32 Sky and earth, listen to my words! Hear what I am saying!
2 My teaching will be like the rain that falls.
My messages will help the people who hear them,
as rain helps new grass to grow.
3 I will praise the Lord 's name.
Everyone must know that our God is very great!
4 He is the strong Rock where we can be safe.
Everything that he does is perfect.
He only does what is right and fair.
We can trust him to be faithful.
5 But you, his people, have not served him faithfully.
Because of your sins, you cannot continue to be his children.
You have turned against him.
You enjoy doing bad things.
6 You are fools who do not understand what is right.
You should not do these things against the Lord .
He is your Father, the one who created you.
He made you become a strong nation.
7 Remember what happened a long time ago.
Think about the lives of your ancestors.
Ask your father or the old men.
They will tell you what happened in the past.
8 The Most High God gave land to be the home of each nation.
When he made people into separate groups,
he decided where their borders should be. [ a ]
He did that to match the number of angels in heaven. [ b ]
9 But the Lord himself takes care of his own people.
Jacob's descendants are his special people.
10 The Lord found them in a desert place.
It was a place where strong winds blew and nobody lived.
He took care of them and he kept them safe.
He protected them, like someone protects their own eyes.
11 The Lord took care of his people,
like an eagle takes care of its babies.
As an eagle flies with its babies on its back,
the Lord helped his people to be safe.
12 The Lord alone was a guide for his people.
He needed no foreign god to help him.
13 The Lord helped them to travel over the high places in the land.
He fed them with food from the fields.
He made them strong with honey from the rocks.
He gave them olive oil from trees in ground with many stones.
14 Their cows and their goats gave them plenty of milk and butter.
Their lambs, sheep and goats became fat,
so they ate the best meat.
They ate the best bread from their wheat.
They drank the best wine from their grapes.
15 The Israelites became rich and fat. [ c ]
They turned against God.
They were full of good food, but they turned away from God.
He was the one who made them.
He was the strong Rock who kept them safe.
But they no longer respected him.
16 They worshipped foreign gods.
So the Lord became angry and jealous.
They made idols which he hated.
17 They offered sacrifices to demons, instead of to God.
They worshipped new gods which they had not known before.
Your ancestors had never respected those gods.
18 You forgot about your strong Rock,
the God who gave you life.
19 When the Lord saw this, he turned away from them.
His sons and daughters had made him angry.
20 He said, ‘I will not continue to help them.
I will see what happens to them when I leave them alone.
They are children who do not obey me.
They have not served me faithfully.
21 They have made me jealous as they serve false gods.
They have made me angry as they worship useless idols.
So I will make them jealous as I help a useless nation.
I will make them angry as I bless a foolish nation.
22 I will become so angry that I punish them very much.
I will destroy them like a hot fire.
It will be like a fire that reaches deep down into the place of dead people.
It will destroy the ground and everything that grows on it.
It will burn deep down to the foundations of the mountains.
23 I will cause them to have many kinds of trouble.
I will attack them like a soldier who shoots all his arrows.
24 They will become weak and hungry.
They will have bad diseases that give them much pain.
I will cause wild animals to attack them.
Snakes will bite them and they will die.
25 If they go out of their homes, their enemies will kill them.
If they stay at home, they will die from fear.
Young men and young women will die.
Babies and old men will also die.
26 I wanted to remove my people completely,
so that nobody would ever remember them.
27 But then their enemies would boast.
They would not understand.
They would say, “We have destroyed these people with our own strength!
The Lord has not done this!” ’
28 Israel is a nation without wisdom.
They do not understand what will happen to them.
29 If they were wise, they would understand.
They would know what would happen to them in the end.
30 One man can chase away 1,000 of my people!
Two men can chase away 10,000 of them!
How can that happen? God, their strong Rock, has left them.
The Lord has given their enemies power over them.
31 The gods of our enemies are not strong like our Rock.
Even our enemies know that their own gods are weak.
32 Our enemies are like grapes full of poison.
They are like grapes that have grown in the fields of Sodom and Gomorrah. [ d ]
33 The wine from their grapes kills people,
like dangerous poison from snakes.
