Deuteronomy 32:20-30

20 So he said, 'I will hide my face from them; I will see what [will be] their end, for they [are] a generation of perversity, {children in whom there is no faithfulness}.
21 They annoyed me with [what is] not a god; they provoked me with their idols. So I will make them jealous with [those] not a people, with a foolish nation I will provoke them.
22 For a fire was kindled by my anger, and it burned {up to the depths of Sheol}, and it devoured [the] earth and its produce, and it set afire the foundation of [the] mountains.
23 I will heap disasters upon them; my arrows I will spend on them.
24 [They will become] weakened by famine, and consumed by plague and bitter pestilence; and the teeth of wild animals I will send against them, with [the] poison of [the] creeping [things] in [the] dust;
25 From outside [her boundaries] the sword will make [her] childless, and from inside, terror; both [for] [the] young man [and] also the young woman, the infant [along with] the gray-headed man.
26 I thought, "I will wipe them out; {I will make people forget they ever existed}."
27 If I had not feared a provocation of [the] enemy, lest their foes might misunderstand, lest they should say, "Our hand is {triumphant}, and Yahweh [did] not do all this." '
28 For {they are a nation void of sense}, and there is not [any] understanding in them.
29 If only they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern {for themselves their end}.
30 How could one chase a thousand and two could cause a myriad to flee, if their Rock had not sold them, and Yahweh had [not] given them up?

Deuteronomy 32:20-30 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 32

This chapter contains the song mentioned and referred to in the former, the preface to it, De 32:1-3; the character of the divine and illustrious Person it chiefly respects, De 32:4; the ingratitude of the people of the Jews to him, who were a crooked and perverse generation, aggravated by his having bought, made, and established them, De 32:5,6; and which is further aggravated by various instances of divine goodness to them, first in providing and reserving a suitable country for them, at the time of the division of the earth to the sons of men, with the reason of it, De 32:7-9; then by what the Lord did for them in the wilderness, De 32:10-12; after that in the land of Canaan, where they enjoyed plenty of all good things, and in the possession of which they were, when the illustrious Person described appeared among them, De 32:13,14; and then the sin of ingratitude to him, before hinted at, is fully expressed, namely, lightly esteeming the rock of salvation, the Messiah, De 32:15; nor could they stop here, but proceed to more ungodliness, setting up other messiahs and saviours, which were an abomination to the Lord, De 32:16; continuing sacrifices when they should not, which were therefore reckoned no other than sacrifices to demons, and especially the setting up of their new idol, their own righteousness, was highly provoking; and by all this they clearly showed they had forgot the rock, the Saviour, De 32:17,18; wherefore, for the rejection of the Messiah and the, persecution of his followers, they would be abhorred of God, De 32:19; who would show his resentment by the rejection of them, by the calling of the Gentiles, and by bringing the nation of the Romans upon them, De 32:20,21; whereby utter ruin and destruction in all its shapes would be brought upon them, De 32:22-25; and, were it not for the insolence of their adversaries, would be entirely destroyed, being such a foolish and unwise people, which appears by not observing what the enemies of the Messiah themselves allow, that there is no rock like him, whom they despised, De 32:26-31; which enemies are described, and the vengeance reserved for them pointed out, De 32:32-35; and the song closed with promises of grace and mercy to the Lord's people, and wrath and ruin to his and their enemies, on which account all are called upon to rejoice in the latter day, De 32:36-43; and this song being delivered by Moses, the people of Israel are exhorted seriously to attend to it, it being of the utmost importance to them, De 32:44-47; and the chapter is concluded with a relation of Moses being ordered to go up to Mount Nebo and die, with the reason of it, De 32:48-52.

Footnotes 9

  • [a]. Literally "sons not faithfulness [is] in them"
  • [b]. Or "ignited"
  • [c]. Literally "up to Sheol depths"
  • [d]. Literally "I will blot out from among human being their remembrance"
  • [e]. Or "so that they not make a false construal" of what has happened
  • [f]. Or "so that they might not"
  • [g]. Literally "raised/held high"
  • [h]. Literally "they a nation perishing of counsel"
  • [i]. Literally "they would discern for end their"
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