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.
Deuteronomy 32
International Standard Version
The Song of Moses
32 Hear, heavens, and I will speak!
Listen, earth, to the words of my mouth!
2 May my instructions descend like rain
and may my words flow like dew,
as light rain upon the grass,
and as showers upon new plants.
3 For I’ll proclaim the name of our Lord.
Ascribe greatness to our God!
4 Flawless is the work of the Rock,
because all his ways are just.
A faithful God—never unjust—
righteous and upright is he.
5 But those who are not his children
acted corruptly against him;
they are a defective and perverted generation.
6 This is not the way to repay the Lord, is it,
you foolish and witless people?
Is he not your father,
who bought you, formed you, and established you?
An Exhortation to Remember God’s Work
7 Remember the days of old,
reflect on the years of previous generations.
Ask your father,
and he’ll tell you;
your elders will inform you.
8 When the Most High gave nations as their inheritance,
when he separated the human race,
he set boundaries for the people
according to the number of the children of God.[a]
9 For the Lord’s portion is his people;
Jacob is his allotted portion.
The Lord’s Work on Behalf of Israel
10 The Lord[b] found him[c] in a desert land,
in a barren, eerie[d] wilderness.
He surrounded, cared for, and guarded him
as the pupil of his eye.
11 Like an eagle stirs its nest,
hovering near its young,
spreading out his wings to take him
and carry him on his pinions,
12 the Lord alone guided him.
There was no foreign god with him.
13 He mounted him on a high place above the earth,
feeding him from the produce of the field.
He nourished[e] him with honey from the rock
and with oil from the flint rock,
14 with curds from cattle and with milk from sheep,
with the fat of lambs, with rams from Bashan,
with the fat of goats, with the finest[f] of wheat—
and from the juice of grapes you drank wine.
Israel’s Rebellion
15 Jacob dined until satisfied;[g]
Jeshurun[h] grew fat and kicked.
He[i] grew fat, coarse, and gross,
so that he abandoned the God who made him
and spurned the Rock that was his salvation.
16 They provoked him to jealousy over foreigners
and to anger over detestable things.
17 They sacrificed to demons—
not to the real God—
gods whom they didn’t know,
new neighbors who had recently appeared,
whom your ancestors never feared.
18 You[j] neglected the Rock that fathered you;
you abandoned God, who was awaiting your birth.[k]
The Lord’s Response
19 The Lord saw it and became jealous,[l]
provoked by his sons and daughters.
20 So he said:
“Let me hide my face from them.
I will observe what their end will be,
because they are a perverted generation,
children within whom there is no loyalty.
21 They provoked me to jealousy over non-gods,
and to be angry over their vanity.
Now I’ll provoke them to jealousy over a non-people;
and over a foolish nation I’ll provoke them to anger.
22 For a fire breaks out in my anger—
burning to the deepest part of[m] the afterlife,[n]
consuming the earth and its produce
and igniting the foundations of the mountains.
23 I’ll bury them in misfortunes
and bring them to an end with my arrows.
24 Emaciated from famine,
feverish from plague,
and destroyed by bitterness,
I’ll send fanged beasts against them,
along with poisonous snakes that glide through the dust.
25 Outside, the sword will cause bereavement;
within,[o] there will be terror
for the young man and virgin alike,
also for the nursing infant and the aged man.”[p]
26 “I said,
‘I will scatter them,[q]
erasing their memory from the human race,[r]
27 if it weren’t for dreading the taunting of their enemies—
otherwise, their adversary might misinterpret and say,
“Our power is great.
It isn’t the Lord who made all of this happen.”’”
Moses Warns Israel
28 They are a nation devoid of purpose
and without insight.
29 O, that they were wise to understand this
and consider their future![s]
30 How can one person[t] chase a thousand of them
and two put a myriad[u] to flight,
unless their Rock delivers them
and the Lord gives them up?
31 For their rock isn’t like our Rock,
as even[v] our enemies admit.[w]
32 Instead,[x] their vine is from the vines of Sodom
and the vineyards of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are poisonous,
their clusters bitter.
33 Their wine is the venom of serpents,
a poisonous cobra.
The Lord’s Response
34 “Is this not kept in reserve,
sealed up with me in my treasury?