34 The Lord says, ‘I will not forget to punish Israel's enemies.
I have already decided what I will do, and I will do it!
35 When the right time comes,
I will punish them as they deserve.
They will suddenly fall
and great trouble will quickly destroy them.’
36 At that time, the Lord will bring justice for his people.
He will forgive his servants.
He will rescue them when he sees that they are weak,
and very few of them remain, as slaves or free people.
37 Then the Lord will ask his people,
‘Why could your gods not help you?
Those were the gods that you thought would keep you safe.
38 You fed them with the best part of your sacrifices.
You let them drink the wine from your offerings.
So they should be there to help you!
They should keep you safe!
39 Realize the truth! I alone am God.
There is no other god as well as me.
I can kill and I can give life.
I can hurt people and I can make them well again.
Nobody can stop me doing what I choose to do.
40 I lift up my hand to heaven and I make this strong promise:
“I promise you this, as surely as I live for ever:
41 I will make my sword very sharp.
It will move like lightning as I hold it in my hand.
I will punish my enemies as they deserve.
I will pay back everyone who hates me.
42 My arrows will have blood all over them.
My sword will cut into the bodies of my enemies.
Everyone that I take hold of will die.
I will cut off the heads of their leaders.” ’
43 So you people of other nations,
join with God's people to praise him!
He will punish those who have killed his servants.
He will punish all his enemies.
But he will forgive the sins of his people,
and he will make their land clean again.
44 Moses went and he spoke all the words of this song to the Israelites. He did this together with Joshua, son of Nun. 45 When Moses had finished speaking all these words, 46 he said to the people, ‘Remember carefully the message that I have spoken to you today. You must teach these words to your children. They must learn to obey all the words of God's Law. 47 These are not just useless words. This is a message that gives life! If you obey it, you will live for many years in the land on the other side of the Jordan River. That is the land that will be your new home.’
48 On the same day, the Lord said to Moses, 49 ‘Go up into the hill country of Abarim in Moab's land. Climb Mount Nebo where you can see Jericho city on the other side of the river. Look at the land of Canaan. I am giving this land to the Israelites as their new home. 50 You will die on Mount Nebo, as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor. [ e ] 51 Both of you refused to obey me at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Zin desert. You did not show the Israelites that you respected me as God. 52 So you will not go into the land that I am giving to the Israelites. You will only see it from far away.’
32 “Skies, listen and I will speak.
Earth, hear the words of my mouth.
2 My teachings will come like the rain,
like a mist falling to the ground,
like a gentle rain on the soft grass,
like rain on the green plants.
3 Praise God [ a ]
as I speak the Lord ’s name!
4 “The Lord is the Rock,
and his work is perfect!
Yes, all his ways are right!
God is true and faithful.
He is good and honest.
5 And you are not really his children.
You are completely unfaithful to him.
You are crooked liars.
6 Is this the way you repay the Lord for all he has done for you?
You are stupid, foolish people.
He is your Father and your Creator.
He made you, and he supports you.
7 “Remember the days of the past.
Think about what happened so long ago.
Ask your father; he will tell you.
Ask your leaders; they will tell you.
8 God Most High separated the people on earth
and gave each nation its land.
He set up borders for all people.
He made as many nations as there are angels. [ b ]
9 The Lord chose his people to be his own.
The people of Jacob belong to him.
10 “The Lord found them in the desert,
in an empty, windy land.
He surrounded them and watched over them.
He protected them like the pupil of his eye,
11 like an eagle when she makes her young leave the nest to fly.
She stays close to them, ready to help.
She spreads her wings to catch them when they fall
and carries them to a safe place.
12 The Lord alone led his people.
They had no help from any foreign god.
13 The Lord helped them take control of the hill country.
They took the harvest in the fields.
He gave them honey from the cliffs
and olive oil from the rocky ground.
14 He gave his people butter from the herd and milk from the flock.
He gave them lambs and goats.
They had the best rams from Bashan and the finest wheat.
They drank the best wine made from the juice of red grapes.
15 “But Jeshurun [ c ] became fat and kicked like a bull.
(Yes, you people were fed well and became full and fat.)
