]
they enraged him with abhorrent idols.[ak]
17 They sacrificed to demons, not God,
to gods they had not known;
to new gods who had recently come along,
gods your ancestors[al] had not known about.
18 You forgot[am] the Rock who fathered you,
and put out of mind the God who gave you birth.
A Word of Judgment
19 But the Lord took note and despised them
because his sons and daughters enraged him.
20 He said, “I will reject them.[an]
I will see what will happen to them;
for they are a perverse generation,
children[ao] who show no loyalty.
21 They have made me jealous[ap] with false gods,[aq]
enraging me with their worthless gods;[ar]
so I will make them jealous with a people they do not recognize,[as]
with a nation slow to learn[at] I will enrage them.
22 For a fire has been kindled by my anger,
and it burns to lowest Sheol;[au]
it consumes the earth and its produce,
and ignites the foundations of the mountains.
23 I will increase their[av] disasters;
I will use up my arrows on them.
24 They will be starved by famine,
eaten by plague, and bitterly stung;[aw]
I will send the teeth of wild animals against them,
along with the poison of creatures that crawl in the dust.
25 The sword will make people childless outside,
and terror will do so inside;
they will destroy[ax] both the young man and the virgin,
the infant and the gray-haired man.
The Weakness of Other Gods
26 “I said, ‘I want to cut them in pieces.[ay]
I want to make people forget they ever existed.
27 But I fear the reaction[az] of their enemies,
for[ba] their adversaries would misunderstand
and say, “Our power is great,[bb]
and the Lord has not done all this!”’
28 They are a nation devoid of wisdom,
and there is no understanding among them.
29 I wish that they were wise and could understand this,
and that they could comprehend what will happen to them.”
30 How can one man chase a thousand of them,[bc]
and two pursue ten thousand,
unless their Rock had delivered them up[bd]—
and the Lord had handed them over?
31 For our enemies’[be] rock is not like our Rock,
as even our enemies concede.
32 For their vine is from the stock[bf] of Sodom,
and from the fields of Gomorrah.[bg]
Their grapes contain venom;
their clusters of grapes are bitter.
33 Their wine is snakes’ poison,
the deadly venom of cobras.
34 “Is this not stored up with me?” says the Lord,[bh]
“Is it not sealed up in my storehouses?
35 I will get revenge and pay them back
at the time their foot slips;
for the day of their disaster is near,
and the impending judgment[bi] is rushing upon them!”
36 The Lord will judge his people,
and will change his plans concerning[bj] his servants;
when he sees that their power has disappeared,
and that no one is left, whether confined or set free.
37 He will say, “Where are their gods,
the rock in whom they sought security,
38 who ate the best of their sacrifices,
and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
Let them rise and help you;
let them be your refuge!
The Vindication of the Lord
39 “See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the Lord,[bk]
“and there is no other god besides me.
I kill and give life,
I smash and I heal,
and none can resist[bl] my power.
40 For I raise up my hand to heaven,
and say, ‘As surely as I live forever,
41 I will sharpen my lightning-like sword,
and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment;[bm]
I will execute vengeance on my foes,
and repay those who hate me![bn]
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword will devour flesh—
the blood of the slaughtered and captured,
the chief[bo] of the enemy’s leaders.’”
43 Cry out, O nations, with his people,
for he will avenge his servants’ blood;
he will take vengeance against his enemies,
and make atonement for his land and people.
Narrative Interlude
44 Then Moses went with Joshua[bp] son of Nun and recited all the words of this song to the people. 45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel 46 he said to them, “Keep in mind all the words I am solemnly proclaiming to you today; you must command your children to observe carefully all the words of this law. 47 For this is no idle word for you—it is your life! By this word you will live a long time in the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.”
Instructions about Moses’ Death
48 Then the Lord said to Moses that same day, 49 “Go up to this Abarim[bq] hill country, to Mount Nebo (which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho), and look at the land of Canaan that I am giving to the Israelites as a possession. 50 You will die[br] on the mountain that you ascend and join your deceased ancestors,[bs] just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor[bt] and joined his deceased ancestors, 51 for both of you[bu] rebelled against me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin when you did not show me proper respect[bv] among the Israelites. 52 You will see the land before you, but you will not enter the land that I am giving to the Israelites.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 32:2 tn Or “mist,” “light drizzle.” In some contexts the term appears to refer to light rain, rather than dew.
