Old/New Testament
Chapter 32
1 [a]Give ear, O heavens, while I speak;
Listen, O earth, to the words of my mouth.
2 Let my teaching fall down like rain,
and my words descend like the dew.
Like rain upon the sprouts,
and like showers upon the grass.
3 I will proclaim the name of the Lord,
Oh, praise the greatness of our God.
4 He is a rock, his deeds are perfect,
and all of his ways are just.
He is a God of truth who does no wrong;
he is just and upright.
5 They have corrupted themselves,
on account of their defect they are no longer his children,
they are a perverse and crooked generation.
6 Is this the way to repay the Lord,
O foolish and stupid people?
Is he not your father, who created you?
Has he not made you and established you?
7 Remember the days of old,
consider the years of past generations,
Ask your fathers, they will tell you,
your elders, they will inform you.
8 When the Most High divided the inheritance among the nations,
when he separated the sons of men,
he established the boundaries of the nations
according to the number of the sons of God.
9 The Lord’s own portion was his people,
Jacob his allotted inheritance.
10 He found him in a desert land,
a waste and howling wilderness.
He shielded him, he instructed him;
He guarded him as the apple of his eye.
11 Like an eagle that awakens its nest,
and hovers over its young,
he spread his wings and snatched him,
bearing him up on his pinions.
12 The Lord alone led him,
there was no foreign god with him.
13 He made him ride on the heights of the earth,
he ate from the produce of the fields;
he had him suck honey from the rock,
and oil from the flinty rock,
14 curds from the herds and milk from the flocks,
fat lambs and rams,
herds of bulls of Bashan and goats,
the finest of the wheat,
from the blood of the grapes you drank wine.
15 But Jeshurun[b] grew fat and desirous,
sated with food; he became heavy and obese.
He abandoned God who had made him,
and rejected the rock of his salvation.
16 They provoked him with foreign gods,
and angered him with abominations.
17 They sacrificed to demons that are not really gods,
to foreign gods that they had not known,
newly invented gods,
gods whom your fathers did not fear.
18 You deserted the rock who formed you;
you forgot God, who fathered you.
19 When the Lord saw it, he despised them;
his sons and his daughters frustrated him.
20 He said, “I will hide my face from them
and watch to see how they end,
for they are a perverse generation,
children who are unfaithful.
21 They have made me jealous by what is not a god,
angered me with their worthless things;
I will make them jealous of those who are not a people,
I will anger them with a foolish nation.
22 My anger has kindled fire to flame,
it burns down to the lowest level of Sheol,[c]
it devours the earth and its produce,
it ignites the foundation of the mountains.
23 I will pile disasters upon them,
and use up my arrows against them.
24 I will send a wasting famine against them,
consuming pestilence and bitter destruction;
I will send the fangs of wild beasts
and the venom of the serpents that crawl in the dust.
25 Outside the sword will leave them childless,
inside there will be only terror.
Upon the young man and the virgin,
the infant and the old gray-haired man.
26 I said, ‘I will scatter them
and wipe out remembrance of them from among humans,’
27 except that I dreaded the taunt of the enemy,
lest the foe misunderstand and say,
‘Our hand has triumphed;
the Lord has not done this!’ ”
28 They are a nation without sense,
there is no understanding in them.
29 If only they were wise and would understand this,
and consider how they will end.
30 How could one man put a thousand to flight,
or two drive away ten thousand,
unless the rock had delivered them,
and the Lord given them up?
31 For their rock is not like our rock,
even our enemies would judge it so.
32 Their vine comes from the vine stock of Sodom,[d]
and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are filled with poison,
their clusters with bitterness.
33 Their wine is the venom of serpents,
the cruel venom of cobras.
34 Is this not stored away with me,
sealed up in my treasury?
35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense.
Their foot will slip in due time,
for the day of destruction is at hand,
and their doom hastens upon them.
36 The Lord will judge his people,
he will have compassion on his servants
when he sees that their power is spent
and there are none who remain, slave or free.
