1 G ive ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

2 M y message shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the light rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.

Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As raindrops on the tender herb, And as showers on the grass.

3 F or I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Concede and ascribe greatness to our God.

For I proclaim the name of the Lord: Ascribe greatness to our God.

4 H e is the Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are law and justice. A God of faithfulness without breach or deviation, just and right is He.

He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.

5 T hey have spoiled themselves. They are not sons to Him, and that is their blemish—a perverse and crooked generation!

“They have corrupted themselves; They are not His children, Because of their blemish: A perverse and crooked generation.

6 D o you thus repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Is not He your Father Who acquired you for His own, Who made and established you ?

Do you thus deal with the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, who bought you? Has He not made you and established you?

7 R emember the days of old; consider the years of many generations. Ask your father and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

“Remember the days of old, Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; Your elders, and they will tell you:

8 W hen the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the children of men, He set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the Israelites.

When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, When He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the children of Israel.

9 F or the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob (Israel) is the lot of His inheritance.

For the Lord ’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance.

10 H e found him in a desert land, in the howling void of the wilderness; He kept circling around him, He scanned him, He kept him as the pupil of His eye.

“He found him in a desert land And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.

11 A s an eagle that stirs up her nest, that flutters over her young, He spread abroad His wings and He took them, He bore them on His pinions.

As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings,

12 S o the Lord alone led him; there was no foreign god with Him.

So the Lord alone led him, And there was no foreign god with him.

13 H e made Israel ride on the high places of the earth, and he ate the increase of the field; and He made him suck honey out of the rock and oil out of the flinty rock,

“He made him ride in the heights of the earth, That he might eat the produce of the fields; He made him draw honey from the rock, And oil from the flinty rock;

14 B utter and curds of the herd and milk of the flock, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and he-goats, with the finest of the wheat; and you drank wine of the blood of the grape.

Curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs; And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the choicest wheat; And you drank wine, the blood of the grapes.

15 B ut Jeshurun (Israel) grew fat and kicked. You became fat, you grew thick, you were gorged and sleek! Then he forsook God Who made him and forsook and despised the Rock of his salvation.

“But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; You grew fat, you grew thick, You are obese! Then he forsook God who made him, And scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

16 T hey provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations they provoked Him to anger.

They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods; With abominations they provoked Him to anger.

17 T hey sacrificed to demons, not to God—to gods whom they knew not, to new gods lately come up, whom your fathers never knew or feared.

They sacrificed to demons, not to God, To gods they did not know, To new gods, new arrivals That your fathers did not fear.

18 O f the Rock Who bore you you were unmindful; you forgot the God Who travailed in your birth.

Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, And have forgotten the God who fathered you.

19 A nd the Lord saw it and He spurned and rejected them, out of indignation with His sons and His daughters.

“And when the Lord saw it, He spurned them, Because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters.

20 A nd He said, 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.

And He said: ‘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 faith.

21 T hey have moved Me to jealousy with what is not God; they have angered Me with their idols. So I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people; I will anger them with a foolish nation.

They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.

22 F or a fire is kindled by My anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol, devours the earth with its increase, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

For a fire is kindled in My anger, And shall burn to the lowest hell; It shall consume the earth with her increase, And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

23 A nd I will heap evils upon them; I will spend My arrows upon them.

‘I will heap disasters on them; I will spend My arrows on them.

24 T hey shall be wasted with hunger and devoured with burning heat and poisonous pestilence; and the teeth of beasts will I send against them, with the poison of crawling things of the dust.

They shall be wasted with hunger, Devoured by pestilence and bitter destruction; I will also send against them the teeth of beasts, With the poison of serpents of the dust.

25 F rom without the sword shall bereave, and in the chambers shall be terror, destroying both young man and virgin, the sucking child with the man of gray hairs.

The sword shall destroy outside; There shall be terror within For the young man and virgin, The nursing child with the man of gray hairs.

26 I said, I would scatter them afar and I would have made the remembrance of them to cease from among men,

I would have said, “I will dash them in pieces, I will make the memory of them to cease from among men,”

27 H ad I not feared the provocation of the foe, lest their enemies misconstrue it and lest they should say, Our own hand has prevailed; all this was not the work of the Lord.

Had I not feared the wrath of the enemy, Lest their adversaries should misunderstand, Lest they should say, “Our hand is high; And it is not the Lord who has done all this.”’

28 F or they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them.

“For they are a nation void of counsel, Nor is there any understanding in them.

29 O that they were wise and would see through this to their ultimate fate!

Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!

30 H ow could one have chased a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had delivered them up?

How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the Lord had surrendered them?

31 F or their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies themselves judge this.

For their rock is not like our Rock, Even our enemies themselves being judges.

32 F or their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter.

For their vine is of the vine of Sodom And of the fields of Gomorrah; Their grapes are grapes of gall, Their clusters are bitter.

33 T heir wine is the venom of serpents, and the pitiless poison of vipers.

Their wine is the poison of serpents, And the cruel venom of cobras.

34 I s not this laid up in store with Me, sealed up in My treasuries?

‘ Is this not laid up in store with Me, Sealed up among My treasures?

35 V engeance is Mine, and recompense, in the time when their foot shall slide; for the day of their disaster is at hand and their doom comes speedily.

Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them.’

36 F or the Lord will revoke sentence for His people and relent for His servants’ sake when He sees that their power is gone and none remains, whether bond or free.

“For the Lord will judge His people And have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their power is gone, And there is no one remaining, bond or free.

37 A nd He will say, Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,

He will say: ‘Where are their gods, The rock in which they sought refuge?

38 W ho 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!

Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, And drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise and help you, And be your refuge.

39 S ee now that I, I am He, and there is no god beside Me; I kill and I make alive, I wound and I heal, and there is none who can deliver out of My hand.

‘Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.

40 F or I lift up My hand to heaven and swear, As I live forever,

For I raise My hand to heaven, And say, “ As I live forever,

41 I f I whet My lightning sword and My hand takes hold on judgment, I will wreak vengeance on My foes and recompense those who hate Me.

If I whet My glittering sword, And My hand takes hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to My enemies, And repay 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 captives, from the long-haired heads of the foe.

I will make My arrows drunk with blood, And My sword shall devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the heads of the leaders of the enemy.”’

43 R ejoice His people, O you nations, for He avenges the blood of His servants, and vengeance He inflicts on His foes and clears guilt from the land of His people.

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And render vengeance to His adversaries; He will provide atonement for His land and His people.”

44 A nd Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Hoshea (Joshua) son of Nun.

So Moses came with Joshua the son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people.

45 A nd when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel,

Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel,

46 H e said to them, Set your hearts on all the words which I command you this day, that you may command them to your children, that they may be watchful to do all the words of this law.

and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law.

47 F or it is not an empty and worthless trifle for you; it is your life. By it you shall live long in the land which you are going over the Jordan to possess.

For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.” Moses to Die on Mount Nebo

48 A nd the Lord said to Moses that same day,

Then the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying:

49 G et up into this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan which I give to the Israelites for a possession.

“Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession;

50 A nd die on the mountain which you ascend and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people,

and die on the mountain which you ascend, and be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people;

51 B ecause you broke faith with Me in the midst of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin and because you did not set Me apart as holy in the midst of the Israelites.

because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, because you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel.

52 F or you shall see the land opposite you at a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I give the Israelites.

Yet you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel.”