- Deuteronomy 32:3 tc Smr and Tg read “in the name.”
- Deuteronomy 32:4 tc The LXX reads Θεός (theos, “God”) for the MT’s “Rock.”sn The Hebrew term depicts God as a rocky summit where one may find safety and protection. Within a covenantal context it serves as a reminder to the people that their God has committed himself to their protection in return for their allegiance.
- Deuteronomy 32:4 tn Or “just” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “righteous” (NASB).
- Deuteronomy 32:5 tc The third person masculine singular שָׁחַת (shakhat) is rendered as third person masculine plural by Smr, a reading supported by the plural suffix on מוּם (mum, “defect”) as well as the plural of בֵּן (ben, “sons”).tn Heb “have acted corruptly” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); NRSV “have dealt falsely.”
- Deuteronomy 32:5 tn Heb “(they are) not his sons.”
- Deuteronomy 32:5 tn Heb “defect” (so NASB). This highly elliptical line suggests that Israel’s major fault was its failure to act like God’s people; in fact, they acted quite the contrary.
- Deuteronomy 32:5 tn Heb “twisted,” “crooked.” See Ps 18:26.
- Deuteronomy 32:6 tn Or “treat” (TEV).
- Deuteronomy 32:7 tc The Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read second person masculine singular whereas the MT has second person masculine plural. The former is preferred, the latter perhaps being a misreading (בִּינוּ [binu] for בִּינָה [binah]). Both the preceding (“remember”) and following (“ask”) imperatives are singular forms in the Hebrew text.
- Deuteronomy 32:7 tn Heb “generation and generation.” The repetition of the singular noun here singles out each of the successive past generations. See IBHS 116 §7.2.3b.
- Deuteronomy 32:8 tn The Hebrew term עֶלְיוֹן (ʿelyon) is an abbreviated form of the divine name El Elyon, frequently translated “God Most High” (so here NCV, CEV) or something similar. This full name (or epithet) occurs only in Gen 14, though the two elements are parallel in Pss 73:11; 107:11; etc. Here it is clear that Elyon has to do with the nations in general whereas in v. 9, by contrast, Yahweh relates specifically to Israel. See T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:400-401. The title depicts God as the sovereign ruler of the world, who is enthroned high above his dominion.
- Deuteronomy 32:8 tn Heb “the sons of man” (so NASB); or “the sons of Adam” (so KJV).
- Deuteronomy 32:8 tc Heb “the sons of Israel.” The idea, perhaps, is that Israel was central to Yahweh’s purposes and all other nations were arranged and distributed according to how they related to Israel. See S. R. Driver, Deuteronomy (ICC), 355-56. For the MT יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּנֵי (bene yisraʾel, “sons of Israel”) a Qumran fragment has “sons of God,” while the LXX reads ἀγγέλων θεοῦ (angelōn theou, “angels of God”), presupposing בְּנֵי אֵל (bene ʾel) or בְּנֵי אֵלִים (bene ʾelim). “Sons of God” is undoubtedly the original reading; the MT and LXX have each interpreted it differently. MT assumes that the expression “sons of God” refers to Israel (cf. Hos. 1:10), while LXX has assumed that the phrase refers to the angelic heavenly assembly (Pss 29:1; 89:6; cf. as well Ps 82). The phrase is also attested in Ugaritic, where it refers to the high god El’s divine assembly. According to the latter view, which is reflected in the translation, the Lord delegated jurisdiction over the nations to his angelic host (cf. Dan. 10:13-21), while reserving for himself Israel, over whom he rules directly. For a defense of the view taken here, see M. S. Heiser, “Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God,” BSac 158 (2001): 52-74.
- Deuteronomy 32:9 tc Heb “the portion of his inheritance.” The LXX and Smr add “Israel” and BHS suggests the reconstruction: “The Lord’s allotment is Jacob, the portion of his inheritance is Israel” (cf. NAB). While providing good parallelism, it destroys a fine chiastic structure: “allotment” (a), “his people” (b), “Jacob (b’), and “inheritance” (a’).
- Deuteronomy 32:10 tn Heb “he.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Deuteronomy 32:10 tn The reference is to “his people/Jacob” (cf. v. 9), that is, Israel (using a collective singular). The singular pronouns are replaced by plural ones throughout vv. 10-14 by some English versions as an aid to the modern reader (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, NLT).