37 He will say, “Where are their gods,
the rock in whom they trusted?
38 Who ate the fat of their offerings,
and drank their wine libations?
Let them arise and help you
and be your protection.
39 See now that I, I am he,
there is no other god besides me.
It is I who put to death and give life,
it is I who wound and heal.
No one can deliver you from out of my hand.
40 I lift my hand up to the heavens,
and I swear, as I live forever,
41 I will sharpen my glistening sword;
my hand will seize onto justice.
I will render vengeance on my enemies;
I will repay those who hate me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword will devour flesh,
the blood of the slain and the captives,
the heads of the enemy leaders.”
43 Rejoice, O nations, with his people,
bow to him, all you gods
for he will avenge the blood of his servants
and take vengeance upon his foes,
but he will be merciful to his land and his people.
44 Then Moses came and proclaimed all of the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua, the son of Nun.
45 Moses’ Last Appeal.[e]When Moses finished saying all these things to all of the Israelites, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all of the words that I bear witness to in your midst today and that I command your children to obey, observing all of the words of this law. 47 This is not a light matter for you; it is your very life. This will prolong your days in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”
48 Moses Dies on Mount Nebo. That same day the Lord said to Moses, 49 “Climb up Mount Abarim, Mount Nebo, that is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look out over the land that I am giving to the Israelites as a possession. 50 Then you will die on the mountain that you have ascended, and you will be gathered home to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered home to his people 51 because you broke faith with me before the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the Desert of Zin; you did not uphold my holiness in the midst of the Israelites. 52 Therefore, you shall only behold the land from a distance, you shall not enter into the land that I am giving to the Israelites.”
Chapter 33
Moses Blesses the Tribes. 1 This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave to the Israelites before his death. 2 [f]He said:
The Lord came from Sinai
and rose up over them from Seir;
he shone forth from Mount Paran.
He came for them with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones
with a flaming fire blazing in his right hand for them.
3 Truly, he loves the people;
all of his holy ones are in his hands.
They followed in your steps
and received your words.
4 Moses commanded a law,
an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.
5 He was king in Jeshurun[g]
when he gathered the heads of the people,
brought together the tribes of Israel.
6 Let Reuben[h] live, and not die;
let his men be not a few.
7 This is the blessing for Judah, he said:
Hear, O Lord, the call of Judah,
and bring him onto his people;
let his hands be enough for him,
and be a help against his enemies.
8 Concerning Levi, he said:
Let your Thummim[i] and your Urim
be with your holy one
whom you tested at Massah,
and with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah,
9 who said of his father and his mother,
“I have not seen them,”
nor does he acknowledge his brother
or even know his own children.
They guarded the words of your covenant and observed it.
10 He teaches your decrees to Jacob
and your law to Israel.
He offers incense before your altar
and whole burnt offerings on it.
11 Bless his skills in his undertakings, O Lord.
Strike those who rise up against him,
so they might never rise up again.
12 Concerning Benjamin, he said:
O beloved of the Lord,
may he dwell in safety beside him;
may he shelter him the entire day long,
and may he dwell between his shoulders.[j]
13 Concerning Joseph, he said:
His land is blessed by the Lord
with choice things from the heavens,
and with what lies deep below,
14 with the precious fruits of the sun,
the rich produce of the moon,
15 with the finest produce of the ancient mountains,
and the abundance of the everlasting hills,
16 with the most precious gifts of the earth and its fullness,
with his pleasures that are found in the bushes.
May these blessings come upon the head of Joseph,
upon the crown of the head of the one who was different from his brothers.
17 As with the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his;
and his horns are like the horns of the wild ox;
with them he will push the peoples together to the ends of the earth.
They are the thousands upon thousands of Ephraim,
and the thousands of Manasseh.
18 Concerning Zebulun, he said:
Rejoice Zebulun, who lives outdoors,
and Issachar, who dwells in your tents.
19 You will summon the people to the mountain;
there they will offer righteous sacrifices.
