32:1 Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;
hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
32:2 My teaching will drop like the rain,
my sayings will drip like the dew, 1
as rain drops upon the grass,
and showers upon new growth.
32:3 For I will proclaim the name 2 of the Lord;
you must acknowledge the greatness of our God.
32:4 As for the Rock, 3 his work is perfect,
for all his ways are just.
He is a reliable God who is never unjust,
he is fair 4 and upright.
32:5 His people have been unfaithful 5 to him;
they have not acted like his children 6 – this is their sin. 7
They are a perverse 8 and deceitful generation.
32:6 Is this how you repay 9 the Lord,
you foolish, unwise people?
Is he not your father, your creator?
He has made you and established you.
32:7 Remember the ancient days;
bear in mind 10 the years of past generations. 11
Ask your father and he will inform you,
your elders, and they will tell you.
1 tn Or “mist,” “light drizzle.” In some contexts the term appears to refer to light rain, rather than dew.
2 tc Smr and Tg read “in the name.”
3 tc The LXX reads Θεός (qeos, “God”) for the MT’s “Rock.”
4 tn Or “just” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “righteous” (NASB).
5 tc The 3rd person masculine singular שָׁחַת (shakhat) is rendered as 3rd person masculine plural by Smr, a reading supported by the plural suffix on מוּם (mum, “defect”) as well as the plural of בֵּן (ben, “sons”).
6 tn Heb “(they are) not his sons.”
7 tn Heb “defect” (so NASB). This highly elliptical line suggests that Israel’s major fault was its failure to act like God’s people; in fact, they acted quite the contrary.
8 tn Heb “twisted,” “crooked.” See Ps 18:26.
9 tn Or “treat” (TEV).
10 tc The Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read 2nd person masculine singular whereas the MT has 2nd person masculine plural. The former is preferred, the latter perhaps being a misreading (בִּינוּ [binu] for בִּינָה [binah]). Both the preceding (“remember”) and following (“ask”) imperatives are singular forms in the Hebrew text.
11 tn Heb “generation and generation.” The repetition of the singular noun here singles out each of the successive past generations. See IBHS 116 §7.2.3b.