Deuteronomy 32
Bible in Basic English (BBE)
1 Ref Give ear, O heavens, to my voice; let the earth take note of the words of my mouth:
2 Ref My teaching is dropping like rain, coming down like dew on the fields; like rain on the young grass and showers on the garden plants:
3 Ref For I will give honour to the name of the Lord: let our God be named great.
4 Ref He is the Rock, complete is his work; for all his ways are righteousness: a God without evil who keeps faith, true and upright is he.
5 Ref They have become false, they are not his children, the mark of sin is on them; they are an evil and hard-hearted generation.
6 Ref Is this your answer to the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? Is he not your father who has given you life? He has made you and given you your place.
7 Ref Keep in mind the days of the past, give thought to the years of generations gone by: go to your father and he will make it clear to you, to the old men and they will give you the story.
8 Ref When the Most High gave the nations their heritage, separating into groups the children of men, he had the limits of the peoples marked out, keeping in mind the number of the children of Israel.
9 Ref For the Lord's wealth is his people; Jacob is the land of his heritage.
10 Ref He came to him in the waste land, in the unpeopled waste of sand: putting his arms round him and caring for him, he kept him as the light of his eye.
11 Ref As an eagle, teaching her young to make their flight, with her wings outstretched over them, takes them up on her strong feathers:
12 Ref So the Lord only was his guide, no other god was with him.
13 Ref He put him on the high places of the earth, his food was the increase of the field; honey he gave him out of the rock and oil out of the hard rock;
14 Ref Butter from his cows and milk from his sheep, with fat of lambs and sheep of Bashan, and goats, and the heart of the grain; and for your drink, wine from the blood of the grape.
15 Ref But Jeshurun became fat and would not be controlled: you have become fat, you are thick and full of food: then he was untrue to the God who made him, giving no honour to the Rock of his salvation.
16 Ref The honour which was his they gave to strange gods; by their disgusting ways he was moved to wrath.
17 Ref They made offerings to evil spirits which were not God, to gods who were strange to them, which had newly come up, not feared by your fathers.
18 Ref You have no thought for the Rock, your father, you have no memory of the God who gave you birth.
19 Ref And the Lord saw with disgust the evil-doing of his sons and daughters.
20 Ref And he said, My face will be veiled from them, I will see what their end will be: for they are an uncontrolled generation, children in whom is no faith.
21 Ref They have given my honour to that which is not God, moving me to wrath with their false worship: I will give their honour to those who are not a people, moving them to wrath by a foolish nation,
22 Ref For my wrath is a flaming fire, burning to the deep parts of the underworld, burning up the earth with her increase, and firing the deep roots of the mountains.
23 Ref I will send a rain of troubles on them, my arrows will be showered on them.
24 Ref They will be wasted from need of food, and overcome by burning heat and bitter destruction; and the teeth of beasts I will send on them, with the poison of the worms of the dust.
25 Ref Outside they will be cut off by the sword, and in the inner rooms by fear; death will take the young man and the virgin, the baby at the breast and the grey-haired man.
26 Ref I said I would send them wandering far away, I would make all memory of them go from the minds of men:
27 Ref But for the fear that their haters, uplifted in their pride, might say, Our hand is strong, the Lord has not done all this.
28 Ref For they are a nation without wisdom; there is no sense in them.
29 Ref If only they were wise, if only this was clear to them, and they would give thought to their future!
30 Ref How would it be possible for one to overcome a thousand, and two to send ten thousand in flight, if their rock had not let them go, if the Lord had not given them up?
31 Ref For their rock is not like our Rock, even our haters themselves being judges.
32 Ref For their vine is the vine of Sodom, from the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are the grapes of evil, and the berries are bitter:
33 Ref Their wine is the poison of dragons, the cruel poison of snakes.
34 Ref Is not this among my secrets, kept safe in my store-house?
35 Ref Punishment is mine and reward, at the time of the slipping of their feet: for the day of their downfall is near, sudden will be their fate.
36 Ref For the Lord will be judge of his people, he will have pity for his servants; when he sees that their power is gone, there is no one, shut up or free.
37 Ref And he will say, Where are their gods, the rock in which they put their faith?
38 Ref Who took the fat of their offerings, and the wine of their drink offering? Let them now come to your help, let them be your salvation.
39 Ref See now, I myself am he; there is no other god but me: giver of death and life, wounding and making well: and no one has power to make you free from my hand.
