Deuteronomy 32:28-52

Contemporary English Version

²⁸People of Israel,
that's what the Lord
    has said to you.
But you don't have good sense,
and you never listen
    to advice.
²⁹If you did, you could see
    where you are headed.
³⁰How could one enemy soldier
chase a thousand
    of Israel's troops?
Or how could two of theirs
    pursue ten thousand of ours?
It can only happen if the Lord
stops protecting Israel
    and lets the enemy win.
³¹Even our enemies know
that only our God
    is a Mighty Rock.^[a]

³²Our enemies are grapevines
rooted in the fields
    of Sodom and Gomorrah.^[b]
The grapes they produce
    are full of bitter poison;
³³their wine is more deadly
    than cobra venom.
³⁴But the Lord has written
a list of their sins
    and locked it in his vault.
³⁵^(A) Soon our enemies will get
    what they deserve^[c]—
suddenly they will slip,
and total disaster
    will quickly follow.

³⁶^(B) When only a few
    of the Lord's people remain,
when their strength is gone,
    and some of them are slaves,
the Lord will feel sorry for them
    and give them justice.

³⁷But first the Lord will say,
“You ran for safety to other gods—
    couldn't they help you?
³⁸You offered them wine
    and your best sacrifices.
Can't those gods help you now
    or give you protection?
³⁹Don't you understand?
I am the only God;
    there are no others.
I am the one who takes life
    and gives it again.
I punished you with suffering.
But now I will heal you,
    and nothing can stop me!

⁴⁰“I make this solemn promise:
    Just as I live forever,
⁴¹I will take revenge
    on my hateful enemies.
I will sharpen my sword
and let it flash
    like lightning.
⁴²My arrows will get drunk
    on enemy blood;
my sword will taste the flesh
    and the blood of the enemy.
It will kill prisoners,
and cut off the heads
    of their leaders.”^[d]

⁴³^(C) Tell the heavens to celebrate
and all gods to bow down
    to the Lord,^[e]
because he will take revenge
on those hateful enemies
    who killed his people.
He will forgive the sins of Israel
    and purify their land.^[f]

^44-45Moses spoke the words of the song so that all the Israelites could hear, and Joshua^[g] helped him. When Moses had finished, ⁴⁶he said, “Always remember this song I have taught you today. And let it be a warning that you must teach your children to obey everything written in The Book of God's Law. ⁴⁷The Law isn't empty words. It can give you a long life in the land that you are going to take.”

Moses Will See the Land

⁴⁸^(D) Later that day the Lord said to Moses:

⁴⁹Go up into the Abarim Mountain range here in Moab across the Jordan River valley from Jericho. And when you reach the top of Mount Nebo, you will be able to see the land of Canaan, which I am giving to Israel. ⁵⁰Then you will die and be buried on the mountaintop, just as your brother Aaron died and was buried on Mount Hor. ⁵¹Both of you were unfaithful to me at Meribah Spring near Kadesh in the Zin Desert.^[h] I am God, but there in front of the Israelites, you did not treat me with the honor and respect I deserve. ⁵²So I will give the land to the people of Israel, but you will only get to see it from a distance.

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Footnotes

32.31 Mighty Rock: See the note at 32.4.
32.32 Sodom and Gomorrah: Two cities that the Lord destroyed because their people were so evil (see Genesis 18.16—19.28).
32.35 our enemies … deserve: The Samaritan Hebrew Text and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text “I will pay them back.”
32.42 leaders: Or “long-haired warriors,” who let their hair grow to show that they had made sacred promises to their gods.
32.43 Tell … Lord: The Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text “Let the nations, his people, celebrate.”
32.43 because he will … land: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
32.44,45 Joshua: The Hebrew text has “Hoshea,” another form of Joshua's name.
32.51 Both of you were unfaithful … the Zin Desert: See Numbers 20.1-13.