TheBibleNet: Deuteronomy 32:1-52

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HA'AZINU

I have presented the text twice on this blog-page; the first time as prose text, which is how it appears in the Yehudit scrolls and therefore in most translations, the line divisions shown by a number of symbolic letter-breaks; the second time in the form of a poem-song, which is how, at the end of the last chapter, we were told that Mosheh delivered it.

You will see that the form of the poem-song is a (mostly) regular pattern of couplets (two-line verses) and quartets (four-line verses); it may in fact be that the form is strictly couplets, but that in many cases meaning has led two pairs of couplets to become joined as a quartet. The exceptions are verses 14 and 39, which have five lines; in both cases the subject-matter also undergoes a change immediately afterwards, so that it seems reasonable to regard the fifth line as either a coda-line, indicating a change through the form, or more likely (and/or as well) a repeat-line in the accompanying music, indicating a change of theme in that manner. Far too sophisticated, both as libretto and as musical arrangement, for untrained Mosheh, old man Mosheh too sick to get to the ceremony except carried in a litter, and we were told in the last chapter that he wrote the whole piece in a single day!

Mishnah records that the Leviyim sang the Ha'azinu in the Temple every Sabbath, to accompany the Musaph offering: "It has been taught: R. Judah said in the name of R. Akiba: On the first day [of the week] what [psalm] did they [the Leviyim] say? .. The earth is YHVH's and the fullness thereof, .. On the second day what did they say?.. On the seventh day they said, A psalm a song for the Sabbath day. At the (musaf) additional sacrifice of Sabbath what did they say? R. Anan b. Raba said in the name of Rab: Haziv Lach...".

The full list of the Psalms of the Day was Psalm 24 on Sundays, Psalm 48 on Mondays, Psalm 82 on Tuesdays, Psalm 94 on Wednesdays, Psalm 81 on Thursdays, Psalm 93 on Fridays and Psalm 92 on Saturdays, adding Ha'azinu for the Musaph, which only takes place on Sabbath. Apparently, as a way of paralleling that weekly division, they also broke Ha'azinu down into six sections, and spread the singing out over six weeks, one week sweet and the next bitter, as per the structure of the song. The name, Ha'azinu, is taken, like the names of the books of the Torah, from its opening word.

Sedra 10, Ha'azinu
Deuteronomy 32:1-52

32:1: HA'AZINU HA SHAMAYIM VA ADABERA VE TISHMA HA ARETS IMREY PHI

הַאֲזִינוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וַאֲדַבֵּרָה {ס} וְתִשְׁמַע הָאָרֶץ אִמְרֵי פִי {ר}

KJ (King James translation): Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

(BN translation): Give ear, you heavens, and I will speak; and let the Earth hear the words of my mouth.

HA'AZINU: an alternative to "SHEMA", the latter calling on the Beney Yisra-El to "hear", this calling on them to "lend me your ears", as Shakespeare borrowed it (Julius Caesar, Act 3 Scene 2).

IMREY PI: Allusions to other Psalms, and other Biblical passages, can be found throughout this song, suggesting that it was written in the late Temple period, probably for the purpose described by Rabbi Anan bar Raba (see the note at the top of the page), and probably with the express intent of echoing as much of the week preceding as it could. IMREY PI comes from Psalm 19:14, and is recited after the Tsur Yisra-El (for which see my notes to verse 4) at the opening of the daily Amidah: "May the words of my mouth (IMREY PI) and the meditation of my heart, be pleasing in your sight YHVH, my rock and my redeemer."

32:2: YA'AROPH KA MATAR LIK'CHI TIZAL KA TAL IMRATI KI SE'IRAH ALEY DESH'E VE CHI REVIVIM ALEY ESEV

ב יַעֲרֹף כַּמָּטָר לִקְחִי {ס} תִּזַּל כַּטַּל אִמְרָתִי {ר} כִּשְׂעִירִם עֲלֵי דֶשֶׁא {ס} וְכִרְבִיבִים עֲלֵי עֵשֶׂב {ר}

KJ: My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

BN: My words shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew; as the small rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.

Still more Shakespeare; compare Portia's "quality of mercy" speech from "The Merchant Of Venice", Act 4, Scene 1.

32:3: KI SHEM YHVH EKRA HAVU GODEL LE ELOHEYNU

ג כִּי שֵׁם יְהוָה אֶקְרָא {ס} הָבוּ גֹדֶל לֵאלֹהֵינוּ {ר}

KJ: Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

BN: For I will proclaim the name of YHVH, ascribe greatness to our god.

HAVU: In this case the allusion is to one of the best-loved of all Psalms, 29, Havu l'YHVH ki tov, which is very much a part of the Sabbath - it is sung both at Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday evening, and after the Torah reading on the Sabbath morning.

32:4: HA TSUR TAMIM PA'ALO KI CHOL DERACHAV MISHPAT EL EMUNAH VE EYN AVEL TSADIK VE YASHAN HU

ד הַצּוּר תָּמִים פָּעֳלוֹ {ס} כִּי כָל דְּרָכָיו מִשְׁפָּט {ר} אֵל אֱמוּנָה וְאֵין עָוֶל {ס} צַדִּיק וְיָשָׁר הוּא {ר}

KJ: He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

BN: He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are justice; a god of faithfulness and free of blame, just and right is he.

Any Jew who has mourned will recognise this verse, as it provides the central core of "Tzidduk ha Din - the justification of the judgement", that most difficult moment, and placed at the most sensitive time, the start of the mourning period after leaving the graveside, when acceptance of the Divine Will is called upon.

EYN AVEL: "without iniquity" in the King James misses both the aural pun and the meaning. AVELUT with an Aleph (א) is "mourning"; AVELUT with an Ayin (ע) is "sin". The significance lies in my explanation of "Tzidduk ha Din", above.

TSUR: Not the town known in English as Tyre, on the Lebanese coast just north of the Israeli border, though that town has its name for the same reason. Tsur means "rock", as in Isaiah 26:4, "Rock of Ages", and in Reverend Toplady's hymn, "Rock of Ages, Cleft to me". For most Jews the word will echo the hymn that is sung as a prologue to the daily Amidah:

“Tsur Yisra-El kumah be-ezrat Yisra’el u-phdey chinumecha Yehudah ve-Yisra-El. Go’aleynu YHVH tseva’ot shemo kedosh Yisra-El. Baruch atah YHVH, ga’al Yisra-El.”

“Rock of Israel, arise to the aid of Yisra-El and liberate, as you pledged, Yehudah and Yisra-El. Our redeemer - the Lord of the Hosts of the Heavens is his name - the Holy One of Yisra-El. Blessed are you, Lord, who redeems Yisra-El.”

But see also 2 Samuel 22:47 and 23:3, Psalms 18:2, 31:3, 42:9, 62:7, 71:3, 89:26, 94:22, 95:1, Isaiah 17:10 and 30:29, as well as verse 15 below. You will note, if you follow these links, that sometimes in the Psalms Tsur is "the rock", and sometimes it is the metaphorical strength implicit in the rock, with the rock itself rendered as Selah (סלע), which of course is another aural pun rooted in the Psalms: Selah with a Hey (סלה) being the term for a musical break at the end of a line: the silence in that break echoing (pun intended) the "still small voice" of Eli-Yahu's (Elijah's) hymn (1 Kings 19:11-13).

Christians might be interested to know that "rock" in the Aramaic of Jesus' time was "Kefa", usually rendered phonetically as Qayyapâ or Qapâ'; it provided the nickname for the man who served as High Priest (and thereby provided the rock on which the Jewish faith was built) for two decades between 18 and 37 CE, a name rendered in Greek as Caiaphas, though actually the Greek word for "rock" is Petros, or Peter. See, for example, Matthew 7:24-27 or 16:18.

32:5: SHICHET LO LO BANAV MUMAM DOR IKESH U PHETALTOT

ה שִׁחֵת לוֹ לֹא בָּנָיו מוּמָם {ס} דּוֹר עִקֵּשׁ וּפְתַלְתֹּל {ר}

KJ: They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.

