Deuteronomy 31:30-32:47
Legacy Standard Bible
The Song of Moses
30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were complete:
32 “(A)Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 (B)Let what I have learned drop as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
(C)As the droplets on the fresh grass
And as the showers on the herb.
3 (D)For I proclaim the name of Yahweh;
(E)Ascribe greatness to our God!
4 (F)The Rock! His work is [a]perfect,
(G)For all His ways are [b]just;
(H)A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Righteous and upright is He.
5 [c](I)They have acted corruptly toward Him,
They are not His children because of their defect;
(J)But are a perverse and crooked generation.
6 Do you thus (K)repay Yahweh,
(L)O people who are wickedly foolish and without wisdom?
(M)Is not He your Father who has bought you?
(N)He has made you and established you.
7 Remember the ancient days,
Consider the years from generation to generation.
(O)Ask your father, and he will declare to you,
Your elders, and they will speak to you.
8 (P)When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
When He separated the sons of [d]man,
He set the boundaries of the peoples
(Q)According to the number of the [e]sons of Israel.
9 (R)For Yahweh’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 waste of a wilderness;
He encircled him; He cared for him;
He guarded him as (T)the pupil of His eye.
11 (U)Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
That hovers over its young,
(V)He spread His wings and caught them;
He carried them on His pinions.
12 (W)Yahweh alone guided him,
(X)And there was no foreign god with him.
13 (Y)He made him ride on the high places of the earth,
And he ate the produce of the field;
(Z)And He made him suck honey from the rock,
And (AA)oil from the flinty rock,
14 Curds of cows, and milk of the flock,
With fat of lambs,
And rams, the breed of Bashan, and goats,
(AB)With the finest of the wheat—
And of the (AC)blood of grapes you drank wine.
15 “(AD)But [f]Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—
You grew fat, thick, and sleek—
(AE)Then he abandoned God (AF)who made him,
And treated (AG)the Rock of his salvation with wicked foolishness.
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 dread.
18 You neglected (AM)the Rock who begot you,
(AN)And forgot the God who brought you forth.
19 “(AO)And Yahweh saw this and spurned them
(AP)Because of the provocation of His sons and daughters.
20 Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them;
(AQ)I will see what their end shall be;
(AR)For they are a perverse generation,
(AS)Sons in whom is no faithfulness.
21 (AT)They have made Me jealous with what is not God;
They have provoked Me to anger with their [g](AU)idols.
(AV)So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people;
I will provoke them to anger with a wickedly foolish nation,
22 (AW)For a fire is kindled in My anger,
And it burns to the lowest part of Sheol,
(AX)And it consumes the earth with its produce,
And it sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 ‘(AY)I will heap calamities on them;
(AZ)I will exhaust My arrows on them.
24 (BA)They will be wasted by famine, and consumed by [h]plague
(BB)And bitter destruction;
(BC)And the teeth of beasts I will send upon them,
(BD)With the venom of crawling things of the dust.
25 (BE)Outside the sword will bereave,
And inside terror—
(BF)Both choice man and virgin,
The nursing baby with the man of gray hair.
26 I would have said, “(BG)I will cut them to pieces;
(BH)I will cause the memory of them to cease from men,”
27 Had I not feared the provocation by the enemy,
Lest their adversaries misjudge,
Lest they say, “(BI)Our hand is [i]triumphant,
And Yahweh has not done all this.”’
28 “(BJ)For they are a nation where counsel perishes,
And there is no discernment in them.
29 (BK)Would that they were wise, that they had insight into this,
(BL)That they would understand their [j]future!
30 (BM)How could one pursue one thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Unless their (BN)Rock had sold them,
And Yahweh had handed them over?
31 Indeed their rock is not like our Rock,
(BO)Even our enemies [k]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 [l]serpents,
And the [m]deadly poison of cobras.
34 ‘(BQ)Is it not laid up in store with Me,
Sealed up in My treasuries?
35 (BR)Vengeance is Mine, and retribution,
(BS)In due time their foot will stumble;
(BT)For the day of their disaster is near,
And the impending things are hastening upon them.’
36 (BU)For Yahweh will render justice to His people,
(BV)And will have compassion on His slaves,
When He sees that their [n]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 sought refuge?
38 (BX)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 hiding place!
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 deliver from My hand.
40 Indeed, (CE)I lift up My hand to heaven,
And say, as I live forever,
41 (CF)If I sharpen My [o]flashing sword,
And My hand takes hold on judgment,
(CG)I will render 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 [p]leaders of the enemy.’
43 (CJ)O nations, cause His people to shout for joy;
(CK)For He will avenge the blood of His slaves,
(CL)And He will render vengeance on His adversaries,
(CM)And He 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 and [q](CN)Joshua the son of Nun. 45 Then Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 and he said to them, “(CO)Place in your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command (CP)your sons to be careful to do, even all the words of this law. 47 For it is not an idle word for you; indeed (CQ)it is your life. And (CR)by this word you will prolong your days in the land, [r]which you are about to cross the Jordan to [s]possess.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 32:4 Or blameless, cf. 2 Sam 22:31; Ps 18:30
- Deuteronomy 32:4 Or judgment
- Deuteronomy 32:5 Lit It has
- Deuteronomy 32:8 Or Adam
- Deuteronomy 32:8 Gr angels of God; DSS number of the sons of God
- Deuteronomy 32:15 A poetic name for Israel, cf. 33:5, 26; Is 44:2
- Deuteronomy 32:21 Lit vanities
- Deuteronomy 32:24 Lit burning heat
- Deuteronomy 32:27 Lit high
- 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 Or lightning
- Deuteronomy 32:42 Lit head
- Deuteronomy 32:44 Lit Hoshea
- Deuteronomy 32:47 Lit where
- Deuteronomy 32:47 Lit possess it
Deuteronomy 31:30-32:47
Holman Christian Standard Bible
30 Then Moses recited aloud every single word[a] 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 of 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 Yahweh’s name.
