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Deuteronomy 32
American Standard Version
Deuteronomy 32
American Standard Version
32 Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain;
My speech shall distil as the dew,
As the small rain upon the tender grass,
And as the showers upon the herb.
3 For I will proclaim the name of Jehovah:
Ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
4 The Rock, his work is perfect;
For all his ways are justice:
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
Just and right is he.
5 They have [a]dealt corruptly with him, they are not his children, [b]it is their blemish;
They are a perverse and crooked generation.
6 Do ye thus requite Jehovah,
O foolish people and unwise?
Is not he thy father that hath [c]bought thee?
He hath made thee, and established thee.
7 Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of many generations:
Ask thy father, and he will show thee;
Thine elders, and they will tell thee.
8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
When he separated the children of men,
He set the bounds of the peoples
According to the number of the children of Israel.
9 For Jehovah’s portion is his people;
Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
10 He found him in a desert land,
And in the waste howling wilderness;
He compassed him about, he cared for him,
He kept him as the apple of his eye.
11 As an eagle that stirreth up her nest,
That fluttereth over her young,
[d]He spread abroad his wings, he took them,
He bare them on his pinions.
12 Jehovah alone did lead him,
And there was no foreign god with him.
13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth,
And he did eat the increase of the field;
And he made him to suck honey out of the rock,
And oil out of the flinty rock;
14 Butter of the herd, and milk of the flock,
With fat of lambs,
And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats,
With the [e]finest of the wheat;
And of the blood of the grape thou drankest wine.
15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked:
Thou art waxed fat, thou art grown thick, thou art become sleek;
Then he forsook God who made him,
And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
16 They moved him to jealousy with strange gods;
With abominations provoked they him to anger.
17 They sacrificed unto demons, which were no God,
To gods that they knew not,
To new gods that came up of late,
Which your fathers dreaded not.
18 Of the Rock that [f]begat thee thou art unmindful,
And hast forgotten God that gave thee birth.
19 And Jehovah saw it, and abhorred them,
Because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.
20 And he said, I will hide my face from them,
I will see what their end shall be:
For they are a very perverse generation,
Children in whom is no faithfulness.
21 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God;
They have provoked me to anger with their vanities:
And I will move them to jealousy with those that are not a people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger,
And burneth unto the lowest Sheol,
And devoureth the earth with its increase,
And setteth on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 I will heap evils upon them;
I will spend mine arrows upon them:
24 They shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured with [g]burning heat
And bitter destruction;
And the teeth of beasts will I send upon them,
With the poison of crawling things of the dust.
25 Without shall the sword bereave,
And in the chambers terror;
It shall destroy both young man and virgin,
The suckling with the man of gray hairs.
26 I said, I would scatter them afar,
I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men;
27 Were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy,
Lest their adversaries should judge amiss,
Lest they should say, Our hand is exalted,
And Jehovah hath not done all this.
28 For they are a nation void of counsel,
And there is no understanding in them.
29 Oh 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 Jehovah had delivered 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 serpents,
And the cruel venom of asps.
34 Is not this laid up in store with me,
Sealed up [h]among my treasures?
35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense,
At the time when their foot shall slide:
For the day of their calamity is at hand,
And the things that are to come upon them shall make haste.
36 For Jehovah will judge his people,
And repent himself for his servants;
When he seeth that their power is gone,
And there is none remaining, shut up or left at large.
37 And he will say, Where are their gods,
The rock in which they took refuge;
38 Which did eat 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 I, even I, am he,
And there is no god with me:
I kill, and I make alive;
I wound, and I heal;
And there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
40 For I lift up my hand to heaven,
And say, As I live for ever,
41 If I whet [i]my glittering sword,
And my hand take hold on judgment;
I will render vengeance to mine adversaries,
And will recompense them that hate me.
42 I will make mine arrows drunk with blood,
And my sword shall devour flesh;
With the blood of the slain and the captives,
[j]From [k]the head of the leaders of the enemy.
43 [l]Rejoice, O [m]ye nations, with his people:
For he will avenge the blood of his servants,
And will render vengeance to his adversaries,
And will make expiation for his land, for 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 heart unto all the words which I testify unto you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, even all the words of this law. 47 For it is no 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 the Jordan to possess it.
48 And Jehovah spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying, 49 Get thee up into this mountain of 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 in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. 52 For thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither into the land which I give the children of Israel.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 32:5 Or, corrupted themselves, they etc.
- Deuteronomy 32:5 Or, but a blot upon them
- Deuteronomy 32:6 Or, possessed. Or, gotten
- Deuteronomy 32:11 Or, Spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her pinions.
- Deuteronomy 32:14 Hebrew fat of kidneys of wheat.
- Deuteronomy 32:18 Or, bare
- Deuteronomy 32:24 Hebrew burning coals. See Hab. 3:5.
- Deuteronomy 32:34 Or, in my treasuries
- Deuteronomy 32:41 Hebrew the lightning of my sword.
- Deuteronomy 32:42 Or, From the beginning of revenges upon the enemy
- Deuteronomy 32:42 Or, the hairy head of the enemy
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Or, Praise his people, ye nations
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Or, ye nations, his people
Deuteronomy 32
New International Version
Deuteronomy 32
New International Version
32 Listen,(A) you heavens,(B) and I will speak;
hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.(C)
2 Let my teaching fall like rain(D)
and my words descend like dew,(E)
like showers(F) on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants.
3 I will proclaim(G) the name of the Lord.(H)
Oh, praise the greatness(I) of our God!