BN: Is corruption his? No; the blemish belongs to his children, a generation crooked and perverse.

Once again "justifying the judgement", but for the living now, not just the dead. So "personal responsibility" becomes the base ethic, and Rabbi Hillel's famous triad, his explanation or paraphrase of Leviticus 19:18, makes obedience to the Torah active and engaged, and not mere "passive complicity": to "love YHVH with all your heart and soul and might", as in the Shema, requires an inward drive, not an outward expectation. All of which is philosophy from the Metaphysical Age, post 6th century BCE, and not yet of Mosheh's time.

32:6: HA LE YHVH TIGMELU ZOT AM NAVAL VE LO CHACHAM HA LO HU AVICHA KANECHA HU AS'CHA VA YECHONENECHA

ו הַ לְיְהוָה תִּגְמְלוּ זֹאת {ס} עַם נָבָל וְלֹא חָכָם {ר} הֲלוֹא הוּא אָבִיךָ קָּנֶךָ {ס} הוּא עָשְׂךָ וַיְכֹנְנֶךָ {ר}

KJ: Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?

BN: Is this then how you treat YHVH, O people foolish and unwise? Is he not your father who fledglinged you? Did he not make you, and protect you?

TIGMELU: "Requite" infers "forgiveness", but verse 4 told us that he was "EYN AVEL - free of blame", so there are no grounds for forgiveness. The root is GAMAL, which is "a camel" - probably, originally, in some other language than Yehudit, though we cannot say which one at it appears across the Phoenician-Semitic-Nubian range. The Yehudit root is about doing or saying good things about people (Proverbs 3:30 and 31:12, Isaiah 63:7 and many others), though Genesis 50:15 reverses this, with Yoseph's brothers certain that he will hate them and "will want to pay us back in full for all the terrible things we did to him." "Pay us back" in the King James is rendered as "requite", as here; but the Yehudit text separates the two: "VE HASHEV YASHIV LANU ET KOL HA RA'AH ASHER GAMALNU OTO", "HASHEV YASHIV" being the pay-back, but "GAMALNU OTO" being the "terrible things we did to him".

KANECHA: from the root KEN which means "a nest"; there is a double aural pun taking place here, from KANECHA to YECHONENECHA, the nest and the protection, but also, implicit in the sound, the land of KENA'AN (Canaan), which is precisely where that nest, that protection, will be provided.

32:7: ZECHOR YEMOT OLAM BIYNO SHENOT DOR VA DOR SHE'AL AVICHA VE YAGDECHA ZEKENEYCHA VE YOMRU LACH

ז זְכֹר יְמוֹת עוֹלָם בִּינוּ שְׁנוֹת דֹּר וָדֹר {ס} שְׁאַל אָבִיךָ וְיַגֵּדְךָ זְקֵנֶיךָ וְיֹאמְרוּ לָךְ {ר}

KJ: Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.

BN: Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will tell you, ask your elders, and they will tell you.

32:8: BE HANCHEL ELYON GOYIM BE HAPHRIDO BENEY ADAM YATSEV GEVULOT AMIM LE MISPAR BENEY YISRA-EL

ח בְּהַנְחֵל עֶלְיוֹן גּוֹיִם {ס} בְּהַפְרִידוֹ בְּנֵי אָדָם {ר} יַצֵּב גְּבֻלֹת עַמִּים {ס} לְמִסְפַּר בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל {ר}

KJ: When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

BN: When the most high gave the nations their inheritance, when he separated human beings, he set the borders of the nations according to the number of the Beney Yisra-El.

32:9: KI CHELEK YHVH AMO YA'AKOV CHEVEL NACHALATO

ט כִּי חֵלֶק יְהוָה עַמּוֹ {ס} יַעֲקֹב חֶבֶל נַחֲלָתוֹ {ר}

KJ: For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

BN: For YHVH's portion is his people, Ya'akov is his portion of the bequest.

YA'AKOV: But surely the people is Yisra-El? And Ya'akov was told, quite specifically, in Genesis 32:29, that "Your name shall no longer be Ya'akov, but Yisra-El; for you have striven with Elohim, and with men, and have prevailed." Two texts then - a YHVH and an Elohim, as the School of Biblical Criticism has long maintained? The next verse exacerbates the problem.

CHEVEL: Lot in the sense of "drawing lots", which is also how we are told the tribal territories were divided up once Yehoshu'a has (mostly) conquered Kena'an (click here). Presumably, when the gods divided up the nations of the Earth, Wotan got the Vikings and Ar Thur the Celts, but YHVH got the Beney Yisra-El.

32:10: YIMTSA'EHU BE ERETS MIDBAR U VE TOHU YELEL YESHIMON YESOVEVENHU YEVONENEHU YITSRENHU KE ISHON EYNO

י יִמְצָאֵהוּ בְּאֶרֶץ מִדְבָּר {ס} וּבְתֹהוּ יְלֵל יְשִׁמֹן {ר} יְסֹבְבֶנְהוּ יְבוֹנְנֵהוּ {ס} יִצְּרֶנְהוּ כְּאִישׁוֹן עֵינוֹ {ר}

KJ: He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

BN: He found him in a desert land, and in the waste, a howling wilderness; he put his arms around him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

YESHIMON: Dozens of references to this throughout the Tanach - click here for Strong's listing of most of them. Several appear to be the name of a specific place, but only in the way that we speak in England of "the peaks", and people understand Derbyshire, though there are obviously peaks everywhere; or "the Lake District", and the region of Windermere is understood, though there are lakes everywhere. In this case, Yeshimon appears to be the arid scrub-desert south of the Dead Sea, before it becomes the Aravah, particularly the region around Adul-Am and the Wilderness of Ziph where David built his bandit army (1 Samuel 23).

However, the previous verse began to speak of Ya'akov, not Yisra-El, and Ya'akov was never found in Yeshimon; he grew up much further west, around Be'er Sheva, which is a very different landscape, sand and wells rather than scrub, and lived in Padan Aram for two decades, which was rich pastureland for sheep, and though his return took him briefly into the vicinity of Yeshimon - Shechem is not that far north - and his sons were shepherding close to that area when they sold Yoseph into captivity (Genesis 37:12) he actually returned to Be'er Sheva, and it was from there that he went down to Mitsrayim.

The entire text of this verse did not really need all the above explanation, since it is self-evident that the people found in the desert, in Yeshimon, and instructed, etc, are Mosheh's people - but the text says Ya'akov, not Yisra-El, and commentary is commentary.

Plus: the location for the Book of Deuteronomy is precisely the eastern Aravah. So for the people listening...

32:11: KE NESHER YA'IR KINO AL GOZALAV YERACHEPH YIPHROS KENAPHAV YIKACHEHU YISA'EHU AL EVRATO

יא כְּנֶשֶׁר יָעִיר קִנּוֹ עַל גּוֹזָלָיו יְרַחֵף {ס} יִפְרֹשׂ כְּנָפָיו יִקָּחֵהוּ יִשָּׂאֵהוּ עַל אֶבְרָתוֹ {ר}

KJ: As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:

BN: As an eagle that stirs up her nest, that hovers over her young, that spreads out her wings, that takes them, that bears them on her pinions...

NESHER: Cf Exodus 19:4 (also Ezekiel 17:3-8, simply because I continue to suspect the school of Yechezke-El, and if not his then that of Yesha-Yah, of being the author of these latter chapters of Deuteronomy)

32:12: YHVH BADAD YANCHENU VE EYN IMO EL NECHAR

יב יְהוָה בָּדָד יַנְחֶנּוּ {ס} וְאֵין עִמּוֹ אֵל נֵכָר {ר}

KJ: So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.

BN: YHVH alone led him, and no foreign god was with him.

