הַאֲזִ֥ינוּ הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וַאֲדַבֵּ֑רָה וְתִשְׁמַ֥ע הָאָ֖רֶץ אִמְרֵי־פִֽי׃

The song begins with an introduction: Listen, the heavens, and I will speak, and the earth will hear the sayings of my mouth. Moses asks the heavens and the earth to bear witness to his speech. This is not the first time that he does so, as the heavens and the earth are ever present and may bear eternal witness (see 4:26). Moses’ lofty status affords him the authority to command the heavens and the earth to listen to him.

יַעֲרֹ֤ף כַּמָּטָר֙ לִקְחִ֔י תִּזַּ֥ל כַּטַּ֖ל אִמְרָתִ֑י כִּשְׂעִירִ֣ם עֲלֵי־דֶ֔שֶׁא וְכִרְבִיבִ֖ים עֲלֵי־עֵֽשֶׂב׃

My lesson will fall as the rain, and in parallel, my saying will flow like dew, like rainstorms on grass, and like raindrops on vegetation. The lesson refers to harsh words containing elements of rebuke, which will bombard the people like torrential rain, while the mild sayings will fall upon them gently, like dew.

כִּ֛י שֵׁ֥ם יְהוָ֖ה אֶקְרָ֑א הָב֥וּ גֹ֖דֶל לֵאלֹהֵֽינוּ׃

I am going to call the name of God and speak of Him. When I proclaim the name of the Lord, you must acclaim greatness to our God. My proclamation of His name obligates you, who will hear it, to ascribe honor and praise to God.

הַצּוּר֙ תָּמִ֣ים פָּעֳל֔וֹ כִּ֥י כָל־דְּרָכָ֖יו מִשְׁפָּ֑ט אֵ֤ל אֱמוּנָה֙ וְאֵ֣ין עָ֔וֶל צַדִּ֥יק וְיָשָׁ֖ר הֽוּא׃

Moses begins to speak of God: The Rock, a metaphor for God that symbolizes His strength, or perhaps the fact that He is the source of existence, His actions are perfect, as all His ways are justice: He is a faithful God, and there is no injustice with Him; righteous and upright is He. Aside from God’s strength, glory, and perfection, all of His actions are founded on the principles of loyalty and justice, even if it may sometimes seem otherwise to mankind.

שִׁחֵ֥ת ל֛וֹ לֹ֖א בָּנָ֣יו מוּמָ֑ם דּ֥וֹר עִקֵּ֖שׁ וּפְתַלְתֹּֽל׃

It is they who corrupted, for corruption is not from Him; His children, it is their blemish. Atrocities occur in this world not because God performs evil, but because His children are a crooked and twisted generation. They distort reality to justify their crookedness.

הֲ־לַיְהוָה֙ תִּגְמְלוּ־זֹ֔את עַ֥ם נָבָ֖ל וְלֹ֣א חָכָ֑ם הֲלוֹא־הוּא֙ אָבִ֣יךָ קָּנֶ֔ךָ ה֥וּא עָֽשְׂךָ֖ וַֽיְכֹנְנֶֽךָ׃

Will you repay the Lord with this, your evil deeds, crude and unwise people? You are causing harm only to yourselves. The corruption in the world is merely a response to man’s evil ways. Is He not your Father and your Redeemer, who redeemed you from Egypt? He made you, and He established you.

זְכֹר֙ יְמ֣וֹת עוֹלָ֔ם בִּ֖ינוּ שְׁנ֣וֹת דּוֹר־וָד֑וֹר שְׁאַ֤ל אָבִ֙יךָ֙ וְיַגֵּ֔דְךָ זְקֵנֶ֖יךָ וְיֹ֥אמְרוּ לָֽךְ׃

Moses reminds Israel of God’s kindness: Remember the days of yore; examine the events of the years of each generation, the earlier generations in particular. Ask your father, and he will tell you, your elders, and they will say to you. Moses is about to recount events that are well-known to his audience. This song, however, is not addressed only to the people standing before Moses, but to all generations. Moses therefore stresses: In the distant future, when some of these matters will have been forgotten, ask your parents and your elders to recount them for you.

