Deuteronomy 29-33
New Catholic Bible
Moses’ Third Address
Chapter 29
Recalling Past Blessings. 1 Moses summoned all of the Israelites and said to them, You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lord did for you in Egypt, to Pharaoh and to his officials and to the entire land. 2 With your own eyes you have seen those great trials, the miraculous signs, and great wonders, 3 [a]but until now the Lord has not yet given you a heart that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. 4 During the forty years that I led you in the desert, your clothes did nor tatter, nor did the sandals on your feet wear out. 5 You ate no bread and drank no wine or strong drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord, your God. 6 When you reached this place, Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, came out to fight against us, but we defeated them. 7 We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh.
Exhortation To Be Faithful. 8 Therefore, carefully heed the words of this covenant and observe them, so that you might prosper in all that you do. 9 Today all of you are standing before the Lord, your God: the leaders of your tribes and your elders, your chief men and all of the men of Israel 10 together with your little ones, your wives, as well as the foreigners who live in your camp and who cut your firewood and draw your water. 11 You are entering into a covenant with the Lord, your God, and into his oath that the Lord, your God, is making with you today. 12 Today he is making you his people so that he might be your God, as he promised you and swore under oath with your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 13 I am not making this covenant, this oath, only with you 14 who are standing here with us before the Lord, your God, but also with those who are not here today. 15 You know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we passed through various nations on the way here. 16 You saw their abominations in their midst, idols of wood and stone, silver and gold. 17 Make sure that there is no man, nor woman, nor clan, nor tribe whose heart turns away from the Lord, our God, today to go and serve the gods of these nations; make sure there is no root among you that bears bitterness or wormwood. 18 Let no one who hears this curse bless himself in his heart saying, “I have peace in my heart because of the cleverness of my thoughts,” as though he could sweep away both watered and dry soil.[b] 19 The Lord will not forgive, for his wrath and his zeal will burn out against that man. All the curses that are written in this book will descend upon him, and the Lord will blot his name from under the heavens. 20 The Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, all of the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law.
21 Punishment for Unfaithfulness. Your descendants in later generations and foreigners from distant lands will see all of the carnage that has come upon the land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it. 22 The whole land will be a burning waste of brimstone and salt. Nothing will be planted there, nothing will sprout up, no vegetation will grow there. It will be like the destruction of Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim which the Lord destroyed in his anger and his wrath.
23 All the nations will ask, “Why has the Lord done these things to this land? Why this furious, terrible anger?” 24 The answer will be, “Because they have forsaken their covenant with the Lord, the God of their fathers, that he made with them when he brought them up out of the land of Egypt. 25 They went off and served other gods, worshiping gods that they did not know, gods that he had not given to them. 26 Therefore, the Lord’s anger raged against this land, bringing down upon it all the curses that are written in this book. 27 In anger and wrath the Lord uprooted them out of the land; with great indignation he cast them out into another land where they still are today.” 28 To the Lord, our God, belongs the mystery,[c] but these things have been revealed to us and to our children so that we may observe all of the words of this law.
Chapter 30
God’s Forgiveness and Blessing. 1 When all of these blessings and curses come upon you that I have set before you and you call them to mind wherever you are dispersed among all of the nations, 2 and you and your children return to the Lord, your God, and you obey his voice in all that I command you today with all your heart and all your soul, 3 then the Lord, your God, will have compassion on you in your captivity, and he will bring you back, gathering you from all the nations where the Lord, your God, has scattered you. 4 The Lord, your God, will gather and fetch you back, even if your exiles are in the outermost parts of the heavens. 5 The Lord, your God, will bring you into the land that your ancestors possessed so that you might possess it, and he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. 6 The Lord, your God, will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your offspring so that you might love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, and that you might live. 7 The Lord, your God, will cause all of these curses to come upon your enemies and those who hated and persecuted you. 8 You shall once again obey the voice of the Lord and observe all of his commandments that I have given you today. 9 The Lord, your God, will make you bountiful in all of your undertakings, your offspring, your livestock, and the produce from your land; the Lord will take as much delight in bringing you prosperity as the Lord delighted in your fathers 10 if you obey the voice of the Lord and observe his commandments and his statutes that are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the Lord, your God, with your whole heart and your whole soul.