40 Ref For lifting up my hand to heaven I say, By my unending life,
41 Ref If I make sharp my shining sword, and my hand is outstretched for judging, I will give punishment to those who are against me, and their right reward to my haters.
42 Ref I will make my arrows red with blood, my sword will be feasting on flesh, with the blood of the dead and the prisoners, of the long-haired heads of my haters.
43 Ref Be glad, O you his people, over the nations; for he will take payment for the blood of his servants, and will give punishment to his haters, and take away the sin of his land, for his people.
44 Ref So Moses said all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Hoshea, the son of Nun.
45 And after saying all this to the people,
46 Ref Moses said to them, Let the words which I have said to you today go deep into your hearts, and give orders to your children to do every word of this law.
47 Ref And this is no small thing for you, but it is your life, and through this you may make your days long in the land which you are going over Jordan to take for your heritage.
48 Ref That same day the Lord said to Moses,
49 Ref Go up into this mountain of Abarim, to Mount Nebo in the land of Moab opposite Jericho; there you may see the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel for their heritage:
50 Ref And let death come to you on the mountain where you are going, and be put to rest with your people; as death came to Aaron, your brother, on Mount Hor, where he was put to rest with his people:
51 Ref Because of your sin against me before the children of Israel at the waters of Meribath Kadesh in the waste land of Zin; because you did not keep my name holy among the children of Israel.
52 Ref So you will see the land before you, but you will not go into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel.
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
1 Ref `Give ear, O heavens, and I speak; And thou dost hear, O earth, sayings of my mouth!
2 Ref 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 Ref For the Name of Jehovah I proclaim, Ascribe ye greatness to our God!
4 Ref The Rock! -- perfect `is' His work, For all His ways `are' just; God of stedfastness, and without iniquity: Righteous and upright `is' He.
5 Ref It hath done corruptly to Him; Their blemish is not His sons', A generation perverse and crooked!
6 Ref 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 Ref 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 Ref 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 Ref For Jehovah's portion `is' His people, Jacob `is' the line of His inheritance.
10 Ref 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 Ref As an eagle waketh up its nest, Over its young ones fluttereth, Spreadeth its wings -- taketh them, Beareth them on its pinions; --
12 Ref Jehovah alone doth lead him, And there is no strange god with him.
13 Ref 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 Ref 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 Ref 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 Ref They make Him zealous with strangers, With abominations they make Him angry.
17 Ref 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 Ref The Rock that begat thee thou forgettest, And neglectest God who formeth thee.
19 Ref And Jehovah seeth and despiseth -- For the provocation of His sons and His daughters.
20 Ref And He saith: I hide My face from them, I see what `is' their latter end; For a froward generation `are' they, Sons in whom is no stedfastness.
21 Ref 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 Ref 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 Ref I gather upon them evils, Mine arrows I consume upon them.
24 Ref 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 Ref Without bereave doth the sword, And at the inner-chambers -- fear, Both youth and virgin, Suckling with man of grey hair.
26 Ref I have said: I blow them away, I cause their remembrance to cease from man;
27 Ref 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 Ref For a nation lost to counsels `are' they, And there is no understanding in them.
29 Ref If they were wise -- They deal wisely `with' this; They attend to their latter end:
30 Ref 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 Ref For not as our Rock `is' their rock, (And our enemies `are' judges!)
32 Ref For of the vine of Sodom their vine `is', And of the fields of Gomorrah; Their grapes `are' grapes of gall -- They have bitter clusters;
33 Ref The poison of dragons `is' their wine And the fierce venom of asps.
34 Ref Is it not laid up with Me? Sealed among My treasures?
35 Ref Mine `are' 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 Ref 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 Ref And He hath said, Where `are' their gods -- The rock in which they trusted;
38 Ref 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 Ref See ye, now, that I -- I `am' 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 Ref For I lift up unto the heavens My hand, And have said, I live -- to the age!
41 Ref 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 Ref 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 Ref Sing ye nations -- `with' 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 Ref And Moses cometh and speaketh all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Hoshea son of Nun;
45 and Moses finisheth to speak all these words unto all Israel,
46 Ref 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 Ref for it `is' not a vain thing for you, for it `is' your life, and by this thing ye prolong days on the ground whither ye are passing over the Jordan to possess it.'
48 Ref And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, in this self-same day, saying,
49 Ref `Go up unto this mount Abarim, mount Nebo, which `is' in the land of Moab, which `is' on the front of Jericho, and see the land of Canaan which I am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession;
50 Ref 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 Ref `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 Ref 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.'
