Deuteronomy 32:15-44

Israel’s Rebellion

32:15 But Jeshurun ¹  became fat and kicked,

you ²  got fat, thick, and stuffed!

Then he deserted the God who made him,

and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt.

32:16 They made him jealous with other gods, ³ 

they enraged him with abhorrent idols. ⁴ 

32:17 They sacrificed to demons, not God,

to gods they had not known;

to new gods who had recently come along,

gods your ancestors ⁵  had not known about.

32:18 You have forgotten ⁶  the Rock who fathered you,

and put out of mind the God who gave you birth.

A Word of Judgment

32:19 But the Lord took note and despised them

because his sons and daughters enraged him.

32:20 He said, “I will reject them, ⁷ 

I will see what will happen to them;

for they are a perverse generation,

children ⁸  who show no loyalty.

32:21 They have made me jealous ⁹  with false gods, ¹⁰ 

enraging me with their worthless gods; ¹¹ 

so I will make them jealous with a people they do not recognize, ¹² 

with a nation slow to learn ¹³  I will enrage them.

32:22 For a fire has been kindled by my anger,

and it burns to lowest Sheol; ¹⁴ 

it consumes the earth and its produce,

and ignites the foundations of the mountains.

32:23 I will increase their ¹⁵  disasters,

I will use up my arrows on them.

32:24 They will be starved by famine,

eaten by plague, and bitterly stung; ¹⁶ 

I will send the teeth of wild animals against them,

along with the poison of creatures that crawl in the dust.

32:25 The sword will make people childless outside,

and terror will do so inside;

they will destroy ¹⁷  both the young man and the virgin,

the infant and the gray-haired man.

The Weakness of Other Gods

32:26 “I said, ‘I want to cut them in pieces. ¹⁸ 

I want to make people forget they ever existed.

32:27 But I fear the reaction ¹⁹  of their enemies,

for ²⁰  their adversaries would misunderstand

and say, “Our power is great, ²¹ 

and the Lord has not done all this!”’

32:28 They are a nation devoid of wisdom,

and there is no understanding among them.

32:29 I wish that they were wise and could understand this,

and that they could comprehend what will happen to them.”

32:30 How can one man chase a thousand of them, ²² 

and two pursue ten thousand;

unless their Rock had delivered them up, ²³ 

and the Lord had handed them over?

32:31 For our enemies’ ²⁴  rock is not like our Rock,

as even our enemies concede.

32:32 For their vine is from the stock ²⁵  of Sodom,

and from the fields of Gomorrah. ²⁶ 

Their grapes contain venom,

their clusters of grapes are bitter.

32:33 Their wine is snakes’ poison,

the deadly venom of cobras.

32:34 “Is this not stored up with me?” says the Lord, ²⁷ 

“Is it not sealed up in my storehouses?

32:35 I will get revenge and pay them back

at the time their foot slips;

for the day of their disaster is near,

and the impending judgment ²⁸  is rushing upon them!”

32:36 The Lord will judge his people,

and will change his plans concerning ²⁹  his servants;

when he sees that their power has disappeared,

and that no one is left, whether confined or set free.

32:37 He will say, “Where are their gods,

the rock in whom they sought security,

32:38 who ate the best of their sacrifices,

and drank the wine of their drink offerings?

Let them rise and help you;

let them be your refuge!

The Vindication of the Lord

32:39 “See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the Lord, ³⁰ 

“and there is no other god besides me.

I kill and give life,

I smash and I heal,

and none can resist ³¹  my power.

32:40 For I raise up my hand to heaven,

and say, ‘As surely as I live forever,

32:41 I will sharpen my lightning-like sword,

and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; ³² 

I will execute vengeance on my foes,

and repay those who hate me! ³³ 

32:42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

and my sword will devour flesh –

the blood of the slaughtered and captured,

the chief ³⁴  of the enemy’s leaders!’”

32:43 Cry out, O nations, with his people,

for he will avenge his servants’ blood;

he will take vengeance against his enemies,

and make atonement for his land and people.

Narrative Interlude

32:44 Then Moses went with Joshua ³⁵  son of Nun and recited all the words of this song to the people.

Psalms 69:22

69:22 May their dining table become a trap before them!