They will feast on the abundance of the seas,
on the treasures hidden in the sands.
20 Concerning Gad, he said:
Blessed be he who expands Gad’s territory.
He lives like a lion, tearing at an arm or a head.
21 He chose the best portion for himself;
the ruler’s part was reserved for him.
He practiced the righteousness of the Lord,
and his judgments concerning Israel.
22 Concerning Dan, he said:
Dan is a lion’s cub springing forth from Bashan.
23 Concerning Naphtali, he said:
Naphtali abounds with favor;
he is filled with the blessing of the Lord.
He will take his inheritance in the south, toward the sea.[k]
24 Concerning Asher, he said:
Most blessed of sons is Asher,
may he be favored by his brothers,
may he bathe his feet in oil.
25 Your bolts will be iron and bronze,
your strength last as long as your days.
26 There is none like the God of Jeshurun,
who rides in the heavens to help you,
and on the clouds in majesty.
27 The eternal God is a refuge,
below are everlasting arms.[l]
He will drive out your enemy from before you,
and proclaim, “Destroy him!”
28 Israel dwells in safety,
and the spring of Jacob in security,
in a land of grain and wine,
where the heavens drop down dew.
29 Blessed are you, O Israel,
for who can be compared with you,
a people saved by the Lord,
who is the shield of your assistance
and the sword of your majesty.
Your enemies will cringe before you,
and you will walk upon their heights.
The Death of Moses
Chapter 34[m]
1 Moses climbed up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo,[n] the peak of Pisgah, that is opposite Jericho. The Lord showed him the entire land, from Gilead to Dan, 2 as well as all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all of the land of Judah up to the western sea, 3 the Negeb, the district of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palms, up to Zoar. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you are not going to cross over into it.”
5 Moses, the servant of the Lord, died in the land of Moab, as the Lord had foretold. 6 He buried him[o] in the land of Moab, in the valley opposite Beth-peor, but up to the present no one knows where his grave is. 7 Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyesight was not weak, nor was his strength diminished.
8 The Israelites grieved for Moses on the plains of Moab for thirty days, until the prescribed period of weeping and mourning for Moses was over.
9 Now Joshua, the son of Nun, was filled with a spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him. The Israelites obeyed him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 Never again has a prophet arisen in Israel like Moses who knew the Lord face to face, 11 who performed such miraculous signs and wonders that the Lord had sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to his officials and to his entire land. 12 No one has had his mighty power or performed the great and terrible deeds that he did in the sight of all of Israel.
26 The inscription giving the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 Along with him they crucified two thieves, one on his right and the other on his left. [ 28 Thus was the Scripture fulfilled that says, “And he was counted among the wicked.”][a]
29 Those people who passed by jeered at him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who claimed you could destroy the temple and rebuild it within three days, 30 save yourself and come down from the cross.”
31 In much the same way, the chief priests and the scribes joined in the mockery among themselves, saying, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down from the cross right now so that we may see it and come to believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.
33 Jesus Dies on the Cross.[b] Beginning at midday, there was darkness over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 At three o’clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
35 On hearing this, some of the bystanders said, “Listen! He is calling Elijah.” 36 Someone ran off, soaked a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait! Let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”
37 Then Jesus cried out in a loud voice and breathed his last. 38 And the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion who was standing facing him saw how Jesus had breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God.”
40 A number of women were also present, looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger[c] and of Joses, and Salome. 41 These women used to follow Jesus when he was in Galilee and minister to his needs. And there were many other women there who had come up with him to Jerusalem.
42 Jesus Is Placed in the Tomb.[d] It was the Day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath. So when evening came, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also awaiting the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate and requested the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, and he summoned the centurion to ascertain that Jesus had indeed died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that such was the case, he turned over the body to Joseph.
46 Having purchased a linen shroud, he lowered Jesus from the cross, wrapped him in the shroud, and laid him in a tomb that had been hewn out of rock. He then rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was buried.
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