- Deuteronomy 32:10 tn Heb “a land of wilderness.” A מִדְבָּר (midbar, “wilderness”) refers to a dry region which is characterized as receiving less than twelve inches of rain per year. It therefore cannot support trees and may or may not have sparse vegetation (if receiving less than six inches of rain). The point of the poetic image is that it is desolate.
- Deuteronomy 32:10 tn Heb “in an empty, howling wasteland.” The word “howling” is derived from a verbal root that typically refers to the wailing of mourners. Here it likely refers to the howling of desert animals, or perhaps to the howling wind, in which case one may translate, “in an empty, windy wasteland.”
- Deuteronomy 32:10 tn Heb “was surrounding him.” The distinctive form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is an imperfect, not a preterite. As such it draws attention to God’s continuing care during the period in view. See A. F. Rainey, “The Ancient Hebrew Prefix Conjugation in the Light of Amarnah Canaanite,” Hebrew Studies 27 (1986): 15-16.
- Deuteronomy 32:10 tn Heb “he gave him understanding.” The form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is a preterite, not an imperfect. As such it simply states the action factually. See A. F. Rainey, “The Ancient Hebrew Prefix Conjugation in the Light of Amarnah Canaanite,” Hebrew Studies 27 (1986): 15-16.
- Deuteronomy 32:10 tn The distinctive form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is an imperfect, not a preterite. As such it draws attention to God’s continuing protection during the period in view. See A. F. Rainey, “The Ancient Hebrew Prefix Conjugation in the Light of Amarnah Canaanite,” Hebrew Studies 27 (1986): 15-16.
- Deuteronomy 32:10 tn Heb “the little man.” The term אִישׁוֹן (ʾishon) means literally “little man,” perhaps because when one looks into another’s eyes he sees himself reflected there in miniature. See A. Harman, NIDOTTE 1:391.
- Deuteronomy 32:11 tn The prefixed verbal form is an imperfect, indicating habitual or typical behavior. The parallel verb (cf. “hovers” in the next line) is used in the same manner.
- Deuteronomy 32:11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Deuteronomy 32:11 tn The form of the suffix on this and the following verb forms (cf. “lifted him up”) indicates that the verbs are preterites, not imperfects. As such they simply state the action factually. The use of the preterite here suggests that the preceding verb (cf. “spread out”) is preterite as well.
- Deuteronomy 32:12 tn The distinctive form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is an imperfect, not a preterite. As such it draws attention to God’s continuing guidance during the period in view.
- Deuteronomy 32:13 tn The form of the suffix on this verbal form indicates that the verb is a preterite, not an imperfect. As such it simply states the action factually. Note as well the preterites with vav (ו) consecutive that follow in the verse.
- Deuteronomy 32:13 tn Heb “he made him suck honey from the rock.”
- Deuteronomy 32:13 tn Heb “oil,” but this probably refers to olive oil; see note on the word “rock” at the end of this verse.
- Deuteronomy 32:13 tn Heb “flinty.”
- Deuteronomy 32:13 sn Olive oil from rock probably suggests olive trees growing on rocky ledges and yet doing so productively. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 415; cf. TEV “their olive trees flourished in stony ground.”
- Deuteronomy 32:14 tn Heb “blood,” a figurative image based on the color of the juice.
- Deuteronomy 32:15 tn To make the continuity of the referent clear, some English versions substitute “Jacob” here (NAB, NRSV) while others replace “Jeshurun” with “Israel” (NCV, CEV, NLT) or “the Lord’s people” (TEV).sn Jeshurun is a term of affection derived from the Hebrew verb יָשַׁר (yashar, “be upright”). Here it speaks of Israel “in an ideal situation, with its ‘uprightness’ due more to God’s help than his own efforts” (M. Mulder, TDOT 6:475).
- Deuteronomy 32:15 tc The LXX reads the third person masculine singular (“he”) for the MT second person masculine singular (“you”), but such alterations are unnecessary in Hebrew poetic texts where subjects fluctuate frequently and without warning.
- Deuteronomy 32:16 tc Heb “with strange (things).” The Vulgate actually supplies diis (“gods”).
- Deuteronomy 32:16 tn Heb “abhorrent (things)” (cf. NRSV). A number of English versions understand this as referring to “idols” (NAB, NIV, NCV, CEV), while NLT supplies “acts.”
- Deuteronomy 32:17 tn Heb “your fathers.”
