16 And the Lord said to Moses, (A)“Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and (B)whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will (C)forsake me and (D)break my covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and (E)I will forsake them and (F)hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, (G)‘Have not these evils come upon us because (H)our God is not among us?’ 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because (I)they have turned to other gods.

19 “Now therefore write (J)this song and (K)teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be (L)a witness for me against the people of Israel. 20 For when I have brought them into the land (M)flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and (N)grown fat, (O)they will turn to other gods and serve them, and (P)despise me and (Q)break my covenant. 21 And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as (R)a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For (S)I know what they are inclined to do even today, before I have brought them into the land that I swore to give.”

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16 And the Lord said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors,(A) and these people will soon prostitute(B) themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake(C) me and break the covenant I made with them. 17 And in that day I will become angry(D) with them and forsake(E) them; I will hide(F) my face(G) from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters(H) and calamities will come on them, and in that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come on us because our God is not with us?’(I) 18 And I will certainly hide my face in that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.

19 “Now write(J) down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness(K) for me against them. 20 When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their ancestors,(L) and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods(M) and worship them,(N) rejecting me and breaking my covenant.(O) 21 And when many disasters and calamities come on them,(P) this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do,(Q) even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath.”

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15 “But (A)Jeshurun grew fat, and (B)kicked;
    (C)you grew fat, stout, and sleek;
(D)then he forsook God (E)who made him
    and scoffed at (F)the Rock of his salvation.
16 (G)They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods;
    with abominations they provoked him to anger.
17 (H)They sacrificed to demons that were no gods,
    to gods they had never known,
to (I)new gods that had come recently,
    whom your fathers had never dreaded.
18 You were unmindful of (J)the Rock that bore[a] you,
    and you (K)forgot the God who gave you birth.

19 (L)“The Lord saw it and spurned them,
    because of the provocation of (M)his sons and his daughters.
20 And he said, (N)‘I will hide my face from them;
    I will see what their end will be,
for they are a perverse generation,
    children in whom is no faithfulness.
21 (O)They have made me jealous with what is no god;
    they have provoked me to anger (P)with their idols.
So (Q)I will make them jealous with those who are no people;
    I will provoke them to anger with (R)a foolish nation.
22 For (S)a fire is kindled by my anger,
    and it burns to (T)the depths of Sheol,
devours the earth and its increase,
    and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

23 “‘And I will heap disasters upon them;
    (U)I will spend my arrows on them;
24 they shall be wasted with hunger,
    and devoured by plague
    and poisonous pestilence;
I will send (V)the teeth of beasts against them,
    with the venom of (W)things that crawl in the dust.
25 (X)Outdoors the sword shall bereave,
    and indoors terror,
for young man and woman alike,
    the nursing child with the man of gray hairs.
26 (Y)I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces;
    (Z)I will wipe them from human memory,”
27 had I not feared provocation by the enemy,
    lest their adversaries should misunderstand,
lest they should say, (AA)“Our hand is triumphant,
    it was not the Lord who did all this.”’

28 “For they are a nation void of counsel,
    and there is (AB)no understanding in them.
29 (AC)If they were wise, they would understand this;
    they would (AD)discern their latter end!
30 How could (AE)one have chased a thousand,
    and two have put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock (AF)had sold them,
    and the Lord had given them up?
31 For (AG)their rock is not as our Rock;
    (AH)our enemies are by themselves.
32 For their vine (AI)comes from the vine of Sodom
    and from the fields of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of (AJ)poison;
    their clusters are bitter;
33 their wine is the poison of (AK)serpents
    and the cruel venom of asps.

34 “‘Is not this laid up in store with me,
    (AL)sealed up in my treasuries?
35 (AM)Vengeance is mine, and recompense,[b]
    (AN)for the time when their foot shall slip;
for (AO)the day of their calamity is at hand,
    and their doom comes swiftly.’
36 For (AP)the Lord will vindicate[c] his people
    (AQ)and have compassion on his servants,
when he sees that their power is gone
    and there is none remaining, (AR)bond or free.
37 Then he will say, (AS)‘Where are their gods,
    (AT)the rock in which they took refuge,
38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices
    and drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise up and help you;
    let them be your protection!

39 “‘See now that (AU)I, even I, am he,
    and there is no god beside me;
(AV)I kill and I make alive;
    (AW)I wound and I heal;
    and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
40 For (AX)I lift up my hand to heaven
    and swear, As I live forever,
41 if I (AY)sharpen my flashing sword[d]
    and my hand takes hold on judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
    and will repay those who hate me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
    and (AZ)my sword shall devour flesh—
with the blood of the slain and the captives,
    from the (BA)long-haired heads of the enemy.’