May it be a snare for that group of friends! ³⁶ 

Psalms 92:6-7

92:6 The spiritually insensitive do not recognize this;

the fool does not understand this. ³⁷ 

92:7 When the wicked sprout up like grass,

and all the evildoers glisten, ³⁸ 

it is so that they may be annihilated. ³⁹ 

Luke 12:16-21

12:16 He then ⁴⁰  told them a parable: ⁴¹  “The land of a certain rich man produced ⁴²  an abundant crop, 12:17 so ⁴³  he thought to himself, ⁴⁴  ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ⁴⁵  12:18 Then ⁴⁶  he said, ‘I ⁴⁷  will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 12:19 And I will say to myself, ⁴⁸  “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’ 12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life ⁴⁹  will be demanded back from ⁵⁰  you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ⁵¹  12:21 So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, ⁵²  but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 16:19-25

The Rich Man and Lazarus

16:19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple ⁵³  and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously ⁵⁴  every day. 16:20 But at his gate lay ⁵⁵  a poor man named Lazarus ⁵⁶  whose body was covered with sores, ⁵⁷  16:21 who longed to eat ⁵⁸  what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs ⁵⁹  came and licked ⁶⁰  his sores.

16:22 “Now ⁶¹  the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. ⁶²  The ⁶³  rich man also died and was buried. ⁶⁴  16:23 And in hell, ⁶⁵  as he was in torment, ⁶⁶  he looked up ⁶⁷  and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. ⁶⁸  16:24 So ⁶⁹  he called out, ⁷⁰  ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus ⁷¹  to dip the tip of his finger ⁷²  in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish ⁷³  in this fire.’ ⁷⁴  16:25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, ⁷⁵  remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. ⁷⁶ 

Hebrews 12:8

12:8 But if you do not experience discipline, ⁷⁷  something all sons ⁷⁸  have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons.

James 5:5

5:5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ⁷⁹ 

[32:15]  ¹ tn To make the continuity of the referent clear, some English versions substitute “Jacob” here (NAB, NRSV) while others replace “Jeshurun” with “Israel” (NCV, CEV, NLT) or “the Lord’s people” (TEV).

[32:15]  ² tc The LXX reads the third person masculine singular (“he”) for the MT second person masculine singular (“you”), but such alterations are unnecessary in Hebrew poetic texts where subjects fluctuate frequently and without warning.

[32:16]  ³ tc Heb “with strange (things).” The Vulgate actually supplies diis (“gods”).

[32:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “abhorrent (things)” (cf. NRSV). A number of English versions understand this as referring to “idols” (NAB, NIV, NCV, CEV), while NLT supplies “acts.”

[32:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[32:18]  ⁷ tc The Hebrew text is corrupt here; the translation follows the suggestion offered in HALOT 1477 s.v. שׁיה. Cf. NASB, NLT “You neglected”; NIV “You deserted”; NRSV “You were unmindful of.”

[32:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will hide my face from them.”

[32:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “sons” (so NAB, NASB); TEV “unfaithful people.”

[32:21]  ¹¹ sn They have made me jealous. The “jealousy” of God is not a spirit of pettiness prompted by his insecurity, but righteous indignation caused by the disloyalty of his people to his covenant grace (see note on the word “God” in Deut 4:24). The jealousy of Israel, however (see next line), will be envy because of God’s lavish attention to another nation. This is an ironic wordplay. See H. Peels, NIDOTTE 3:938-39.

[32:21]  ¹² tn Heb “what is not a god,” or a “nondeity.”

[32:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “their empty (things).” The Hebrew term used here to refer pejoratively to the false gods is הֶבֶל (hevel, “futile” or “futility”), used frequently in Ecclesiastes (e.g., Eccl 1:1, “Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher, “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”).

[32:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “what is not a people,” or a “nonpeople.” The “nonpeople” (לֹא־עָם, lo’-’am) referred to here are Gentiles who someday would become God’s people in the fullest sense (cf. Hos 1:9; 2:23).

[32:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a foolish nation” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV); NIV “a nation that has no understanding”; NLT “I will provoke their fury by blessing the foolish Gentiles.”

[32:22]  ¹³ tn Or “to the lowest depths of the earth”; cf. NAB “to the depths of the nether world”; NIV “to the realm of death below”; NLT “to the depths of the grave.”