בְּהַנְחֵ֤ל עֶלְיוֹן֙ גּוֹיִ֔ם בְּהַפְרִיד֖וֹ בְּנֵ֣י אָדָ֑ם יַצֵּב֙ גְּבֻלֹ֣ת עַמִּ֔ים לְמִסְפַּ֖ר בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

When the Most High bequeathed the various lands and characteristics to the nations, when He separated the children of man into tribes and nations, He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel. God divided mankind into seventy nations; seventy is also the number of individuals who descended with Jacob to Egypt. Other commentaries explain that Canaan and his sons, who inhabited the land of Canaan, numbered twelve, corresponding to the sons of Jacob.

כִּ֛י חֵ֥לֶק יְהֹוָ֖ה עַמּ֑וֹ יַעֲקֹ֖ב חֶ֥בֶל נַחֲלָתֽוֹ׃

For the portion of the Lord is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.

יִמְצָאֵ֙הוּ֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִדְבָּ֔ר וּבְתֹ֖הוּ יְלֵ֣ל יְשִׁמֹ֑ן יְסֹֽבְבֶ֙נְהוּ֙ יְב֣וֹנְנֵ֔הוּ יִצְּרֶ֖נְהוּ כְּאִישׁ֥וֹן עֵינֽוֹ׃

He would find him, Jacob, in a wilderness land, and in emptiness, a howling wasteland. Although it was God who led the people to the wilderness, it was there that He adopted them as His portion and inheritance. He would encircle him protectively, He would grant him understanding, He preserved him like the pupil of His eye, as it were. God’s protection of Israel is compared to the most important, most constant, and most natural form of protection.

כְּנֶ֙שֶׁר֙ יָעִ֣יר קִנּ֔וֹ עַל־גּוֹזָלָ֖יו יְרַחֵ֑ף יִפְרֹ֤שׂ כְּנָפָיו֙ יִקָּחֵ֔הוּ יִשָּׂאֵ֖הוּ עַל־אֶבְרָתֽוֹ׃

Like an eagle that would rouse its nest, over its fledglings it would hover. Due to its size, the eagle does not rest upon its fledglings; rather, it circles them from above. When it finally approaches the nest, it situates itself adjacent to and above the nest, and thereby avoids landing inside the nest. It would spread its wings and take it, meaning the fledglings, and it would carry it on its pinions. God carried Israel through the wilderness in this manner.

יְהוָ֖ה בָּדָ֣ד יַנְחֶ֑נּוּ וְאֵ֥ין עִמּ֖וֹ אֵ֥ל נֵכָֽר׃

The Lord alone would lead him. Alternatively, God led Israel when Israel was alone; the people relied on God and did not need assistance from others. And there was no foreign god with Him.

יַרְכִּבֵ֙הוּ֙ עַל־במותי [בָּ֣מֳתֵי] אָ֔רֶץ וַיֹּאכַ֖ל תְּנוּבֹ֣ת שָׂדָ֑י וַיֵּנִקֵ֤הֽוּ דְבַשׁ֙ מִסֶּ֔לַע וְשֶׁ֖מֶן מֵחַלְמִ֥ישׁ צֽוּר׃

He would mount him on the elevations of the earth, and he, Israel, ate the yield of the field, meaning the manna, water, and quail provided for them in the wilderness. He suckled him honey from a stone, and oil from a flinty rock.

חֶמְאַ֨ת בָּקָ֜ר וַחֲלֵ֣ב צֹ֗אן עִם־חֵ֨לֶב כָּרִ֜ים וְאֵילִ֤ים בְּנֵֽי־בָשָׁן֙ וְעַתּוּדִ֔ים עִם־חֵ֖לֶב כִּלְי֣וֹת חִטָּ֑ה וְדַם־עֵנָ֖ב תִּשְׁתֶּה־חָֽמֶר׃

The people also received butter of cattle, and milk of sheep, with fat of large lambs, and rams of the Bashan, a fertile region in which exceptional crops and animals grow, and goats, with wheat fat as kidneys. The wheat kernels evoke kidneys, perhaps because of the groove running through them. And the

וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ן יְשֻׁרוּן֙ וַיִּבְעָ֔ט שָׁמַ֖נְתָּ עָבִ֣יתָ כָּשִׂ֑יתָ וַיִּטֹּשׁ֙ אֱל֣וֹהַ עָשָׂ֔הוּ וַיְנַבֵּ֖ל צ֥וּר יְשֻׁעָתֽוֹ׃

However, precisely because of this tremendous wealth and luxury, Yeshurun grew fat and kicked; Yeshurun rejected and disregarded its God. The name Yeshurun, which refers to the children of Israel, will appear again later. You became fat, you thickened, you grew obese; he, Yeshurun, forsook God his Maker, viewing God as no longer relevant, and reviled the Rock of his salvation.

