28 For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.

29 O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!

30 How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?

31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.

32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:

33 Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.

34 Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?

35 To me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

36 For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.

37 And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,

38 Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.

39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

40 For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.

41 If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.

42 I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.

43 Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.

44 And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.

45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:

46 And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.

47 For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

48 And the Lord spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,

49 Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:

50 And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:

51 Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of MeribahKadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.

52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

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28 They are a nation without sense,
    there is no discernment(A) in them.
29 If only they were wise and would understand this(B)
    and discern what their end will be!(C)
30 How could one man chase a thousand,
    or two put ten thousand to flight,(D)
unless their Rock had sold them,(E)
    unless the Lord had given them up?(F)
31 For their rock is not like our Rock,(G)
    as even our enemies concede.(H)
32 Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom(I)
    and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are filled with poison,(J)
    and their clusters with bitterness.(K)
33 Their wine is the venom of serpents,
    the deadly poison of cobras.(L)

34 “Have I not kept this in reserve
    and sealed it in my vaults?(M)
35 It is mine to avenge;(N) I will repay.(O)
    In due time their foot will slip;(P)
their day of disaster is near
    and their doom rushes upon them.(Q)

36 The Lord will vindicate his people(R)
    and relent(S) concerning his servants(T)
when he sees their strength is gone
    and no one is left, slave(U) or free.[a]
37 He will say: “Now where are their gods,
    the rock they took refuge in,(V)
38 the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices
    and drank the wine of their drink offerings?(W)
Let them rise up to help you!
    Let them give you shelter!

39 “See now that I myself am he!(X)
    There is no god besides me.(Y)
I put to death(Z) and I bring to life,(AA)
    I have wounded and I will heal,(AB)
    and no one can deliver out of my hand.(AC)
40 I lift my hand(AD) to heaven and solemnly swear:
    As surely as I live forever,(AE)
41 when I sharpen my flashing sword(AF)
    and my hand grasps it in judgment,
I will take vengeance(AG) on my adversaries
    and repay those who hate me.(AH)
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,(AI)
    while my sword devours flesh:(AJ)
the blood of the slain and the captives,
    the heads of the enemy leaders.”

43 Rejoice,(AK) you nations, with his people,[b][c]
    for he will avenge the blood of his servants;(AL)
he will take vengeance on his enemies(AM)
    and make atonement for his land and people.(AN)

44 Moses came with Joshua[d](AO) son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. 45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day,(AP) so that you may command(AQ) your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for you—they are your life.(AR) By them you will live long(AS) in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Moses to Die on Mount Nebo

48 On that same day the Lord told Moses,(AT) 49 “Go up into the Abarim(AU) Range to Mount Nebo(AV) in Moab, across from Jericho,(AW) and view Canaan,(AX) the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. 50 There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die(AY) and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died(AZ) on Mount Hor(BA) and was gathered to his people. 51 This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh(BB) in the Desert of Zin(BC) and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites.(BD) 52 Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance;(BE) you will not enter(BF) the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 32:36 Or and they are without a ruler or leader
  2. Deuteronomy 32:43 Or Make his people rejoice, you nations
  3. Deuteronomy 32:43 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) people, / and let all the angels worship him, /
  4. Deuteronomy 32:44 Hebrew Hoshea, a variant of Joshua

35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.

40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

41 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?

42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?

43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.

45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;

46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?

50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.

53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

54 And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.

55 And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.

56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?

57 Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?

58 When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.

59 I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.

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Watchfulness(A)(B)

35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes.(C) Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.(D) 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief(E) was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready,(F) because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

41 Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”

42 The Lord(G) answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43 It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.(H) He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

47 “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.(I) 48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.(J) From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

Not Peace but Division(K)

49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism(L) to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!(M) 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”(N)

Interpreting the Times

54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does.(O) 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?(P)

57 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.(Q) 59 I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”(R)

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56 Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies:

57 But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.

58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.

59 When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:

60 So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men;

61 And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand.

62 He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance.

63 The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.

64 Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.

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56 But they put God to the test
    and rebelled against the Most High;
    they did not keep his statutes.
57 Like their ancestors(A) they were disloyal and faithless,
    as unreliable as a faulty bow.(B)
58 They angered him(C) with their high places;(D)
    they aroused his jealousy with their idols.(E)
59 When God heard(F) them, he was furious;(G)
    he rejected Israel(H) completely.
60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,(I)
    the tent he had set up among humans.(J)
61 He sent the ark of his might(K) into captivity,(L)
    his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
62 He gave his people over to the sword;(M)
    he was furious with his inheritance.(N)
63 Fire consumed(O) their young men,
    and their young women had no wedding songs;(P)
64 their priests were put to the sword,(Q)
    and their widows could not weep.

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24 The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.

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24 Diligent hands will rule,
    but laziness ends in forced labor.(A)

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