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32 Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
    hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
My teaching will drop like the rain,
    my sayings will distill as the dew,
as the droplets on the grass,
    and as the showers on the herb.

For I will proclaim the name of the Lord:
    Ascribe greatness to our God!
He is the Rock; His work is perfect;
    for all His ways are just.
He is a God of faithfulness and without injustice;
    righteous and upright is He.

They have acted corruptly to Him;
    they are not His children, but blemished;
    they are a perverse and crooked generation.
Is this how you repay the Lord,
    you foolish and unwise people?
Is He not your father, who has bought you?
    Has He not made you, and established you?

Remember the days of old,
    consider the years of previous generations.
Ask your father, and he will show you;
    your elders, and they will tell you:
When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
    when He separated the sons of man,[a]
He set the boundaries of the peoples
    according to the number of the children of Israel.
For the Lord’s portion is His people;
    Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.

10 He found him in a desert land
    and in the howling waste of a wilderness;
He led him about, He instructed him,
    He protected him like the pupil of His eye.
11 Like an eagle stirs up her nest,
    that flutters over her young,
He spread out his wings and took him;
    He lifted him on His pinions;
12 the Lord alone guided him,
    and there was no foreign god with him.

13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth,
    and he ate of the produce of the fields;
He made him suck honey out of the rock
    and oil out of the flinty rock,
14 butter from the herd,
    and milk from the flock,
    along with the fat of lambs,
and rams of the breed from Bashan,
    and goats,
    with the best of the kernels of wheat;
you drank the pure blood of the grape.

15 But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;
    you grew fat, you grew thick;
    you are covered with fat.
Then he forsook God who made him,
    and devalued the Rock of his salvation.
16 They made Him jealous with strange gods;
    with abominations they provoked Him to anger.
17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God,
    to gods whom they knew not,
    to new gods that recently came along,
    whom your fathers did not fear.
18 You have forgotten the Rock who begot you;
    you are unmindful, and have forgotten the God who gave you birth.

19 When the Lord saw it, He despised them,
    because of the provocation of His sons and daughters.
20 He said: I will hide My face from them;
    I will see what their end will be,
for they are a very perverse generation,
    children in whom there is no loyalty.
21 They have made Me jealous with that which is not God;
    they have provoked Me to anger with their empty things.
And I will make them jealous of those who are not a people;
    I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
22 For a fire has been inflamed by My anger,
    and it will burn to the lowest part of Sheol,[b]
and shall consume the earth and its produce,
    and ignite the foundations of the mountains.

23 I will heap misfortunes on them;
    I will use My arrows on them.
24 They will be starved by famine,
    and consumed by plague and bitter destruction;
I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them,
    with the poison of crawling creatures in the dust.
25 The sword outside and terror within will destroy both the young man and the virgin,
    the infant along with the man of gray hair.
26 I said, “I want to cut them into pieces,
    I will cause the memory of them to disappear from among men,”
27 however, I feared the wrath of the enemy,
    that their adversaries would misunderstand
and say, “Our hand is victorious,
    and the Lord has not done all this.”

28 For they are a nation devoid of counsel;
    there is no understanding in them.
29 Would that they were wise,
    so that they understood this,
    so that they would comprehend their future!
30 How should one chase a thousand,
    and two put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
    and the Lord had given them up?
31 For their rock is not as our Rock;
    even our enemies themselves concede this.
32 For their vine is from the vine of Sodom
    and from the fields of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of poison;
    their clusters are bitter.
33 Their wine is the poison of dragons
    and the deadly venom of cobras.

34 Is not this laid up in store with Me
    and sealed up among My treasures?
35 Vengeance is Mine, and recompense;
    their foot will slip in due time;
for the day of their calamity is at hand,
    and the things to come hasten upon them.

36 For the Lord will judge His people,
    and relent in regard to His servants,
when He sees that their power is gone
    and there is no one left, whether restrained or free.
37 He will say: Where are their gods,
    their rock in whom they trusted,
38 which ate 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 besides Me;
I kill, and I make alive;
    I wound, and I heal;
    there is no one who can deliver out of My hand.
40 For I lift up My hand to heaven,
    and say: As I live forever,
41 if I sharpen My flashing sword
    and My hand takes hold on judgment,
I will render vengeance on My enemies
    and will repay those who hate Me.
42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood,
    and My sword shall devour flesh,
with the blood of the slain and of the captives,
    from the heads of the leaders of the enemies.

43 Rejoice, O you nations, with His people;
    for He will avenge the blood of His servants
and will render vengeance on His adversaries
    and will be merciful to His land and people.

44 Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he, with Joshua, the son of Nun. 45 When Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe, all the words of this law. 47 For it is no idle word for you, because it is your life, and by this word you will prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”

Moses to Die on Mount Nebo

48 The Lord spoke to Moses that same day, saying, 49 “Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel for a possession. 50 Die on the mount where you go up, and be gathered to your people, just as Aaron, your brother, died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the children of Israel. 52 Nevertheless, you will see the land before you, but you may not go there, to the land which I am giving to the children of Israel.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 32:8 Or Adam.
  2. Deuteronomy 32:22 Or the lowest depths of the earth or underworld.

32 Listen,(A) you heavens,(B) and I will speak;
    hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.(C)
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.

I will proclaim(G) the name of the Lord.(H)
    Oh, praise the greatness(I) of our God!
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)

They are corrupt and not his children;
    to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation.(O)
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)

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)
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)
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

  1. Deuteronomy 32:6 Or Father, who bought you
  2. Deuteronomy 32:8 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) sons of God
  3. Deuteronomy 32:15 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel.
  4. Deuteronomy 32:36 Or and they are without a ruler or leader
  5. Deuteronomy 32:43 Or Make his people rejoice, you nations
  6. Deuteronomy 32:43 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) people, / and let all the angels worship him, /
  7. Deuteronomy 32:44 Hebrew Hoshea, a variant of Joshua