- Deuteronomy 32:18 tc The Hebrew text is uncertain here; the translation follows the suggestion offered in HALOT 1477 s.v. שׁיה. Cf. NASB, NLT “You neglected”; NIV “You deserted”; NRSV “You were unmindful of.”
- Deuteronomy 32:20 tn Heb “I will hide my face from them.”
- Deuteronomy 32:20 tn Heb “sons” (so NAB, NASB); TEV “unfaithful people.”
- Deuteronomy 32:21 sn They have made me jealous. The “jealousy” of God is not a spirit of pettiness prompted by his insecurity, but righteous indignation caused by the disloyalty of his people to his covenant grace (see note on the word “God” in Deut 4:24). The jealousy of Israel, however (see next line), will be envy because of God’s lavish attention to another nation. This is an ironic wordplay. See H. Peels, NIDOTTE 3:938-39.
- Deuteronomy 32:21 tn Heb “what is not a god,” or a “nondeity.”
- Deuteronomy 32:21 tn Heb “their empty (things).” The Hebrew term used here to refer pejoratively to the false gods is הֶבֶל (hevel, “futile” or “futility”), used frequently in Ecclesiastes (e.g., Eccl 1:1, “Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher, “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”).
- Deuteronomy 32:21 tn Heb “what is not a people,” or a “nonpeople.” The “nonpeople” (לֹא־עָם, loʾ ʿam) referred to here are Gentiles who someday would become God’s people in the fullest sense (cf. Hos 1:9; 2:23).
- Deuteronomy 32:21 tn Heb “a foolish nation” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV); NIV “a nation that has no understanding”; NLT “I will provoke their fury by blessing the foolish Gentiles.”
- Deuteronomy 32:22 tn Or “to the lowest depths of the earth”; cf. NAB “to the depths of the nether world”; NIV “to the realm of death below”; NLT “to the depths of the grave.”sn Sheol refers here not to hell and hell-fire—a much later concept—but to the innermost parts of the earth, as low down as one could get. The parallel with “the foundations of the mountains” makes this clear (cf. Pss 9:17; 16:10; 139:8; Isa 14:9, 15; Amos 9:2).
- Deuteronomy 32:23 tn Heb “upon them.”
- Deuteronomy 32:24 tn The Hebrew term קֶטֶב (qetev) is probably metaphorical here for the sting of a disease (HALOT 1091-92 s.v.).
- Deuteronomy 32:25 tn A verb is omitted here in the Hebrew text; for purposes of English style one suitable to the context is supplied.
- Deuteronomy 32:26 tc The LXX reads “I said I would scatter them.” This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT, CEV).
- Deuteronomy 32:27 tn Heb “anger.”
- Deuteronomy 32:27 tn Heb “lest.”
- Deuteronomy 32:27 tn Heb “Our hand is high.” Cf. NAB “Our own hand won the victory.”
- Deuteronomy 32:30 tn The words “man” and “of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Deuteronomy 32:30 tn Heb “sold them” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
- Deuteronomy 32:31 tn Heb “their,” but the referent (enemies) is specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.
- Deuteronomy 32:32 tn Heb “vine.”
- Deuteronomy 32:32 sn Sodom…Gomorrah. The term “vine” is a reference to the pagan deities which, the passage says, find their ultimate source in Sodom and Gomorrah, that is, in the soil of perversion exemplified by these places (cf. Gen 18:20; 19:4-28; Isa 1:10; 3:9; Jer 23:14; Lam 4:6; Ezek 16:44-52; Matt 10:15; 11:23-24).
- Deuteronomy 32:34 tn Verses 34-35 appear to be a quotation of the Lord and so the introductory phrase “says the Lord” is supplied in the translation.
- Deuteronomy 32:35 tn Heb “prepared things,” “impending things.” See BDB 800 s.v. עָתִיד.
- Deuteronomy 32:36 tn The translation understands the verb in the sense of “be grieved, relent” (cf. HALOT 689 s.v. נחם hitp 2); cf. KJV, ASV “repent himself”; NLT “will change his mind.” Another option is to translate “will show compassion to” (see BDB 637 s.v. נחם); cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV.
- Deuteronomy 32:39 tn Verses 39-42 appear to be a quotation of the Lord and so the introductory phrase “says the Lord” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Deuteronomy 32:39 tn Heb “deliver from” (so NRSV, NLT).
- Deuteronomy 32:41 tn Heb “judgment.” This is a metonymy, a figure of speech in which the effect (judgment) is employed as an instrument (sword, spear, or the like), the means, by which it is brought about.