יַקְנִאֻ֖הוּ בְּזָרִ֑ים בְּתוֹעֵבֹ֖ת יַכְעִיסֻֽהוּ׃

They, the children of Israel, would anger God and infuriate Him with their worship of strangers, other gods; with abominations they anger Him.

יִזְבְּח֗וּ לַשֵּׁדִים֙ לֹ֣א אֱלֹ֔הַ אֱלֹהִ֖ים לֹ֣א יְדָע֑וּם חֲדָשִׁים֙ מִקָּרֹ֣ב בָּ֔אוּ לֹ֥א שְׂעָר֖וּם אֲבֹתֵיכֶֽם׃

Those who practiced idolatry did not worship only strange gods; they would even slaughter to demons, which they knew were a non-god. Nevertheless, they sacrificed to demons in order to find favor in their eyes. Due to the influence of the surrounding nations, they would worship gods that they did not know, new ones that came recently; your fathers did not consider them . Alternatively, your fathers did not fear them, or your fathers had no dealings with them.

צ֥וּר יְלָדְךָ֖ תֶּ֑שִׁי וַתִּשְׁכַּ֖ח אֵ֥ל מְחֹלְלֶֽךָ׃

In contrast, the Rock that gave birth to you, you forsook, and you forgot God, your Originator.

וַיַּ֥רְא יְהוָ֖ה וַיִּנְאָ֑ץ מִכַּ֥עַס בָּנָ֖יו וּבְנֹתָֽיו׃

The Lord saw and scorned, due to the anger caused by the idolatrous ways of His sons and His daughters.

וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אַסְתִּ֤ירָה פָנַי֙ מֵהֶ֔ם אֶרְאֶ֖ה מָ֣ה אַחֲרִיתָ֑ם כִּ֣י ד֤וֹר תַּהְפֻּכֹת֙ הֵ֔מָּה בָּנִ֖ים לֹא־אֵמֻ֥ן בָּֽם׃

He, God, said: I will conceal My face from them. I will not reveal Myself to them, and I will remove My providence from them. I will see what their end is. As God is aware of everything that will befall them, this is clearly a rhetorical statement, meaning: Without My guidance and intervention they will not survive. As they are a generation of fickleness, children in whom there is no faithfulness.

הֵ֚ם קִנְא֣וּנִי בְלֹא־אֵ֔ל כִּעֲס֖וּנִי בְּהַבְלֵיהֶ֑ם וַאֲנִי֙ אַקְנִיאֵ֣ם בְּלֹא־עָ֔ם בְּג֥וֹי נָבָ֖ל אַכְעִיסֵֽם׃

They have infuriated Me with their allegiance to a non-god, which has no significance or power whatsoever. They have angered Me with their futilities, as idolatry involves a primitive belief in charms and fortunes. And therefore, in a similar manner, I will infuriate them with a non-people, an enemy that is not a genuine nation. With a crude nation, a mixture of ignoble peoples, I will anger them.

כִּי־אֵשׁ֙ קָדְחָ֣ה בְאַפִּ֔י וַתִּיקַ֖ד עַד־שְׁא֣וֹל תַּחְתִּ֑ית וַתֹּ֤אכַל אֶ֙רֶץ֙ וִֽיבֻלָ֔הּ וַתְּלַהֵ֖ט מוֹסְדֵ֥י הָרִֽים׃

For I was enraged; a fire blazed in My nostrils, and it burned to the lowest depths, and it consumed the earth and its produce, and set ablaze the foundations of mountains. The fire of My anger will shock the entire world.

אַסְפֶּ֥ה עָלֵ֖ימוֹ רָע֑וֹת חִצַּ֖י אֲכַלֶּה־בָּֽם׃

I will add evils upon them aside from those already mentioned; I will exhaust all My arrows, instruments of My punishment, on them. Arrows will rain down upon them until none remain.

