Deuteronomy 32:22-52 ▼

22 For by my wrath a fire is kindled that has raged to the depths of Sheol, It has consumed the earth with its yield, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

23 I will heap evils upon them and exhaust all my arrows against them:

24 Emaciating hunger and consuming fever and bitter pestilence, And the teeth of wild beasts I will send among them, with the venom of reptiles gliding in the dust.

25 Out in the street the sword shall bereave, and at home the terror For the young man and the young woman alike, the nursing babe as well as the gray beard.

26 I said: I will make an end of them and blot out their name from human memory,

27 Had I not feared the provocation by the enemy, that their foes might misunderstand, And say, “Our own hand won the victory; the LORD had nothing to do with any of it.”

28 For they are a nation devoid of reason, having no understanding.

29 If they had insight they would realize this, they would understand their end:

30 “How could one rout a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, Unless it was because their Rock sold them, the LORD delivered them up?”

31 Indeed, their “rock” is not like our Rock; our enemies are fools.

32 For their vine is from the vine of Sodom, from the vineyards of Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of poison, and their clusters are bitter.

33 Their wine is the venom of serpents, the cruel poison of vipers.

34 Is not this stored up with me, sealed up in my storehouses?

35 Vengeance is mine and recompense, for the time they lose their footing; Because the day of their disaster is at hand and their doom is rushing upon them!

36 Surely, the LORD will do justice for his people; on his servants he will have pity. When he sees their strength is gone, and neither bond nor free is left,

37 He will say, Where are their gods, the rock in whom they took refuge,

38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their libations? Let them rise up now and help you! Let them be your protection!

39 See now that I, I alone, am he, and there is no god besides me. It is I who bring both death and life, I who inflict wounds and heal them, and from my hand no one can deliver.

40 For I raise my hand to the heavens and will say: As surely as I live forever,

41 When I sharpen my flashing sword, and my hand lays hold of judgment, With vengeance I will repay my foes and requite those who hate me.

42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh— With the blood of the slain and the captured, from the long-haired heads of the enemy.

43 Exult with him, you heavens, bow to him, all you divine beings! For he will avenge the blood of his servants, take vengeance on his foes; He will requite those who hate him, and purge his people’s land.

44 So Moses, together with Hoshea, son of Nun, went and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people.

45 When Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel,

46 he said to them, Take to heart all the words that I am giving in witness against you today, words you should command your children, that they may observe carefully every word of this law.

47 For this is no trivial matter for you, but rather your very life; by this word you will enjoy a long life on the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

48 On that very day the LORD said to Moses,

49 Ascend this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo in the land of Moab facing Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites as a possession.

50 Then you shall die on the mountain you are about to ascend, and shall be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and there was gathered to his people,

51 because both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin: you did not manifest my holiness among the Israelites.

52 You may indeed see the land from a distance, but you shall not enter that land which I am giving to the Israelites.