Deuteronomy 32:1-52

The Song of Moses

The Song of Moses

It was the perverse nature of the people which extorted from Moses that unmixed bitterness with which he again addresses them. Doubtless he would have desired to leave a pleasing and joyful recollection of himself, and therefore would willingly have exhorted them to the performance of their duties, either with blandness, or at any rate with placidity, but their stubbornness compelled him to testify his indignation in the severity of his address. Besides, he does not judge from conjecture what they would do, but expressly declares that he knew it for certain, unquestionably because the Spirit, in dictating the Song, had also informed him of it. He indicates their revolt by two words, corrupting, and turning aside from the way; but, inasmuch as in the first there is an ellipsis, for the active verb is used without any word for it to govern, some supply “the way of the Lord.” I have, however, followed a different reading, which seems more correct, for the signification of the word is rather passive than transitive. He points out the manner of their corruption, declaring that they will depart from the way which they had learned; for this was their perfect soundness, to obey God, and to follow the way which he showed them. By forsaking the Law, then, they were corrupted. Moreover, Moses indirectly reproves their ingratitude, inasmuch as he had thrown away his labor upon such despisers of pious instruction. Thus he desires that this song should be recited by them, in order that, when afflicted and half-consumed by miseries, they might at last learn that God is a just avenger. And the advantage of this assurance was, that those, whose state was not altogether desperate, should at length return to their senses; whilst the reprobate should be more and more condemned.

Note 245. It is S.M. who has thought fit to fill out the Hebrews idiom, by adding the words, “the way of the Lord.” A. V. supplies yourselves, in its italics, as C. has done; but modern critics would not call this “following a different reading.” — W.

We have elsewhere seen what it is to call heaven and earth to witness.

Note 246. See on Deuteronomy 4:26, vol. 3, p. 269.

Deuteronomy 32:1-52

Deuteronomy 32

Deuteronomy 32:1-52

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

1. Auseultate coeli, et loquar, et audiat terra eloquia oris mei.

2. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew; as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

2. Stillabit, ut pluvia, doctrina mea: stillabit ut ros eloquium meum, ut pluviae gramen, et ut irabet super herbam.

3. Because I will publish the name of the Lord; ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

3. Quia nomen Jehovae invocabo: date magnitudinem Deo nostro.

4. He 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.

4. Dei perfectum est opus: omnes enim viae ejus judicium: Deus veritas, et non est iniquitas, justus et rectus est.

5. They have corrupted themselves; their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.

5. Corrupit sese illi, non filii ejus, macula eorum, generatio prava et perversa.

6. Do 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?

6. Jehovae retribuitis istud popule stulte et insipiens: nonne ipse est pater tuus qui acquisivit te, ipse fecit te, et praeparavit te?

7. Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.

7. Memento dierum seculi, intellige annos generationis et generationis, interroga patrein tuum, annuntiabit tibi: senes tuos, et dicent tibi.

8. When 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:

8. Quando haereditates distribuit Excelsus gentibus, quando separavit filios hominum, statuit terminos populorum pro numero filiorum Israelis.

9. For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

9. Pars enim Jehovae populus ejus, Jacob sors haereditatis ejus.

10. He 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.

10. Invenit eum in terra deserti, et in vastitate horroris deserti: circunduxit eum, introduxit eum, custodivit eum, ut pupillam oculi sui.

11. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings;

11. Ut aquila quae excitat nidum suum, super pullos suos cubat, expandit alas suas, assumit eum, portando super alas suas.

12. So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.

12. Jehova solus deduxit eum, et non fuit eum illo deus alienigenae.

13. He 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;

13. Equitare fecit eum super excelsa terrae, et comedit fructus agri, et fecit ut sugeret mel e petra, et oleum e silice petrae.

14. Butter 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.

14. Butyrum bovis, et lac ovium, cum adipe agnorum, et arietes filios Basan, et hircos una cum adipe granorum tritici, et sanguinem uvae bibisti rubicundum.

15. But 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.

15. Et impinguatus est Rectus, et recalcitravit: impinguatus es, in-rassatus es, operuisti: et dereliquit Deum qui fecit eum, ac despexit Ileum salutem suam.

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

16. Provocaverunt eum ad zelum super extraneos, per abominationes irritaverunt eum.

17. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

17. Sacrificaverunt daemoniis, non Deo, diis quos non noverant, novis qui de propinquo venerunt quos non timuerunt patres vestri.

18. Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.

18. Dei qui genuit te, oblitus es, oblitus es, inquam, Dei qui creavit te.

19. And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons and of his daughters.

19. Quum autem vidisset Jehova, exacerbatus est irritatione filiorum et filiarum suarum.

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

20. Et dixit, Abscondam faciem meam ab eis, Videbo quid in novissimo eorum: generatio enim perversitatum sunt: et filii in quibus nulla est fides.

21. 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 which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

21. Ipsi ad zelum provocaverunt me, in eo quod non est Deus, ad iracundiam me provocaverunt in vanitatibus suis: et ego ad zelum provocabo eos in eo qui non est populus: in gente stulta provocabo eos ad iram.

22. For 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.

22. Ignis enim succendetur in excandescentia mea, et ardebit usque ad infernum inferiorem: devorabitque terram et fructum ejus, et inflammabit fundamenta montium.

23. I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.

23. Cumulabo super eos mala, sagittas meas consumam in eis.

24. They 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.

24. Combusti erunt fame, et comesti aegritudine calida, et excisione amara: dentes quoque bestiarum immittam in eos cum veneno serpentium super terram.

25. The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also, with the man of gray hairs.

25. Foris orbabit gladius, et in cubiculis erit terror: etiam juvenem, etiam virginera, lactentem cum viro sene.

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

26. Dicerem, Dispergam eos per angulos, cessare faciam ex hominibus memoriam eorum.

27. Were 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.

27. Nisi iram inimici timerem, ne forte alienos se ostentent hostes eorum: ne forte dicant, Manus nostra excelsa, neque Jehova operatus est omnia ista.

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

28. Gens enim perdita consiliis sunt, nec est illis intelligentia.

29. Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!

29. Si sapientes essent, intelligerent novissimum suum.

30. How 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?

30. Quomodo persequutus fuisset unus mille, et duo fugassent decem millia, nisi quod Deus eorum vendisset eos, et Jehova tradidisset eos?

31. For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.

31. Nam non est sient Deus noster, Deus illorum: et inimici nostri sunt judices.

32. 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:

32. Ex vite enim Sodom est vitis eorum, et ex vitibus Emorrhaeorum uvae eorum, uvae veneni, botri amaritudinum sunt eis.

33. Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.

33. Venenum draconum, vinum eormn: et venenum aspidum crudele.

34. Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?

34. Nonne est reconditum apud me, obsignatum in thesauris meis?

35. To me belongeth vengeance and recompense: 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.

35. Mea est ultio, et retributio, tempore nutabit pes eorum: quia propinquus est dies afflictionis eorum, et festinant quae futura sunt eis.

36. For 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.

36. Quia judicabit Jehova populum suum, et super servos suos poenitebit ipsum, quum videbit quod abierit manus, et non sit clausus et derelictus.

37. And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted;

37. Et dicet, Ubi sunt dii eorum, deus in quo sperabant?

38. Which did cat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink-offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.

38. Qui adipem sacrificiorum illorum comedebant, et bibebant vinum libaminis illorum: surgant et opitulentur vobis, sit super vos absconsio.

39. 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: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

39. Videte nunc quod ego, ego suae, et non sunt dii mecum: ego mori faciam, et vivere faciam: percutiam, et ego sanabo, et nemo est qui de manu mea eruat.

40. For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.

40. Certe levabo ad coelum manum roeare, et dicam, Vivo ego in seculum.

41. If 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.

41. Si acuero aciem gladii mei, et arripuerit judiceum manus mea, reddam ultionem hostibus meis, et odio habentibus me retribuam.

42. I 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.

42. Inebriabo sagittas meas sanguine, et gladius meus devorabit carnem, sanguine, inquam, occisorum et captivorum a capite in ultionibus inimici.

43. 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 be merciful unto his land, and to his people.

43. Laudate Gentes populum ejus, quia sanguinem servorum suorum vindceabit, et vindictam reddet hostibus suis, et propitius erit terrae suae, populo suo.

44. And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Hoshea the son of Nun.

44. Venit autem Moses, et recitavit omnia verba cantici istius in auribus populi, ipse et Josue filius Nun:

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

45. Et finivit Moses recitare omnia verba ista ad universum Israelem:

46. And 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.

46. Dixitque illis, Adjicite cor vestrum ad omnia verba quae ego testificor adversum vos hodie, ut praecipiatis ea filiis vestris, ut custodiant, et faciant omnia verba legis istius.

