Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 32:38-52
Context32:38 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!
32:39 “See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the Lord, 1
“and there is no other god besides me.
I kill and give life,
I smash and I heal,
and none can resist 2 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; 3
I will execute vengeance on my foes,
and repay those who hate me! 4
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 5 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.
32:44 Then Moses went with Joshua 6 son of Nun and recited all the words of this song to the people. 32:45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel 32:46 he said to them, “Keep in mind all the words I am solemnly proclaiming to you today; you must command your children to observe carefully all the words of this law. 32:47 For this is no idle word for you – it is your life! By this word you will live a long time in the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.”
32:48 Then the Lord said to Moses that same day, 32:49 “Go up to this Abarim 7 hill country, to Mount Nebo (which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho 8 ) and look at the land of Canaan that I am giving to the Israelites as a possession. 32:50 You will die 9 on the mountain that you ascend and join your deceased ancestors, 10 just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor 11 and joined his deceased ancestors, 32:51 for both of you 12 rebelled against me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the desert of Zin when you did not show me proper respect 13 among the Israelites. 32:52 You will see the land before you, but you will not enter the land that I am giving to the Israelites.”
[32:39] 1 tn Verses 39-42 appear to be a quotation of the
[32:39] 2 tn Heb “deliver from” (so NRSV, NLT).
[32:41] 3 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] 4 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] 5 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] 6 tn Heb “Hoshea” (so KJV, ASV), another name for the same individual (cf. Num 13:8, 16).
[32:49] 7 sn Abarim. This refers to the high plateau region of the Transjordan, the highest elevation of which is Mount Pisgah (or Nebo; cf. Deut 34:1). See also the note on the name “Pisgah” in Deut 3:17.
[32:49] 8 map For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[32:50] 9 tn In the Hebrew text the forms translated “you will die…and join” are imperatives, but the actions in view cannot really be commanded. The imperative is used here in a rhetorical, emphatic manner to indicate the certainty of Moses’ death on the mountain. On the rhetorical use of the imperative see IBHS 572 §34.4c.
[32:50] 10 tn Heb “be gathered to your people.” The same phrase occurs again later in this verse.
[32:50] 11 sn Mount Hor. See note on the name “Moserah” in Deut 10:6.
[32:51] 12 tn The use of the plural (“you”) in the Hebrew text suggests that Moses and Aaron are both in view here, since both had rebelled at some time or other, if not at Meribah Kadesh then elsewhere (cf. Num 20:24; 27:14).
[32:51] 13 tn Heb “did not esteem me holy.” Cf. NIV “did not uphold my holiness”; NLT “failed to demonstrate my holiness.”
