Deuteronomy32
King James Version · Public Domain
1Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
2My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
3Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
4He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
5They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.
6Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?
7Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.
8When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
9For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
10He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
11As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:
12So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.
13He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;
14Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.
15But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
16They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.
17They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
18Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
19And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.
20And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
21They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
22For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
24They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.
25The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.
26I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
27Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the Lord hath not done all this.
28For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.
29O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
30How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?
31For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
32For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:
33Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.
34Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?
35To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
36For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
37And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,
38Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.
39See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
40For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.
41If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
42I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.
43Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.
44And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.
45And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:
46And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.
47For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
48And the Lord spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,
49Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:
50And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:
51Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah–kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
52Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Deuteronomy 32.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The song of Moses. (1, 2). The character of God, The character of Israel. (3–6). The great things God had done for Israel. (7–14). The wickedness of Israel. (19–25). The judgments which would come upon them for their sins. (15–18). Deserved vengeance withheld. (26–38). God's deliverance for his people. (39–43). The exhortation with which the song was delivered. (44–47). Moses to go up mount Nebo to die. (48–52).
vv1-2
Moses begins with a solemn appeal to heaven and earth, concerning the truth and importance of what he was about to say. His doctrine is the gospel, the speech of God, the doctrine of Christ; the doctrine of grace and mercy through him, and of life and salvation by him.
vv3-6
“He is a Rock.” This is the first time God is called so in Scripture. The expression denotes that the Divine power, faithfulness, and love, as revealed in Christ and the gospel, form a foundation which cannot be changed or moved, on which we may build our hopes of happiness. And under his protection we may find refuge from all our enemies, and in all our troubles; as the rocks in those countries sheltered from the burning rays of the sun, and from tempests, or were fortresses from the enemy. “His work is perfect:” that of redemption and salvation, in which there is a display of all the Divine perfection, complete in all its parts. All God's dealings with his creatures are regulated by wisdom which cannot err, and perfect justice. He is indeed just and right; he takes care that none shall lose by him. A high charge is exhibited against Israel. Even God's children have their spots, while in this imperfect state; for if we say we have no sin, no spot, we deceive ourselves. But the sin of Israel was not habitual, notorious, unrepented sin; which is a certain mark of the children of Satan. They were fools to forsake their mercies for lying vanities. All wilful sinners, especially sinners in Israel, are unwise and ungrateful.
vv7-14
Moses gives particular instances of God's kindness and concern for them. The eagle's care for her young is a beautiful emblem of Christ's love, who came between Divine justice and our guilty souls, and bare our sins in his own body on the tree. And by the preached gospel, and the influences of the Holy Spirit, He stirs up and prevails upon sinners to leave Satan's bondage. In verses 13, 14, are emblems of the conquest believers have over their spiritual enemies, sin, Satan, and the world, in and through Christ. Also of their safety and triumph in him; of their happy frames of soul, when they are above the world, and the things of it. This will be the blessed case of spiritual Israel in every sense in the latter day.
Key Words
אָזַן: to broaden out the ear (with the hand), i.e. (by implication) to listen
שָׁמַיִם: the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve)
דָבַר: perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
שָׁמַע: to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
אֵמֶר: something said
פֶּה: the mouth (as the means of blowing), whether literal or figurative (particularly speech); specifically edge, portion or side; adverbially (with preposition) according to
לֶקַח: properly, something received, i.e. (mentally) instruction (whether on the part of the teacher or hearer); also (in an active and sinister sense) inveiglement
עָרַף: to droop; hence, to drip
מָטַר: rain
Cross References
Deuteronomy 32Isaiah mirrors Moses' solemn opening appeal to heaven and earth to witness Israel's rebellion.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Paul explicitly quotes Deuteronomy 32:21 to show God's calling of the Gentiles to provoke Israel.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Directly quotes 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay' to warn of God's fearful judgment.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Paul directly quotes Deuteronomy 32:43 in Romans to prove God's inclusion of the Gentiles.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Identifies the wilderness Rock from which Israel drank and trusted as a type of Christ.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Paul affirms God's sovereign hand in dividing the nations and setting the bounds of their habitation.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the vivid description of God bearing Israel out of Egypt on eagles' wings.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Paul confirms that pagan idolatry is fundamentally sacrifice offered to devils rather than to God.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Expounds the theological mystery of salvation coming to Gentiles to provoke Israel to jealousy.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Alludes directly to provoking the Lord to jealousy through idolatrous practices and partnerships.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Quotes verse 35 to command believers to yield vengeance to God's ultimate justice.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Hannah's song closely mirrors the exact wording of God killing, making alive, wounding, and healing.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Fulfillment of God's command for Moses to ascend Nebo, look at Canaan, and die there.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The parallel divine command instructing Moses to climb Mount Abarim and view the promised land.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The historical account of Moses and Aaron's sin at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Echoes the tender imagery of God guarding His chosen people as the apple of His eye.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Uses the rare poetical and covenantal name 'Jeshurun' for the nation of Israel.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Matches the exact divine threat of hiding His face from a froward and covenant-breaking generation.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Develops the prophetic reality of those who 'were not a people' becoming sons of God.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Directly parallel warning about Israel's failure to consider their latter end and ultimate consequences.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallels the drinking of cups and eating of sacrifices belonging to demons vs. the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallels the sovereign power of God to wound and bind up, to bruise and make whole.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Echoes the language of returning to the Lord who has torn, but will heal us.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallels Moses' declaration that God's words are not vain but are 'your life'.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The historical account of Aaron's death on Mount Hor, referenced by God to Moses.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The solemn principle that God must be sanctified and treated as holy by those near Him.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Moses seeing but not entering Canaan typifies saints seeing promises afar off without final earthly possession.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Establishes Israel's status as the Lord's peculiar treasure and the lot of His inheritance.
Supported by John Calvin, JFB
Historical confirmation of Israel eating, growing fat, and subsequently forsaking their Creator.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Contrasts the 'foolish nation' with the 'chosen generation, royal priesthood, holy nation' of believers.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Moses appeals to God's concern for His own reputation lest adversaries boast of Israel's destruction.
Supported by John Calvin
Directly invokes the 'God to whom vengeance belongeth' to show Himself in judgment.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Matches the solemn prophetic gesture of lifting the hand to heaven and swearing by Him who lives.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallels the imagery of God whetting His glittering sword and preparing instruments of judgment.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Echoes the graphic imagery of God's sword devouring and being made drunk with blood.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Fulfillment of the promise that God will avenge the blood of His servants.
Supported by Matthew Henry