מְזֵ֥י רָעָ֛ב וּלְחֻ֥מֵי רֶ֖שֶׁף וְקֶ֣טֶב מְרִירִ֑י וְשֶׁן־בְּהֵמוֹת֙ אֲשַׁלַּח־בָּ֔ם עִם־חֲמַ֖ת זֹחֲלֵ֥י עָפָֽר׃

They, His sons and daughters, will be wasted from hunger, and consumed by demons and evil spirits . Alternatively, they will be consumed by a terrible plague. And the teeth of animals I will also dispatch at them, with the venom of crawlers in the dust. Not only venomous snakes, but even domesticated animals, will bite them. Although this may seem like a milder punishment than the others mentioned here, those attacks will cause them to despair, as they will feel that they are under attack from all directions.

מִחוּץ֙ תְּשַׁכֶּל־חֶ֔רֶב וּמֵחֲדָרִ֖ים אֵימָ֑ה גַּם־בָּחוּר֙ גַּם־בְּתוּלָ֔ה יוֹנֵ֖ק עִם־אִ֥ישׁ שֵׂיבָֽה׃

Outside their homes, the sword will bereave families, and

אָמַ֖רְתִּי אַפְאֵיהֶ֑ם אַשְׁבִּ֥יתָה מֵאֱנ֖וֹשׁ זִכְרָֽם׃

I said I would scatter them [ af’eihem ] across the corners of the earth. The similar word pe’a meaning corners refers to the produce in the corner of the field left for the poor. Alternatively, the verse means: I said I would stab them. I would terminate their memory from man.

לוּלֵ֗י כַּ֤עַס אוֹיֵב֙ אָג֔וּר פֶּֽן־יְנַכְּר֖וּ צָרֵ֑ימוֹ פֶּן־יֹֽאמְרוּ֙ יָדֵ֣ינוּ רָ֔מָה וְלֹ֥א יְהוָ֖ה פָּעַ֥ל כָּל־זֹֽאת׃

Indeed, because of their insolence, ingratitude, and infidelity, I would destroy Israel, were it not that I dread [ agur ] the enemy’s anger. Alternatively, agur means gathered, i.e., were it not that the enemy’s anger was pent up. Yet another interpretation: Were it not that the enemy of Israel was angry. However, under the circumstances, I am concerned lest their adversaries misapprehend, lest they say: Our hand is mighty; with our strength we subdued Israel, and it is not the Lord who did all this.

כִּי־ג֛וֹי אֹבַ֥ד עֵצ֖וֹת הֵ֑מָּה וְאֵ֥ין בָּהֶ֖ם תְּבוּנָֽה׃

For they, Israel’s enemies, are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them. Therefore, they will fail to recognize that their ascent to greatness was not through their own merit but because Israel was involved in those events.

ל֥וּ חָכְמ֖וּ יַשְׂכִּ֣ילוּ זֹ֑את יָבִ֖ינוּ לְאַחֲרִיתָֽם׃

If they, those enemies, were wise, if they contemplated their situation from the outset, they would comprehend this, they would understand their end. They would understand that their victories are the result of Israel’s behavior. Alternatively, they would understand their own end, that their victories are supernatural, and ultimately, they will be held accountable for their sins just as Israel has been held accountable for its sins.

אֵיכָ֞ה יִרְדֹּ֤ף אֶחָד֙ אֶ֔לֶף וּשְׁנַ֖יִם יָנִ֣יסוּ רְבָבָ֑ה אִם־לֹא֙ כִּי־צוּרָ֣ם מְכָרָ֔ם וַֽיהוָ֖ה הִסְגִּירָֽם׃

The enemy would say: How does one of us pursue one thousand of Israel, and two cause ten thousand to flee? How is it that Israel falls so helplessly when facing our small forces, if not that their Rock, God, sold them and the Lord delivered them into our hands? Our victory is not due to our strength, but because God is punishing His people.

כִּ֛י לֹ֥א כְצוּרֵ֖נוּ צוּרָ֑ם וְאֹיְבֵ֖ינוּ פְּלִילִֽים׃

For our Rock is not like their rock, the rock of our enemies is not as strong as our Rock, and nevertheless, our enemies are our judges and administer punishment to us.

