Deuteronomy 31:30-32:47
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Song of Moses
30 Then Moses recited the words of this song, to the very end, in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:
32 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
let the earth hear the words of my mouth.(A)
2 May my teaching drop like the rain,
my speech condense like the dew,
like gentle rain on grass,
like showers on new growth.(B)
3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord,
ascribe greatness to our God!(C)
4 The Rock, his work is perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God, without deceit,
just and upright is he;(D)
5 yet his degenerate children have dealt falsely with him,[a]
a perverse and crooked generation.(E)
6 Do you thus repay the Lord,
O foolish and senseless people?
Is not he your father who created you,
who made you and established you?(F)
7 Remember the days of old;
consider the years long past;
ask your father, and he will inform you,
your elders, and they will tell you.(G)
8 When the Most High[b] apportioned the nations,
when he divided humankind,
he fixed the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number of the gods;[c](H)
9 the Lord’s own portion was his people,
Jacob his allotted share.(I)
10 He sustained[d] him in a desert land,
in a howling wilderness waste;
he shielded him, cared for him,
guarded him as the apple of his eye.(J)
11 As an eagle stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,
as it spreads its wings, takes them up,
and bears them aloft on its pinions,(K)
12 the Lord alone guided him;
no foreign god was with him.(L)
13 He set him atop the heights of the land
and fed him with[e] produce of the field;
he nursed him with honey from the crags,
with oil from flinty rock,(M)
14 curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,
with fat of lambs and rams,
Bashan bulls and goats,
together with the choicest wheat—
you drank fine wine from the blood of grapes.(N)
15 Jacob ate his fill;[f]
Jeshurun grew fat and kicked.
You grew fat, bloated, and gorged!
He abandoned God who made him
and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.(O)
16 They made him jealous with strange gods;
with abhorrent things they provoked him.(P)
17 They sacrificed to demons, not God,
to deities they had never known,
to new ones recently arrived,
whom your ancestors had not feared.(Q)
18 You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you;[g]
you forgot the God who gave you birth.(R)
19 The Lord saw it and was jealous;[h]
he spurned[i] his sons and daughters.(S)
20 He said, ‘I will hide my face from them;
I will see what their end will be,
for they are a perverse generation,
children in whom there is no faithfulness.(T)
21 They made me jealous with what is no god,
provoked me with their idols.
So I will make them jealous with what is no people,
provoke them with a foolish nation.(U)
22 For a fire is kindled by my anger
and burns to the depths of Sheol;
it devours the earth and its increase
and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.(V)
23 I will heap disasters upon them,
spend my arrows against them:(W)
24 wasting hunger,
burning consumption,
bitter pestilence.
The teeth of beasts I will send against them,
with venom of things crawling in the dust.(X)
25 In the street the sword shall bereave,
and in the chambers terror
for young man and woman alike,
nursing child and old gray head.(Y)
26 I said, “I will make an end of them[j]
and blot out the memory of them from humankind,”(Z)
27 but I feared provocation by the enemy,
for their adversaries might misunderstand
and say, “Our hand is triumphant;
it was not the Lord who did all this.” ’(AA)
28 They are a nation void of sense;
there is no understanding in them.
29 If they were wise, they would understand this;
they would discern what their end would be.(AB)
30 How could one have routed a thousand
and two put a myriad to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
the Lord had given them up?(AC)
31 Indeed, their rock is not like our Rock;
our enemies are fools.[k](AD)
32 Their vine comes from the vinestock of Sodom,
from the vineyards of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of poison;
their clusters are bitter;
33 their wine is the poison of serpents,
the cruel venom of asps.(AE)
34 Is not this laid up in store with me,
sealed up in my treasuries,(AF)
35 for the day of vengeance[l] and recompense,
for the time when their foot shall slip?
Because the day of their calamity is at hand;
their doom comes swiftly.(AG)
36 Indeed, the Lord will vindicate his people,
have compassion on his servants,
when he sees that their power is gone,
neither bond nor free remaining.(AH)
37 Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,
the rock in which they took refuge,(AI)
38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their libations?
Let them rise up and help you;
let them be your protection!
39 See now that I, even I, am he;
there is no god besides me.