11 [d]This commandment that I give you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it too distant from you. 12 It is not in the heavens that you should say, “Who will go up into the heavens to bring it down to us so that we might hear it and observe it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea that you should say, “Who will cross over the sea to bring it to us so that we might hear it and observe it?” 14 No, the word is very near to you, it is in your heart and in your mouth, so that you might do it.
15 Israel’s Choice. See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil. 16 If you obey the command that I give you today, to love the Lord, your God, and to walk in his ways, and to observe his commandments, statutes, and decrees, then you will live and multiply, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.
17 But if your hearts turn away so that you will not listen, and you are drawn away to worship other gods and to serve them, 18 then, as I swear to you today, you will surely perish. You will not live a long time in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to enter and to possess.
19 I call upon the heavens and the earth to witness today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life, so that you and your descendants might live 20 loving the Lord, your God, obeying his voice, and holding on to him, for he is life and length of days to you, and so that you might dwell in the land that the Lord promised to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Chapter 31
The Appointment of Joshua. 1 Moses continued to speak these words to all of Israel, 2 and he said to them: I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I am no longer able to go about freely.[e] The Lord has told me, “You will not go over this Jordan.” 3 The Lord, your God, himself will go over before you. He will destroy all of these nations before you so that you might dispossess them. Joshua will lead you over, as the Lord has decreed. 4 The Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 The Lord will deliver them up to you so that you can do to them everything that I ordered you to do. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified of them, for the Lord, your God, is going forth with you. He will never leave you or abandon you.
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him before all of the Israelites, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord, their God, promised their fathers to give to them. You will give it to them as an inheritance. 8 Do not be afraid or dismayed, the Lord will go before you; he will not fail or forsake you.”
The Reading of the Law. 9 Then Moses wrote down this law and he handed it over to the priests, the Levites, who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and to all of the elders of Israel. 10 Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, the feast of canceling debts, the Feast of Booths, 11 when all of Israel comes before the Lord in the place that he has chosen, you are to proclaim it in the hearing of all of Israel. 12 Gather together the people, the men, the women, the children, and the foreigner who lives in your towns, so that they might hear it and learn to fear the Lord, your God, so they might carefully observe the words of this law. 13 Their children, who do not yet know it, must hear it and learn to fear the Lord, your God, the whole time that you are living in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to enter and possess.”
14 Commissioning Joshua. The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, the day is approaching when you will die. Summon Joshua and present yourselves before the tent of meeting so that I can commission him.”[f] Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting. 15 The Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance to the tent.
16 Predicting Israel’s Rebellion. The Lord said to Moses, “You will soon sleep with your fathers, but this people will rise up and prostitute themselves with foreign gods from the land that they are entering. They will forsake and break the covenant that I have made with them. 17 On the day that I become angry with them and forsake them, I will hide my face from them, and they will be consumed. Many disasters and difficulties will fall upon them. On that day they will say, ‘Have these disasters happened to us because our God is not with us?’ 18 I will certainly hide my face that day on account of all their wickedness in turning to other gods. 19 Now write this song and teach it to the Israelites. Put it in their mouths, so that this song can be a witness for me against the Israelites. 20 When I brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land that I promised to their fathers, and when they ate their fill and flourished, they will turn to other gods and serve them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant. 21 When many disasters and difficulties come upon them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know their inclinations even before I bring them into the land that I promised them by oath.”
22 So Moses wrote down this song that day, and he taught it to the Israelites. 23 The Lord commissioned Joshua, the son of Nun, saying to him, “Be strong and courageous for you will lead the Israelites into the land that I promised them and I will be with you.”
24 [g]When Moses had entirely finished writing the words of this law in a book, 25 Moses gave a command to the Levites who carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, 26 “Take this book of the law and put it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, your God, so that it can bear witness against you 27 for I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you rebel against the Lord while I am still alive and with you, how much more so will you be after my death. 28 Gather all the elders of your tribes and your officials before me so that I can proclaim these words in their hearing and call upon the heavens and the earth to give witness against them. 29 I know that after my death you will be totally perverse. You will turn away from the way that I have commanded of you. In days to come disasters will shower down upon you because you will have done what is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger through the works of your hands.”
