Deuteronomy 32
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Song of Moses
32 “(A)Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 “(B)Let my teaching 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 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 upright is He.
5 “[b](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 the Lord,
(L)O foolish and unwise people?
(M)Is not He your Father who has bought 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]man,
He set the boundaries of the peoples
(Q)According to the number of the 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 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)The Lord 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 [d]Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—
You are grown fat, thick, and sleek—
(AE)Then he forsook God (AF)who made him,
And scorned (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 dread.
18 “You neglected (AM)the Rock who begot you,
(AN)And forgot the God who gave you birth.
19 “(AO)The Lord 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 [e](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 is kindled in My anger,
And burns to the lowest part of [f]Sheol,
(AX)And consumes the earth with its yield,
And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 ‘(AY)I will heap misfortunes on them;
(AZ)I will use My arrows on them.
24 ‘(BA)They will be wasted by famine, and consumed by [g]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 young man and virgin,
The nursling with the man of gray hair.
26 ‘I would have said, “(BG)I will cut them to pieces,
(BH)I will remove the memory of them from men,”
27 Had I not feared the provocation by the enemy,
That their adversaries would misjudge,
That they would say, “(BI)Our hand is [h]triumphant,
And the Lord has not done all this.”’
28 “(BJ)For they are a nation [i]lacking in counsel,
And there is no understanding in them.
29 “(BK)Would that they were wise, that they understood this,
(BL)That they would discern their [j]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 [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 slip;
(BT)For the day of their calamity is near,
And the impending things are hastening upon them.’
36 “(BU)For the Lord will vindicate His people,
(BV)And will have compassion on His servants,
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 justice,
(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)Rejoice, O nations, with His people;
(CK)For He will avenge the blood of His servants,
(CL)And will render 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 [q](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 shall command (CP)your sons to observe [r]carefully, 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, [s]which you are about to cross the Jordan to [t]possess.”
48 (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 [u]opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession. 50 Then 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 shall see the land at a distance, but (CY)you shall 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 32:15 I.e. Israel
- Deuteronomy 32:21 Lit vanities
- Deuteronomy 32:22 I.e. the nether world
- Deuteronomy 32:24 Lit burning heat
- Deuteronomy 32:27 Lit high
- Deuteronomy 32:28 Lit perishing
- 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 32:46 Lit to do
- Deuteronomy 32:47 Lit where
- Deuteronomy 32:47 Lit possess it
- Deuteronomy 32:49 Lit which is opposite
Proverbs 16
New American Standard Bible 1995
Contrast the Upright and the Wicked
16 The (A)plans of the heart belong to man,
But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight,
But the (B)Lord weighs the [a]motives.
3 [b](C)Commit your works to the Lord
And your plans will be established.
4 The Lord (D)has made everything for [c]its own purpose,
Even the (E)wicked for the day of evil.
5 Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.
6 By (F)lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for,
And by the [d](G)fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil.
7 When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord,
He (H)makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
8 Better is a little with righteousness
Than great income with injustice.
9 The mind of (I)man plans his way,
But (J)the Lord directs his steps.
10 A divine (K)decision is in the lips of the king;
His mouth should not [e]err in judgment.
11 A (L)just balance and scales belong to the Lord;
All the [f]weights of the bag are His [g]concern.
12 It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts,
For a (M)throne is established on righteousness.
13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings,
And he who speaks right is loved.
14 The fury of a king is like messengers of death,
But a wise man will appease it.
15 In the light of a king’s face is life,
And his favor is like a cloud with the [h](N)spring rain.
16 How much (O)better it is to get wisdom than gold!
And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.
17 The (P)highway of the upright is to depart from evil;
He who watches his way preserves his [i]life.
18 (Q)Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
19 It is better to be (R)humble in spirit with the lowly
Than to (S)divide the spoil with the proud.
20 He who gives attention to the word will (T)find good,
And (U)blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
21 The (V)wise in heart will be called understanding,
And sweetness of [j]speech (W)increases [k]persuasiveness.
22 Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it,
But the discipline of fools is folly.
23 The (X)heart of the wise instructs his mouth
And adds [l]persuasiveness to his lips.
24 (Y)Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
Sweet to the soul and (Z)healing to the bones.
25 (AA)There is a way which seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.
26 A worker’s appetite works for him,
For his [m]hunger urges him on.
27 A (AB)worthless man digs up evil,
While [n]his words are like (AC)scorching fire.
28 A perverse man spreads strife,
And a slanderer separates intimate friends.
29 A man of violence (AD)entices his neighbor
And leads him in a way that is not good.
30 He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things;
He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.
31 A (AE)gray head is a crown of glory;
It (AF)is found in the way of righteousness.
32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.
33 The (AG)lot is cast into the lap,
But its every (AH)decision is from the Lord.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 16:2 Lit spirits
- Proverbs 16:3 Lit Roll
- Proverbs 16:4 Or His
- Proverbs 16:6 Or reverence
- Proverbs 16:10 Lit be unfaithful
- Proverbs 16:11 Lit stones
- Proverbs 16:11 Lit work
- Proverbs 16:15 Lit latter
- Proverbs 16:17 Lit soul
- Proverbs 16:21 Lit lips
- Proverbs 16:21 Or learning
- Proverbs 16:23 Or learning
- Proverbs 16:26 Lit mouth
- Proverbs 16:27 Lit on his lips
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