I kill, and I make alive;
I wound, and I heal;
and no one can deliver from my hand.(AJ)
40 For I lift up my hand to heaven
and swear, As I live forever,
41 when I whet my flashing sword
and my hand takes hold on judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and will repay those who hate me.(AK)
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword shall devour flesh—
with the blood of the slain and the captives,
from the long-haired enemy.’(AL)
43 Praise, O heavens,[m] his people;
worship him, all you gods![n]
For he will avenge the blood of his children[o]
and take vengeance on his adversaries;
he will repay those who hate him[p]
and cleanse the land for his people.”[q](AM)
44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua[r] son of Nun. 45 When Moses had finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words that I am giving in witness against you today; give them as a command to your children, so that they may diligently observe all the words of this law.(AN) 47 This is no trifling matter for you but rather your very life; through it you may live long in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”(AO)
Footnotes
- 32.5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 32.8 Traditional rendering of Heb Elyon
- 32.8 Q ms Compare Gk Tg: MT the Israelites
- 32.10 Sam Gk Compare Tg: MT found
- 32.13 Sam Gk Syr Tg: MT he ate
- 32.15 Q mss Sam Gk: MT lacks Jacob ate his fill
- 32.18 Or that fathered you
- 32.19 Q mss Gk: MT lacks was jealous
- 32.19 Cn: Heb he spurned because of provocation
- 32.26 Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 32.31 Gk: Heb judges
- 32.35 Sam Gk: MT vengeance is mine
- 32.43 Q ms Gk: MT nations
- 32.43 Q ms Gk: MT lacks this line
- 32.43 Q ms Gk: MT his servants
- 32.43 Q ms Gk: MT lacks this line
- 32.43 Q ms Sam Gk Vg: MT his land his people
- 32.44 Sam Gk Syr Vg: MT Hoshea
Deuteronomy 31:30-32:47
Common English Bible
The poem of Instruction
30 Then Moses recited in their entirety the words of this poem in the hearing of the entire assembly of Israel:
32 Heaven! Pay attention and I will speak;
Earth! Listen to the words of my mouth.
2 My teaching will fall like raindrops;
my speech will settle like dew—
like gentle rains on grass,
like spring showers on all that is green—
3 because I proclaim the Lord’s name:
Give praise to our God!
4 The rock: his acts are perfection!
No doubt about it: all his ways are right!
He’s the faithful God, never deceiving;
altogether righteous and true is he.
5 But children who weren’t his own[a]
sinned against him with their defects;[b]
they are a twisted and perverse generation.
6 Is this how you thank the Lord,
you stupid, senseless people?
Isn’t he your father, your creator?
Didn’t he make you and establish you?
7 Remember the days long past;
consider the years long gone.
Ask your father, he will tell you about it;
ask your elders, they will give you the details:
8 When God Most High divided up the nations—
when he divided up humankind—
he decided the people’s boundaries
based on the number of the gods.[c]
9 Surely the Lord’s property was his people;
Jacob was his part of the inheritance.
10 God found[d] Israel in a wild land—
in a howling desert wasteland—
he protected him, cared for him,
watched over him with his very own eye.
11 Like an eagle protecting its nest,
hovering over its young,
God spread out his wings, took hold of Israel,
carried him on his back.
12 The Lord alone led Israel;
no foreign god assisted.
13 God[e] made Israel[f] glide over the highlands;
he fed him[g] with food from the field,
nursed him with honey from a boulder,
with oil from a hard rock:
14 curds from the herd, milk from the flock,
along with the best of lambs,
rams from Bashan, he-goats too,
along with the finest wheat—
and for drink, wine from the juiciest grapes!
15 Jacob ate until he was stuffed;[h]
Jeshurun[i] got fat, then rebellious.[j]
It was you who got fat, thick, stubborn![k]
Jeshurun[l] gave up on the God who made him,
thought the rock of his salvation was worthless.
16 They made God[m] jealous with strange gods,
aggravated him with detestable things.
17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God,
to deities of which they had no knowledge—
new gods only recently on the scene,
ones about which your ancestors had never heard.[n]
18 You deserted[o] the rock that sired you;
you forgot the God who gave birth to you!
19 The Lord saw this and rejected
out of aggravation his sons and his daughters.[p]
20 He said: I will hide my face from them—
I will see what becomes of them—
because they are a confused generation;
they are children lacking loyalty.
21 They provoked me with “no-gods,”
aggravated me with their pieces of junk.
So I am going to provoke them with “No-People,”
aggravate them with a nation of fools.
22 A fire burns in me—
it will blaze to the depths of the grave;[q]
it will destroy the land and its crops;
it will blacken the base of the mountains.
23 I’ll throw[r] on them disaster after disaster;
I’ll destroy them with my arrows:
24 devastating hunger, consuming plague, bitter sickness.
I’ll send animal fangs after them,
venom from dust crawlers too.