[32:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “upon them.”

[32:24]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew term קֶטֶב (qetev) is probably metaphorical here for the sting of a disease (HALOT 1091-92 s.v.).

[32:25]  ¹⁹ tn A verb is omitted here in the Hebrew text; for purposes of English style one suitable to the context is supplied.

[32:26]  ²¹ tc The LXX reads “I said I would scatter them.” This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT, CEV).

[32:27]  ²³ tn Heb “anger.”

[32:27]  ²⁴ tn Heb “lest.”

[32:27]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Our hand is high.” Cf. NAB “Our own hand won the victory.”

[32:30]  ²⁵ tn The words “man” and “of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[32:30]  ²⁶ tn Heb “sold them” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[32:31]  ²⁷ tn Heb “their,” but the referent (enemies) is specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[32:32]  ²⁹ tn Heb “vine.”

[32:32]  ³⁰ sn Sodom…Gomorrah. The term “vine” is a reference to the pagan deities which, the passage says, find their ultimate source in Sodom and Gomorrah, that is, in the soil of perversion exemplified by these places (cf. Gen 18:20; 19:4-28; Isa 1:10; 3:9; Jer 23:14; Lam 4:6; Ezek 16:44-52; Matt 10:15; 11:23-24).

[32:34]  ³¹ tn Verses 34-35 appear to be a quotation of the Lord and so the introductory phrase “says the Lord” is supplied in the translation.

[32:35]  ³³ tn Heb “prepared things,” “impending things.” See BDB 800 s.v. עָתִיד.

[32:36]  ³⁵ tn The translation understands the verb in the sense of “be grieved, relent” (cf. HALOT 689 s.v. נחם hitp 2); cf. KJV, ASV “repent himself”; NLT “will change his mind.” Another option is to translate “will show compassion to” (see BDB 637 s.v. נחם); cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV.

[32:39]  ³⁷ tn Verses 39-42 appear to be a quotation of the Lord and so the introductory phrase “says the Lord” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[32:39]  ³⁸ tn Heb “deliver from” (so NRSV, NLT).

[32:41]  ³⁹ tn Heb “judgment.” This is a metonymy, a figure of speech in which the effect (judgment) is employed as an instrument (sword, spear, or the like), the means, by which it is brought about.

[32:41]  ⁴⁰ tn The Hebrew term שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) in this covenant context speaks of those who reject Yahweh’s covenant overtures, that is, who disobey its stipulations (see note on the word “rejecting” in Deut 5:9; also see Deut 7:10; 2 Chr 19:2; Ps 81:15; 139:20-21).

[32:42]  ⁴¹ tn Or “head” (the same Hebrew word can mean “head” in the sense of “leader, chieftain” or “head” in the sense of body part).

[32:44]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Hoshea” (so KJV, ASV), another name for the same individual (cf. Num 13:8, 16).

[69:22]  ⁴⁵ tc Heb “and to the friends for a snare.” The plural of שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is used in Ps 55:20 of one’s “friends.” If the reading of the MT is retained here, the term depicts the psalmist’s enemies as a close-knit group of friends who are bound together by their hatred for the psalmist. Some prefer to revocalize the text as וּלְשִׁלּוּמִים (ulÿshillumim, “and for retribution”). In this case the noun stands parallel to פַּח (pakh, “trap”) and מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh, “snare”), and one might translate, “may their dining table become a trap before them, [a means of] retribution and a snare” (cf. NIV).

[92:6]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “the brutish man does not know, and the fool does not understand this.” The adjective בַּעַר (ba’ar, “brutish”) refers to spiritual insensitivity, not mere lack of intelligence or reasoning ability (see Pss 49:10; 73:22; Prov 12:1; 30:2, as well as the use of the related verb in Ps 94:8).

[92:7]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “flourish.”

[92:7]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “in order that they might be destroyed permanently.”

[12:16]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “And he.” Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the connection to the preceding statement.

[12:16]  ⁵² tn Grk “a parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[12:16]  ⁵³ tn Or “yielded a plentiful harvest.”

[12:17]  ⁵³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that this is a result of the preceding statement.

[12:17]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “to himself, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[12:17]  ⁵⁵ sn I have nowhere to store my crops. The thinking here is prudent in terms of recognizing the problem. The issue in the parable will be the rich man’s solution, particularly the arrogance reflected in v. 19.