32:13: YARKIVEHU AL VAMOTEY ARETS VA YOCHAL TENUVOT SADAY VA YENIKEHU DVASH MI SELA VE SHEMEN ME CHALMISH TSUR

יג יַרְכִּבֵהוּ עַל במותי (בָּמֳתֵי) אָרֶץ {ס} וַיֹּאכַל תְּנוּבֹת שָׂדָי {ר} וַיֵּנִקֵהוּ דְבַשׁ מִסֶּלַע {ס} וְשֶׁמֶן מֵחַלְמִישׁ צוּר {ר}

KJ: He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;

BN: He made him ride on the high places of the Earth, and he fed him the fruits of the field; and he made him suck honey out of the crag, and oil out of the flinty rock.

SHEMEN: Oil as in olives, rather than the kind with which you lubricate a cart-wheel. In a "Promised Land", any natural substance that is available raw to humans could be mentioned, and not exclusively milk and honey - though the honey is indeed here, and the milk will crop up (the worst pun yet!) in the next verse. But the oil here, and the curds etc there, carry equal significance as fertility symbols.

13:14: CHEM'AT BAKAR VA CHALEV TSON IM CHELEV KARIM VE EYLIM BENEY VASHAN VE ATUDIM IM CHELEV KILYOT CHITAH VE DAM ENAV TISHTEH CHAMER

יד חֶמְאַת בָּקָר וַחֲלֵב צֹאן {ס} עִם חֵלֶב כָּרִים וְאֵילִים {ר} בְּנֵי בָשָׁן וְעַתּוּדִים {ס} עִםחֵלֶב כִּלְיוֹת חִטָּה {ר} וְדַם עֵנָב, תִּשְׁתֶּה חָמֶר {ס}

KJ: Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.

BN: Curd from cows, and milk from sheep, with fat from lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and he-goats, with the kidney-fat of wheat; and from the blood of the grape you drank foaming wine.

13:15: VA YISHMAN YESHURUN VA YIV'AT SHAMANTA AVITA KASIYTA VA YIYTOSH ELOHA ASAHU VA YENABEL TSUR YESHU'ATO

טו וַיִּשְׁמַן יְשֻׁרוּן וַיִּבְעָט {ר} שָׁמַנְתָּ עָבִיתָ כָּשִׂיתָ {ס} וַיִּטֹּשׁ אֱלוֹהַּ עָשָׂהוּ {ר} וַיְנַבֵּל צוּר יְשֻׁעָתוֹ {ס}

KJ: But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

BN: But Yeshurun grew fat, and kicked - you grew fat, you grew thick, you became gross - and he forsook the god who had made him, and grew contemptuous of the Rock of his salvation.

YESHURUN: See the link.

32:16: YAKNI'UHU BE ZARIM BE TO'EVOT YACH'IYSUHU

טז יַקְנִאֻהוּ, בְּזָרִים; {ר} בְּתוֹעֵבֹת, יַכְעִיסֻהוּ. {ס}

KJ: They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.

BN: They roused him to jealousy with strange gods, and provoked him with abominations.

HE...YOU...THEY: not for the first time, in this and the previous verse, we have a text that cannot make up its mind who it is addressing and who it is describing.

32:17: YIZBECHU LA SHEDIM LO ELOHA ELOHIM LO YEDA'UM CHADASHIM MI KAROV BA'U LO SE'ARUM AVOTEYCHEM

יז יִזְבְּחוּ לַשֵּׁדִים לֹא אֱלֹהַּ {ר} אֱלֹהִים לֹא יְדָעוּם {ס} חֲדָשִׁים מִקָּרֹב בָּאוּ {ר} לֹא שְׂעָרוּם אֲבֹתֵיכֶם {ס}

KJ: They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

BN: They sacrificed to gods that were no-gods, to gods that they did not even know, to new gods who had came up of late, which never made your ancestors's hair shudder.

I'm not sure I want to use either demon or devil for my translation. SHEDIM come from the same root as Av-Ram's El Shadai, and he certainly did not regard his deity as either of these. ELOHA is from the root EL, plural ELIM, multiple plural ELOHIM, which Av-Raham would have recognised in Malki-Tsedek's El Elyon.

SE'ARUM: fascinating verb. We know it from SE'IR, which is a hairy goat, but also the land in which both Yishma-El and Esav found their homes, presumably called that because it was good goat-country. The root however has nothing to do with either of these; the root means "to quiver" or "shudder", and the connection is presumably to do with things that make your hair stand on end. My own kibbutz, on the Lebanese border, was named Sa'ar, meaning "storm", as was the army base on the Golan where the front-line tanks were based during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Isaiah 13:21 and 34:14 describe the Se'irim, satyrs who inhabit desert regions, alongside the Tsiyim (צִיִּים) or "wood demons"; and of course, in the Greek, the satyrs were always depicted as goats, as are our modern satyrs, those "horny old goats", the male equivalent of nymphomania, which is satyriasis.

32:18: TSUR YELADCHA TESHI VA TISHKACH EL MECHOLELCHA

יח צוּר יְלָדְךָ תֶּשִׁי {ר} וַתִּשְׁכַּח אֵל מְחֹלְלֶךָ {ס}

KJ: Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.

BN: You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you, and forgot that El fathered you.

EL: The give-away of the real source of this poem. Kena'ani (Cana'anite), not Yisra-Eli at all! Presumably, like so many of the Psalms, and several other Tanachic books (Song of Songs the most obvious example) it was adopted and then adapted.

32:19: VA YAR YHVH VA YINATS MI KA'AS BANAV U VENOTAV

יט וַיַּרְא יְהוָה וַיִּנְאָץ {ר} מִכַּעַס בָּנָיו וּבְנֹתָיו {ס}

KJ: And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.

BN: But YHVH saw, and spurned, because of the provoking of his sons and his daughters.

32:20: VA YOMER ASTIRAH PHANAY MEY HEM EREH MAH ACHARITAM KI DOR TAHEPUCHOT HEMAH BANIM LO EMUN BAM

כ וַיֹּאמֶר אַסְתִּירָה פָנַי מֵהֶם {ר} אֶרְאֶה מָה אַחֲרִיתָם {ס} כִּי דוֹר תַּהְפֻּכֹת הֵמָּה {ר} בָּנִים לֹא אֵמֻן בָּם {ס}

KJ: And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.

BN: And he said: I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be; for they are a very forward generation, children in whom there is no faithfulness.

ASTIRAH: picking up the "HISTIR PANAV" of the previous chapter (Deuteronomy 31:17). But also, note this - in the feminine!

32:21: HEM KIN'UNI VE LO EL KI'ASUNI BE HAVLEYHEM VA ANI AKNIY'EM BE LO AM BE GOY NAVAL ACH'IYSEM

כא הֵם קִנְאוּנִי בְלֹא אֵל {ר} כִּעֲסוּנִי בְּהַבְלֵיהֶם {ס} וַאֲנִי אַקְנִיאֵם בְּלֹא עָם {ר} בְּגוֹי נָבָל אַכְעִיסֵם {ס}

KJ: They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

BN: They have roused me to jealousy with their no-gods; they have made me angry with their vanities; and I will rouse them to jealousy with a no-people; I will provoke them with a vile nation.

32:22: KI ESH KAD'CHAH VE API VA TIYKAD AD SHE'OL TACHTIT VA TOCHAL ERETS VIYVULA VA TELAHET MOSDEY HARIM

כב כִּי אֵשׁ קָדְחָה בְאַפִּי {ר} וַתִּיקַד עַד שְׁאוֹל תַּחְתִּית {ס} וַתֹּאכַל אֶרֶץ וִיבֻלָהּ {ר} וַתְּלַהֵט מוֹסְדֵי הָרִים {ס}

KJ: For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

BN: For a fire is kindled in my nostril, and it burns right to the depths of the nether-world, and devours the Earth with her produce, and sets ablaze the foundations of the mountains.

