Deuteronomy 32
Legacy Standard Bible
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.”
Moses to Go Up Mount Nebo
48 (CS)And Yahweh 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 [t]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 both acted unfaithfully with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the (CW)wilderness of Zin, because you both 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 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 32:49 Lit which is opposite
Deuteronomy 32
English Standard Version
32 “Give ear, (A)O heavens, and I will speak,
and let (B)the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 May (C)my teaching drop as the rain,
my speech distill as the dew,
like gentle rain upon the tender grass,
and (D)like showers upon the herb.
3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
ascribe (E)greatness to our God!
4 (F)“The Rock, (G)his work is perfect,
for (H)all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and (I)without iniquity,
just and upright is he.
5 They have dealt corruptly with him;
they are no longer his children (J)because they are blemished;
they are (K)a crooked and twisted generation.
6 Do you thus repay the Lord,
you foolish and senseless people?
Is not he (L)your father, who (M)created you,
who (N)made you and established you?
7 (O)Remember the days of old;
consider the years of many generations;
(P)ask your father, and he will show you,
your elders, and they will tell you.
8 When the Most High (Q)gave to the nations their inheritance,
when he (R)divided mankind,
he fixed the borders[a] of the peoples
according to the number of the sons of God.[b]
9 But the Lord's portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted heritage.
10 “He found him (S)in a desert land,
and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
he (T)encircled him, he cared for him,
he (U)kept him as the apple of his eye.
11 (V)Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
that flutters over its young,
spreading out its wings, catching them,
bearing them on its pinions,
12 (W)the Lord alone guided him,
(X)no foreign god was with him.
13 (Y)He made him ride on the high places of the land,
and he ate the produce of the field,
and he suckled him with (Z)honey out of the rock,
and (AA)oil out of (AB)the flinty rock.
14 Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,
with fat[c] of lambs,
rams of Bashan and goats,
with the very finest[d] of the wheat—
and you drank foaming wine made from (AC)the blood of the grape.
15 “But (AD)Jeshurun grew fat, and (AE)kicked;
(AF)you grew fat, stout, and sleek;
(AG)then he forsook God (AH)who made him
and scoffed at (AI)the Rock of his salvation.
16 (AJ)They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods;
with abominations they provoked him to anger.
17 (AK)They sacrificed to demons that were not God,
to gods they had never known,
to (AL)new gods that had come recently,
whom your fathers had never dreaded.
18 You were unmindful of (AM)the Rock that bore[e] you,
and you (AN)forgot the God who gave you birth.
19 (AO)“The Lord saw it and spurned them,
because of the provocation of (AP)his sons and his daughters.
20 And he said, (AQ)‘I will hide my face from them;
I will see what their end will be,
for they are a perverse generation,
children in whom is no faithfulness.
21 (AR)They have made me jealous with what is no god;
they have provoked me to anger (AS)with their idols.
So (AT)I will make them jealous with those who are no people;
I will provoke them to anger with (AU)a foolish nation.
22 For (AV)a fire is kindled by my anger,
and it burns to (AW)the depths of Sheol,
devours the earth and its increase,
and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 “‘And I will heap disasters upon them;
(AX)I will spend my arrows on them;
24 they shall be wasted with hunger,
and devoured by plague
and poisonous pestilence;
I will send (AY)the teeth of beasts against them,
with the venom of (AZ)things that crawl in the dust.
25 (BA)Outdoors the sword shall bereave,
and indoors terror,
for young man and woman alike,
the nursing child with the man of gray hairs.
26 (BB)I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces;
(BC)I will wipe them from human memory,”
27 had I not feared provocation by the enemy,
lest their adversaries should misunderstand,
lest they should say, (BD)“Our hand is triumphant,
it was not the Lord who did all this.”’
28 “For they are a nation void of counsel,
and there is (BE)no understanding in them.
29 (BF)If they were wise, they would understand this;
they would (BG)discern their latter end!
30 How could (BH)one have chased a thousand,
and two have put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock (BI)had sold them,
and the Lord had given them up?
31 For (BJ)their rock is not as our Rock;
(BK)our enemies are by themselves.
32 For their vine (BL)comes from the vine of Sodom
and from the fields of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of (BM)poison;
their clusters are bitter;
33 their wine is the poison of (BN)serpents
and the cruel venom of asps.
34 “‘Is not this laid up in store with me,
(BO)sealed up in my treasuries?
35 (BP)Vengeance is mine, and recompense,[f]
(BQ)for the time when their foot shall slip;
for (BR)the day of their calamity is at hand,
and their doom comes swiftly.’
36 For (BS)the Lord will vindicate[g] his people
(BT)and have compassion on his servants,
when he sees that their power is gone
and there is none remaining, (BU)bond or free.
37 Then he will say, (BV)‘Where are their gods,
(BW)the rock in which they took refuge,
38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise up and help you;
let them be your protection!
39 “‘See now that (BX)I, even I, am he,
and there is no god beside me;
(BY)I kill and I make alive;
(BZ)I wound and I heal;
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
40 For (CA)I lift up my hand to heaven
and swear, As I live forever,
41 if I (CB)sharpen my flashing sword[h]
and my hand takes hold on judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and will repay those who hate me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and (CC)my sword shall devour flesh—
with the blood of the slain and the captives,
from the (CD)long-haired heads of the enemy.’
43 (CE)“Rejoice with him, O heavens;[i]
bow down to him, all gods,[j]
for he (CF)avenges the blood of his children[k]
and takes vengeance on his adversaries.
He repays those who hate him[l]
and cleanses[m] his people's land.”[n]
44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and (CG)Joshua[o] the son of Nun. 45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, (CH)“Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, (CI)that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, (CJ)but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
Moses' Death Foretold
48 That very day the Lord spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up (CK)this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as (CL)Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 (CM)because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. 52 For (CN)you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 32:8 Or territories
- Deuteronomy 32:8 Compare Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text sons of Israel
- Deuteronomy 32:14 That is, with the best
- Deuteronomy 32:14 Hebrew with the kidney fat
- Deuteronomy 32:18 Or fathered
- Deuteronomy 32:35 Septuagint and I will repay
- Deuteronomy 32:36 Septuagint judge
- Deuteronomy 32:41 Hebrew the lightning of my sword
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text Rejoice his people, O nations
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Masoretic Text lacks bow down to him, all gods
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text servants
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text lacks He repays those who hate him
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Or atones for
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew his land his people
- Deuteronomy 32:44 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew Hoshea
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