They left the God who made them!
They ran away from the Rock who saved them.
16 They made him jealous by worshiping other gods.
They made him angry with those disgusting idols.
17 They offered sacrifices to demons—gods that are not God.
These were new gods they had not known before,
gods their ancestors never knew.
18 You people left the Rock who made you;
you forgot the God who gave you life.
19 “The Lord saw this and became upset.
His sons and daughters made him angry!
20 So he said, ‘I will turn away from them,
then let’s see what happens!
They are a rebellious people.
They are like children who will not learn their lessons.
21 They made me jealous with things that are not really gods.
They made me angry with their worthless idols.
So I will use people who are not really a nation to make them jealous.
I will use a worthless [ d ] nation to make them angry.
22 My anger will burn like a fire,
burning down to the deepest grave,
burning the earth and all it produces,
burning deep down below the mountains.
23 “‘I will bring troubles to the Israelites.
I will shoot all my arrows at them.
24 They will become thin from hunger.
Terrible diseases will destroy them.
I will send wild animals against them.
Poisonous snakes and lizards will bite them.
25 In the streets, soldiers will kill them.
In their houses, terrible things will happen.
Soldiers will kill young men and women.
They will kill babies and old people.
26 “‘I thought about destroying the Israelites
so that people would forget them completely!
27 But I know what their enemies would say.
The enemy would not understand.
They would brag and say,
“The Lord did not destroy Israel.
We won by our own power!”’
28 “They are foolish.
They don’t understand.
29 If they were wise,
they would understand;
they would know what would happen to them.
30 Can one person chase away 1000 men?
Can two men cause 10,000 men to run away?
It will happen only if the Lord gives them to their enemy.
This will happen only if their Rock sells them like slaves.
31 The ‘rock’ of our enemies is not strong like our Rock.
Even our enemies know that.
32 Their vines and fields will be destroyed
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Their grapes are like bitter poison.
33 Their wine is like the poison of deadly snakes.
34 “The Lord says, ‘I am saving that punishment.
I have it locked up in my storehouse!
35 I will punish them for the bad things they did.
But I am saving that punishment for when they slip and do bad things.
Their time of trouble is near.
Their punishment will come quickly.’
36 “The Lord will judge his people.
They are his servants, and he will show them mercy.
He will see that their power is gone.
He will see that they are all helpless—
the slaves and free people too.
37 Then the Lord will say, ‘Where are the false gods?
Where is the “rock” that you ran to for protection?
38 Those false gods ate the fat of your sacrifices.
And they drank the wine of your offerings.
So let them get up and help you!
Let them protect you!
39 “‘Now, see that I, and only I, am God!
There is no other God!
I put people to death,
and I let people live.
I can hurt people,
and I can make them well.
No one can save another person from my power!
40 I raise my hand toward heaven and make this promise.
As surely as I live forever, these things will happen!
41 I swear,
I will sharpen my flashing sword.
I will use it to punish my enemies.
I will give them the punishment they deserve.
42 My enemies will be killed and taken as prisoners.
My arrows will be covered with their blood.
My sword will cut off the heads of their soldiers.’
43 “The whole world should be happy for God’s people!
God punishes people who kill his servants.
He gives his enemies the punishment they deserve.
And he makes his land and people pure.”
44 Moses and Joshua son of Nun came and sang all the words of this song for the Israelites to hear. 45 When Moses finished giving these teachings to the people, 46 he said to them, “You must be sure to pay attention to all the commands I tell you today. And you must tell your children to obey completely the commands in this Law. 47 Don’t think these teachings are not important. They are your life! Through these teachings you will live a long time in the land across the Jordan River that you are ready to take.”
48 The Lord spoke to Moses that same day. He said, 49 “Go to the Abarim Mountains. Go up on Mount Nebo in the land of Moab across from the city of Jericho. Then you can look at the land of Canaan that I am giving to the Israelites to live in. 50 You will die on that mountain. You will go to be with your people, the same as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor. 51 This is because you both sinned against me. You were at the waters of Meribah near Kadesh, in the desert of Zin. There, in front of the Israelites, you did not honor me and show that I am holy. 52 So now you may see the land that I am giving to the Israelites. But you cannot go into that land.”
