< Deuteronomy 32 >
1 Hear, O ye heavens, the things I speak, let the earth give ear to the words of my mouth.
Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 Let my doctrine gather as the rain, let my speech distil as the dew, as a shower upon the herb, and as drops upon the grass.
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 Because I will invoke the name of the Lord: give ye magnificence to our God.
For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
4 The works of God are perfect, and all his ways are judgments: God is faithful and without any iniquity, he is just and right.
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 sinned against him, and are nose of his children in their filth: they are a wicked and perverse generation.
Is corruption His? No; His children's is the blemish; a generation crooked and perverse.
6 Is this the return thou makest to the Lord, O foolish and senseless people? Is not he thy father, that hath possessed thee, and made thee, and created thee?
Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not He thy father that hath gotten thee? hath He not made thee, and established thee?
7 Remember the days of old, think upon every generation: ask thy father, and he will declare to thee: thy elders and they will tell thee.
Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask thy father, and he will declare unto thee, thine elders, and they will tell thee.
8 When the Most High divided the nations: when he separated the sons of Adam, he appointed the bounds of people according to the number of the children of Israel.
When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the children of men, He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel.
9 But the Lord’s portion is his people: Jacob the lot of his inheritance.
For the portion of the LORD is His people, Jacob the lot of His inheritance.
10 He found him in a desert land, in a place of horror, and of vast wilderness: he led him about, and taught him: and he kept him as the apple of his eye.
He found him in a desert land, and in the waste, a howling wilderness; He compassed him about, He cared for him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.
11 As the eagle enticing her young to fly, and hovering over them, he spread his wings, and hath taken him and carried him on his shoulders.
As an eagle that stirreth up her nest, hovereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her pinions —
12 The Lord alone was his leader: and there was no strange god with him.
The LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with Him.
13 He set him upon high land: that he might eat the fruits of the fields, that he might suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the hardest stone,
He made him ride on the high places of the earth, and he did eat the fruitage of the field; and He made him to suck honey out of the crag, and oil out of the flinty rock;
14 Butter of the herd, and milk of the sheep with the fat of lambs, and of the rams of the breed of Basan: and goats with the marrow of wheat, and might drink the purest blood of the grape.
Curd of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and he-goats, with the kidney-fat of wheat; and of the blood of the grape thou drankest foaming wine.
15 The beloved grew fat, and kicked: he grew fat, and thick and gross, he forsook God who made him, and departed from God his saviour.
But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked — thou didst wax fat, thou didst grow thick, thou didst become gross — and he forsook God who made him, and contemned the Rock of his salvation.
16 They provoked him by strange gods, and stirred him up to anger, with their abominations.
They roused Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations did they provoke Him.
17 They sacrificed to devils and not to God: to gods whom they knew not: that were newly come up, whom their fathers worshipped not.
They sacrificed unto demons, no-gods, gods that they knew not, new gods that came up of late, which your fathers dreaded not.
18 Thou hast forsaken the God that beget thee, and hast forgotten the Lord that created thee.
Of the Rock that begot thee thou wast unmindful, and didst forget God that bore thee.
19 The Lord saw, and was moved to wrath: because his own sons and daughters provoked him.
And the LORD saw, and spurned, because of the provoking of His sons and His daughters.
20 And he said: I will hide my face from them, and will consider what their last end shall be: for it is a perverse generation, and unfaithful children.
And 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 faithfulness.
21 They have provoked me with that which was no god, and have angered me with their vanities: and I will provoke them with that which is no people, and will vex them with a foolish nation.
They have roused Me to jealousy with a no-god; they have provoked Me with their vanities; and I will rouse them to jealousy with a no-people; I will provoke them with a vile nation.
22 A fire is kindled in my wrath, and shall burn even to the lowest hell: and shall devour the earth with her increase, and shall burn the foundations of the mountains. (Sheol )
For a fire is kindled in My nostril, and burneth unto the depths of the nether-world, and devoureth the earth with her produce, and setteth ablaze the foundations of the mountains. (Sheol )
23 I will heap evils upon them, and will spend my arrows among them.
I will heap evils upon them; I will spend Mine arrows upon them;
24 They shall be consumed with famine, and birds shall devour them with a most bitter bite: I will send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the fury of creatures that trail upon the ground, and of serpents.
The wasting of hunger, and the devouring of the fiery bolt, and bitter destruction; and the teeth of beasts will I send upon them, with the venom of crawling things of the dust.
25 Without, the sword shall lay them waste, and terror within, both the young man and the virgin, the sucking child with the man in years.