- Deuteronomy 32:41 tn The Hebrew term שָׂנֵא (saneʾ, “hate”) in this covenant context speaks of those who reject Yahweh’s covenant overtures, that is, who disobey its stipulations (see note on the word “rejecting” in Deut 5:9; also see Deut 7:10; 2 Chr 19:2; Pss 81:15; 139:20-21).
- Deuteronomy 32:42 tn Or “head” (the same Hebrew word can mean “head” in the sense of “leader, chieftain” or “head” in the sense of body part).
- Deuteronomy 32:44 tn Heb “Hoshea” (so KJV, ASV), another name for the same individual (cf. Num 13:8, 16).
- Deuteronomy 32:49 sn Abarim. This refers to the high plateau region of the Transjordan, the highest elevation of which is Mount Pisgah (or Nebo; cf. Deut 34:1). See also the note on the name “Pisgah” in Deut 3:17.
- Deuteronomy 32:50 tn In the Hebrew text the forms translated “you will die…and join” are imperatives, but the actions in view cannot really be commanded. The imperative is used here in a rhetorical, emphatic manner to indicate the certainty of Moses’ death on the mountain. On the rhetorical use of the imperative see IBHS 572 §34.4c.
- Deuteronomy 32:50 tn Heb “be gathered to your people.” The same phrase occurs again later in this verse.
- Deuteronomy 32:50 sn Mount Hor. See note on the name “Moserah” in Deut 10:6.
- Deuteronomy 32:51 tn The use of the plural (“you”) in the Hebrew text suggests that Moses and Aaron are both in view here, since both had rebelled at some time or other, if not at Meribah Kadesh then elsewhere (cf. Num 20:24; 27:14).
- Deuteronomy 32:51 tn Heb “did not esteem me holy.” Cf. NIV “did not uphold my holiness”; NLT “failed to demonstrate my holiness.”
Deuteronomy 32
New Living Translation
32 “Listen, O heavens, and I will speak!
Hear, O earth, the words that I say!
2 Let my teaching fall on you like rain;
let my speech settle like dew.
Let my words fall like rain on tender grass,
like gentle showers on young plants.
3 I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
how glorious is our God!
4 He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect.
Everything he does is just and fair.
He is a faithful God who does no wrong;
how just and upright he is!
5 “But they have acted corruptly toward him;
when they act so perversely,
are they really his children?[a]
They are a deceitful and twisted generation.
6 Is this the way you repay the Lord,
you foolish and senseless people?
Isn’t he your Father who created you?
Has he not made you and established you?
7 Remember the days of long ago;
think about the generations past.
Ask your father, and he will inform you.
Inquire of your elders, and they will tell you.
8 When the Most High assigned lands to the nations,
when he divided up the human race,
he established the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number in his heavenly court.[b]
9 “For the people of Israel belong to the Lord;
Jacob is his special possession.
10 He found them in a desert land,
in an empty, howling wasteland.
He surrounded them and watched over them;
he guarded them as he would guard his own eyes.[c]
11 Like an eagle that rouses her chicks
and hovers over her young,
so he spread his wings to take them up
and carried them safely on his pinions.
12 The Lord alone guided them;
they followed no foreign gods.
13 He let them ride over the highlands
and feast on the crops of the fields.
He nourished them with honey from the rock
and olive oil from the stony ground.
14 He fed them yogurt from the herd
and milk from the flock,
together with the fat of lambs.
He gave them choice rams from Bashan, and goats,
together with the choicest wheat.
You drank the finest wine,
made from the juice of grapes.
15 “But Israel[d] soon became fat and unruly;
the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed!
Then they abandoned the God who had made them;
they made light of the Rock of their salvation.
16 They stirred up his jealousy by worshiping foreign gods;
they provoked his fury with detestable deeds.
17 They offered sacrifices to demons, which are not God,
to gods they had not known before,
to new gods only recently arrived,
to gods their ancestors had never feared.
18 You neglected the Rock who had fathered you;
you forgot the God who had given you birth.
19 “The Lord saw this and drew back,
provoked to anger by his own sons and daughters.
20 He said, ‘I will abandon them;
then see what becomes of them.
For they are a twisted generation,
children without integrity.
21 They have roused my jealousy by worshiping things that are not God;
they have provoked my anger with their useless idols.
