1 “ Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

`Give ear, O heavens, and I speak; And thou dost hear, O earth, sayings of my mouth!

2 “ Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As the droplets on the fresh grass And as the showers on the herb.

Drop as rain doth My doctrine; Flow as dew doth My sayings; As storms on the tender grass, And as showers on the herb,

3 “ For I proclaim the name of the Lord; Ascribe greatness to our God!

For the Name of Jehovah I proclaim, Ascribe ye greatness to our God!

4 “ The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.

The Rock! -- perfect His work, For all His ways just; God of stedfastness, and without iniquity: Righteous and upright He.

5 “ They have acted corruptly toward Him, They are not His children, because of their defect; But are a perverse and crooked generation.

It hath done corruptly to Him; Their blemish is not His sons', A generation perverse and crooked!

6 “ Do you thus repay the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is not He your Father who has bought you? He has made you and established you.

To Jehovah do ye act thus, O people foolish and not wise? Is not He thy father -- thy possessor? He made thee, and doth establish thee.

7 “ Remember the days of old, Consider the years of all generations. Ask your father, and he will inform you, Your elders, and they will tell you.

Remember days of old -- Understand the years of many generations -- Ask thy father, and he doth tell thee; Thine elders, and they say to thee:

8 “ When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, When He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the sons of Israel.

In the Most High causing nations to inherit, In His separating sons of Adam -- He setteth up the borders of the peoples By the number of the sons of Israel.

9 “ For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.

For Jehovah's portion His people, Jacob the line of His inheritance.

10 “ He found him in a desert land, And in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye.

He findeth him in a land -- a desert, And in a void -- a howling wilderness, He turneth him round -- He causeth him to understand -- He keepeth him as the apple of His eye.

11 “ Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, That hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions.

As an eagle waketh up its nest, Over its young ones fluttereth, Spreadeth its wings -- taketh them, Beareth them on its pinions; --

12 “ The Lord alone guided him, And there was no foreign god with him.

Jehovah alone doth lead him, And there is no strange god with him.

13 “ He made him ride on the high places of the earth, And he ate the produce of the field; And He made him suck honey from the rock, And oil from the flinty rock,

He maketh him ride on high places of earth, And he eateth increase of the fields, And He maketh him suck honey from a rock, And oil out of the flint of a rock;

14 C urds of cows, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs, And rams, the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the finest of the wheat— And of the blood of grapes you drank wine.

Butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs, and rams, sons of Bashan, And he-goats, with fat of kidneys of wheat; And of the blood of the grape thou dost drink wine!

15 “ But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked— You are grown fat, thick, and sleek— Then he forsook God who made him, And scorned the Rock of his salvation.

And Jeshurun waxeth fat, and doth kick: Thou hast been fat -- thou hast been thick, Thou hast been covered. And he leaveth God who made him, And dishonoureth the Rock of his salvation.

16 “ They made Him jealous with strange gods; With abominations they provoked Him to anger.

They make Him zealous with strangers, With abominations they make Him angry.

17 “ They sacrificed to demons who were not God, To gods whom they have not known, New gods who came lately, Whom your fathers did not dread.

They sacrifice to demons -- no god! Gods they have not known -- New ones -- from the vicinity they came; Not feared them have your fathers!

18 “ You neglected the Rock who begot you, And forgot the God who gave you birth.

The Rock that begat thee thou forgettest, And neglectest God who formeth thee.

19 “ The Lord saw this, and spurned them Because of the provocation of His sons and daughters.

And Jehovah seeth and despiseth -- For the provocation of His sons and His daughters.

20 “ Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be; For they are a perverse generation, Sons in whom is no faithfulness.

And He saith: I hide My face from them, I see what their latter end; For a froward generation they, Sons in whom is no stedfastness.

21 ‘ They have made Me jealous with what is not God; They have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation,

They have made Me zealous by `no-god,' They made Me angry by their vanities; And I make them zealous by `no-people,' By a foolish nation I make them angry.

22 F or a fire is kindled in My anger, And burns to the lowest part of Sheol, And consumes the earth with its yield, And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

For a fire hath been kindled in Mine anger, And it burneth unto Sheol -- the lowest, And consumeth earth and its increase, And setteth on fire foundations of mountains.

23 ‘ I will heap misfortunes on them; I will use My arrows on them.

I gather upon them evils, Mine arrows I consume upon them.

24 ‘ They will be wasted by famine, and consumed by plague And bitter destruction; And the teeth of beasts I will send upon them, With the venom of crawling things of the dust.

Exhausted by famine, And consumed by heat, and bitter destruction. And the teeth of beasts I send upon them, With poison of fearful things of the dust.