This the point at which we realise that the concept of YHVH is entirely metaphorical: YHVH as Life, in all its forms, which includes a sun that can "turn its face to shine on us", bringing light, peace and joy into our lives, or "histir panav" (verse 20), and in that moment of turning aside can allow evil to enter; or, as here, can simply burn so bright that all our crops are shrivelled, our skin forms cancer, and a single piece of glass reflecting that sunlight onto dry leaves could set the entire mountainside ablaze, and take ten thousand houses in its wake. And all three the same "god".

32:23: ASPEH ALEYMO RA'OT CHITSAY ACHALEH BAM

כג אַסְפֶּה עָלֵימוֹ רָעוֹת {ר} חִצַּי אֲכַלֶּה בָּם {ס}

KJ: I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.

BN: I will heap evils upon them; I will spend my arrows upon them.

32:24 MEZEY RA'AV U LECHUMEY RESHEPH VE KETEV MERIRI VE SHEN BEHEMOT ASHALACH BAM IM CHAMAT ZOCHALEY APHAR

כד מְזֵי רָעָב וּלְחֻמֵי רֶשֶׁף {ר} וְקֶטֶב מְרִירִי {ס} וְשֶׁן בְּהֵמֹת אֲשַׁלַּח בָּם {ר} עִם חֲמַת זֹחֲלֵי עָפָר {ס}

KJ: They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.

BN: Wasting famine, ravaging plague, Deadly pestilence, and fanged beasts Will I let loose against them, With venomous creepers in dust.

The BN translation here is not mine, and not 100% accurate either, but such beautiful poetry, it is irresistible; from the JPS Tanakh (Jewish Publication Society, 1917); and notice, from the capital letters, that it has kept the verse form.

32:25: MI CHUTS TESHAKEL CHEREV U MEY CHADARIM EYMAH GAM BACHUR GAM BETULAH YONEK IM IYSH SEYVAH

כה מִחוּץ תְּשַׁכֶּל חֶרֶב וּמֵחֲדָרִים אֵימָה גַּם בָּחוּר {ר} גַּם בְּתוּלָה יוֹנֵק עִם אִישׁ שֵׂיבָה {ס}

KJ: The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.

BN: The sword shall cause bereavement outside, and terror inside your rooms; both the young man and the virgin, the suckling infant and the grey-haired old man.

This started as very precise, structured, formed poetry, but has now descended into the familiar prophetic rant; but then, in the next verse, back to poetry - was the Prophet who wrote this book unable to restrain himself from adding commentary and exegesis, even in the middle of a poem (self-conscious, self-parodistic irony fully intended here!).

32:26: AMARTI APH'EYHEM ASHBITAH ME ENOSH ZICHRAM

כו אָמַרְתִּי אַפְאֵיהֶם {ר} אַשְׁבִּיתָה מֵאֱנוֹשׁ זִכְרָם {ס}

Unavoidable to note that Hitler had the same aspiration. Unavoidable to note that Hitler made the same error, in his case with a planned museum in Prague, in this case by creating a song, writing it in a book, and having the Temple choir, later the chazan, recite it weekly: it prevents the memory from ever ceasing, and therefore self-defeats.

32:27: LULEY KA'AS OYEV AGUR PEN YENAKRU TSAREYMO PEN YOMRU YADEYNU RAMAH VE LO YHVH PA'AL KOL ZOT

כז לוּלֵי כַּעַס אוֹיֵב אָגוּר {ר} פֶּן יְנַכְּרוּ צָרֵימוֹ {ס} פֶּן יֹאמְרוּ יָדֵנוּ רָמָה {ר} וְלֹא יְהוָה פָּעַל כָּל זֹאת {ס}

KJ: Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this.

BN: Were it not that I dreaded the enemy's provocation, lest their adversaries should misunderstand, lest they should say: Ours is the hand which is raised in victory, and it was not YHVH who achieved all this.

32:28: KI GOY OVAD ETSOT HEMAH VE EYN BAHEM TEVUNAH

כח כִּי גוֹי אֹבַד עֵצוֹת הֵמָּה {ר} וְאֵין בָּהֶם תְּבוּנָה {ס}

KJ: For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.

BN: For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them.

32:29: LU CHACHMU YASKIYLU ZOT YAVIYNU LE ACHARIYTAM

כט לוּ חָכְמוּ יַשְׂכִּילוּ זֹאת {ר} יָבִינוּ לְאַחֲרִיתָם {ס}

KJ: O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!

BN: If they were wise, they would understand this, they would discern their inevitable end.

32:30: EYCHAH YIRDOPH ECHAD ELEPH U SHENAYIM YANIYSU REVAVAH IM LO KI TSURAM MECHARAM VA YHVH HISGIRAM

ל אֵיכָה יִרְדֹּף אֶחָד אֶלֶף {ר} וּשְׁנַיִם יָנִיסוּ רְבָבָה {ס} אִם לֹא כִּי צוּרָם מְכָרָם {ר} וַיהוָה הִסְגִּירָם {ס}

KJ: How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?

BN: How should one person chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had handed them over, unless YHVH had locked them up?

32:31: KI LO CHE TSUREYNU TSURAM VE OYEVEYNU PELIYLIM

לא כִּי לֹא כְצוּרֵנוּ צוּרָם {ר} וְאֹיְבֵינוּ פְּלִילִים {ס}

KJ: For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.

BN: For their rock is not as our Rock, and our enemies will be our judges.

32:32: KI MI GEPHEN SEDOM GAPHNAM U MI SHADMOT AMORAH ANAVEMO INVEY ROSH ASHKELOT MEROROT LAMO

לב כִּי מִגֶּפֶן סְדֹם גַּפְנָם {ר} וּמִשַּׁדְמֹת עֲמֹרָה {ס} עֲנָבֵמוֹ עִנְּבֵי רוֹשׁ {ר} אַשְׁכְּלֹת מְרֹרֹת לָמוֹ {ס}

KJ: For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:

BN: For their vine is cut from the vine of Sedom, and from the fields of Amorah; their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters taste bitter to them.

SHADMOT: If the translation is correct, then it should be SADMOT. And if it was SADMOT, then it would also be a very neat aural pun in echo of Sedom.

AMORAH: See the link.

32:33: CHAMAT TANIYNIM YEYNAM VE ROSH PETANIM ACHZAR

לג חֲמַת תַּנִּינִם יֵינָם {ר} וְרֹאשׁ פְּתָנִים אַכְזָר {ס}

KJ: Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.

BN: Their wine is the venom of serpents, and the cruel poison of asps.

32:34: HA LO HU KAMUS IMADI CHATUM BE OTSROTAY

לד הֲלֹא הוּא כָּמֻס עִמָּדִי {ר} חָתוּם בְּאוֹצְרֹתָי {ס}

KJ: Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?

BN: Is this not laid up in store with me, sealed up in my treasuries?

32:35: LI NAKAM VE SHILEM LE ET TAMUT RAGLAM KI KAROV YOM EYDAM VE CHASH ATIDOT LAMO

לה לִי נָקָם וְשִׁלֵּם {ר} לְעֵת תָּמוּט רַגְלָם {ס} כִּי קָרוֹב יוֹם אֵידָם {ר} וְחָשׁ עֲתִדֹת לָמוֹ {ס}

KJ: To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

BN: Vengeance is mine, and recompense, against the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that are to come upon them are hurrying towards them.

32:36: KI YADIYN YHVH AMO VE AL AVADAV YITNECHAM KI YIREH KI AZLAT YAD VE EPHES ATSUR VE AZUV

לו כִּי יָדִין יְהוָה עַמּוֹ {ר} וְעַל עֲבָדָיו יִתְנֶחָם {ס} כִּי יִרְאֶה כִּי אָזְלַת יָד {ר} וְאֶפֶס עָצוּר וְעָזוּב {ס}

KJ: For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.

BN: For YHVH will judge his people, and comfort himself over his servants; when he sees that their hand has lost its strength, that there is no one left, no one arrested, all just abandoned.

