Deuteronomy 32
32
1Earth and Sky,
listen to what I say!
2Israel, I will teach you.
My words will be like gentle rain
on tender young plants,
or like dew on the grass.
3Join with me in praising
the wonderful name
of the Lord our God.
4The Lord is a mighty rock,#32.4 mighty rock: The Hebrew text has “rock,” which is sometimes used in poetry to compare the Lord to a mountain where his people can run for protection from their enemies.
and he never does wrong.
God can always be trusted
to bring justice.
5But you lie and cheat
and are unfaithful to him.
You have disgraced yourselves
and are no longer worthy
to be his children.#32.5 and are unfaithful … children: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
6Israel, the Lord is your Father,
the one who created you,
but you repaid him
by being foolish.
7Think about past generations.
Ask your parents
or any of your elders.
They will tell you
8 #
Ac 17.26. that God Most High
gave land to every nation.
He assigned a guardian angel
to each of them,#32.8 He assigned … them: The Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text “So there were as many nations as Israel (that is, Jacob) had children.”
9but the Lord himself
takes care of Israel.#32.9 Israel: The Hebrew text has “Jacob,” another name for Israel's ancestor.
10Israel, the Lord discovered you
in a barren desert
filled with howling winds.
God became your fortress,
protecting you as though
you were his own eyes.
11The Lord was like an eagle
teaching its young to fly,
always ready to swoop down
and catch them on its back.
12Israel, the Lord led you,
and without the aid
of a foreign god,
13he helped you
capture the land.
Your fields were rich
with grain.
Olive trees grew
in your stony soil,
and honey was found
among the rocks.
14Your flocks and herds
produced milk and yogurt,
and you got choice meat
from your sheep and goats
that grazed in Bashan.
Your wheat was the finest,
and you drank the best wine.
15Israel,#32.15 Israel: The Standard Hebrew Text has “Jeshurun,” a rare name for Israel related to a word meaning “honest.” The Samaritan Hebrew Text and one ancient translation also use “Jacob,” another name for the ancestor of the nation of Israel. you grew fat and rebelled
against God, your Creator
you rejected the Mighty Rock,#32.15 Mighty Rock: See the note at 32.4.
your only place of safety.
16You made God jealous and angry
by worshiping disgusting idols
and foreign gods.
17 #
1 Co 10.20. You offered sacrifices
to demons, those useless gods#32.16,17 disgusting idols … foreign gods … demons … those useless gods: Different ways of referring to gods of other nations.
that never helped you,
new gods that your ancestors
never worshiped.
18You turned away
from God, your Creator;
you forgot the Mighty Rock,#32.18 Mighty Rock: See the note at 32.4.
the source of your life.
19You were the Lord's children,
but you made him angry.
Then he rejected you 20and said,
“You are unfaithful
and can't be trusted.
So I won't answer your prayers;
I'll just watch and see
what happens to you.
21 #
1 Co 10.22;
Ro 10.19. You worshiped worthless idols,
and made me jealous
and angry!
Now I will send a cruel#32.21 cruel: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
and worthless nation
to make you jealous and angry.
22“My people, I will breathe out fire
that sends you down
to the world of the dead.
It will scorch your farmlands
and burn deep down
under the mountains.
23I'll send disaster after disaster
to strike you like arrows.
24You'll be struck by starvation
and deadly diseases,
by the fangs of wild animals
and poisonous snakes.
25Young and old alike
will be killed in the streets
and terrified at home.
26“I wanted to scatter you,
so no one would remember
that you had ever lived.
27But I dreaded the sound
of your enemies saying,
‘We defeated Israel with no help
from the Lord.’ ”
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.#32.31 Mighty Rock: See the note at 32.4.
32Our enemies are grapevines
rooted in the fields
of Sodom and Gomorrah.#32.32 Sodom and Gomorrah: Two cities that the Lord destroyed because their people were so evil (see Genesis 18.16—19.28).
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 #
Ro 12.19; He 10.30. Soon our enemies will get
what they deserve#32.35 our enemies … deserve: The Samaritan Hebrew Text and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text “I will pay them back.”—
suddenly they will slip,
and total disaster
will quickly follow.
36 #
Ps 135.14. 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.”#32.42 leaders: Or “long-haired warriors,” who let their hair grow to show that they had made sacred promises to their gods.
43 #
Ro 15.10; Rev 19.2. Tell the heavens to celebrate
and all gods to bow down
to the Lord,#32.43 Tell … Lord: The Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text “Let the nations, his people, celebrate.”
because he will take revenge
on those hateful enemies
who killed his people.
He will forgive the sins of Israel
and purify their land.#32.43 because he will … land: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
44-45Moses spoke the words of the song so that all the Israelites could hear, and Joshua#32.44,45 Joshua: The Hebrew text has “Hoshea,” another form of Joshua's name. 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 #
Nu 27.12-14; Dt 3.23-27. 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.#32.51 Both of you were unfaithful … the Zin Desert: See Numbers 20.1-13. 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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Deuteronomy 32: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Deuteronomy 32
32
1“Skies, listen and I will speak.
Earth, hear the words of my mouth.
2My 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.
3Praise God#32:3 Praise God Or “Give honor to God” or “Speak of the greatness of God.”
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.
5And you are not really his children.
You are completely unfaithful to him.
You are crooked liars.
6Is 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.
8God 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.#32:8 angels This is from the ancient Greek version. Some Hebrew copies at Qumran have “sons of God,” which can also mean “angels.” The standard Hebrew text has “sons of Israel.”
9The 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,
11like 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.
12The Lord alone led his people.
They had no help from any foreign god.
13The 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.
14He 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#32:15 Jeshurun Another name for Israel. It means “good” or “honest.” 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.
16They made him jealous by worshiping other gods.
They made him angry with those disgusting idols.
17They offered sacrifices to demons—gods that are not God.
These were new gods they had not known before,
gods their ancestors never knew.
18You 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!
20So 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.
21They 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#32:21 worthless Literally, “foolish,” used as a wordplay because in Hebrew it sounds like the word “worthless” used earlier in this verse. nation to make them angry.
22My 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.
24They will become thin from hunger.
Terrible diseases will destroy them.
I will send wild animals against them.
Poisonous snakes and lizards will bite them.
25In 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!
27But 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.
29If they were wise,
they would understand;
they would know what would happen to them.
30Can 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.
31The ‘rock’ of our enemies is not strong like our Rock.
Even our enemies know that.
32Their vines and fields will be destroyed
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Their grapes are like bitter poison.
33Their 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!
35I 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.
37Then the Lord will say, ‘Where are the false gods?
Where is the “rock” that you ran to for protection?
38Those 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!
40I raise my hand toward heaven and make this promise.
As surely as I live forever, these things will happen!
41I swear,
I will sharpen my flashing sword.
I will use it to punish my enemies.
I will give them the punishment they deserve.
42My 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.”
Moses Teaches the People His Song
44Moses and Joshua son of Nun came and sang all the words of this song for the Israelites to hear. 45When Moses finished giving these teachings to the people, 46he 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. 47Don’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.”
Moses on Mount Nebo
48The 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. 50You will die on that mountain. You will go to be with your people, the same as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor. 51This 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. 52So now you may see the land that I am giving to the Israelites. But you cannot go into that land.”
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