32 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words 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 herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
3 Because I will publish the name of the Lord : ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
4 He 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.
5 They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.
6 Do 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?
7 Remember 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.
8 When 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.
9 For the Lord 's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
10 He 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.
11 As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:
12 So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.
13 He 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;
14 Butter 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.
15 But 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.
16 They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.
17 They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
18 Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
19 And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of 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 faith.
21 They 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.
22 For 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.
23 I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
24 They 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.
25 The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.
26 I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
27 Were 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.
28 For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.
29 O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
30 How 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?
31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being 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:
33 Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.
34 Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?
35 To 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.
36 For 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.
37 And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,
38 Which 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.
39 See 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.
40 For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.
41 If 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.
42 I 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.
43 Rejoice, 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.
44 And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.
45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:
46 And 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.
47 For 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.
48 And the Lord spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,
49 Get 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:
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:
51 Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of MeribahKadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
32 “ ( A ) Listen, you heavens, and I will speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth!
2 ( B ) May my teaching drip as the rain,
My speech trickle as the dew,
( C ) As droplets on the fresh grass,
And as the showers on the vegetation.
3 ( D ) For I proclaim the name of the Lord ;
( E ) Ascribe greatness to our God!
4 ( F ) The Rock! His work is perfect,
( G ) For all His ways are [ a ] just;
( H ) A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Righteous and just is He.
5 [ b ] ( I ) They have acted corruptly against Him,
They are not His children, because of their defect;
( J ) But are a perverse and crooked generation.
6 Is this what you ( K ) do to the Lord ,
( L ) You foolish and unwise people?
( M ) Is He not your Father who has purchased you?
( N ) He has made you and established you.
7 Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of all generations.
( O ) Ask your father and he will inform you,
Your elders, and they will tell you.
8 ( P ) When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
When He separated the sons of [ c ] mankind,
He set the boundaries of the peoples
( Q ) According to the number of the [ d ] sons of Israel.
9 ( R ) For the Lord ’ s portion is His people;
Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.
10 ( S ) He found him in a desert land,
And in the howling wasteland of a wilderness;
He encircled him, He cared for him,
He guarded him as ( T ) the [ e ] apple of His eye.
11 ( U ) As an eagle stirs up its nest,
And hovers over its young,
( V ) He spread His wings, He caught them,
He carried them on His pinions.
12 ( W ) The Lord alone guided him,
( X ) And there was no foreign god with him.
13 ( Y ) He had him ride on the high places of the earth,
And he ate the produce of the field;
( Z ) And He had him suck honey from the rock,
And [ f ] ( AA ) oil from the flinty rock,
14 Curds of the herd, and milk of the flock,
With fat of lambs
And rams, the breed of Bashan, and of goats,
( AB ) With the best of the wheat;
And you drank wine of the ( AC ) blood of grapes.
15 “ ( AD ) But [ g ] Jeshurun became fat and kicked—
You have become fat, thick, and obstinate—
( AE ) Then he abandoned God ( AF ) who made him,
And [ h ] rejected ( AG ) the Rock of his salvation.
16 ( AH ) They made Him jealous with strange gods ;
( AI ) With abominations they provoked Him to anger.
17 ( AJ ) They sacrificed to demons, who were not God,
( AK ) To gods whom they have not known,
( AL ) New gods who came lately,
Whom your fathers did not know.
18 You forgot ( AM ) the Rock who fathered you,
( AN ) And forgot the God who gave you birth.
19 “ ( AO ) The Lord saw this , and spurned them
( AP ) Because of the provocation by His sons and daughters.
20 Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them,
( AQ ) I will see what their end will be ;
( AR ) For they are a perverse generation,
( AS ) Sons in whom there is no faithfulness.
21 ( AT ) They have made Me jealous with what is not God;
They have provoked Me to anger with their [ i ] ( AU ) idols.
( AV ) So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation,
22 ( AW ) For a fire has flared in My anger,
And it burns to the lowest part of [ j ] Sheol,
( AX ) And devours the earth with its yield,
And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 ‘ ( AY ) I will add misfortunes to them;
( AZ ) I will use up My arrows on them.