25 Outside, in the streets, the sword will bereave!
Inside, in the safest room, there will be terror
for young men and women,
nursing baby and senior citizen.
26 I thought about it: I could have struck them down,[s]
erased them from human memory,
27 but their enemies’ rage concerned me;
their opponents might misunderstand.
They might say, “Our strong hands,
not the Lord’s, did all this,”
28 because they are not a thoughtful nation;
they lack any insight.
29 If they had any wisdom, they would understand this;
they would discern what will become of them.
30 How could one person chase off a thousand in battle?
How could two people make ten thousand flee for their lives?
Only because their rock sold them off,
only because the Lord handed them over!
31 But, no, their rocks can’t compare to our rock!
Our enemies are completely stupid.[t]
32 Their roots run straight from Sodom—
from the fields of Gomorrah!
Their grapes are pure poison;
their grape clusters, nothing but bitter;
33 their wine is snake poison,
venom from a cruel cobra.
34 Don’t I have this stored up,
sealed in my vaults?
35 Revenge is my domain, so is punishment-in-kind,
at the exact moment their step slips up,
because the day of their destruction is just around the corner;
their final destiny is speeding on its way!
36 But the Lord will acquit his people,
will have compassion on those who serve him,
once he sees that their strength is all gone,
that both prisoners and free people are wiped out.[u]
37 The Lord will ask, “Where are their gods—
the rocks they trusted in—
38 who ate up the fat of their sacrifices,
who drank their sacred wine?
They should stand up and help you!
They should protect you now!
39 Now, look here: I myself, I’m the one;
there are no other gods with me.
I’m the one who deals death and gives life;
I’m the one who wounded, but now I will heal.
There’s no escaping my hand.
40 But now I’m lifting my hand to heaven—
I swear by my own eternity:
41 when I sharpen my blazing sword
and my hand grabs hold of justice,
I’ll pay my enemies back;
I’ll punish in kind everyone who hates me.
42 I’ll make my arrows drink much blood,
while my sword devours flesh,
the blood of the dead and captured,
flowing from the heads of enemy generals.”[v]
43 Heavens:[w] Rejoice with God![x]
All you gods: bow down to the Lord![y]
Because he will avenge his children’s[z] blood;
he will pay back his enemies;
he will punish in kind those who hate him;[aa]
he will cleanse his people’s land.[ab]
44 So Moses came and recited all the words of this poem in everyone’s hearing; Joshua,[ac] Nun’s son, joined him. 45 When Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he told them: Set your mind on all these words I’m testifying against you right now, because you must command your children to perform carefully all the words of this Instruction. 47 This is no trivial matter for you—this is your very life! It is by this means[ad] alone that you will prolong your life on the fertile land you are crossing the Jordan River to possess.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 32:5 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:5 LXX, Vulg; Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:8 DSS (4QDeutj), LXX; MT the Israelites
- Deuteronomy 32:10 Vulg, Syr, and others; Sam, LXX, Tg Onkelos sustained him
- Deuteronomy 32:13 Or he
- Deuteronomy 32:13 Or him
- Deuteronomy 32:13 Sam, Syr, LXX, Tg; MT he ate
- Deuteronomy 32:15 DSS (4QPhyln), Sam, LXX; MT lacks Jacob ate until he was stuffed.
- Deuteronomy 32:15 A poetic name for Israel; see also 33:5, 26.
- Deuteronomy 32:15 Or kicked
- Deuteronomy 32:15 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:15 Or he
- Deuteronomy 32:16 Or him
- Deuteronomy 32:17 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:18 LXX, Vulg; Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:19 Or, following LXX, DSS (4QPhyln), and correcting the Lord saw this and was jealous; he spurned his sons and daughters.
- Deuteronomy 32:22 Heb Sheol
- Deuteronomy 32:23 LXX
- Deuteronomy 32:26 Heb uncertain; LXX scattered them
- Deuteronomy 32:31 LXX; Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:36 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:42 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 32:43 DSS (4QDeutq), LXX; MT nations
- Deuteronomy 32:43 DSS (4QDeutq), LXX; MT his people
- Deuteronomy 32:43 This line is missing in Heb; it is found in DSS (4QDeutq); LXX him for the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 32:43 DSS (4QDeutq), LXX; MT his servants’
- Deuteronomy 32:43 DSS (4QDeutq), LXX; MT lacks this line.
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Sam, DSS (4QDeutq), LXX, Vulg; MT his land his people or his land for his people; or, correcting, he will wipe away his people’s tears.
- Deuteronomy 32:44 Sam, Syr, Tg Neofiti; MT Hoshea
- Deuteronomy 32:47 Or word
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