22 For fire has been kindled because of my anger

and burns to the depths of Sheol;l

it devours the land and its produce,

and scorches the foundations of the mountains.

23 “I will pile disasters on them;

I will use up my arrows against them.

24 They will be weak from hunger,

ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague;

I will unleash on them wild beasts with fangs,

as well as venomous snakes that slither in the dust.

25 Outside, the sword will take their children,

and inside, there will be terror;

the young man and the young woman will be killed,

the infant and the gray-haired man.m

26 “I would have said: I will cut them to piecesH

and blot out the memory of them from mankind,n

27 if I had not feared provocation from the enemy,

or feared that these foes might misunderstand

and say, ‘Our own hand has prevailed;

it wasn’t the Lord who did all this.’ ”

28 Israel is a nation lacking sense

with no understanding at all.o

29 If only they were wise, they would comprehend this;

they would understand their fate.

30 How could one pursue a thousand,

or two put ten thousand to flight,p

unless their Rock had sold them,

unless the Lord had given them up?q

31 But their “rock” is not like our Rock,

as even our enemies concede.

32 For their vine is from the vine of Sodom

and from the fields of Gomorrah.

Their grapes are poisonous;

their clusters are bitter.

33 Their wine is serpents’ venom,

the deadly poison of cobras.a

34 “Is it not stored up with me,

sealed up in my vaults?

35 Vengeance belongs to me;A I will repay.B,b

In time their foot will slip,

for their day of disaster is near,

and their doom is coming quickly.”

36 The Lord will indeed vindicate his people

and have compassion on his servantsc

when he sees that their strength is gone

and no one is left—slave or free.C

37 He will say, “Where are their gods,

the ‘rock’ they found refuge in?

38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices

and drank the wine of their drink offerings?

Let them rise up and help you;

let itD be a shelter for you.

39 See now that I alone am he;

there is no God but me.d

I bring death and I give life;

I wound and I heal.

No one can rescue anyone from my power.e

40 I raise my hand to heaven and declare:

As surely as I live forever,

41 when I sharpen my flashing sword,

and my hand takes hold of judgment,

I will take vengeance on my adversaries

and repay those who hate me.

42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood

while my sword devours flesh—

the blood of the slain and the captives,

the heads of the enemy leaders.”E

43 Rejoice, you nations, concerning his people,* f

for he will avenge the blood of his servants.G

He will take vengeance on his adversaries;* g

he will purify his land and his people.I

44 Moses came with Joshua* son of Nun and recited all the words of this song in the presence of the people. 45 After Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all these words I am giving as a warning to you today,h so that you may command your children to follow all the words of this law carefully.i 47 For they are not meaningless words to you but they are your life,j and by them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

MOSES’S IMPENDING DEATH

48 On that same day the Lord spoke to Moses,k 49 “Go up Mount Nebol in the Abarim range in the land of Moab, across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan I am giving the Israelites as a possession. 50 Then you will die on the mountain that you go up, and you will be gathered to your people,m just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.n 51 For both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the Waters of Meribath-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin by failing to treat me as holy in their presence. 52 Although from a distance you will view the land that I am giving the Israelites, you will not go there.”o