24 ( BA ) They will be wasted by famine, and emaciated by [ k ] plague
( BB ) And a bitter epidemic;
( BC ) And the teeth of beasts I will send against them,
( BD ) With the venom of crawling things of the dust.
25 ( BE ) Outside the sword will make them childless,
And inside, terror—
( BF ) Both young man and virgin,
The nursing child with the man of gray hair.
26 I would have said, “ ( BG ) I will wipe them out,
( BH ) I will remove the mention of [ l ] their name from humanity,”
27 Had I not feared the provocation by the enemy,
That their adversaries would misjudge,
That they would say, “ ( BI ) Our hand is [ m ] triumphant,
And the Lord has not performed all this.”’
28 “ ( BJ ) For they are a nation [ n ] destitute of counsel,
And there is no understanding in them.
29 ( BK ) If only they were wise and they understood this;
( BL ) If only they would discern their [ o ] future!
30 ( BM ) How could one chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Unless their ( BN ) Rock had sold them,
And the Lord had given them up?
31 Indeed, their rock is not like our Rock;
( BO ) Even our enemies [ p ] themselves judge this.
32 For their vine is from the vine of Sodom,
And from the fields of Gomorrah;
Their grapes are grapes of ( BP ) poison,
Their clusters, bitter.
33 Their wine is the venom of [ q ] serpents,
And the [ r ] deadly poison of vipers.
34 ‘ ( BQ ) Is it not stored up with Me,
Sealed up in My treasuries?
35 ( BR ) Vengeance is Mine, and retribution;
( BS ) In due time their foot will slip.
( BT ) For the day of their disaster is near,
And the impending things are hurrying to them.’
36 ( BU ) For the Lord will vindicate His people,
( BV ) And will have compassion on His servants,
When He sees that their [ s ] strength is gone,
And there is none remaining , bond or free.
37 And He will say, ‘ ( BW ) Where are their gods,
The rock in which they took refuge?
38 ( BX ) Those who ate the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink offering?
( BY ) Let them rise up and help you,
Let them be your protection!
39 ( BZ ) See now that I, I am He,
( CA ) And there is no god besides Me;
( CB ) It is I who put to death and give life.
( CC ) I have wounded and it is I who heal,
( CD ) And there is no one who can save anyone from My hand.
40 Indeed, ( CE ) I raise My hand to heaven,
And say, as I live forever,
41 ( CF ) If I have sharpened [ t ] My flashing sword,
And My hand has taken hold of justice,
( CG ) I will return vengeance on My adversaries,
And I will repay those who hate Me.
42 ( CH ) I will make My arrows drunk with blood,
( CI ) And My sword will devour flesh,
With the blood of the slain and the captives,
From the long-haired [ u ] leaders of the enemy.’
43 ( CJ ) Rejoice, you nations, with His people;
( CK ) For He will avenge the blood of His servants,
( CL ) And will return vengeance on His adversaries,
( CM ) And will atone for His land and His people.”
44 Then Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he, with [ v ] ( CN ) Joshua the son of Nun. 45 When Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “ ( CO ) Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you will command ( CP ) your sons to [ w ] follow carefully, all the words of this Law. 47 For it is not a [ x ] trivial matter for you; indeed ( CQ ) it is your life. And ( CR ) by this word you will prolong your days in the land, [ y ] which you are about to cross the Jordan to [ z ] possess.”
48 Now ( CS ) the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying, 49 “ ( CT ) Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab [ aa ] opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel as a possession. 50 Then you are to die on the mountain where you ascend, and be ( CU ) gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 ( CV ) because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the ( CW ) wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel. 52 ( CX ) For you will see the land at a distance but ( CY ) you will not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel.”
32 Listen, ( A ) you heavens, ( B ) and I will speak;
hear, you earth, the words of my mouth. ( C )
2 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.
3 I will proclaim ( G ) the name of the Lord . ( H )
Oh, praise the greatness ( I ) of our God!
4 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 )
5 They are corrupt and not his children;
to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation. ( O )
6 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 )
7 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 )
8 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 )
9 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.”
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.”