25 ‘ Outside the sword will bereave, And inside terror— Both young man and virgin, The nursling with the man of gray hair.

Without bereave doth the sword, And at the inner-chambers -- fear, Both youth and virgin, Suckling with man of grey hair.

26 ‘ I would have said, “ I will cut them to pieces, I will remove the memory of them from men,”

I have said: I blow them away, I cause their remembrance to cease from man;

27 H ad I not feared the provocation by the enemy, That their adversaries would misjudge, That they would say, “ Our hand is triumphant, And the Lord has not done all this.”’

If not -- the anger of an enemy I fear, Lest their adversaries know -- Lest they say, Our hand is high, And Jehovah hath not wrought all this.

28 “ For they are a nation lacking in counsel, And there is no understanding in them.

For a nation lost to counsels they, And there is no understanding in them.

29 “ Would that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would discern their future!

If they were wise -- They deal wisely this; They attend to their latter end:

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

How doth one pursue a thousand, And two cause a myriad to flee! If not -- that their rock hath sold them, And Jehovah hath shut them up?

31 “ Indeed their rock is not like our Rock, Even our enemies themselves judge this.

For not as our Rock their rock, (And our enemies judges!)

32 “ For their vine is from the vine of Sodom, And from the fields of Gomorrah; Their grapes are grapes of poison, Their clusters, bitter.

For of the vine of Sodom their vine, And of the fields of Gomorrah; Their grapes grapes of gall -- They have bitter clusters;

33 “ Their wine is the venom of serpents, And the deadly poison of cobras.

The poison of dragons their wine And the fierce venom of asps.

34 ‘ Is it not laid up in store with Me, Sealed up in My treasuries?

Is it not laid up with Me? Sealed among My treasures?

35 ‘ Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.’

Mine vengeance and recompense, At the due time -- doth their foot slide; For near is a day of their calamity, And haste do things prepared for them.

36 “ For the Lord will vindicate His people, And will have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their strength is gone, And there is none remaining, bond or free.

For Jehovah doth judge His people, And for His servants doth repent Himself. For He seeth -- the going away of power, And none is restrained and left.

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

And He hath said, Where their gods -- The rock in which they trusted;

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 hiding place!

Which the fat of their sacrifices do eat, They drink the wine of their libation! Let them arise and help you, Let it be for you a hiding-place!

39 ‘ See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.

See ye, now, that I -- I He, And there is no god with Me: I put to death, and I keep alive; I have smitten, and I heal; And there is not from My hand a deliverer,

40 ‘ Indeed, I lift up My hand to heaven, And say, as I live forever,

For I lift up unto the heavens My hand, And have said, I live -- to the age!

41 I f I sharpen My flashing sword, And My hand takes hold on justice, I will render vengeance on My adversaries, And I will repay those who hate Me.

If I have sharpened the brightness of My sword, And My hand doth lay hold on judgment, I turn back vengeance to Mine adversaries, And to those hating Me -- I repay!

42 ‘ I will make My arrows drunk with blood, And My sword will devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the long-haired leaders of the enemy.’

I make drunk Mine arrows with blood, And My sword devoureth flesh, From the blood of the pierced and captive, From the head of the freemen of the enemy.

43 “ Rejoice, O nations, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And will render vengeance on His adversaries, And will atone for His land and His people.”

Sing ye nations -- his people, For the blood of His servants He avengeth, And vengeance He turneth back on His adversaries, And hath pardoned His land -- His people.'

44 T hen Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he, with Joshua the son of Nun.

And Moses cometh and speaketh all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Hoshea son of Nun;

45 W hen Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel,

and Moses finisheth to speak all these words unto all Israel,

46 h e said to them, “ Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command your sons to observe carefully, even all the words of this law.

and saith unto them, `Set your heart to all the words which I am testifying against you to-day, that ye command your sons to observe to do all the words of this law,

47 F or it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life. And by this word you will prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.”

for it not a vain thing for you, for it your life, and by this thing ye prolong days on the ground whither ye are passing over the Jordan to possess it.'

48 T he Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying,

And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, in this self-same day, saying,

49 “ Go up to 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 am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession.

`Go up unto this mount Abarim, mount Nebo, which in the land of Moab, which on the front of Jericho, and see the land of Canaan which I am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession;

50 T hen die on the mountain where you ascend, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people,

and die in the mount whither thou art going up, and be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother hath died in the mount Hor, and is gathered unto his people:

51 b ecause you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel.

`Because ye trespassed against me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribath-Kadesh, the wilderness of Zin -- because ye sanctified Me not in the midst of the sons of Israel;

52 F or you shall see the land at a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel.”

but over-against thou seest the land, and thither thou dost not go in, unto the land which I am giving to the sons of Israel.'