30 Moses then recited in the hearing of the Israelites the words of this entire song.
Chapter 32
1 [h]Give ear, O heavens, while I speak;
Listen, O earth, to the words of my mouth.
2 Let my teaching fall down like rain,
and my words descend like the dew.
Like rain upon the sprouts,
and like showers upon the grass.
3 I will proclaim the name of the Lord,
Oh, praise the greatness of our God.
4 He is a rock, his deeds are perfect,
and all of his ways are just.
He is a God of truth who does no wrong;
he is just and upright.
5 They have corrupted themselves,
on account of their defect they are no longer his children,
they are a perverse and crooked generation.
6 Is this the way to repay the Lord,
O foolish and stupid people?
Is he not your father, who created you?
Has he not made you and established you?
7 Remember the days of old,
consider the years of past generations,
Ask your fathers, they will tell you,
your elders, they will inform you.
8 When the Most High divided the inheritance among the nations,
when he separated the sons of men,
he established the boundaries of the nations
according to the number of the sons of God.
9 The Lord’s own portion was his people,
Jacob his allotted inheritance.
10 He found him in a desert land,
a waste and howling wilderness.
He shielded him, he instructed him;
He guarded him as the apple of his eye.
11 Like an eagle that awakens its nest,
and hovers over its young,
he spread his wings and snatched him,
bearing him up on his pinions.
12 The Lord alone led him,
there was no foreign god with him.
13 He made him ride on the heights of the earth,
he ate from the produce of the fields;
he had him suck honey from the rock,
and oil from the flinty rock,
14 curds from the herds and milk from the flocks,
fat lambs and rams,
herds of bulls of Bashan and goats,
the finest of the wheat,
from the blood of the grapes you drank wine.
15 But Jeshurun[i] grew fat and desirous,
sated with food; he became heavy and obese.
He abandoned God who had made him,
and rejected the rock of his salvation.
16 They provoked him with foreign gods,
and angered him with abominations.
17 They sacrificed to demons that are not really gods,
to foreign gods that they had not known,
newly invented gods,
gods whom your fathers did not fear.
18 You deserted the rock who formed you;
you forgot God, who fathered you.
19 When the Lord saw it, he despised them;
his sons and his daughters frustrated him.
20 He said, “I will hide my face from them
and watch to see how they end,
for they are a perverse generation,
children who are unfaithful.
21 They have made me jealous by what is not a god,
angered me with their worthless things;
I will make them jealous of those who are not a people,
I will anger them with a foolish nation.
22 My anger has kindled fire to flame,
it burns down to the lowest level of Sheol,[j]
it devours the earth and its produce,
it ignites the foundation of the mountains.
23 I will pile disasters upon them,
and use up my arrows against them.
24 I will send a wasting famine against them,
consuming pestilence and bitter destruction;
I will send the fangs of wild beasts
and the venom of the serpents that crawl in the dust.
25 Outside the sword will leave them childless,
inside there will be only terror.
Upon the young man and the virgin,
the infant and the old gray-haired man.
26 I said, ‘I will scatter them
and wipe out remembrance of them from among humans,’
27 except that I dreaded the taunt of the enemy,
lest the foe misunderstand and say,
‘Our hand has triumphed;
the Lord has not done this!’ ”
28 They are a nation without sense,
there is no understanding in them.
29 If only they were wise and would understand this,
and consider how they will end.
30 How could one man put a thousand to flight,
or two drive away ten thousand,
unless the rock had delivered them,
and the Lord given them up?
31 For their rock is not like our rock,
even our enemies would judge it so.
32 Their vine comes from the vine stock of Sodom,[k]
and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are filled with poison,
their clusters with bitterness.
33 Their wine is the venom of serpents,
the cruel venom of cobras.
34 Is this not stored away with me,
sealed up in my treasury?
35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense.
Their foot will slip in due time,
for the day of destruction is at hand,
and their doom hastens upon them.
36 The Lord will judge his people,
he will have compassion on his servants
when he sees that their power is spent
and there are none who remain, slave or free.