32:37: VE AMAR EY ELOHEYMO TSUR CHASAYU VO

לז וְאָמַר אֵי אֱלֹהֵימוֹ {ר} צוּר חָסָיוּ בוֹ {ס}

KJ: And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,

BN: And it will be said: Where are their gods, the rock on whom they trusted?

32:38: ASHER CHELEV ZEVACHEYMO YOCHELU YISHTU YAYIN NESICHAM
YAKUMU VE YA'EZRUCHEM YEHI ALEYCHEM SITRAH

לח אֲשֶׁר חֵלֶב זְבָחֵימוֹ יֹאכֵלוּ {ר} יִשְׁתּוּ יֵין נְסִיכָם {ס} יָקוּמוּ וְיַעְזְרֻכֶם {ר} יְהִי עֲלֵיכֶם סִתְרָה {ס}

KJ: Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.

BN: Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink-offering? Let him rise up and help you. Let him be your protection.

32:39: RA'U ATAH KI ANI ANI HU VE EYN ELOHIM IMADI ANI AMIT VA ACHAYEH MACHATSTI VA ANI ERPA VE EYN MI YADI MATSIL

לט רְאוּ עַתָּה כִּי אֲנִי אֲנִי הוּא {ר} וְאֵין אֱלֹהִים עִמָּדִי {ס} אֲנִי אָמִית וַאֲחַיֶּה {ר} מָחַצְתִּי וַאֲנִי אֶרְפָּא {ס} וְאֵין מִיָּדִי מַצִּיל {ר}

KJ: See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

BN: See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no other god with me. I kill, and I give life; I wound, and I heal; and there is no one who can deliver out of my hand.

EYN ELOHIM doesn't mean "there is no god", not in this context. The point of the previous verses is that there are indeed other gods, but none have YHVH's capacities: so why follow them?

32:40: KI ESAH EL SHAMAYIM YADI VE AMARTI CHAY ANOCHI LE OLAM

מ כִּי אֶשָּׂא אֶל שָׁמַיִם יָדִי {ס} וְאָמַרְתִּי חַי אָנֹכִי לְעֹלָם {ר}

KJ: For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.

BN: For I lift up my hand to the skies and say: I am alive - for ever.

32:41: IM SHANOTI BERAK CHARBI VE TOCHEZ BE MISHPAT YADI ASHIV NAKAM LE TSARAY VE LIMSANAY ASHALEM

מא אִם שַׁנּוֹתִי בְּרַק חַרְבִּי {ס} וְתֹאחֵז בְּמִשְׁפָּט יָדִי {ר} אָשִׁיב נָקָם לְצָרָי {ס} וְלִמְשַׂנְאַי אֲשַׁלֵּם {ר}

KJ: If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.

BN: When I whet my glittering sword, and my hand takes hold of judgment, then will I render vengeance on my adversaries, and I will reward those who hate me.

32:42: ASHKIYR CHITSAY MI DAM VE CHARBI TOCHAL BASAR MI DAM CHALAL VE SHIVYAH ME ROSH PAROT OYEV

מב אַשְׁכִּיר חִצַּי מִדָּם {ס} וְחַרְבִּי תֹּאכַל בָּשָׂר {ר} מִדַּם חָלָל וְשִׁבְיָה {ס} מֵרֹאשׁ פַּרְעוֹת אוֹיֵב {ר}

KJ: I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.

BN: I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh, with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired heads of the enemy.

32:43: HARNINU GOYIM AMO KI DAM AVADAV YIKUM VE NAKAM YASHIYV LE TSARAV VE CHIPER ADMATO AMO

מג הַרְנִינוּ גוֹיִם עַמּוֹ {ס} כִּי דַםעֲבָדָיו יִקּוֹם {ר} וְנָקָם יָשִׁיב לְצָרָיו {ס} וְכִפֶּר אַדְמָתוֹ עַמּוֹ {ר} {ש}

KJ: Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.

BN: Sing aloud, O you nations, of his people; for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and render vengeance to his adversaries, and he will make expiation for the land of his people.

32:44 VA YAVO MOSHEH VA YEDABER ET KOL DIVREY HA SHIRAH HA ZOT BE AZNEY HA AM HU VE HOSHE'A BIN NUN

וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר אֶת כָּל דִּבְרֵי הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם הוּא וְהוֹשֵׁעַ בִּן נוּן

KJ: And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.

BN: And Mosheh came and recited all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshe'a bin Nun.

VA YAVO: As opposed to VA YELECH, "he went", which we questioned at 31:1.

SHIRAH: What is the difference between a SHIRAH and a SHIR? And why does he speak, and not sing? Because he is old and the voice has gone? Or because the translator lacks a good thesaurus? An excellent essay on the subject can be read here (and you will find it invaluably ear-opening if you are studying the Psalms).

HOSHE'A BIN NUN: His birth-name (cf Numbers 11:28), rather than the "king-name" that he is about to take - though actually he already took it - in Numbers 13:16. Can we assume that MOSHEH was also a "king-name"? We know, for example, that David (properly Yedid-Yah, "the beloved of the moon-goddess") and Shelomoh (Solomon) were.

In what manner did the two recite together? Alternate verses? Repetition and responsa? Simon and Garfunkle style, with Josh on lyre and harmonies, and Mosh on lead vocals? Or chazanut style, from an altar-bimah? (And no, I am not being ironic, satirical or facetious; in the world of Jewish liturgy, in the difference between a Renewalist, a Reform, a Masorti, a United Synagogue and a Chabad ceremony, any one of these is imaginable.)

32:45 VA YECHAL MOSHEH LEDABER ET KOL HA DEVARIM HA ELEH EL KOL YISRA-EL

וַיְכַל מֹשֶׁה לְדַבֵּר אֶת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל

KJ: And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:

BN: And when Mosheh reached the end of reciting all these words to all Yisra-El...

LEDABER...DEVARIM: See my notes and link for SHIRAH at verse 44.

32:46 VA YOMER ALEYHEM SIMU LEVAVECHEM LE CHOL HA DEVARIM ASHER ANOCHI ME'ID BACHEM HAYOM ASHER TETSA'UM ET BENEYCHEM LISHMOR LA'ASOT ET KOL DIVREY HA TORAH HA ZOT

וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם שִׂימוּ לְבַבְכֶם לְכָל הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מֵעִיד בָּכֶם הַיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר תְּצַוֻּם אֶת בְּנֵיכֶם לִשְׁמֹר לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת כָּל דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת

KJ: And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.

BN: Then he said to them: Learn by heart all the words with which I am bearing witness in front of you today; that you may instruct your children with them, to ensure that they commit to carrying out all the words of this law.

SIMU LEVAVECHEM: We have seen on many occasions that the LEV, which is the heart, was regarded as the locus of thought in Biblical times, and therefore a synonym for what today we would call "the mind". When Mosheh tells them to "put this in your heart" so that you can teach it to your children - which itself is an echo of the Shema - he is really telling them to "learn it by heart"; ironic that this is how we express the business of rote-learning today.

32:47 KI LO DAVAR REK HU MIKEM KI HU CHAYEYCHEM U VA DAVAR HA ZEH TA'ARICHU YAMIM AL HA ADAMAH ASHER ATEM OVRIM ET HA YARDEN SHAMAH LERISHTAH

כִּי לֹא דָבָר רֵק הוּא מִכֶּם כִּי הוּא חַיֵּיכֶם וּבַדָּבָר הַזֶּה תַּאֲרִיכוּ יָמִים עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם עֹבְרִים אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן שָׁמָּה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ

KJ: For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

BN: For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing you shall prolong your days upon the land, to which you are going over the Yarden to possess it.

pey break

32:48 VA YEDABER YHVH EL MOSHEH BE ETSEM HA YOM HA ZEH LEMOR

וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה לֵאמֹר

KJ: And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,

BN: And YHVH spoke to Mosheh that same day, saying:

32:49 ALEH EL HAR HA AVARIM HA ZEH HAR NEVO ASHER BE ERETS MO-AV ASHER AL PENEY YERECHO U RE'EH ET ERETS KENA'AN ASHER ANI NOTEN LIVNEY YISRA-EL LA ACHUZAH

עֲלֵה אֶל הַר הָעֲבָרִים הַזֶּה הַר נְבוֹ אֲשֶׁר בְּאֶרֶץ מוֹאָב אֲשֶׁר עַל פְּנֵי יְרֵחוֹ וּרְאֵה אֶת אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לַאֲחֻזָּה

KJ: Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:

BN: Go up into this mountain of Avarim, to Mount Nevo, which is in the land of Mo-Av, which is opposite Yerecho; and behold the land of Kena'an, which I am giving to the Beney Yisra-El as a possession.

