Deuteronomy 32:37-47

37 "And He will say, '1Where are their gods, The rock in which they sought refuge?
38 '2Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, And drank the wine of their drink offering? 3Let them rise up and help you, Let them be your hiding place!
39 '4See now that I, I am He, 5And there is no god besides Me; 6It is I who put to death and give life. 7I have wounded and it is I who heal, 8And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
40 'Indeed, 9I lift up My hand to heaven, And say, as I live forever,
41 10If I sharpen My flashing sword, And My hand takes hold on justice, 11I will render vengeance on My adversaries, And I will repay those who hate Me.
42 '12I will make My arrows drunk with blood, 13And My sword will devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the long-haired leaders of the enemy.'
43 "14Rejoice, O nations, with His people; 15For He will avenge the blood of His servants, 16And will render vengeance on His adversaries, 17And will atone for His land and His people."
44 Then Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he, with 18Joshua the son of Nun.
45 When Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel,
46 he said to them, "19Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command 20your sons to observe carefully, even all the words of this law.
47 "For it is not an idle word for you; indeed 21it is your life. And 22by this word you will prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess."

Deuteronomy 32:37-47 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.

Cross References 22

  • 1. Judges 10:14; Jeremiah 2:28
  • 2. Numbers 25:1, 2
  • 3. Jeremiah 11:12
  • 4. Isaiah 41:4; Isaiah 43:10
  • 5. Deuteronomy 32:12; Isaiah 45:5
  • 6. 1 Samuel 2:6; Psalms 68:20
  • 7. Psalms 51:8
  • 8. Psalms 50:22
  • 9. Ezekiel 20:5, 6; Ezekiel 21:4, 5
  • 10. Isaiah 34:6-8
  • 11. Jeremiah 50:28-32
  • 12. Deuteronomy 32:23
  • 13. Jeremiah 12:12; Jeremiah 46:10, 14
  • 14. Romans 15:10
  • 15. 2 Kings 9:7; Revelation 6:10; Revelation 19:2
  • 16. Isaiah 1:24, 25
  • 17. Psalms 65:3; Psalms 79:9; Psalms 85:1
  • 18. Numbers 13:8, 16
  • 19. Ezekiel 40:4; Ezekiel 44:5
  • 20. Deuteronomy 4:9
  • 21. Deuteronomy 8:3; Deuteronomy 30:20
  • 22. Deuteronomy 4:40; Deuteronomy 33:25

Footnotes 6

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.