כִּֽי־מִגֶּ֤פֶן סְדֹם֙ גַּפְנָ֔ם וּמִשַּׁדְמֹ֖ת עֲמֹרָ֑ה עֲנָבֵ֙מוֹ֙ עִנְּבֵי־ר֔וֹשׁ אַשְׁכְּלֹ֥ת מְרֹרֹ֖ת לָֽמוֹ׃

For their, our enemy’s, vine is from the vine of Sodom, and from the fields of Gomorrah. The source of their philosophy, their spirituality, and their codes of conduct is the evil and corrupt cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of poison, noxious clusters for them.

חֲמַ֥ת תַּנִּינִ֖ם יֵינָ֑ם וְרֹ֥אשׁ פְּתָנִ֖ים אַכְזָֽר׃

The venom of serpents is their wine, and the cruel poison of vipers. Alternatively, the latter phrase may be rendered: And the head, or skull, of cruel vipers. The intense cruelty and venomous hatred to which the people of Israel will be exposed over the course of their exile cannot be accurately expressed even through the harsh words of this song.

הֲלֹא־ה֖וּא כָּמֻ֣ס עִמָּדִ֑י חָתֻ֖ם בְּאוֹצְרֹתָֽי׃

The nature of this hatred will defy explanation: Is this not concealed with Me, sealed in My treasuries? The nations that will treat Israel with cruelty will not understand it; even besieged Israel will be incapable of grasping it. The matter will remain secret.

לִ֤י נָקָם֙ וְשִׁלֵּ֔ם לְעֵ֖ת תָּמ֣וּט רַגְלָ֑ם כִּ֤י קָרוֹב֙ י֣וֹם אֵידָ֔ם וְחָ֖שׁ עֲתִדֹ֥ת לָֽמוֹ׃

Vengeance and recompense are Mine. I will seek vengeance

כִּֽי־יָדִ֤ין יְהוָה֙ עַמּ֔וֹ וְעַל־עֲבָדָ֖יו יִתְנֶחָ֑ם כִּ֤י יִרְאֶה֙ כִּי־אָ֣זְלַת יָ֔ד וְאֶ֖פֶס עָצ֥וּר וְעָזֽוּב׃

When the Lord judges His people after concealing His face from them, and He regrets, as it were, with regard to that which was done to His servants, as the suffering they will have endured due to their abandonment of God will have reached its full measure, when He sees that their power is gone, and there is none protected by the government, or fortified,

וְאָמַ֖ר אֵ֣י אֱלֹהֵ֑ימוֹ צ֖וּר חָסָ֥יוּ בֽוֹ׃

He, God, will say: Where are their gods in whom they placed their faith, the rock in whom they sought refuge? Alternatively, when the people of Israel are redeemed, they will say to the nations: Where are their gods, the rock in which they sought refuge?

אֲשֶׁ֨ר חֵ֤לֶב זְבָחֵ֙ימוֹ֙ יֹאכֵ֔לוּ יִשְׁתּ֖וּ יֵ֣ין נְסִיכָ֑ם יָק֙וּמוּ֙ וְיַעְזְרֻכֶ֔ם יְהִ֥י עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם סִתְרָֽה׃

Where are those gods, the fat of whose offerings they would eat, the wine of whose libations they would drink? They will now arise and help you; it, those gods, will be shelter over you.

רְא֣וּ ׀ עַתָּ֗ה כִּ֣י אֲנִ֤י אֲנִי֙ ה֔וּא וְאֵ֥ין אֱלֹהִ֖ים עִמָּדִ֑י אֲנִ֧י אָמִ֣ית וַאֲחַיֶּ֗ה מָחַ֙צְתִּי֙ וַאֲנִ֣י אֶרְפָּ֔א וְאֵ֥ין מִיָּדִ֖י מַצִּֽיל׃

See now, at the time of the Redemption, when it will become clear to all that there is no substance to those gods whose shelter was sought, that I, I am He, and there is no god with Me. I will kill and I will give life, I crushed and I will heal, and there is no rescuer from My hand; everything is under My control.

כִּֽי־אֶשָּׂ֥א אֶל־שָׁמַ֖יִם יָדִ֑י וְאָמַ֕רְתִּי חַ֥י אָנֹכִ֖י לְעֹלָֽם׃

When I will raise My hand to heaven to take an oath, and I will say: As I live forever. Just as a person taking an oath states: As the Lord lives, so too, when taking an oath, God invokes Himself, as it were.

