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32 Listen, heaven, and I will speak.
    Earth, hear the words from my mouth.

Let my teachings come down like raindrops.
Let my words drip like dew,
    like gentle rain on grass,
    like showers on green plants.
I will proclaim the name of Yahweh.
Give our Elohim the greatness he deserves!
He is a rock.
    What he does is perfect.
        All his ways are fair.
    He is a faithful El, who does no wrong.
        He is honorable and reliable.

He recognizes that his people are corrupt.
To their shame they are no longer his children.
They are devious and scheming.
Is this how you repay Yahweh,
    you foolish and silly people?
Isn’t he your Ab and Owner,
    who made you and formed you?

Remember a time long ago.
    Think about all the past generations.
        Ask your fathers to remind you,
            and your leaders to tell you.
When Elyon gave nations their land,
    when he divided the descendants of Adam,
        he set up borders for the tribes
            corresponding to the number of the sons of Israel.

But Yahweh’s people were his property.
    Jacob was his own possession.
10 He found his people in a desert land,
    in a barren place where animals howl.
        He guarded them, took care of them,
            and protected them because they were helpless.
11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
    hovers over its young,
        spreads its wings to catch them,
            and carries them on its feathers,
12 so Yahweh alone led his people.
    No foreign god was with him.
13 He made them ride on the heights of the earth
    and fed them with the produce of the fields.
        He gave them honey from rocks
            and olive oil from solid rock.
14 They ate cheese from cows
    and drank milk from sheep and goats.
        He gave them fat from lambs,
            rams from the stock of Bashan,
                male goats, and the best wheat.
        They drank the blood-red wine of grapes.

15 Jeshurun[a] got fat and disrespectful.
    (You got fat! You were stuffed! You were gorged!)
        They abandoned the Elohim who made them
            and treated the rock of their salvation like a fool.
16 They made him furious because they worshiped foreign gods
    and angered him because they worshiped worthless idols.
17 They sacrificed to demons that are not Elohim,
    to gods they never heard of.
        These were new gods, who came from nearby,
            gods your ancestors never worshiped.
18 (You ignored the rock who fathered you
    and forgot the El who gave you life.)

19 Yahweh saw this and rejected them,
    because his own sons and daughters had made him angry.
20 He said, “I will turn away from them
    and find out what will happen to them.
        They are devious people,
            children who can’t be trusted.
21 They made him furious because they worshiped foreign gods
    and angered him because they worshiped worthless idols.
So I will use those who are not my people to make them jealous
    and a nation of godless fools to make them angry.
22 My anger has started a fire
    that will burn to the depths of hell.
        It will consume the earth and its crops
            and set the foundations of the mountains on fire.
23 I will bring one disaster after another on them.
I will use up all my arrows on them.
24 They will be starved by famines
    and ravaged by pestilence and deadly epidemics.
I will send vicious animals against them
    along with poisonous animals that crawl on the ground.
25 Foreign wars will kill off their children,
    and even at home there will be horrors.
        Young men and young women alike will die
            as well as nursing babies and gray-haired men.
26 I said that I would cut them in pieces[b]
    and erase everyone’s memory of them.
27 But I didn’t want their enemies to make me angry.
    I didn’t want their opponents to misunderstand and say,
        ‘We won this victory!
            It wasn’t Yahweh who did all this!’”

28 My people have lost their good sense.
    They are not able to understand.
29 If only they were wise enough to understand this
    and realize what will happen to them!
30 How could one person chase a thousand
    or two people make ten thousand flee?
Their rock used these people to defeat them
    and Yahweh gave them no help.
31 Their rock isn’t like our rock.
    Even our enemies will agree with this.
32 Their grapevines come from the vineyards of Sodom
    and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are poisonous,
    and their clusters are bitter.
33 Their wine is snake venom,
    the deadly poison of cobras.

34 Isn’t this what I’ve stored
    under lock and key in my storehouses?
35 I will take revenge and be satisfied.
    In due time their foot will slip,
        because their day of disaster is near.
            Their doom is coming quickly.
36 Yahweh will judge his people
    and have compassion on his servants
        when he sees that their strength is gone
            and that no one is left, neither slaves nor free people.
37 Then he will ask, “Where are their gods?
    Where is the rock they took refuge in?
38 Where are the gods who ate the fat from their sacrifices
    and drank the wine from their wine offerings?
        Let them come to help you!
            Let them be your refuge!”

39 See, I am the only Elohim.
    There are no others.
I kill, and I make alive.
    I wound, and I heal,
        and no one can rescue you from my power.
40 I raise my hand toward heaven and solemnly swear:
    As surely as I live forever,
41 I will sharpen my flashing sword
    and take justice into my own hands.
        Then I will take revenge on my enemies
            and pay back those who hate me.
42 My arrows will drip with blood
    from those who were killed and taken captive.
        My sword will cut off the heads
            of the enemy who vowed to fight.

43 Joyfully sing with Yahweh’s people, you nations,
    because he will take revenge for the death of his servants.
He will get even with his enemies
    and make peace for his people’s land.[c]

Moses Is Allowed to See Canaan

44 Moses came with Hoshea,[d] son of Nun, and recited all the words of this song as the people listened. 45 When Moses had finished reciting all these words to Israel, 46 he said to them, “Pay attention to all these warnings I’ve given you today. Then you will command your children to faithfully obey every word of these teachings. 47 Don’t think these words are idle talk. They are your life! By these words you will be able to live for a long time in the land that you are going to take possession of when you cross the Jordan River.”

48 That same day Yahweh said to Moses, 49 “Go into the Abarim Mountains, to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho. Take a look at the land of Canaan that I’m giving the Israelites as their own property. 50 On this mountain where you’re going, you will die and join your ancestors in death, as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor. 51 This is because both of you were unfaithful to me at the oasis of Meribah at Kadesh in the Desert of Zin. You didn’t show the Israelites how holy I am. 52 You may see the land from a distance, but you may not enter the land I’m giving the Israelites.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 32:15 “Jeshurun” is another name for Israel.
  2. Deuteronomy 32:26 Hebrew meaning of “cut them in pieces” uncertain.
  3. Deuteronomy 32:43 Dead Sea Scrolls, Samaritan Pentateuch, Greek, Latin; Masoretic Text “his land and his people.”
  4. Deuteronomy 32:44 “Hoshea” is another name for Joshua.

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