Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 32:5-6
Context32:5 His people have been unfaithful 1 to him;
they have not acted like his children 2 – this is their sin. 3
They are a perverse 4 and deceitful generation.
32:6 Is this how you repay 5 the Lord,
you foolish, unwise people?
Is he not your father, your creator?
He has made you and established you.
[32:5] 1 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”).
[32:5] 2 tn Heb “(they are) not his sons.”
[32:5] 3 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.
