1 “ Listen, O heavens, and let me speak. Let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

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

2 L et my teaching fall as the rain, and my voice like the water on the grass in the early morning, like rain upon the new grass, and rain upon the plant.

My 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.

3 F or I will make known the name of the Lord. I will tell of the greatness of God!

For I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Concede and ascribe greatness to our God.

4 T he Rock! His work is perfect. All His ways are right and fair. A God Who is faithful and without sin, right and good is He.

He 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.

5 T hey have acted in sin toward Him, but they are not His children, because the mark of sin is on them. They are a bad and sinful people.

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

6 I s this how you pay the Lord, you foolish people who are not wise? Is He not your Father Who has bought you? He has made you and given you your place.

Do 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 ?

7 R emember the days long ago. Think of the years of all people. Ask your father and he will show you. Ask your leaders. 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 divided up the world among the nations, he divided the children of men. He set the place where each nation was to live by the number of the sons of Israel.

When 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.

9 F or the Lord’s share is His people. He chose the people of Jacob for Himself.

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

10 H e found him in a desert land, in the empty waste of a desert. He came around him and cared for him. He kept him as He would His own eye.

He 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.

11 L ike an eagle that shakes its nest, that flies over its young, He spread His wings and caught them. He carried them on His wings.

As 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.

12 T he Lord alone led him. There was no strange god with him.

So the Lord alone led him; there was no foreign god with Him.

13 H e made him sit on the high places of the earth. And he ate the food of the field. He made him eat honey from the rock, oil out of hard rock,

He 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,

14 m ilk from cows and milk from the flock, the fat of lambs, rams of Bashan, goats, and the best of the grain. And you drank wine of the blood of grapes.

Butter 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.

15 “ But Jeshurun grew fat and would not obey. You became fat and full of food. Then he turned away from God Who made him. He hated the Rock of His saving power.

But 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.

16 T hey made Him jealous with strange gods. They made Him angry with hated things.

They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations they provoked Him to anger.

17 T hey gave gifts to demons who were not God, to gods they have not known, new gods who came later, whom your fathers did not fear.

They 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.

18 Y ou did not think of the Rock Who gave you birth. You forgot the God Who gave you birth.

Of the Rock Who bore you you were unmindful; you forgot the God Who travailed in your birth.

19 “ The Lord saw this, and hated them. His sons and daughters made Him angry.

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

20 T hen He said, ‘I will hide My face from them. I will see what their end will be. For they are a sinful people, children who are not faithful.

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 faithfulness.

21 T hey have made Me jealous with what is not God. They have made Me angry with their false gods. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people. I will make them angry with a foolish nation.

They 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.

22 F or a fire is started by My anger. It burns to the very bottom of the place of the dead. It burns up the earth and all that grows on the earth. It burns the base of the mountains.

For 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.

23 ‘ I will send much trouble upon them. I will use My arrows against them.

And I will heap evils upon them; I will spend My arrows upon them.

24 T hey will be wasted with hunger. They will be destroyed by burning heat and disease. I will send the teeth of wild animals against them, with the poison of things moving in the dust.

They 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.

25 T he sword will bring death in the street, and bring fear in the homes. It will destroy both young man and young woman, the baby and the man with white hair.

From 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.

26 I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces. I will make all people forget about them.”

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

27 B ut I was afraid that those who hate them would fight in anger against them and would not understand. They would say, “We have won with our own strength. The Lord has not done this.”’

Had 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.

28 “ For they are a nation without wise teaching. There is no understanding in them.

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

29 I f they were wise, they would understand this. They would know their future!

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

30 H ow could one run after a thousand? How could two make ten thousand run away, unless their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had given them up?

How 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?

31 F or their rock is not like our Rock. Even those who hate us judge this.

For their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies themselves judge this.

32 T heir vine is from the vine of Sodom, and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of poison. Their fruit tastes bitter.

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

33 T heir wine is the poison of snakes that kill.

Their wine is the venom of serpents, and the pitiless poison of vipers.

34 ‘ Are they not kept in store with Me, shut in with My stores of riches?

Is not this laid up in store with Me, sealed up in My treasuries?

35 I t is Mine to punish when their foot makes a false step. The day of their trouble is near. Their fall is coming fast upon them.’

Vengeance 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.

36 F or the Lord will judge His people. He will have loving-pity on His servants when He sees their strength is gone, and none are left of those who are free or of those who are not free.

For 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.

37 T hen He will say, ‘Where are their gods? Where is the rock where they went to be safe?

And He will say, Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,

38 W ho ate the fat of their burnt gifts and drank the wine of their drink gifts? Let them come and help you. Let them be your hiding place!

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 S ee now that it is I. I am He. There is no god except Me. It is I Who kills and gives life. I hurt, and I heal. And there is no one who can take from My hand.

See 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.

40 F or I lift up My hand to heaven, and promise that, as I live forever,

For I lift up My hand to heaven and swear, As I live forever,

41 I will make My shining sword sharp. My hand takes hold of what is right and fair. I will punish those who are against Me. And I will punish those who hate Me.

If 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.

42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood. My sword will eat flesh with the blood of those who are killed and those who are in prison, from the long-haired leaders of those who hate Me.’

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.

43 B e glad, O nations, with His people! For He will punish because of the blood of His servants. He will punish those who fight against Him. And He will take away the sin of His land and His people.”

Rejoice 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.

44 M oses came with Joshua the son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people.

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

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

And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel,

46 h e said to them, “Take into your heart all the words I tell you today. Tell them to your children, so they may be careful to do all the words of this Law.

He 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.

47 T his word is of great worth to you. It is your very life. By this word you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to take.” Moses to Die on Mount Nebo

For 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.

48 T he Lord said to Moses that same day,

And the Lord said to Moses that same day,

49 “ Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, in the land of Moab beside Jericho. Look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for their own.

Get 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.

50 T hen die on the mountain you go up, and join your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and joined his people.

And 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,

51 T his is because you were not faithful to Me among the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin and you did not honor Me as holy among the people of Israel.

Because 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.

52 Y ou will see the land from far away, but you will not go into the land I am giving the people of Israel.”

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