Now I will rouse their jealousy through people who are not even a people;
I will provoke their anger through the foolish Gentiles.
22 For my anger blazes forth like fire
and burns to the depths of the grave.[e]
It devours the earth and all its crops
and ignites the foundations of the mountains.
23 I will heap disasters upon them
and shoot them down with my arrows.
24 I will weaken them with famine,
burning fever, and deadly disease.
I will send the fangs of wild beasts
and poisonous snakes that glide in the dust.
25 Outside, the sword will bring death,
and inside, terror will strike
both young men and young women,
both infants and the aged.
26 I would have annihilated them,
wiping out even the memory of them.
27 But I feared the taunt of Israel’s enemy,
who might misunderstand and say,
“Our own power has triumphed!
The Lord had nothing to do with this!”’
28 “But Israel is a senseless nation;
the people are foolish, without understanding.
29 Oh, that they were wise and could understand this!
Oh, that they might know their fate!
30 How could one person chase a thousand of them,
and two people put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
unless the Lord had given them up?
31 But the rock of our enemies is not like our Rock,
as even they recognize.[f]
32 Their vine grows from the vine of Sodom,
from the vineyards of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are poison,
and their clusters are bitter.
33 Their wine is the venom of serpents,
the deadly poison of cobras.
34 “The Lord says, ‘Am I not storing up these things,
sealing them away in my treasury?
35 I will take revenge; I will pay them back.
In due time their feet will slip.
Their day of disaster will arrive,
and their destiny will overtake them.’
36 “Indeed, the Lord will give justice to his people,
and he will change his mind about[g] his servants,
when he sees their strength is gone
and no one is left, slave or free.
37 Then he will ask, ‘Where are their gods,
the rocks they fled to for refuge?
38 Where now are those gods,
who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their offerings?
Let those gods arise and help you!
Let them provide you with shelter!
39 Look now; I myself am he!
There is no other god but me!
I am the one who kills and gives life;
I am the one who wounds and heals;
no one can be rescued from my powerful hand!
40 Now I raise my hand to heaven
and declare, “As surely as I live,
41 when I sharpen my flashing sword
and begin to carry out justice,
I will take revenge on my enemies
and repay those who reject me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword will devour flesh—
the blood of the slaughtered and the captives,
and the heads of the enemy leaders.”’
43 “Rejoice with him, you heavens,
and let all of God’s angels worship him.[h]
Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles,
and let all the angels be strengthened in him.[i]
For he will avenge the blood of his children[j];
he will take revenge against his enemies.
He will repay those who hate him[k]
and cleanse his people’s land.”
44 So Moses came with Joshua[l] son of Nun and recited all the words of this song to the people.
45 When Moses had finished reciting all these words to the people of Israel, 46 he added: “Take to heart all the words of warning I have given you today. Pass them on as a command to your children so they will obey every word of these instructions. 47 These instructions are not empty words—they are your life! By obeying them you will enjoy a long life in the land you will occupy when you cross the Jordan River.”
Moses’ Death Foretold
48 That same day the Lord said to Moses, 49 “Go to Moab, to the mountains east of the river,[m] and climb Mount Nebo, which is across from Jericho. Look out across the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the people of Israel as their own special possession. 50 Then you will die there on the mountain. You will join your ancestors, just as Aaron, your brother, died on Mount Hor and joined his ancestors. 51 For both of you betrayed me with the Israelites at the waters of Meribah at Kadesh[n] in the wilderness of Zin. You failed to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel there. 52 So you will see the land from a distance, but you may not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”
Footnotes
- 32:5 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 32:8 As in Dead Sea Scrolls, which read the number of the sons of God, and Greek version, which reads the number of the angels of God; Masoretic Text reads the number of the sons of Israel.
- 32:10 Hebrew as the pupil of his eye.
- 32:15 Hebrew Jeshurun, a term of endearment for Israel.
- 32:22 Hebrew of Sheol.
- 32:31 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. Greek version reads our enemies are fools.
- 32:36 Or will take revenge for.
- 32:43a As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text lacks the first two lines. Compare Heb 1:6.
- 32:43b As in Greek version; Hebrew text lacks this sentence. Compare Rom 15:10.
- 32:43c As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads his servants.
- 32:43d As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text lacks this line.
- 32:44 Hebrew Hoshea, a variant name for Joshua.
- 32:49 Hebrew the mountains of Abarim.
- 32:51 Hebrew waters of Meribath-kadesh.
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