47. For 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.

47. Non enim verbum hoc inane a vobis, sed est vita vestra, et per hoc verbum prolongabitis dies super terram ad quam possidendam vos transitis Jordanem.

48. And the Lord spake unto Moses that self-same day, saying,

48. Loquutusque est Jehova ad Mosen eo ipso die, dicendo:

49. Get 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;

49. Ascende in montem Abarim istum, montem Neboh, qui eat in terra Moab, et qui est e regione Jericho, et vide terram Chenaan, quam ego do filiis Israel in haereditatem.

50. And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother did in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:

50. Et morere in monte ad quem ascendis, et congregare ad populos tuos, quemadmodum mortuus est Aharon frater tuus in Hor monte, et congregatus est ad populos suos.

51. Because 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.

51. Et quod praevaricati estis me in medio filiorum Israelis ad aquas jurgii Cades desertl Sin, eo quod non sanctificastis me in medio filiorum Israelis:

52. Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

52. E regione quidera videbis terram, sed illuc non ingredieris ad terram illam quam do filiis Israelis.

1. Give ear, O ye heavens. Moses commences in a strain of magnificence, lest the people should disdain this song with their usual pride, or even reject it altogether, being exasperated by its severe censures and reproaches. For we well know how the world naturally longs to be flattered, and that no strain can be gratifying to it unless it tickles and soothes the ear with praise. But Moses here not only inveighs bitterly against the vices of the people, but with the utmost possible vehemence stigmatizes their perverse nature, their utterly corrupt morals, their obstinate ingratitude, and incorrigible contumacy. Moreover, he desired that these accusations, whereby he rendered their name detestable, should daily echo from their tongues; and thus they became still more offensive. It was, therefore, requisite that their impatience should be bridled, as it were, in order that they might patiently and humbly receive these just reproofs, however severe they might be. If, therefore, they should repudiate this song, or should turn a deaf ear to it, he declares at the outset that heaven and earth would be witnesses of their prodigious obtuseness; nay, he turns and addresses himself to heaven and earth, and thus signifies that it was worthy of the attention of all creatures, even although they were without intelligence or feeling. For it is a hyperbolical mode of expression, when he assigns the faculty of hearing, and being instructed, to the senseless elements; just as Isaiah, when he would intimate that he found none to give heed to him amongst the whole people, in like manner appeals to the heavens and the earth, and even summons them to bear witness to the prodigious iniquity, that there should be less of intelligence amongst the whole people than in oxen and asses. (Isaiah 1:2, 3.) For it is but a meager exposition, which some give of these words, that they are used, by metonymy, for angels and men.

Note 247. See ante, on Deuteronomy 4:26, vol. 3, p. 269, and note.

2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain. Some, as I think improperly, here resolve the future tense into the optative mood, for in this splendid eulogium he rather celebrates, in order to commend his doctrine, the fruitfulness which is actually imparted to it by the Holy Spirit, than asks for it to be given to him; and my readers must at once perceive that such a request would have been by no means seasonable. He therefore compares his speech to rain or dew, as if he had said that, if only the people were like the soil in a state of softness and preparation, he would deliver doctrine to them which would irrigate them unto abundant fruitfulness.

Note 248. So the LXX., V., Vatablus, Junius, and others. Ainsworth combines the two, and says, “shall drop, or let it drop, as being a wish, and also a promise, that his doctrine should be profitable and effectual,” etc.

Note 249. “L’eloquence.” — Fr.

Although this expression refers especially, and κατ ᾿ ἐξοχὴν to the Song, still its force and propriety extends to all divine teaching; for God never speaks except to render men fruitful in good works, just as, by instilling succulency and vigor into the earth by means of rain, He makes it fertile for the production of fruit. But, like the rocks and stones, which imbibe no moisture from the most abundant rains, so many are hindered by their own perversity from being fertilized by spiritual irrigation. Wherefore Moses indirectly throws the blame upon the Israelites, if the doctrine of this Song should drop upon them in vain.