AVARIM...NEVO: Not Pisgah, which simply means "summit"; Avarim is the specific mountain, Nevo is the range.

But it is also impossible, if you are reading this in Yehudit, and without the pointing, not to misread this as HAR HA IVRIM, "the mount of the Hebrews".

YERECHO: As opposed to the more usual YERICHO. But why does YHVH need to give him directions, given that he is there, and knows the geography? Is this added for the benefit of future readers/listeners, who might not know? And why mention Yerecho specifically? It may be that there is a conenction in the mythology, based on Yericho's status as the major moon-shrine in the region; though on this occasion, and as the modern Google-map demonstrates, it is more likely that Yericho is simply what you see, when you go to the summit of Mount Avarim, and look over the Yarden into Kena'an.

NACHALAH AND RISHTAH and now ACHUZAH, all used to mean inheritance.

And finally we need to ask: to what precisely was Mosheh being sent when he went up the mountain? To die, exposed in the heat and waterlessness and nobody to bury him, just waste away and have your bones rot for the carrion to pick? How nice, and what a splendid way for the Beney Yisra-El to honour their great leader, abandoning him in that manner. So it cannot have been that. But if not, what?

a) this was a holy place, where covenant renewals and other ceremonies happened annually, and so there were priests up there, a shrine, a burial ground, even perhaps a hospice of some sort... we saw and thought something similar when Aharon was sent to die on mount Hor (see the next verse); see especially my note at Numbers 20:25, because it also feeds the other possibility, which is that:
b) the summits of mountains in the mythological epoch were the habitations of the gods, not humans - cf Valhalla, Olympus, Coatepec, Kunlun... and no doubt, when he arrives, he will be seated in the throne of honour, on the right hand of the father of the gods, just as Osher would have been beside Ra in the Egyptian version.
BUT: this version of Olympus is Mo-Avi, not Beney Yisra-Eli, not even Midyani... or maybe I was right to point out that the mountain, written without pointing, is HAR HA IVRIM. What other name could there be for a mountain that a Yisra-Eli returns to?

32:50 U MUT BE HAR ASHER ATAH OLEH SHAMAH VE HE'ASEPH EL AMEYCHA KA ASHER MET AHARON ACHICHA BE HOR HA HAR VE YE'ASEPH EL AMAV

וּמֻת בָּהָר אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה עֹלֶה שָׁמָּה וְהֵאָסֵף אֶל עַמֶּיךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר מֵת אַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ בְּהֹר הָהָר וַיֵּאָסֶף אֶל עַמָּיו

KJ: And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:

BN: And die on the mountain to which you are going, and be gathered to your people; as Aharon your brother died on Mount Hor, and was gathered to his people.

And surely his people would have wanted to bury his bones somewhere significant to future generations, and give him a grand funeral and send-off, etc; and indeed, just two chapters on, in Deuteronomy 34:6, we will be told that his bones were buried "in the valley in the land of Mo-Av, opposite Beit-Pe'or, and no one to this day knows the location of his grave."

AHARON: So Aharon, who is really Hor (Horus) reigns on the summit of Mount Hor, and Mosheh, the father of the Beney Yisra-El, on Mount Hebrews. Perfect symmetry - except that the third part of the triad is missing. Where is Mir-Yam? See Numbers 20:1. In Kadesh, which means "the holy place". And she was the goddess of the bitter waters, and Kadesh sits beside the Great Bitter Lake. So the the symmetry is indeed complete. And even more so, when we remember that the death of Mir-Yam at Kadesh was... but we don't need to remember it, because the very next verse is going to tell us.

32:51 AL ASHER ME'ALTEM BI BETOCH BENEY YISRA-EL BE MEY MERIVAT KADESH MIDBAR TSIN AL ASHER LO KIDASHTEM OTI BETOCH BENEY YISRA-EL

עַל אֲשֶׁר מְעַלְתֶּם בִּי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמֵי מְרִיבַת קָדֵשׁ מִדְבַּר צִן עַל אֲשֶׁר לֹא קִדַּשְׁתֶּם אוֹתִי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

KJ: Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.

BN: Because you trespassed against me in the midst of the Beney Yisra-El at the waters of Merivat Kadesh, in the wilderness of Tsin; because you did not sanctify me in the midst of the Beney Yisra-El.

ME'ALTEM: Trespass, as in being in someone else's private territory without permission? Yes, I guess that is what Mosheh did at Merivah.

And as to YHVH, he is so completely self-absorbed, so narcissistically egomaniacal, that even in this moment of decreeing Mosheh's death, it is all about him, and how badly he has been treated, and the need to take revenge, even in this way, even to Mosheh; when surely he could say thank you and well done for all his great achievements and his continued loyalty. In his image and his likeness was Humankind surely made!

MERIVAT KADESH: To be treated as a single compound noun, or as noun and adjective?

32:52 KI MI NEGED TIREH ET HA ARETS VE SHAMAH LO TAVO EL HA ARETS ASHER ANI NOTEN LIVNEY YISRA-EL

כִּי מִנֶּגֶד תִּרְאֶה אֶת הָאָרֶץ וְשָׁמָּה לֹא תָבוֹא אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

KJ: Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

BN: For you shall see the land from afar off; but you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the Beney Yisra-El.

pey break

What follows is just the poem, not the prose-completion of the chapter. The translation is identical to the BN above. Every line of text in the Mechon-Mamre version (the one I have used for the prose version, above) ends with either a ס (Samech) or a ר (Reysh), and at the very end a ש (Sheen) - I have not included them here because I have set the song out in the form that these annotations are intended to describe: line endings, verse endings, musical breaks. Psalms does the same, and sometimes has a נ (Nun) as well.

Note the very different grammatical forms throughout the poem as well as the elevated language and lexicon. As always, these variations into sophistication are a help in dating the piece.

pey break

32:1

HA'AZINU HA SHAMAYIM VA ADABERA
VE TISHMA HA ARETS IMREY PHI

הַאֲזִינוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וַאֲדַבֵּרָה
וְתִשְׁמַע הָאָרֶץ אִמְרֵי פִי

KJ (King James translation): Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

BN (BibleNet translation): Give ear, you heavens, and I will speak; and let the Earth hear the words of my mouth.

32:2

YA'AROPH KA MATAR LIK'CHI
TIZAL KA TAL IMRATI
KI SE'IRAH ALEY DESH'E
VE CHI REVIVIM ALEY ESEV

יַעֲרֹף כַּמָּטָר לִקְחִי
תִּזַּל כַּטַּל אִמְרָתִי
כִּשְׂעִירִם עֲלֵי דֶשֶׁא
וְכִרְבִיבִים עֲלֵי עֵשֶׂב

KJ: My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

BN: My words shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew; as the small rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.

32:3

KI SHEM YHVH EKRA
HAVU GODEL LE ELOHEYNU

כִּי שֵׁם יְהוָה אֶקְרָא

הָבוּ גֹדֶל לֵאלֹהֵינוּ

KJ: Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

BN: For I will proclaim the name of YHVH, ascribe greatness to our god.