43 (BB)“Rejoice with him, O heavens;[e]
    bow down to him, all gods,[f]
for he (BC)avenges the blood of his children[g]
    and takes vengeance on his adversaries.
He repays those who hate him[h]
    and cleanses[i] his people's land.”[j]

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 32:18 Or fathered
  2. Deuteronomy 32:35 Septuagint and I will repay
  3. Deuteronomy 32:36 Septuagint judge
  4. Deuteronomy 32:41 Hebrew the lightning of my sword
  5. Deuteronomy 32:43 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text Rejoice his people, O nations
  6. Deuteronomy 32:43 Masoretic Text lacks bow down to him, all gods
  7. Deuteronomy 32:43 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text servants
  8. Deuteronomy 32:43 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text lacks He repays those who hate him
  9. Deuteronomy 32:43 Or atones for
  10. Deuteronomy 32:43 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew his land his people

15 Jeshurun[a](A) grew fat(B) and kicked;
    filled with food, they became heavy and sleek.
They abandoned(C) the God who made them
    and rejected the Rock(D) their Savior.
16 They made him jealous(E) with their foreign gods
    and angered(F) him with their detestable idols.
17 They sacrificed(G) to false gods,(H) which are not God—
    gods they had not known,(I)
    gods that recently appeared,(J)
    gods your ancestors did not fear.
18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
    you forgot(K) the God who gave you birth.

19 The Lord saw this and rejected them(L)
    because he was angered by his sons and daughters.(M)
20 “I will hide my face(N) from them,” he said,
    “and see what their end will be;
for they are a perverse generation,(O)
    children who are unfaithful.(P)
21 They made me jealous(Q) by what is no god
    and angered me with their worthless idols.(R)
I will make them envious by those who are not a people;
    I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.(S)
22 For a fire will be kindled by my wrath,(T)
    one that burns down to the realm of the dead below.(U)
It will devour(V) the earth and its harvests(W)
    and set afire the foundations of the mountains.(X)

23 “I will heap calamities(Y) on them
    and spend my arrows(Z) against them.
24 I will send wasting famine(AA) against them,
    consuming pestilence(AB) and deadly plague;(AC)
I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts,(AD)
    the venom of vipers(AE) that glide in the dust.(AF)
25 In the street the sword will make them childless;
    in their homes terror(AG) will reign.(AH)
The young men and young women will perish,
    the infants and those with gray hair.(AI)
26 I said I would scatter(AJ) them
    and erase their name from human memory,(AK)
27 but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy,
    lest the adversary misunderstand(AL)
and say, ‘Our hand has triumphed;
    the Lord has not done all this.’”(AM)

28 They are a nation without sense,
    there is no discernment(AN) in them.
29 If only they were wise and would understand this(AO)
    and discern what their end will be!(AP)
30 How could one man chase a thousand,
    or two put ten thousand to flight,(AQ)
unless their Rock had sold them,(AR)
    unless the Lord had given them up?(AS)
31 For their rock is not like our Rock,(AT)
    as even our enemies concede.(AU)
32 Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom(AV)
    and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are filled with poison,(AW)
    and their clusters with bitterness.(AX)
33 Their wine is the venom of serpents,
    the deadly poison of cobras.(AY)

34 “Have I not kept this in reserve
    and sealed it in my vaults?(AZ)
35 It is mine to avenge;(BA) I will repay.(BB)
    In due time their foot will slip;(BC)
their day of disaster is near
    and their doom rushes upon them.(BD)

36 The Lord will vindicate his people(BE)
    and relent(BF) concerning his servants(BG)
when he sees their strength is gone
    and no one is left, slave(BH) or free.[b]
37 He will say: “Now where are their gods,
    the rock they took refuge in,(BI)
38 the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices
    and drank the wine of their drink offerings?(BJ)
Let them rise up to help you!
    Let them give you shelter!

39 “See now that I myself am he!(BK)
    There is no god besides me.(BL)
I put to death(BM) and I bring to life,(BN)
    I have wounded and I will heal,(BO)
    and no one can deliver out of my hand.(BP)
40 I lift my hand(BQ) to heaven and solemnly swear:
    As surely as I live forever,(BR)
41 when I sharpen my flashing sword(BS)
    and my hand grasps it in judgment,
I will take vengeance(BT) on my adversaries
    and repay those who hate me.(BU)
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,(BV)
    while my sword devours flesh:(BW)
the blood of the slain and the captives,
    the heads of the enemy leaders.”

43 Rejoice,(BX) you nations, with his people,[c][d]
    for he will avenge the blood of his servants;(BY)
he will take vengeance on his enemies(BZ)
    and make atonement for his land and people.(CA)

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 32:15 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel.
  2. Deuteronomy 32:36 Or and they are without a ruler or leader
  3. Deuteronomy 32:43 Or Make his people rejoice, you nations
  4. Deuteronomy 32:43 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) people, / and let all the angels worship him, /