American Standard-ASV1901 (ASV)
1 Ref Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak; And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 Ref My doctrine shall drop as the rain; My speech shall distil as the dew, As the small rain upon the tender grass, And as the showers upon the herb.
3 Ref For I will proclaim the name of Jehovah: Ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
4 Ref The Rock, his work is perfect; For all his ways are justice: A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, Just and right is he.
5 Ref They have dealt corruptly with him, `they are' not his children, `it is' their blemish; `They are' a perverse and crooked generation.
6 Ref Do ye thus requite Jehovah, O foolish people and unwise? Is not he thy father that hath bought thee? He hath made thee, and established thee.
7 Ref Remember the days of old, Consider the years of many generations: Ask thy father, and he will show thee; Thine elders, and they will tell thee.
8 Ref 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 children of Israel.
9 Ref For Jehovah's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
10 Ref He found him in a desert land, And in the waste howling wilderness; He compassed him about, he cared for him, He kept him as the apple of his eye.
11 Ref As an eagle that stirreth up her nest, That fluttereth over her young, He spread abroad his wings, he took them, He bare them on his pinions.
12 Ref Jehovah alone did lead him, And there was no foreign god with him.
13 Ref He made him ride on the high places of the earth, And he did eat the increase of the field; And he made him to suck honey out of the rock, And oil out of the flinty rock;
14 Ref Butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs, And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the finest of the wheat; And of the blood of the grape thou drankest wine.
15 Ref But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: Thou art waxed fat, thou art grown thick, thou art become sleek; Then he forsook God who made him, And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
16 Ref They moved him to jealousy with strange `gods'; With abominations provoked they him to anger.
17 Ref They sacrificed unto demons, `which were' no God, To gods that they knew not, To new `gods' that came up of late, Which your fathers dreaded not.
18 Ref Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, And hast forgotten God that gave thee birth.
19 Ref And Jehovah saw `it', and abhorred `them', Because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.
20 Ref And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: For they are a very perverse generation, Children in whom is no faithfulness.
21 Ref They 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 that are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
22 Ref For a fire is kindled in mine anger, And burneth unto the lowest Sheol, And devoureth the earth with its increase, And setteth on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 Ref I will heap evils upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them:
24 Ref `They shall be' wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat And bitter destruction; And the teeth of beasts will I send upon them, With the poison of crawling things of the dust.
25 Ref Without shall the sword bereave, And in the chambers terror; `It shall destroy' both young man and virgin, The suckling with the man of gray hairs.
26 Ref I said, I would scatter them afar, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men;
27 Ref Were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy, Lest their adversaries should judge amiss, Lest they should say, Our hand is exalted, And Jehovah hath not done all this.
28 Ref For they are a nation void of counsel, And there is no understanding in them.
29 Ref Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!
30 Ref How should one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Except their Rock had sold them, And Jehovah had delivered them up?
31 Ref For their rock is not as our Rock, Even our enemies themselves being judges.
32 Ref 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 Ref Their wine is the poison of serpents, And the cruel venom of asps.
34 Ref Is not this laid up in store with me, Sealed up among my treasures?
35 Ref Vengeance is mine, and recompense, At the time when their foot shall slide: For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things that are to come upon them shall make haste.
36 Ref For Jehovah will judge his people, And repent himself for his servants; When he seeth that `their' power is gone, And there is none `remaining', shut up or left at large.
37 Ref And he will say, Where are their gods, The rock in which they took refuge;
38 Ref Which did eat 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 Ref See 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; And there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
40 Ref For I lift up my hand to heaven, And say, As I live for ever,
41 Ref If I whet my glittering sword, And my hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine adversaries, And will recompense them that hate me.
42 Ref I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, And my sword shall devour flesh; With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the head of the leaders of the enemy.
43 Ref Rejoice, O ye nations, `with' his people: For he will avenge the blood of his servants, And will render vengeance to his adversaries, And will make expiation for his land, for his people.
44 Ref And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.
45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel;
46 Ref And he said unto them, Set your heart unto all the words which I testify unto you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, `even' all the words of this law.
47 Ref For it is no 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 the Jordan to possess it.
48 Ref And Jehovah spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,
49 Ref Get thee up into this mountain of 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;
50 Ref and 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:
51 Ref because ye trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
52 Ref For thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither into the land which I give the children of Israel.