Deuteronomy 32

1 Give ear O ye heavens and I will speak, And let the earth hear the sayings of my mouth:

“Give ear, O heavens, and I speak; And you hear, O earth, sayings of my mouth!

2 Let my teaching drop as the rain, Let my speech distil as the dew, —As copious rains on tender grass, As myriad drops on seeding plants.

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

3 When, the name of Yahweh, I proclaim, Ascribe ye greatness unto our God: —

For I proclaim the Name of YHWH; Ascribe greatness to our God!

4 A Rock! faultless his work, For, all his ways, are just, A GOD of faithfulness and without perversity, Right and fair, 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 They have broken faith with him to be no sons of his—their fault, —A generation twisted and crooked.

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

6 Is it Yahweh, ye thus requite, O impious people and unwise? Is not, he, thy father who begat thee? He, that 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 age-past times, Remark the years of many generations, —Ask thy father and he will tell thee, Thine elders and they will say to 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 inheritances unto the nations, When he spread abroad the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the peoples, According to the number of the sons 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, Yahweh’s portion is his people, —Jacob, his inherited possession.

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

10 He met him in a desert land, And in the howling waste of a wilderness, —He encompassed him watched over him, Shielded him as the pupil of his own 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, stirreth up his nest, Over his young ones, fluttereth, Spreadeth abroad his wings, taketh one, Beareth it up on his 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 Yahweh alone did lead him, —And there was with him no GOD of a stranger.

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

13 He made him ride on the high places of the land, Caused him to eat the increase of the fields, —And gave him to suck honey out of the cliff, And oil out of the rock of flint:

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 Curds of kine and milk of sheep, —With fat of well-fed lambs, Yea rams bred in Bashan, and he-goats, With the white of the kernels of wheat, —And, the blood of the grape, thou didst drink as it foamed.

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 Then Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: Thou wast fat, Thou wast thick, Thou wast gorged, So he forsook the GOD who made him, And treated as foolish his Rock of 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 moved him to jealousy with foreign [gods], —With abominations, angered they him:

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

17 They sacrificed to mischievous demons to a No-GOD, Gods whom they knew not, —New ones lately come in, Your fathers never shuddered at them!

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 who had begotten thee, thou wast unmindful, —And didst forget GOD who had given thee birth.

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

19 When Yahweh saw, he derided, —Because his sons and his daughters gave provocation.

And YHWH sees and despises—For the provocation of His sons and His daughters.

20 So he said: —I will hide my face from them, I will see what will be their hereafter, —For a generation given to intrigue, they are, Sons, whom there is no trusting;

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 moved me to jealousy with a No-GOD, They have angered me with their vanities: I, therefore, will move them to jealousy with a No-people, With an impious nation, will I anger them.

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 mine anger, And shall burn as far as hades beneath, —And consume the earth with her produce, And set 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 on them, calamities, —Mine arrows, will I spend upon them:

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

24 The meltings of hunger, The devourings of fever, And the dangerous pestilence, —And, the tooth of beasts, will I send among them, With the poison of crawlers 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, In the inmost recesses, terror, —To both young man and virgin, Suckling, with man of grey 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 said, I would puff them away, I would destroy from mortals, their memory;

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

27 Were it not that the taunt of the foe, I feared, Lest their adversaries should mistake, —Lest they should say—Our own hand, is exalted, It is not Yahweh, therefore who 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 a nation of vanished sagacity, they are, —And there is in them no understanding.

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

29 If they had been wise, they would have understood this, —They would have given heed to their here-after!

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

30 Oh! how would one, have chased, a thousand! And, two, put, ten thousand to flight, —Were it not that their Rock had sold them, And, Yahweh, had abandoned them;

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, not like our Rock, is their rock, Our enemies themselves, being judges;

For their rock [is] not as our Rock (And our enemies [are] judges!)

32 For of the vine of Sodom, is their vine, And of the vineyards of Gomorrah, —Their grapes, are grapes of gall, Clusters of bitter things, are theirs:

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 The poison of large serpents, is their wine, —Yea the fierce venom of asps.

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

34 Is not, that, stored up with me, —Sealed up amongst my treasures;

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

35 Unto the days of vengeance and requital: Unto the time their foot shall totter? For, near, is the day of their fate, And their destiny speedeth on.

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 Yahweh will vindicate his people, And upon his servants, will have compassion, —When he seeth that strength is exhausted, And there is no one shut up or 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 Then will he say, Where are their gods, The rock in whom they have trusted;

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

38 Who used to eat the fat of their sacrifices, To drink the wine of their libations? Let them rise up and help you, Let them be over you for a coveting!

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, I, am, he that is, And there are no gods with me, —I, kill—and make alive, I wound and, I, heal, And there is none who, from my hand, can deliver,

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 unto the heavens my hand, —And say, Living am, I, unto times age-abiding:

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

41 If I whet my flashing sword, And my hand take hold on justice, I will return vengeance unto mine adversaries, And them who hate me, will I requite:

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 captive, With the flesh of the chief leader of the foe.

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 Shout for joy O ye nations [with] his people, For the blood of his servants, he avengeth, —And, vengeance, he returneth unto his adversaries, And is propitious unto the soil 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 So Moses came in and spake all the words of this Song in the hearing of the people, —he and Hoshea 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 unto all Israel,

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

46 he said unto them—Apply your hearts unto all the words which I am witnessing against you, to-day, —how that ye must command your sons 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 not, too small a thing, for you, for, it, is your life, —and, hereby, shall ye prolong your days upon the soil whereunto ye are, passing 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 Yahweh spake unto Moses, on this selfsame day, saying:

And YHWH speaks to Moses on this very same day, saying,

49 Get thee up into this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, which is over against Jericho—and behold the land of Canaan which I am giving unto the sons 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 thou in the mount whither thou art going up, and be withdrawn unto thy kinsfolk, —as Aaron thy brother died in Mount Hor, and was withdrawn unto his kinsfolk;

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 for that ye acted unfaithfully against me in the midst of the sons of Israel, regarding the waters of Meribah-Kadesh in the desert of Zin, —for that ye hallowed me not in the midst of the sons 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 Yet, over against thee, shalt thou behold the land, —but thereinto, shalt thou not enter, into the land which I am giving unto the sons 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.”