Deuteronomy 32

1Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

2My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

3Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

4He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

5They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.footnote afootnote b

6Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?

7Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.footnote c

8When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

9For the LORD’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.footnote d

10He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.footnote e

11As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:

12So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.

13He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;

14Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.

15But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

16They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.

17They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.footnote f

18Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.

19And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.footnote g

20And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.

21They 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 which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

22For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.footnote hfootnote i

23I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.

24They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.footnote j

25The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.footnote kfootnote l

26I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:

27Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this.footnote m

28For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.

29O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!

30How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?

31For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.

32For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:footnote n

33Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.

34Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?

35To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

36For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.footnote o

37And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,

38Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.footnote p

39See 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: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

40For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.

41If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.

42I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.

43Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.footnote q

44And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.footnote r

45And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:

46And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.

47For it is not a 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 Jordan to possess it.

48And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,

49Get thee up into this mountain 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:

50And 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:

51Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.footnote s

52Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

The Song of Moses

1Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2Let my teaching fall like rainand my speech settle like dew,like gentle rain on new grass,like showers on tender plants. 3For I will proclaim the name of the LORD.Ascribe greatness to our God! 4He is the Rock, His work is perfect;all His ways are just.A God of faithfulness without injustice,righteous and upright is He.

5His people have acted corruptly toward Him;the blemish on them is not that of His children,but of a perverse and crooked generation.footnote a 6Is this how you repay the LORD,O foolish and senseless people?Is He not your Father and Creator?Has He not made you and established you? 7Remember the days of old;consider the years long past.Ask your father, and he will tell you,your elders, and they will inform you. 8When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,when He divided the sons of man,He set the boundaries of the peoplesaccording to the number of the sons of God.footnote b 9But the LORD’s portion is His people,Jacob His allotted inheritance.

10He found him in a desert land,in a barren, howling wilderness;He surrounded him, He instructed him,He guarded him as the applefootnote cof His eye. 11As an eagle stirs up its nestand hovers over its young,He spread His wings to catch themand carried them on His pinions.footnote d 12The LORD alone led him,and no foreign god was with him. 13He made him ride on the heights of the landand fed him the produce of the field.He nourished him with honey from the rockand oil from the flinty crag, 14with curds from the herd and milk from the flock,with the fat of lambs,with rams from Bashan, and goats,with the choicest grains of wheat.From the juice of the finest grapesyou drank the wine.

15But Jeshurunfootnote egrew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged.He abandoned the God who made himand scorned the Rock of his salvation. 16They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods;they enraged Him with abominations. 17They sacrificed to demons, not to God,to gods they had not known,to newly arrived gods,which your fathers did not fear. 18You ignored the Rock who brought you forth;you forgot the God who gave you birth.

19When the LORD saw this, He rejected them,provoked to anger by His sons and daughters. 20He said: “I will hide My face from them;I will see what will be their end.For they are a perverse generation—children of unfaithfulness. 21They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God;they have enraged Me with their worthless idols.So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people;footnote fI will make them angry by a nation without understanding.footnote g 22For a fire has been kindled by My anger,and it burns to the depths of Sheol;it consumes the earth and its produce,and scorches the foundations of the mountains.

23I will heap disasters upon them;I will spend My arrows against them. 24They will be wasted from hungerand ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague;I will send the fangs of wild beasts against them,with the venom of vipers that slither in the dust. 25Outside, the sword will take their children,and inside, terror will strikethe young man and the young woman,the infant and the gray-haired man. 26I would have said that I would cut them to piecesand blot out their memory from mankind, 27if I had not dreaded the taunt of the enemy,lest their adversaries misunderstand and say:‘Our own hand has prevailed;it was not the LORD who did all this.’”

28Israel is a nation devoid of counsel,with no understanding among them. 29If only they were wise, they would understand it;they would comprehend their fate. 30How could one man pursue a thousand,or two put ten thousand to flight,unless their Rock had sold them,unless the LORD had given them up? 31For their rock is not like our Rock,even our enemies concede.footnote h 32But their vine is from the vine of Sodomand from the fields of Gomorrah.Their grapes are poisonous;their clusters are bitter. 33Their wine is the venom of serpents,the deadly poison of cobras.

34“Have I not stored up these things,sealed up within My vaults? 35Vengeance is Mine; I will repay.footnote iIn due time their foot will slip;for their day of disaster is near,and their doom is coming quickly.”

36For the LORD will vindicate His peoplefootnote jand have compassion on His servantswhen He sees that their strength is goneand no one remains, slave or free. 37He will say: “Where are their gods,the rock in which they took refuge, 38which ate the fat of their sacrificesand drank the wine of their drink offerings?Let them rise up and help you;let them give you shelter!

39See now that I am He;there is no God besides Me.I bring death and I give life;I wound and I heal,and there is no onewho can deliver from My hand. 40For I lift up My hand to heaven and declare:As surely as I live forever, 41when I sharpen My flashing sword,and My hand grasps it in judgment,I will take vengeance on My adversariesand repay those who hate Me. 42I will make My arrows drunk with blood,while My sword devours flesh—the blood of the slain and captives,the heads of the enemy leaders.”

43Rejoice, O heavens, with Him,and let all God’s angels worship Him.footnote kRejoice, O nations, with His people;footnote lfor He will avenge the blood of His children.footnote mHe will take vengeance on His adversariesand repay those who hate Him;footnote nHe will cleanse His landand His people.

44Then Moses came with Joshuafootnote o son of Nun and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. 45When Moses had finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to carefully follow all the words of this law. 47For they are not idle words to you, because they are your life, and by them you will live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Moses’ Death Foretold

48On that same day the LORD said to Moses, 49“Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo, in the land of Moab across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites as their own possession.

50And there on the mountain that you climb, you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.

51For at the waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you broke faith with Me among the Israelites by failing to treat Me as holy in their presence. 52Although you shall see from a distance the land that I am giving the Israelites, you shall not enter it.”