32:4

HA TSUR TAMIM PA'ALO
KI CHOL DERACHAV MISHPAT
EL EMUNAH VE EYN AVEL
TSADIK VE YASHAN HU

הַצּוּר תָּמִים פָּעֳלוֹ
כִּי כָל דְּרָכָיו מִשְׁפָּט
אֵל אֱמוּנָה וְאֵין עָוֶל
צַדִּיק וְיָשָׁר הוּא

32:5

SHICHET LO LO BANAV MUMAM
DOR IKES U PHETALTOT

שִׁחֵת לוֹ לֹא בָּנָיו מוּמָם
דּוֹר עִקֵּשׁ וּפְתַלְתֹּל

KJ: They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.

BN: Is corruption his? No; the blemish belongs to his children, a generation crooked and perverse.

32:6

HA LE YHVH TIGMELU ZOT
AM NAVAL VE LO CHACHAM
HA LO HU AVICHA KANECHA
HU AS'CHA VA YECHONENECHA

הַ לְיְהוָה תִּגְמְלוּ זֹאת
עַם נָבָל וְלֹא חָכָם
הֲלוֹא הוּא אָבִיךָ קָּנֶךָ
הוּא עָשְׂךָ וַיְכֹנְנֶךָ

32:7

ZECHOR YEMOT OLAM BIYNO SHENOT DOR VA DOR
SHE'AL AVICHA VE YAGDECHA ZEKENEYCHA VE YOMRU LACH

זְכֹר יְמוֹת עוֹלָם בִּינוּ שְׁנוֹת דֹּר וָדֹר
שְׁאַל אָבִיךָ וְיַגֵּדְךָ זְקֵנֶיךָ וְיֹאמְרוּ לָךְ

KJ: Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.

BN: Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will tell you, ask your elders, and they will tell you.

32:8

BE HANCHEL ELYON GOYIM
BE HAPHRIDO BENEY ADAM
YATSEV GEVULOT AMIM
LE MISPAR BENEY YISRA-EL

בְּהַנְחֵל עֶלְיוֹן גּוֹיִם
בְּהַפְרִידוֹ בְּנֵי אָדָם
יַצֵּב גְּבֻלֹת עַמִּים
לְמִסְפַּר בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

כִּי חֵלֶק יְהוָה עַמּוֹ
יַעֲקֹב חֶבֶל נַחֲלָתוֹ

KJ: For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

BN: For YHVH's portion is his people, Ya'akov is the lot of his inheritance.

32:10

YIMTSA'EHU BE ERETS MIDBAR
U VE TOHU YELEL YESHIMON
YESOVEVENHU YEVONENEHU
YITSRENHU KE ISHON EYNO

יִמְצָאֵהוּ בְּאֶרֶץ מִדְבָּר
וּבְתֹהוּ יְלֵל יְשִׁמֹן
יְסֹבְבֶנְהוּ יְבוֹנְנֵהוּ
יִצְּרֶנְהוּ כְּאִישׁוֹן עֵינוֹ

KJ: He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

BN: He found him in a desert land, and in the waste, a howling wilderness; he put his arms around him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

32:11

KE NESHER YA'IR KINO AL GOZALAV YERACHEPH
YIPHROS KENAPHAV YIKACHEHU YISA'EHU AL EVRATO

כְּנֶשֶׁר יָעִיר קִנּוֹ עַל גּוֹזָלָיו יְרַחֵף
יִפְרֹשׂ כְּנָפָיו יִקָּחֵהוּ יִשָּׂאֵהוּ עַל אֶבְרָתוֹ

יְהוָה בָּדָד יַנְחֶנּוּ
וְאֵין עִמּוֹ אֵל נֵכָר

KJ: So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.

BN: YHVH alone led him, and no foreign god was with him.

32:13

YARKIVEHU AL VAMOTEY ARETS
VA YOCHAL TENUVOT SADAY
VA YENIKEHU DVASH MI SELA
VE SHEMEN ME CHALMISH TSUR

יַרְכִּבֵהוּ עַל במותי (בָּמֳתֵי) אָרֶץ
וַיֹּאכַל תְּנוּבֹת שָׂדָי
וַיֵּנִקֵהוּ דְבַשׁ מִסֶּלַע
וְשֶׁמֶן מֵחַלְמִישׁ צוּר

13:14

CHEM'AT BAKAR VA CHALEV TSON
IM CHELEV KARIM VE EYLIM
BENEY VASHAN VE ATUDIM
IM CHELEV KILYOT CHITAH
VE DAM ENAV TISHTEH CHAMER

חֶמְאַת בָּקָר וַחֲלֵב צֹאן
עִם חֵלֶב כָּרִים וְאֵילִים
בְּנֵי בָשָׁן וְעַתּוּדִים
עִם חֵלֶב כִּלְיוֹת חִטָּה
וְדַם עֵנָב תִּשְׁתֶּה חָמֶר

וַיִּשְׁמַן יְשֻׁרוּן וַיִּבְעָט
שָׁמַנְתָּ עָבִיתָ כָּשִׂיתָ
וַיִּטֹּשׁ אֱלוֹהַּ עָשָׂהוּ
וַיְנַבֵּל צוּר יְשֻׁעָתוֹ

יַקְנִאֻהוּ בְּזָרִים
בְּתוֹעֵבֹת יַכְעִיסֻהוּ

KJ: They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.

BN: They roused him to jealousy with strange gods, and provoked him with abominations.

32:17

YIZBECHU LA SHEDIM LO ELOHA
ELOHIM LO YEDA'UM
CHADASHIM MI KAROV BA'U
LO SE'ARUM AVOTEYCHEM

יִזְבְּחוּ לַשֵּׁדִים לֹא אֱלֹהַּ
אֱלֹהִים לֹא יְדָעוּם
חֲדָשִׁים מִקָּרֹב בָּאוּ
לֹא שְׂעָרוּם אֲבֹתֵיכֶם

32:18

TSUR YELADCHA TESHI
VA TISHKACH EL MECHOLELCHA

צוּר יְלָדְךָ תֶּשִׁי
וַתִּשְׁכַּח אֵל מְחֹלְלֶךָ

KJ: Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.

BN: You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you, and forgot that El fathered you.

32:19

VA YAR YHVH VA YINATS
MI KA'AS BANAV U VENOTAV

וַיַּרְא יְהוָה וַיִּנְאָץ
מִכַּעַס בָּנָיו וּבְנֹתָיו

KJ: And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.

BN: But YHVH saw, and spurned, because of the provoking of his sons and his daughters.

32:20

VA YOMER ASTIRAH PHANAY MEY HEM
EREH MAH ACHARITAM
KI DOR TAHEPUCHOT HEMAH
BANIM LO EMUN BAM

וַיֹּאמֶר אַסְתִּירָה פָנַי מֵהֶם
אֶרְאֶה מָה אַחֲרִיתָם
כִּי דוֹר תַּהְפֻּכֹת הֵמָּה
בָּנִים לֹא אֵמֻן בָּם

הֵם קִנְאוּנִי בְלֹא אֵל
כִּעֲסוּנִי בְּהַבְלֵיהֶם
וַאֲנִי אַקְנִיאֵם בְּלֹא עָם
בְּגוֹי נָבָל אַכְעִיסֵם

KJ: They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

BN: They have roused me to jealousy with their no-gods; they have made me angry with their vanities; and I will rouse them to jealousy with a no-people; I will provoke them with a vile nation.

32:22

KI ESH KAD'CHAH VE API
VA TIYKAD AD SHE'OL TACHTIT
VA TOCHAL ERETS VIYVULA
VA TELAHET MOSDEY HARIM

כִּי אֵשׁ קָדְחָה בְאַפִּי
וַתִּיקַד עַד שְׁאוֹל תַּחְתִּית
וַתֹּאכַל אֶרֶץ וִיבֻלָהּ
וַתְּלַהֵט מוֹסְדֵי הָרִים

32:23

ASPEH ALEYMO RA'OT
CHITSAY ACHALEH BAM

אַסְפֶּה עָלֵימוֹ רָעוֹת
חִצַּי אֲכַלֶּה בָּם

KJ: I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.