3 Because I will publish the name of the Lord. He signifies by these words that, if there were any spark of piety in the Israelites, it must be manifested by their welcoming this address, wherein the majesty of God shines forth. The first clause of the verse, therefore, stands last in order, since it is an assignment of a reason for the other. For when he exhorts them that they should ascribe to God the glory He deserves, he inculcates upon them obedience and attention, as if he had said that, unless they reverently submit themselves to his teaching, God would be defrauded of this due honor; and this he confirms by adding as a reason that he will sincerely and faithfully publish the name of God. For the word invoke is not used here as in many other passages, but is equivalent to making a profession of God. Moses, then, declares himself to be His proclaimer, in order that, under cover of His most Holy name, he may awaken attention to his words.

Note 250. Hebr. אקרא A.V., “I will publish,” from קרא, which is stated by Taylor to signify, in its first sense, ”Vocare, advocare, eonvocare, invocare, clamare, exclamare, legere.” — Concord, in voce.

4. His work is perfect. Those who take these expressions generally, and without particular reference to this passage, not only obscure their meaning, but also lessen the force of the doctrine they contain. Let us, then, understand that the perfection of God’s works, the rectitude of His ways, etc., are contrasted with the rebellion of the people; for if there were anything in God’s works imperfect and in arranged, if His mode of dealing were deficient in rectitude, if His truth were doubtful; if, in a word, there were anything wanting, then there would have been a natural excuse why the people should have sought for something better than they found in Him, since the desire of obtaining that which is best is deserving of no reprehension. Lest, then, the Israelites should offer any such pretext, Moses anticipates them. Before he begins to treat of the wicked ingratitude of the people, he lays down this principle, that they were not induced to transfer their affections elsewhere by any deficiency in God. The general statement is indeed true in itself, and may be applied to various purposes; but we must consider what the object of Moses here is, namely, to remove from the people every pretext for their impious and perfidious rebellion, and this in order that their amazing folly may be more apparent, when they forsake the fountain of living waters, and hew them out cisterns with holes in them, as God himself complains in Jeremiah 2:13. We perceive therefore, that every honorable distinction which is here attributed to God, brands the people with a corresponding mark of ignominy, in that they had knowingly and voluntarily deprived themselves of the plenitude of all good things, which might have been enjoyed by them had they not alienated themselves from God.

Note 251. “Quelque chose de coupe on mutile, ou bien real compasse et confus;” anything defective or mutilated, or even ill-contrived and confused. — Fr.

God’s work is spoken of, not only with reference to the creation of the world, but to the whole course of His providence; as if it were said that nothing could be discovered in God’s works which could be found fault with.

Now this perfection is not perceptible in every individual thing, for even vermin are God’s creatures; and amongst men some are blind, some lame, some deaf, and others mutilated in one of their members; and many fruits also never arrive at maturity. Yet we plainly see that it is foolish and misplaced to bring forward such questions as these as objections to the perfection of God, here celebrated by Moses, inasmuch as the very defects and blemishes of our bodies tend to this object, that God’s glory may be made manifest. (John 9:3.)

The next statement, that all his ways are right, conveys a similar truth; for it is well known that the word משפט, mishphat, is used for rectitude, and works and ways are synonymous.

Note 252. A. V., “all his ways are judgment.”

The latter part of the verse is a confirmation of the former part, since Moses signifies in both that all who censure God may be clearly convicted of petulant impiety, since supreme justice shines forth in all His acts.

The words I have rendered, “God is truth,” others construe with the genitive case, “a God of truth.” Either is true, and agreeable to the usage of Scripture; but the apposition is more emphatic, which declares that God is not only true, but the Truth itself. At any rate, this applies to the persons who pay entire allegiance to the word of God, for their expectations shall never be frustrated. Thus the people are indirectly reproved for their unbelief, in that they deserted God, whose faithfulness was not only tried and proved, but who is the very fountain of truth.

Although what follows, that there is no iniquity in God, seems to some to have but little force, it is nevertheless of great importance; for we well know how often men are so absurd in their subterfuges, as in a manner to arraign God instead of themselves; and although they do not dare to accuse Him openly, still they do not hesitate to acquit themselves, and thus to cast direct obloquy upon Him. Elsewhere, therefore, God inquires by His Prophet, “what iniquity the people had found in Him?” (Jeremiah 2:5,) and in another place expostulates with them, because He was loaded with their hatred and abuse, as if He dealt unjustly with such sinners. (Ezekiel 18:2,5.) When, therefore, He vindicates Himself from such calumnies, it follows that no blame attaches itself to Him, but that the wickedness of those who turn away from Him is abundantly condemned.