37 He will say, “Where are their gods,
the rock in whom they trusted?
38 Who ate the fat of their offerings,
and drank their wine libations?
Let them arise and help you
and be your protection.
39 See now that I, I am he,
there is no other god besides me.
It is I who put to death and give life,
it is I who wound and heal.
No one can deliver you from out of my hand.
40 I lift my hand up to the heavens,
and I swear, as I live forever,
41 I will sharpen my glistening sword;
my hand will seize onto justice.
I will render vengeance on my enemies;
I will repay those who hate me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword will devour flesh,
the blood of the slain and the captives,
the heads of the enemy leaders.”
43 Rejoice, O nations, with his people,
bow to him, all you gods
for he will avenge the blood of his servants
and take vengeance upon his foes,
but he will be merciful to his land and his people.
44 Then Moses came and proclaimed all of the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua, the son of Nun.
45 Moses’ Last Appeal.[l]When Moses finished saying all these things to all of the Israelites, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all of the words that I bear witness to in your midst today and that I command your children to obey, observing all of the words of this law. 47 This is not a light matter for you; it is your very life. This will prolong your days in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”
48 Moses Dies on Mount Nebo. That same day the Lord said to Moses, 49 “Climb up Mount Abarim, Mount Nebo, that is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look out over the land that I am giving to the Israelites as a possession. 50 Then you will die on the mountain that you have ascended, and you will be gathered home to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered home to his people 51 because you broke faith with me before the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the Desert of Zin; you did not uphold my holiness in the midst of the Israelites. 52 Therefore, you shall only behold the land from a distance, you shall not enter into the land that I am giving to the Israelites.”
Chapter 33
Moses Blesses the Tribes. 1 This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave to the Israelites before his death. 2 [m]He said:
The Lord came from Sinai
and rose up over them from Seir;
he shone forth from Mount Paran.
He came for them with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones
with a flaming fire blazing in his right hand for them.
3 Truly, he loves the people;
all of his holy ones are in his hands.
They followed in your steps
and received your words.
4 Moses commanded a law,
an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.
5 He was king in Jeshurun[n]
when he gathered the heads of the people,
brought together the tribes of Israel.
6 Let Reuben[o] live, and not die;
let his men be not a few.
7 This is the blessing for Judah, he said:
Hear, O Lord, the call of Judah,
and bring him onto his people;
let his hands be enough for him,
and be a help against his enemies.
8 Concerning Levi, he said:
Let your Thummim[p] and your Urim
be with your holy one
whom you tested at Massah,
and with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah,
9 who said of his father and his mother,
“I have not seen them,”
nor does he acknowledge his brother
or even know his own children.
They guarded the words of your covenant and observed it.
10 He teaches your decrees to Jacob
and your law to Israel.
He offers incense before your altar
and whole burnt offerings on it.
11 Bless his skills in his undertakings, O Lord.
Strike those who rise up against him,
so they might never rise up again.
12 Concerning Benjamin, he said:
O beloved of the Lord,
may he dwell in safety beside him;
may he shelter him the entire day long,
and may he dwell between his shoulders.[q]
13 Concerning Joseph, he said:
His land is blessed by the Lord
with choice things from the heavens,
and with what lies deep below,
14 with the precious fruits of the sun,
the rich produce of the moon,
15 with the finest produce of the ancient mountains,
and the abundance of the everlasting hills,
16 with the most precious gifts of the earth and its fullness,
with his pleasures that are found in the bushes.
May these blessings come upon the head of Joseph,
upon the crown of the head of the one who was different from his brothers.
17 As with the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his;
and his horns are like the horns of the wild ox;
with them he will push the peoples together to the ends of the earth.
They are the thousands upon thousands of Ephraim,
and the thousands of Manasseh.
18 Concerning Zebulun, he said:
Rejoice Zebulun, who lives outdoors,
and Issachar, who dwells in your tents.
19 You will summon the people to the mountain;
there they will offer righteous sacrifices.
They will feast on the abundance of the seas,
on the treasures hidden in the sands.
20 Concerning Gad, he said:
Blessed be he who expands Gad’s territory.
