Deuteronomy 31:14-32
Christian Standard Bible
14 The Lord said to Moses, “The time of your death is now approaching. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting so that I may commission him.” When Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting, 15 the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud,(A) and the cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.(B)
16 The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to rest with your ancestors,(C) and these people will soon prostitute themselves with the foreign gods(D) of the land they are entering. They will abandon me(E) and break the covenant(F) I have made with them. 17 My anger will burn against them on that day;(G) I will abandon them and hide my face from them so that they will become easy prey.(H) Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, ‘Haven’t these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us?’ 18 I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. 19 Therefore write down this song(I) for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites; have them sing it,[a] so that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites. 20 When I bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey,(J) they will eat their fill(K) and prosper.[b] They will turn to other gods and worship them, despising me(L) and breaking my covenant.(M) 21 And when many troubles and afflictions come to them, this song will testify against them, because[c] their descendants will not have forgotten it. For I know what they are prone to do,[d] even before I bring them into the land I swore to give them.” 22 So Moses wrote down this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.
23 The Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I swore to them, and I will be with you.”(N)
Moses Warns the People
24 When Moses had finished writing down on a scroll every single word of this law, 25 he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, 26 “Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God so that it may remain there as a witness against you. 27 For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you are rebelling against the Lord now, while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after I am dead! 28 Assemble all your tribal elders and officers before me so that I may speak these words directly to them and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them.(O) 29 For I know that after my death you will become completely corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. Disaster will come to you in the future, because you will do what is evil in the Lord’s sight, angering him with what your hands have made.”(P) 30 Then Moses recited aloud every single word of this song to the entire assembly of Israel:
Song of Moses
32 Pay attention, heavens, and I will speak;
listen, earth, to the words from my mouth.(Q)
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.(R)
Declare the greatness of our God!
4 The Rock(S)—his work is perfect;
all his ways are just.(T)
A faithful God,(U) without bias,
he is righteous and true.
5 His people have acted corruptly toward him;(V)
this is their defect[e]—they are not his children
but a devious and crooked generation.(W)
6 Is this how you repay the Lord,
you foolish and senseless people?(X)
Isn’t he your Father and Creator?[f](Y)
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[g]
and divided the human race,(Z)
he set the boundaries of the peoples(AA)
according to the number of the people of Israel.[h]
9 But the Lord’s portion is his people,
Jacob, his own inheritance.(AB)
10 He found him in a desolate land,
in a barren, howling wilderness;
he surrounded him, cared for him,(AC)
and protected him as the pupil of his eye.(AD)
11 He watches over[i] his nest like an eagle
and hovers over his young;
he spreads his wings, catches him,
and carries him on his feathers.(AE)
12 The Lord alone led him,
with no help from a foreign god.
13 He made him ride on the heights of the land(AF)
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,(AG) and goats,
with the choicest grains of wheat;
you drank wine from the finest grapes.[j]
Footnotes
- 31:19 Lit Israelites; put it in their mouths
- 31:20 Lit be fat
- 31:21 Lit because the mouths of
- 31:21 Or know the plans they are devising
- 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
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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