Deuteronomy 32:12-15

32:12 The Lord alone was guiding him, ¹ 

no foreign god was with him.

32:13 He enabled him ²  to travel over the high terrain of the land,

and he ate of the produce of the fields.

He provided honey for him from the cliffs, ³ 

and olive oil ⁴  from the hardest of ⁵  rocks, ⁶ 

32:14 butter from the herd

and milk from the flock,

along with the fat of lambs,

rams and goats of Bashan,

along with the best of the kernels of wheat;

and from the juice of grapes you drank wine.

Israel’s Rebellion

32:15 But Jeshurun ⁷  became fat and kicked,

you ⁸  got fat, thick, and stuffed!

Then he deserted the God who made him,

and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt.

[32:12]  ¹ tn The distinctive form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is an imperfect, not a preterite. As such it draws attention to God’s continuing guidance during the period in view.

[32:13]  ² tn The form of the suffix on this verbal form indicates that the verb is a preterite, not an imperfect. As such it simply states the action factually. Note as well the preterites with vav (ו) consecutive that follow in the verse.

[32:13]  ³ tn Heb “he made him suck honey from the rock.”

[32:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “oil,” but this probably refers to olive oil; see note on the word “rock” at the end of this verse.

[32:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “flinty.”

[32:13]  ⁶ sn Olive oil from rock probably suggests olive trees growing on rocky ledges and yet doing so productively. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 415; cf. TEV “their olive trees flourished in stony ground.”

[32:15]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.