He lives like a lion, tearing at an arm or a head.
21 He chose the best portion for himself;
the ruler’s part was reserved for him.
He practiced the righteousness of the Lord,
and his judgments concerning Israel.
22 Concerning Dan, he said:
Dan is a lion’s cub springing forth from Bashan.
23 Concerning Naphtali, he said:
Naphtali abounds with favor;
he is filled with the blessing of the Lord.
He will take his inheritance in the south, toward the sea.[r]
24 Concerning Asher, he said:
Most blessed of sons is Asher,
may he be favored by his brothers,
may he bathe his feet in oil.
25 Your bolts will be iron and bronze,
your strength last as long as your days.
26 There is none like the God of Jeshurun,
who rides in the heavens to help you,
and on the clouds in majesty.
27 The eternal God is a refuge,
below are everlasting arms.[s]
He will drive out your enemy from before you,
and proclaim, “Destroy him!”
28 Israel dwells in safety,
and the spring of Jacob in security,
in a land of grain and wine,
where the heavens drop down dew.
29 Blessed are you, O Israel,
for who can be compared with you,
a people saved by the Lord,
who is the shield of your assistance
and the sword of your majesty.
Your enemies will cringe before you,
and you will walk upon their heights.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 29:3 Even the most overwhelming occurrences are not enough to rouse belief unless God gives the grace to believe.
- Deuteronomy 29:18 Sweep away both watered and dry soil: this expression used natural events to describe the results of God’s wrath indicating that those who turned away from the Lord would bring hardship on the good soil (watered) and bad (dry) alike.
- Deuteronomy 29:28 Mystery: refers to what we cannot know and need not know. Our job is to listen to God and keep his law.
- Deuteronomy 30:11 The word of God is accessible to all people forever in Scripture, so that all might accept it with an open and willing heart.
- Deuteronomy 31:2 Go about freely: despite his advanced years, Moses was not physically or mentally disabled (Deut 34:7). His movement was restricted by God who denied Moses’ crossing over into Canaan.
- Deuteronomy 31:14 This verse is to be connected with verse 23 (see Jos 1:1-9).
- Deuteronomy 31:24 Upon completing the writing of the law, Moses instructed the priests to place it beside the Ark of the Covenant, designating its sacredness.
- Deuteronomy 32:1 In order to make clear the sins that imperil the covenant, this song puts Israel through the mill in proper order. It is a hymn to the greatness of God, who is the strength of his people. It repeats the solemn admonitions of Moses and his successors.
- Deuteronomy 32:15 Jeshurun: i.e., Israel.
- Deuteronomy 32:22 Burns . . . to the lowest level of Sheol: Sheol is the abode of all the dead and known in the New Testament as Hades where only the wicked dead repose.
- Deuteronomy 32:32 The vine stock of Sodom: Israel’s enemies had come from sinful ancestors and their actions were evil (i.e., “filled with poison”).
- Deuteronomy 32:45 After a final appeal for fidelity, Moses hears repeated the prohibition against his entering the Promised Land (3:26-28). We do not know for sure what the fault of Moses and Aaron was; perhaps it was that they seemed to attribute a miracle to themselves (Num 20:12).
- Deuteronomy 33:2 This ancient war hymn, dating from the time of the conquest, exalts the Lord who has accompanied his people from Sinai to the Jordan; like all texts inspired by the idea of the holy war (Deut 7:17-26; 9:1-13), this one urges trust in the power of the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 33:5 Jeshurun: a term of endearment for Israel.
- Deuteronomy 33:6 Reuben was soon absorbed by Gad.
- Deuteronomy 33:8 Thummim . . . Urim: dice used for casting lots on the ephod of the high priest (Ex 28:30). The Levites had shown themselves outstanding in fidelity to God (Ex 32:26-29).
- Deuteronomy 33:12 The Ark had often stayed with the tribe of Benjamin.
- Deuteronomy 33:23 Toward the sea: most likely it is the Lake of Gennesaret; south refers to southern Galilee.
- Deuteronomy 33:27 Everlasting arms: words of comfort and protection for the Israelites as they settle in Canaan.