4 He is the Rock,(J) his works are perfect,(K)
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God(L) who does no wrong,
upright(M) and just is he.(N)
5 They are corrupt and not his children;
to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation.(O)
6 Is this the way you repay(P) the Lord,
you foolish(Q) and unwise people?(R)
Is he not your Father,(S) your Creator,[a]
who made you and formed you?(T)
7 Remember the days of old;(U)
consider the generations long past.(V)
Ask your father and he will tell you,
your elders, and they will explain to you.(W)
8 When the Most High(X) gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided all mankind,(Y)
he set up boundaries(Z) for the peoples
according to the number of the sons of Israel.[b](AA)
9 For the Lord’s portion(AB) is his people,
Jacob his allotted inheritance.(AC)
10 In a desert(AD) land he found him,
in a barren and howling waste.(AE)
He shielded(AF) him and cared for him;
he guarded him as the apple of his eye,(AG)
11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,(AH)
that spreads its wings to catch them
and carries them aloft.(AI)
12 The Lord alone led(AJ) him;(AK)
no foreign god was with him.(AL)
13 He made him ride on the heights(AM) of the land
and fed him with the fruit of the fields.
He nourished him with honey from the rock,(AN)
and with oil(AO) from the flinty crag,
14 with curds and milk from herd and flock
and with fattened lambs and goats,
with choice rams of Bashan(AP)
and the finest kernels of wheat.(AQ)
You drank the foaming blood of the grape.(AR)
15 Jeshurun[c](AS) grew fat(AT) and kicked;
filled with food, they became heavy and sleek.
They abandoned(AU) the God who made them
and rejected the Rock(AV) their Savior.
16 They made him jealous(AW) with their foreign gods
and angered(AX) him with their detestable idols.
17 They sacrificed(AY) to false gods,(AZ) which are not God—
gods they had not known,(BA)
gods that recently appeared,(BB)
gods your ancestors did not fear.
18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
you forgot(BC) the God who gave you birth.
19 The Lord saw this and rejected them(BD)
because he was angered by his sons and daughters.(BE)
20 “I will hide my face(BF) from them,” he said,
“and see what their end will be;
for they are a perverse generation,(BG)
children who are unfaithful.(BH)
21 They made me jealous(BI) by what is no god
and angered me with their worthless idols.(BJ)
I will make them envious by those who are not a people;
I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.(BK)
22 For a fire will be kindled by my wrath,(BL)
one that burns down to the realm of the dead below.(BM)
It will devour(BN) the earth and its harvests(BO)
and set afire the foundations of the mountains.(BP)
23 “I will heap calamities(BQ) on them
and spend my arrows(BR) against them.
24 I will send wasting famine(BS) against them,
consuming pestilence(BT) and deadly plague;(BU)
I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts,(BV)
the venom of vipers(BW) that glide in the dust.(BX)
25 In the street the sword will make them childless;
in their homes terror(BY) will reign.(BZ)
The young men and young women will perish,
the infants and those with gray hair.(CA)
26 I said I would scatter(CB) them
and erase their name from human memory,(CC)
27 but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy,
lest the adversary misunderstand(CD)
and say, ‘Our hand has triumphed;
the Lord has not done all this.’”(CE)
28 They are a nation without sense,
there is no discernment(CF) in them.
29 If only they were wise and would understand this(CG)
and discern what their end will be!(CH)
30 How could one man chase a thousand,
or two put ten thousand to flight,(CI)
unless their Rock had sold them,(CJ)
unless the Lord had given them up?(CK)
31 For their rock is not like our Rock,(CL)
as even our enemies concede.(CM)
32 Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom(CN)
and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are filled with poison,(CO)
and their clusters with bitterness.(CP)
33 Their wine is the venom of serpents,
the deadly poison of cobras.(CQ)
34 “Have I not kept this in reserve
and sealed it in my vaults?(CR)
35 It is mine to avenge;(CS) I will repay.(CT)
In due time their foot will slip;(CU)
their day of disaster is near
and their doom rushes upon them.(CV)”
36 The Lord will vindicate his people(CW)
and relent(CX) concerning his servants(CY)
when he sees their strength is gone
and no one is left, slave(CZ) or free.[d]
37 He will say: “Now where are their gods,
the rock they took refuge in,(DA)
38 the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offerings?(DB)
Let them rise up to help you!
Let them give you shelter!
39 “See now that I myself am he!(DC)
There is no god besides me.(DD)
I put to death(DE) and I bring to life,(DF)
I have wounded and I will heal,(DG)
and no one can deliver out of my hand.(DH)
40 I lift my hand(DI) to heaven and solemnly swear:
As surely as I live forever,(DJ)
41 when I sharpen my flashing sword(DK)
and my hand grasps it in judgment,
I will take vengeance(DL) on my adversaries
and repay those who hate me.(DM)
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,(DN)
while my sword devours flesh:(DO)
the blood of the slain and the captives,
the heads of the enemy leaders.”
43 Rejoice,(DP) you nations, with his people,[e][f]
for he will avenge the blood of his servants;(DQ)
he will take vengeance on his enemies(DR)
and make atonement for his land and people.(DS)
44 Moses came with Joshua[g](DT) 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,(DU) so that you may command(DV) your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for you—they are your life.(DW) By them you will live long(DX) 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,(DY) 49 “Go up into the Abarim(DZ) Range to Mount Nebo(EA) in Moab, across from Jericho,(EB) and view Canaan,(EC) the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. 50 There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die(ED) and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died(EE) on Mount Hor(EF) 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(EG) in the Desert of Zin(EH) and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites.(EI) 52 Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance;(EJ) you will not enter(EK) the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 32:6 Or Father, who bought you
- Deuteronomy 32:8 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) sons of God
- Deuteronomy 32:15 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel.
- Deuteronomy 32:36 Or and they are without a ruler or leader
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Or Make his people rejoice, you nations
- Deuteronomy 32:43 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) people, / and let all the angels worship him, /
- Deuteronomy 32:44 Hebrew Hoshea, a variant of Joshua
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