Deuteronomy 32 - Introduction

1 Moses song, which setteth foorth Gods mercy and vengeance.

46 He exhorteth them to set their hearts vpon it.

48 God sendeth him vp to mount Nebo, to see the land, and die.

1 Giue eare, O yee heauens, and I will speake; And heare, O earth, the words of my mouth.

2 My doctrine shall drop as the raine: my speech shall distill as the deaw, as the smal raine vpon the tender herbe, and as the showres vpon the grasse.

3 Because I wil publish the Name of the Lord: ascribe yee greatnesse vnto our God.

4 He is the rocke, his worke is perfect: for all his wayes are Iudgement: A God of trueth, and without iniquity, iust and right is he.

5 [Note: Hebrew: he hath corrupted to himselfe.] They haue corrupted themselues, [Note: Or, that they are not his children, that is their blot.] their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a peruerse and crooked generation.

6 Doe ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people, & vnwise? Is not he thy Father that hath bought thee? Hath he not made thee, and established thee?

[The song of Moses.]

7 Remember the dayes of olde, consider the yeeres of [Note: Hebrew: generation and generation.] many generations: aske thy father, and he will shewe thee, thy Elders, and they wil tell thee.

8 When the most High diuided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sonnes of Adam, hee set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

9 For the Lords portion is his people: Iacob is the [Note: Hebrew: cord.] lot of his inheritance.

10 He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wildernesse: Hee [Note: Or, compassed him about,] ledde him about, he instructed him, hee kept him as the apple of his eye.

11 As an Eagle stirreth vp her nest, fluttereth ouer her yong, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:

12 So the Lord alone did leade him, and there was no strange God with him.

13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eate the increase of the fields, and he made him to sucke hony out of the rocke, and oyle out of the flintie rocke,

14 Butter of kine, & milke of sheepe, with fat of lambes, and rammes of the breed of Bashan, & goats, with the fat of kidneis of wheat, and thou diddest drinke the pure blood of the grape.

15 But Iesurun waxed fat, and kicked: Thou art waxen fat, thou art growen thicke, thou art couered with fatnes: then he forsooke God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rocke of his saluation.

16 They prouoked him to ielousie with strange gods, with abominations prouoked they him to anger.

17 They sacrificed vnto deuils, [Note: Or, which were not God.] not to God: to gods whom they knew not, to new gods, that came newly vp, whom your fathers feared not.

18 Of the Rocke that begate thee thou art vnmindfull, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.

19 And when the Lord saw it, he [Note: Or, despised.] abhorred them, because of the prouoking of his sonnes, & of his daughters.

20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their ende shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.

21 They haue mooued me to ielousie with that which is not god, they haue prouoked me to anger with their vanities:

[The song of Moses.]

And [Note: Romans 10:9.] I will moue them to ielousie with those which are not a people, I will prouoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

22 For a fire is kindled in my anger, and [Note: Or, hath burned.] shall burne vnto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountaines. [Note: Or, hath consumed.]

23 I will heape mischiefes vpon them, I will spend mine arrowes vpon them.

24 They shall bee burnt with hunger and deuoured with [Note: Hebrew: burning coales.] burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts vpon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.

25 The sword without, and terrour [Note: Hebrew: from the chambers.] within shall [Note: Hebrew: bereaue.] destroy both the yong man, and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray haires.

26 I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease fro among men:

27 Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemie, lest their aduersaries should behaue themselues strangely, and lest they should say, [Note: Or, our high hand and not the LORD hath done all this.] Our hande is high, and the Lord hath not done all this.

28 For they are a nation voide of counsel, neither is there any vnderstanding in them.

29 O that they were wise, that they vnderstood this, that they would consider their latter end.

30 How should [Note: Joshua 23:10.] one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rocke had sold them, and the Lord had shut them vp?

31 For their rocke is not as our Rocke, euen our enemies themselues being iudges.

32 For their vine is [Note: Or, is worse then the vine of Sodome. Etc.] of the vine of Sodome, and of the fields of Gomorah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter.

33 Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruell venime of Aspes.

34 Is not this laide vp in store with me, and sealed vp among my treasures?

35 To me belongeth [Note: Sir 28:1; Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30.] vengeance, and recompence, their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamitie is at hand, and the things that shal come vpon them, make haste.

36 For the Lord shall iudge his people, and repent himselfe for his seruants, when he seeth that their [Note: Hebrew: hand.] power

[Moses song: He may see Canaan.]

is gone; and there is none shut vp, or left.

37 And he shall say, where are their gods? Their Rocke in whom they trusted;

38 Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, & dranke the wine of their drinke offerings? Let them rise vp and helpe you, and be [Note: Hebrew: an hiding for you.] your protection.

39 See now, that I, euen I am he, and there is no god with mee; [Note: 1 Samuel 2:6; Genesis 13:2; Genesis 16:13.] I kill, and I make aliue: I wound, and I heale: neither is there any that can deliuer out of my hand.

40 For I lift vp my hand to heauen, and say, I liue for euer.

41 If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take holde on Iudgement, I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.

42 I will make mine arrowes drunke with blood, (and my sword shal deuoure flesh) and that with the blood of the slaine, and of the captiues, from the beginning of reuenges vpon the enemie.

43 [Note: Or, praise his people ye nations. Or, sing ye.] Reioyce, O [Note: Matthew 7:6; Romans 15:10.] ye nations with his people, for he will auenge the blood of his seruants, and will render vengeance to his aduersaries, and wil be mercifull vnto his land, and to his people.

44 And Moses came and spake all the wordes of this song in the eares of the people, he and [Note: Or, Ioshua.] Hoshea the sonne of Nun.

45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel.

46 And hee said vnto them, [Note: Deuteronomy 6:6; Deuteronomy 11:18.] Set your hearts vnto all the wordes which I testifie among you this day, which yee shall commaund your children to obserue to doe all the wordes of this Law.

47 For it is not a vaine thing for you: because it is your life, and through this thing yee shall prolong your dayes, in the land whither yee goe ouer Iordan to possesse it.

48 And [Note: Numbers 27:12.] the Lord spake vnto Moses that selfe same day, saying,

49 Get thee vp into this mountaine Abarim, vnto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is ouer against Iericho, and behold the land of Canaan which I giue vnto the children of Israel for a possession:

50 And die in the mount whither thou goest vp, and bee gathered vnto

[Moses song: He may see Canaan.]

thy people, as [Note: Numbers 20:25; Numbers 20:28; Numbers 33:38.] Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered vnto his people:

51 Because [Note: Numbers 10:12-13; Numbers 27:14.] ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel, at the waters of [Note: Or strife at Kadesh.] Meribah Kadesh, in the wildernesse of Zin: because yee sanctified mee not in the midst of the children of Israel.

52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee, but thou shalt not goe thither vnto the land which I giue the children of Israel.