[12:18]  ⁵⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:18]  ⁵⁶ sn Note how often the first person pronoun is present in these verses. The farmer is totally self absorbed.

[12:19]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “to my soul,” which is repeated as a vocative in the following statement, but is left untranslated as redundant.

[12:20]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “your soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

[12:20]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “required back.” This term, ἀπαιτέω (apaitew), has an economic feel to it and is often used of a debt being called in for repayment (BDAG 96 s.v. 1).

[12:20]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” The words “for yourself” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:21]  ⁶¹ sn It is selfishness that is rebuked here, in the accumulation of riches for himself. Recall the emphasis on the first person pronouns throughout the parable.

[16:19]  ⁶³ sn Purple describes a fine, expensive dye used on luxurious clothing, and by metonymy, refers to clothing colored with that dye. It pictures someone of great wealth.

[16:19]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “celebrated with ostentation” (L&N 88.255), that is, with showing off. Here was the original conspicuous consumer.

[16:20]  ⁶⁵ tn The passive verb ἐβέβλητο (ebeblhto) does not indicate how Lazarus got there. Cf. BDAG 163 s.v. βάλλω 1.b, “he lay before the door”; Josephus, Ant. 9.10.2 (9.209).

[16:20]  ⁶⁶ sn This is the one time in all the gospels that a figure in a parable is mentioned by name. It will become important later in the account.

[16:20]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “was covered with ulcers.” The words “whose body” are implied in the context (L&N 23.180).

[16:21]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “to eat his fill,” but this phrase has been simplified as “to eat” for stylistic reasons.

[16:21]  ⁶⁸ tn The term κύνες (kunes) refers to “wild” dogs (either “street” dogs or watchdogs), not house pets (L&N 4.34).

[16:21]  ⁶⁹ sn When the dogs came and licked his sores it meant that he was unclean. See the negative image of Rev 22:15 that draws on this picture.

[16:22]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “Now it happened that the.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[16:22]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “to Abraham’s bosom.” The phrase “carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” describes being gathered to the fathers and is a way to refer to heaven (Gen 15:15; 47:30; Deut 31:16).

[16:22]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[16:22]  ⁷² sn The shorter description suggests a different fate, which is confirmed in the following verses.

[16:23]  ⁷¹ sn The Greek term Hades stands for the Hebrew concept of Sheol. It is what is called hell today. This is where the dead were gathered (Ps 16:10; 86:13). In the NT Hades has an additional negative force of awaiting judgment (Rev 20:13).

[16:23]  ⁷² sn Hades is a place of torment, especially as one knows that he is separated from God.

[16:23]  ⁷³ tn Grk “he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

[16:23]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “in his bosom,” the same phrase used in 16:22. This idiom refers to heaven and/or participation in the eschatological banquet. An appropriate modern equivalent is “at Abraham’s side.”

[16:24]  ⁷³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous actions in the narrative.

[16:24]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “calling out he said”; this is redundant in contemporary English style and has been simplified to “he called out.”

[16:24]  ⁷⁵ sn The rich man had not helped Lazarus before, when he lay outside his gate (v. 2), but he knew him well enough to know his name. This is why the use of the name Lazarus in the parable is significant. (The rich man’s name, on the other hand, is not mentioned, because it is not significant for the point of the story.)

[16:24]  ⁷⁶ sn The dipping of the tip of his finger in water is evocative of thirst. The thirsty are in need of God’s presence (Ps 42:1-2; Isa 5:13). The imagery suggests the rich man is now separated from the presence of God.

[16:24]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92).

[16:24]  ⁷⁸ sn Fire in this context is OT imagery; see Isa 66:24.

[16:25]  ⁷⁵ tn The Greek term here is τέκνον (teknon), which could be understood as a term of endearment.

[16:25]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92). Here is the reversal Jesus mentioned in Luke 6:20-26.

[12:8]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “you are without discipline.”

[12:8]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “all”; “sons” is implied by the context.

[5:5]  ⁷⁹ sn James’ point seems to be that instead of seeking deliverance from condemnation, they have defied God’s law (fattened your hearts) and made themselves more likely objects of his judgment (in a day of slaughter).