Deuteronomy 32

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

“Give ear, O heavens, and I speak; And you hear, O earth, sayings 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.

My doctrine drops as rain; My sayings flow as dew; As storms on the tender grass, And as showers on the herb,

3 For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

For I proclaim the Name of YHWH; Ascribe greatness to 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.

The Rock—His work [is] perfect, For all His ways [are] just; God of steadfastness, and without iniquity; Righteous and upright [is] He.

5 Is corruption His? No; His children's is the blemish; a generation crooked and perverse.

It has done corruptly to Him; Their blemish is not of His sons, A generation perverse and crooked!

6 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?

Do you act thus to YHWH, O people foolish and not wise? Is He not your Father—He who bought you? He made you, and establishes you.

7 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.

Remember days of old—Understand the years of many generations—Ask your father, and he tells you; Your elderly, and they say to you:

8 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.

In the Most High causing nations to inherit, In His separating sons of Adam—He sets up the borders of the peoples By the number of the sons of God [[or sons of Israel]].

9 For the portion of the LORD is His people, Jacob the lot of His inheritance.

For YHWH’s portion [is] His people, Jacob [is] the line of His inheritance.

10 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.

He finds him in a land—a desert, And in a void—a howling wilderness, He turns him around—He causes him to understand—He keeps him as the apple of His eye.

11 As an eagle that stirreth up her nest, hovereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her pinions —

As an eagle wakes up its nest, Flutters over its young ones, Spreads its wings [and] takes them, Carries them on its pinions—

12 The LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with Him.

YHWH alone leads him, And there is no strange god with him.

13 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;

He makes him ride on high places of earth, And he eats increase of the fields, And He makes him suck honey from a rock, And oil out of the flint of a rock;

14 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.

Butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs, and rams of sons of Bashan, And male goats, with fat of kidneys of wheat; And of the blood of the grape you drink wine!

15 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.

And Yeshurun waxes fat, and kicks: You have been fat, you have been thick, You have been covered. And he leaves God who made him, And dishonors the Rock of his salvation.

16 They roused Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations did they provoke Him.

They make Him zealous with strangers, They make Him angry with abominations.

17 They sacrificed unto demons, no-gods, gods that they knew not, new gods that came up of late, which your fathers dreaded not.

They sacrifice to the demons, not God, To gods they have not known, New ones—they came from the vicinity; Your fathers have not feared them!

18 Of the Rock that begot thee thou wast unmindful, and didst forget God that bore thee.

You forget the Rock that begot you, And neglect God who forms you.

19 And the LORD saw, and spurned, because of the provoking of His sons and His daughters.

And YHWH sees and despises—For 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 froward generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.

And He says: I hide My face from them, I see what their latter end [is]; For they [are] a contrary generation, Sons in whom is no steadfastness.

21 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.

They have made Me jealous by [what is] not God, They made Me angry by their vanities; And I make them jealous by [what is] not a people, I make them angry by a foolish nation.

22 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 h7585)

For a fire has been kindled in My anger, And it burns to the lowest [part] of Sheol, And consumes earth and its increase, And sets on fire [the] foundations of mountains. (Sheol h7585)

23 I will heap evils upon them; I will spend Mine arrows upon them;

I heap calamities on them, I consume My arrows on them.

24 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.

Exhausted by famine, And consumed by heat and bitter destruction—I also send the teeth of beasts on them, With poison of fearful things of the dust.

25 Without shall the sword bereave, and in the chambers terror; slaying both young man and virgin, the suckling with the man of gray hairs.

The sword destroys from outside, And out of the inner-chambers—terror, Both youth and virgin, Suckling with man of grey hair.

26 I thought I would make an end of them, I would make their memory cease from among men;

I have said: I blow them away, I cause their remembrance to cease from man;

27 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.'

If I do not fear the anger of an enemy, Lest their adversaries know—Lest they say, Our hand is high, And YHWH has not worked all this.

28 For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them.

For they [are] a nation lost to counsels, And there is no understanding in them.

29 If they were wise, they would understand this, they would discern their latter end.

If only they were wise, They would deal wisely [with] this, They would attend to their latter end!

30 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?

How does one pursue a thousand, And two cause a myriad to flee, If not that their Rock has sold them, And YHWH has shut them up?

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

For their rock [is] not as our Rock (And our enemies [are] 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;

For their vine [is] of the vine of Sodom, And of the fields of Gomorrah; Their grapes [are] grapes of gall—They have bitter clusters;

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

The poison of dragons [is] their wine And the fierce venom of cobras.

34 'Is not this laid up in store with Me, sealed up in My treasuries?

Is it not laid up with Me? Sealed among My treasures?

35 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.

Vengeance and retribution [are] Mine, At the due time—their foot slides; For near is a day of their calamity, And things prepared for them have hastened.

36 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.

For YHWH judges His people, And gives comfort over His servants. For He sees the going away of power, And none is restrained and left.

37 And it is said: Where are their gods, the rock in whom they trusted;

And He has said, Where [are] their gods—The rock in which they trusted?

38 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.

Who eat the fat of their sacrifices, [And] drink the wine of their drink-offering? Let them arise and help you, Let it be a hiding place for you!

39 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.

See, now, that I [am] He, And there is no god besides Me; I put to death and I keep alive; I have struck and I heal; And there is not a deliverer from My hand,

40 For I lift up My hand to heaven, and say: As I live for ever,

For I lift up My hand to the heavens, And have said, I live for all time!

41 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.

If I have sharpened the brightness of My sword, And My hand lays hold on judgment, I return vengeance to My adversaries, And to those hating Me—I repay!

42 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.'

I make My arrows drunk with blood, And My sword devours flesh, From the blood of the pierced and captive, From the head of the leaders of the enemy.

43 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.

Sing, O nations, [with] His people, For He avenges the blood of His servants, And He turns back vengeance on His adversaries, And has pardoned His land [and] His people.”

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

And Moses comes and speaks all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Hoshea son of Nun;

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

and Moses finishes to speak all these words to all Israel,

46 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.

and says to them, “Set your heart to all the words which I am testifying against you today, that you command your sons to observe to do 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 upon the land, whither ye go over the Jordan to possess it.'

for it [is] not a vain thing for you, for it [is] your life, and by this thing you prolong days on the ground to where you are passing over the Jordan to possess it.”

48 And the LORD spoke unto Moses that selfsame day, saying:

And YHWH speaks to Moses on this very same 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;

“Go up to this Mount Abarim, Mount Nebo, which [is] in the land of Moab, which [is] on the front of Jericho, and see the land of Canaan which I am giving to the sons 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.

and die on the mountain to where you are going up, and be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron has died on Mount Hor and is gathered to his people;

51 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.

because you trespassed against Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribath-Kadesh, the wilderness of Zin, because you did not sanctify Me in the midst of the sons of Israel.

52 For thou shalt see the land afar off; but thou shalt not go thither into the land which I give the children of Israel.'

Indeed, you see the land before [you], but you do not go in there to the land which I am giving to the sons of Israel.”