35 To me belong vengeance and recompense.
In due time their feet will slip,
because their time of calamity is near
and the things prepared for them draw near.
36 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and bring comfort to his servants,
because he will observe that their power[y] has waned,
when neither prisoner[z] nor free person remain.
37 “He will say, ‘Where are their gods,
the rock in which they took refuge?
38 Who ate the fat of their offerings
and drank the wine that was their drink offering?
Let them rise and help you
and be your hiding place!’
39 “Look now! I AM,[aa]
and there is no other god besides me.
I myself cause death
and I sustain life;
I wound severely
and I also heal;
from my power[ab] no one can deliver.
40 “I solemnly swear[ac] to heaven—
I say ‘As certainly as I’m alive and living forever,
41 I’ll whet my shining sword,
with my hands in firm grasp of judgment.
I’ll show vengeance on my adversary
and repay those who keep on hating me.
42 I’ll make my arrows drunk with blood.
My sword will devour flesh,
along with the blood of the slain,
and I’ll take their enemy leaders captive.’
43 “Sing for joy, nations!
Sing for joy,[ad] people who belong to him!
For he’ll avenge the blood of his servants,
turn on his adversary,
and cleanse both his land and his people.”
Moses’ Final Counsel
44 So Moses and Nun’s son Joshua came and recited all the words of this song while the people were assembled. 45 When Moses had finished addressing all of these words to all Israel, 46 he told them, “Take to heart my entire testimony against you today. Command your children to observe carefully every word of this Law, 47 because they’re not just empty words for you—they are your very life. Through these instructions you will live long in the land that you are about to cross over the Jordan River to possess.”
Moses Forbidden to Enter Canaan
48 Later that day, the Lord told Moses, 49 “Ascend this Abarim mountain range[ae] toward Mount Nebo in the land of Moab across from Jericho, and look out over the land of Canaan that I’m about to give to the Israelis as a possession. 50 You will die on the mountain that you are about to ascend and be taken to be with your ancestors, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was taken to be with his ancestors. 51 Both of you acted unfaithfully against me among the Israelis at Meribah-kadesh in the desert of Zin, when you failed to uphold my holiness among the Israelis. 52 You’ll see the land from a distance, but you won’t be able to enter the land that I am about to give to the Israelis.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 32:8 So with LXX and DSS 4QDeut. MT reads the Israelis
- Deuteronomy 32:10 Lit. He
- Deuteronomy 32:10 I.e. Jacob as a personification of national Israel; and so throughout the song
- Deuteronomy 32:10 Lit. howling
- Deuteronomy 32:13 Or nursed
- Deuteronomy 32:14 Lit. kernel
- Deuteronomy 32:15 So DSS Q Sam and LXX; the Heb. lacks Jacob dined until satisfied
- Deuteronomy 32:15 I.e. a poetic term for national Israel; the Heb. name means Upright One
- Deuteronomy 32:15 Lit. You
- Deuteronomy 32:18 I.e. the nation of Israel personified in the second person sing. pronoun, and so throughout the verse
- Deuteronomy 32:18 Or who was giving birth to you
- Deuteronomy 32:19 So DSS, LXX. MT reads and was repulsed
- Deuteronomy 32:22 The Heb. lacks part of
- Deuteronomy 32:22 Lit. Sheol
- Deuteronomy 32:25 Lit. within the room
- Deuteronomy 32:25 Lit. and a man of gray hair
- Deuteronomy 32:26 Or will break them to pieces
- Deuteronomy 32:26 Lit. from among men
- Deuteronomy 32:29 Lit. end
- Deuteronomy 32:30 The Heb. lacks person
- Deuteronomy 32:30 Or put countless ones; Lit. put ten thousand
- Deuteronomy 32:31 Lit. and
- Deuteronomy 32:31 Or concede
- Deuteronomy 32:32 Lit. Because
- Deuteronomy 32:36 Lit. hand
- Deuteronomy 32:36 Or slave
- Deuteronomy 32:39 So LXX; MT reads I, I myself, am he
- Deuteronomy 32:39 Lit. hand
- Deuteronomy 32:40 Lit. raise my hand
- Deuteronomy 32:43 The Heb. lacks Sing for joy
- Deuteronomy 32:49 The Heb. lacks range
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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