BN: I will heap evils upon them; I will spend my arrows upon them.

32:24

MEZEY RA'AV U LECHUMEY RESHEPH
VE KETEV MERIRI
VE SHEN BEHEMOT ASHALACH BAM
IM CHAMAT ZOCHALEY APHAR

מְזֵי רָעָב וּלְחֻמֵי רֶשֶׁף
וְקֶטֶב מְרִירִי
וְשֶׁן בְּהֵמֹת אֲשַׁלַּח בָּם
עִם חֲמַת זֹחֲלֵי עָפָר

KJ: They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.

BN: The wasting of hunger, and the devouring of the fiery bolt, and bitter destruction; and the teeth of beasts will I send upon them, with the venom of crawling things of the dust.

32:25

MI CHUTS TESHAKEL CHEREV U MEY CHADARIM EYMAH GAM BACHUR
GAM BETULAH YONEK IM IYSH SEYVAH

מִחוּץ תְּשַׁכֶּל חֶרֶב וּמֵחֲדָרִים אֵימָה גַּם בָּחוּר
גַּם בְּתוּלָה יוֹנֵק עִם אִישׁ שֵׂיבָה

אָמַרְתִּי אַפְאֵיהֶם
אַשְׁבִּיתָה מֵאֱנוֹשׁ זִכְרָם

KJ: I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:

BN: I said: I will make an end of them, I will make their memory cease from among men;

32:27

LULEY KA'AS OYEV AGUR
PEN YENAKRU TSAREYMO
PEN YOMRU YADEYNU RAMAH
VE LO YHVH PA'AL KOL ZOT

לוּלֵי כַּעַס אוֹיֵב אָגוּר
פֶּן יְנַכְּרוּ צָרֵימוֹ
פֶּן יֹאמְרוּ יָדֵנוּ רָמָה
וְלֹא יְהוָה פָּעַל כָּל זֹאת

כִּי גוֹי אֹבַד עֵצוֹת הֵמָּה
וְאֵין בָּהֶם תְּבוּנָה

KJ: For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.

BN: For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them.

32:29

LU CHACHMU YASKIYLU ZOT
YAVIYNU LE ACHARIYTAM

לוּ חָכְמוּ יַשְׂכִּילוּ זֹאת
יָבִינוּ לְאַחֲרִיתָם

KJ: O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!

BN: If they were wise, they would understand this, they would discern their inevitable end.

32:30

EYCHAH YIRDOPH ECHAD ELEPH
U SHENAYIM YANIYSU REVAVAH
IM LO KI TSURAM MECHARAM
VA YHVH HISGIRAM

אֵיכָה יִרְדֹּף אֶחָד אֶלֶף
וּשְׁנַיִם יָנִיסוּ רְבָבָה
אִם לֹא כִּי צוּרָם מְכָרָם
וַיהוָה הִסְגִּירָם

KJ: How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?

BN: How should one person chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had handed them over, unless YHVH had locked them up?

32:31

KI LO CHE TSUREYNU TSURAM
VE OYEVEYNU PELIYLIM

כִּי לֹא כְצוּרֵנוּ צוּרָם
וְאֹיְבֵינוּ פְּלִילִים

KJ: For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.

BN: For their rock is not as our Rock, and our enemies will be our judges.

32:32

KI MI GEPHEN SEDOM GAPHNAM
U MI SHADMOT AMORAH
ANAVEMO INVEY ROSH
ASHKELOT MEROROT LAMO

כִּי מִגֶּפֶן סְדֹם גַּפְנָם
וּמִשַּׁדְמֹת עֲמֹרָה
עֲנָבֵמוֹ עִנְּבֵי רוֹשׁ
אַשְׁכְּלֹת מְרֹרֹת לָמוֹ

32:33

CHAMAT TANIYNIM YEYNAM
VE ROSH PETANIM ACHZAR

חֲמַת תַּנִּינִם יֵינָם
וְרֹאשׁ פְּתָנִים אַכְזָר

KJ: Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.

BN: Their wine is the venom of serpents, and the cruel poison of asps.

32:34

HA LO HU KAMUS IMADI
CHATUM BE OTSROTAY

הֲלֹא הוּא כָּמֻס עִמָּדִי
חָתוּם בְּאוֹצְרֹתָי

KJ: Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?

BN: Is this not laid up in store with me, sealed up in my treasuries?

32:35

LI NAKAM VE SHILEM
LE ET TAMUT RAGLAM
KI KAROV YOM EYDAM
VE CHASH ATIDOT LAMO

לִי נָקָם וְשִׁלֵּם
לְעֵת תָּמוּט רַגְלָם
כִּי קָרוֹב יוֹם אֵידָם
וְחָשׁ עֲתִדֹת לָמוֹ

32:36

KI YADIYN YHVH AMO
VE AL AVADAV YITNECHAM
KI YIREH KI AZLAT YAD
VE EPHES ATSUR VE AZUV

כִּי יָדִין יְהוָה עַמּוֹ
וְעַל עֲבָדָיו יִתְנֶחָם
כִּי יִרְאֶה כִּי אָזְלַת יָד
וְאֶפֶס עָצוּר וְעָזוּב

וְאָמַר אֵי אֱלֹהֵימוֹ
צוּר חָסָיוּ בוֹ

KJ: And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,

BN: And it will be said: Where are their gods, the rock on whom they trusted?

32:38

ASHER CHELEV ZEVACHEYMO YOCHELU
YISHTU YAYIN NESICHAM
YAKUMU VE YA'EZRUCHEM
YEHI ALEYCHEM SITRAH

אֲשֶׁר חֵלֶב זְבָחֵימוֹ יֹאכֵלוּ
יִשְׁתּוּ יֵין נְסִיכָם
יָקוּמוּ וְיַעְזְרֻכֶם
יְהִי עֲלֵיכֶם סִתְרָה

רְאוּ עַתָּה כִּי אֲנִי אֲנִי הוּא
וְאֵין אֱלֹהִים עִמָּדִי
אֲנִי אָמִית וַאֲחַיֶּה
מָחַצְתִּי וַאֲנִי אֶרְפָּא
וְאֵין מִיָּדִי מַצִּיל

32:40

KI ESAH EL SHAMAYIM YADI
VE AMARTI CHAY ANOCHI LE OLAM

כִּי אֶשָּׂא אֶל שָׁמַיִם יָדִי
וְאָמַרְתִּי חַי אָנֹכִי לְעֹלָם

KJ: For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.

BN: For I lift up my hand to the skies and say: I am alive - for ever.

32:41

IM SHANOTI BERAK CHARBI
VE TOCHEZ BE MISHPAT YADI
ASHIV NAKAM LE TSARAY
VE LIMSANAY ASHALEM

אִם שַׁנּוֹתִי בְּרַק חַרְבִּי
וְתֹאחֵז בְּמִשְׁפָּט יָדִי
אָשִׁיב נָקָם לְצָרָי
וְלִמְשַׂנְאַי אֲשַׁלֵּם

אַשְׁכִּיר חִצַּי מִדָּם
וְחַרְבִּי תֹּאכַל בָּשָׂר
מִדַּם חָלָל וְשִׁבְיָה
מֵרֹאשׁ פַּרְעוֹת אוֹיֵב

KJ: I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.

BN: I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh, with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired heads of the enemy.

32:43

HARNINU GOYIM AMO
KI DAM AVADAV YIKUM
VE NAKAM YASHIYV LE TSARAV
VE CHIPER ADMATO AMO

הַרְנִינוּ גוֹיִם עַמּוֹ
כִּי דַם עֲבָדָיו יִקּוֹם
וְנָקָם יָשִׁיב לְצָרָיו
וְכִפֶּר אַדְמָתוֹ עַמּוֹ

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Deuteronomy 32:1-52

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