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32 Hear, heavens, and I will speak.
    Listen, earth, to what I say.
My teaching will drop like rain.
    My words will fall like dew.
They will be like showers on the grass.
    They will pour down like rain on young plants.
I will announce the name of the Lord.
    Praise God because he is great!
He is like a rock. What he does is perfect.
    He is always fair.
He is a faithful God who does no wrong.
    He is right and fair.

They have done evil against him.
    To their shame they are no longer his children.
    They are an evil and lying people.
This is not the way to repay the Lord.
    You are foolish and unwise.
He is your Father and Maker.
    He made you and formed you.

Remember the old days.
    Think of the years already passed.
Ask your father. He will tell you.
    Ask your elders. They will inform you.
The Most High God gave the nations their lands.
    He divided up the human race.
He set up borders for the people.
    He even numbered the Israelites.
The Lord took his people as his share.
    The people of Jacob were his very own.

10 He found them in a desert.
    It was a windy, empty land.
He surrounded them and brought them up.
    He guarded them as those he loved very much.
11 He was like an eagle building its nest.
    It flutters over its young.
It spreads its wings to catch them.
    It carries them on its feathers.
12 The Lord alone led them.
    There were no foreign gods among them.

13 The Lord brought them to the heights of the land.
    He fed them the fruit of the fields.
He gave them honey from the rocks.
    He brought oil from the solid rock.
14 There were milk curds from the cows and milk from the sheep.
    There were fat sheep and goats.
There were sheep and goats from Bashan.
    There was the best of the wheat.
You drank the juice of grapes.

15 Israel grew fat and kicked.
    They were fat and full and firm.
They left the God who made them.
    They rejected the Rock who saved them.
16 They made God jealous with foreign gods.
    They made him angry with hated idols.
17 They made sacrifices to demons, not God.
    They were gods they had never known.
    They were new gods from nearby.
    Your ancestors did not fear them.
18 You left God who is the Rock, your Father.
    You forgot the God who gave you birth.

19 The Lord saw this and rejected them.
    His sons and daughters had made him angry.
20 He said, “I will turn away from them.
    I will see what will happen to them.
They are evil people.
    They are unfaithful children.
21 They used things that are not gods to make me jealous.
    They used worthless idols to make me angry.
So I will use those who are not a nation to make them jealous.
    I will use a nation that does not understand to make them angry.
22 My anger has started a fire.
    It burns down to where the dead are.
It will burn up the ground and its crops.
    And it will set fire to the mountains.

23 “I will pile troubles upon them.
    I will shoot my arrows at them.
24 They will be starved and sick.
    They will be destroyed by terrible diseases.
I will send them vicious animals
    and gliding, poisonous snakes.
25 In the streets the sword will kill.
    In their homes there will be terror.
Young men and women will die.
    So will babies and gray-haired men.
26 I will scatter them as I said.
    And no one will remember them.
27 But I didn’t want their enemy to brag.
    Their enemy might misunderstand.
They might say, ‘We have won!
    The Lord has done none of this.’”

28 Israel has no sense.
    They do not understand.
29 I wish they were wise and understood this.
    I wish they could see what will happen to them.
30 One person cannot chase 1,000 people.
    And 2 people cannot fight 10,000.
This only happens if the Lord has sold them.
    Their Rock would have to give them up.
31 The rock of these people is not like our Rock.
    Our enemies agree to that.
32 Their vine comes from Sodom.
    Their fields are like Gomorrah.
Their grapes are full of poison.
    Their bunches of grapes are bitter.
33 Their wine is like snake poison,
    like the deadly poison of cobras.

34 “I have been saving this.
    I have it locked in my storehouses.
35 I will punish those who do wrong. I will repay them.
    Sometime their foot will slip.
Their day of trouble is near.
    And their punishment will come quickly.”

36 The Lord will defend his people.
    He will have mercy on his servants.
He will see that their strength is gone.
    He will see that nobody is left, slaves or free.
37 Then he will say, “Where are their gods?
    Where is the rock they trusted?
38 Who ate the fat from their sacrifices?
    Who drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let those gods come to help you!
    Let them protect you!

39 “Now you will see that I am the one God!
    There is no god but me.
I send life and death.
    I can hurt, and I can heal.
    No one can escape from me.
40 I raise my hand toward heaven and make this promise:
    As surely as I live forever,
41 I will sharpen my flashing sword.
    And I will take it in my hand to judge.
I will punish my enemies.
    I will pay back those who hate me.
42 My arrows will be covered with their blood.
    My sword will eat their flesh.
The blood will flow from those who are killed and the captives.
    The heads of the enemy leaders will be cut off.”

43 Be happy, nations, with his people.
    He will repay you for the blood of his servants.
He will punish his enemies.
    And he will remove the sin of his land and people.

44 Moses came with Joshua son of Nun. And they spoke all the words of this song for the people to hear. 45 When Moses finished speaking these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them: “Pay attention to all the words I have said to you today. Command your children to obey carefully everything in these teachings. 47 These should not be unimportant words for you. They mean life for you! By these words you will live a long time in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to own.”

Moses Goes Up to Mount Nebo

48 The Lord spoke to Moses again that same day. He said, 49 “Go up the Abarim Mountains. Go to Mount Nebo in the country of Moab. It is across from Jericho. Look at the land of Canaan. I am giving it to the Israelites to own. 50 You will die on that mountain that you climb. This is how your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor. 51 You both sinned against me at the waters of Meribah Kadesh. That is in the Desert of Zin. You did not honor me as holy there among the Israelites. 52 So now you will only look at the land from far away. You will not enter the land I am giving the people of Israel.”

32 Listen,(A) you heavens,(B) and I will speak;
    hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.(C)
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.

I will proclaim(G) the name of the Lord.(H)
    Oh, praise the greatness(I) of our God!
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)

They are corrupt and not his children;
    to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation.(O)
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)

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)
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)
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.”

Moses to Die on Mount Nebo

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.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 32:6 Or Father, who bought you
  2. Deuteronomy 32:8 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) sons of God
  3. Deuteronomy 32:15 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel.
  4. Deuteronomy 32:36 Or and they are without a ruler or leader
  5. Deuteronomy 32:43 Or Make his people rejoice, you nations
  6. Deuteronomy 32:43 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) people, / and let all the angels worship him, /
  7. Deuteronomy 32:44 Hebrew Hoshea, a variant of Joshua