Without shall the sword bereave, and in the chambers terror; slaying both young man and virgin, the suckling with the man of gray hairs.
26 I said: Where are they? I will make the memory of them to cease from among men.
I thought I would make an end of them, I would make their memory cease from among men;
27 But for the wrath of the enemies I have deferred it: lest perhaps their enemies might be proud, and should say: Our mighty hand, and not the Lord, hath done all these things.
Were it not that I dreaded the enemy's provocation, lest their adversaries should misdeem, lest they should say: Our hand is exalted, and not the LORD hath wrought all this.'
28 They are a nation without counsel, and without wisdom.
For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them.
29 O that they would be wise and would understand, and would provide for their last end.
If they were wise, they would understand this, they would discern their latter end.
30 How should one pursue after a thousand, and two chase ten thousand? Was it not, because their God had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?
How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had given them over and the LORD had delivered them up?
31 For our God is not as their gods: our enemies themselves are judges.
For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
32 Their vines are of the vineyard of Sodom, and of the suburbs of Gomorrha: their grapes are grapes of gall, and their clusters most bitter.
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 gall of dragons, and the venom of asps, which is incurable.
Their wine is the venom of serpents, and the cruel poison of asps.
34 Are not these things stored up with me, and sealed up in my treasures?
'Is not this laid up in store with Me, sealed up in My treasuries?
35 Revenge is mine, and I will repay them in due time, that their foot may slide: the day of destruction is at hand, and the time makes haste to come.
Vengeance is Mine, and recompense, against the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that are to come upon them shall make haste.
36 The Lord will judge his people, and will have mercy on his servants: he shall see that their hand is weakened, and that they who were shut up have also failed, and they that remained are consumed.
For the LORD will judge His people, and repent Himself for His servants; when He seeth that their stay is gone, and there is none remaining, shut up or left at large.
37 And he shall say: Where are their gods, in whom they trusted?
And it is said: Where are their gods, the rock in whom they trusted;
38 Of whose victims they ate the fat, and drank the wine of their drink offerings: let them arise and help you, and protect you in your distress.
Who did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink-offering? let him rise up and help you, let him be your protection.
39 See ye that I alone am, and there is no other God besides me: I will kill and I will make to live: I will strike, and I will heal, and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me; I kill, and I make alive; I have wounded, and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of My hand.
40 I will lift up my hand to heaven, and I will say: I live for ever.
For I lift up My hand to heaven, and say: As I live for ever,
41 If I shall whet my sword as the lightning, and my hand take hold on judgment: I will render vengeance to my enemies, and repay them that hate me.
If I whet 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 my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh, of the blood of the slain and of the captivity, of the bare head of the enemies.
I will make Mine arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh; with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired heads of the enemy.'
43 Praise his people, ye nations, for he will revenge the blood of his servants: and will render vengeance to their enemies, and he will be merciful to the land of his people.
Sing aloud, O ye nations, of His people; for He doth avenge the blood of His servants, and doth render vengeance to His adversaries, and doth make expiation for the land of His people.
44 So Moses came and spoke all the words of this canticle in the ears of the people, and Josue the son of Nun.
And Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.
45 And he ended all these words, speaking to all Israel.
And when Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel,
46 And he said to them: Set your hearts on all the words, which I testify to you this day: which you shall command your children to observe and to do, and to fulfill all that is written in this law:
he said unto them: 'Set your heart unto all the words wherewith I testify against you this day; that ye may charge your children therewith to observe to do all the words of this law.
47 For they are not commanded you in vain, but that every one should live in them, and that doing them you may continue a long time in the land whither you are going over the Jordan to possess it.
For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing ye shall prolong your days upon the land, whither ye go over the Jordan to possess it.'
48 And the Lord spoke to Moses the same day, saying:
And the LORD spoke unto Moses that selfsame day, saying:
49 Go up into this mountain Abarim, (that is to say, of passages, ) unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab over against Jericho: and see the land of Chanaan, which I will deliver to the children of Israel to possess, and die thou in the mountain.
'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 When thou art gone up into it thou shalt be gathered to thy people, as Aaron thy brother died in mount Her, and was gathered to his people:
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 you trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel, at the waters of contradiction in Cades of the desert of Sin: and you did not sanctify me among the children of Israel.
Because ye trespassed against Me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribath-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified Me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
52 Thou shalt see the land before thee, which I will give to the children of Israel, but thou shalt not enter into it.
For thou shalt see the land afar off; but thou shalt not go thither into the land which I give the children of Israel.'