Declare the greatness of our God!
4 The Rock—His work is perfect;
all His ways are entirely just.
A faithful God, without prejudice,
He is righteous and true.
5 His people have acted corruptly toward Him;
this is their defect[b]—they are not His children
but a devious and crooked generation.
6 Is this how you repay the Lord,
you foolish and senseless people?
Isn’t He your Father and Creator?
Didn’t He make you and sustain you?
7 Remember the days of old;
consider the years long past.
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,(B)
He set the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number of the people of Israel.[d]
9 But the Lord’s portion is His people,
Jacob, His own inheritance.
10 He found him in a desolate land,
in a barren, howling wilderness;
He surrounded him, cared for him,
and protected him as the pupil of His eye.(C)
11 He watches over[e] His nest like an eagle
and hovers over His young;
He spreads His wings, catches him,
and lifts him up on His pinions.(D)
12 The Lord alone led him,
with no help from a foreign god.[f]
13 He made him ride on the heights of the land(E)
and eat the produce of the field.
He nourished him with honey from the rock
and oil from flint-like rock,
14 cream from the herd and milk from the flock,
with the fat of lambs,
rams from Bashan, and goats,
with the choicest grains of wheat;
you drank wine from the finest grapes.[g]
15 Then[h] Jeshurun[i](F) 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 foreign gods;
they enraged Him with detestable practices.(G)
17 They sacrificed to demons, not God,
to gods they had not known,
new gods that had just arrived,
which your fathers did not fear.(H)
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,
provoked to anger by His sons and daughters.
20 He said: “I will hide My face from them;
I will see what will become of them,
for they are a perverse generation—
unfaithful children.
21 They have provoked My jealousy
with their so-called gods;[j]
they have enraged Me with their worthless idols.
So I will provoke their jealousy
with an inferior people;[k]
I will enrage them with a foolish nation.(I)
22 For fire has been kindled because of My anger
and burns to the depths of Sheol;
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.(J)
26 “I would have said: I will cut them to pieces[l]
and blot out the memory of them from mankind,
27 if I had not feared insult 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.[m]
29 If only they were wise, they would figure it out;
they would understand their fate.
30 How could one man pursue a thousand,
or two put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
unless the Lord had given them up?
31 But their “rock” is not like our Rock;
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.
34 “Is it not stored up with Me,
sealed up in My vaults?
35 Vengeance[n] belongs to Me; I will repay.[o](K)
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(L)
when He sees that their strength is gone
and no one is left—slave or free.
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[p] be a shelter for you.
39 See now that I alone am He;
there is no God but Me.(M)
I bring death and I give life;
I wound and I heal.
No one can rescue anyone from My hand.(N)
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.”[q]
43 Rejoice, you nations, concerning His people,[r](O)
for He will avenge the blood of His servants.[s]
He will take vengeance on His adversaries;[t](P)
He will purify His land and His people.[u]
44 Moses came with Joshua[v] 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, so that you may command your children to carefully follow all the words of this law. 47 For they are not meaningless words to you but they are your life, and by them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 31:30 Lit recited the words to their completion
- Deuteronomy 32:5 Or Him; through their fault; Hb obscure
- Deuteronomy 32:8 Or Most High divided the nations
- Deuteronomy 32:8 One DSS reads number of the sons of God; LXX reads number of the angels of God
- Deuteronomy 32:11 Or He stirs up
- Deuteronomy 32:12 Lit him, and no foreign god with Him
- Deuteronomy 32:14 Lit the blood of grapes
- Deuteronomy 32:15 DSS, Sam, LXX add Jacob ate his fill;
- Deuteronomy 32:15 = Upright One, referring to Israel
- Deuteronomy 32:21 Lit with no gods
- Deuteronomy 32:21 Lit with no people
- Deuteronomy 32:26 LXX reads will scatter them
- Deuteronomy 32:28 Lit understanding in them
- Deuteronomy 32:35 Sam, LXX read On a day of vengeance
- Deuteronomy 32:35 LXX, Tg, Vg read Me; and recompense I will recompense
- Deuteronomy 32:38 Sam, LXX, Tg, Vg read them
- Deuteronomy 32:42 Or the long-haired heads of the enemy
- Deuteronomy 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
- Deuteronomy 32:43 DSS, LXX read sons
- Deuteronomy 32:43 DSS, LXX add and He will recompense those who hate Him; v. 41
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Syr, Tg; DSS, Sam, LXX, Vg read His people’s land
- Deuteronomy 32:44 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads Hoshea; Nm 13:8,16
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.