אִם־שַׁנּוֹתִי֙ בְּרַ֣ק חַרְבִּ֔י וְתֹאחֵ֥ז בְּמִשְׁפָּ֖ט יָדִ֑י אָשִׁ֤יב נָקָם֙ לְצָרָ֔י וְלִמְשַׂנְאַ֖י אֲשַׁלֵּֽם׃

If, or when, I hone My flashing sword when it is removed from its sheath, and My hand will grasp judgment, then I will return vengeance to My enemies, and to those who hate Me I will recompense. Vengeance and recompense will be visited upon the enemies of Israel, as they are My enemies and they hate Me. Although Israel is punished for its sins through its enemies, the latter do not seek to oppress Israel because of those sins. On the contrary, it is the bond between God and Israel and Israel’s desire to call in the name of God and represent Him in this world that drive Israel’s enemies to conspire against it. Therefore, Israel’s enemies attack Israel due to a hatred of God.

אַשְׁכִּ֤יר חִצַּי֙ מִדָּ֔ם וְחַרְבִּ֖י תֹּאכַ֣ל בָּשָׂ֑ר מִדַּ֤ם חָלָל֙ וְשִׁבְיָ֔ה מֵרֹ֖אשׁ פַּרְע֥וֹת אוֹיֵֽב׃

Perhaps then I will intoxicate My arrows with blood, which is likened to wine, and then My sword will devour flesh, and My arrows will be intoxicated from the blood of the slain and the captive, from the heads of the enemy raiders.

הַרְנִ֤ינוּ גוֹיִם֙ עַמּ֔וֹ כִּ֥י דַם־עֲבָדָ֖יו יִקּ֑וֹם וְנָקָם֙ יָשִׁ֣יב לְצָרָ֔יו וְכִפֶּ֥ר אַדְמָת֖וֹ עַמּֽוֹ׃ (פ)

Nations, when God ultimately redeems Israel, acclaim His people, as it will then become clear that even when Israel suffered terribly, God never completely abandoned them; rather, He concealed His face from them so that it appeared that He was not with them. As when God will be revealed, He will avenge the blood of His servants, and He will return vengeance to His adversaries, and He will atone for His land and His people. When God avenges the blood of His servants, His land and His people will be purified. Alternatively, His land will atone for His people when it absorbs the blood of His adversaries, or His people will purify His land through the killing of His murderous adversaries.

וַיָּבֹ֣א מֹשֶׁ֗ה וַיְדַבֵּ֛ר אֶת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֥י הַשִּׁירָֽה־הַזֹּ֖את בְּאָזְנֵ֣י הָעָ֑ם ה֖וּא וְהוֹשֵׁ֥עַ בִּן־נֽוּן׃

Moses came and he spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshe’a son of Nun. Joshua’s original name was Hoshe’a, but Moses changed it to Joshua. Moses and Joshua presented this song to the nation together, primarily to honor Joshua. In this way, Moses publicly completed the process of transferring his authority to Joshua. Hoshe’a, who had been one of the people, assumes his status as Joshua, the next great leader.

וַיְכַ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה לְדַבֵּ֛ר אֶת־כָּל־הַדְּבָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה אֶל־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

Moses finished speaking all these matters to all Israel.

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ שִׂ֣ימוּ לְבַבְכֶ֔ם לְכָל־הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י מֵעִ֥יד בָּכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר תְּצַוֻּם֙ אֶת־בְּנֵיכֶ֔ם לִשְׁמֹ֣ר לַעֲשׂ֔וֹת אֶת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֖י הַתּוֹרָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת׃

He, Moses, again said to them: Set your heart to all the matters that I attest to you today. Diligently observe these matters, and ensure that you will command them to your children, to take care to perform all the words of this Torah in the future. The list of commandments, prohibitions, blessings, curses, and punishments have already been stated in detail. The song of Haazinu does not discuss the details of Israel’s obligations to God; the entire book of Deuteronomy is devoted to those obligations. Rather, the song relates to the general principles of loyalty to God and the observance of His laws.

כִּ֠י לֹֽא־דָבָ֨ר רֵ֥ק הוּא֙ מִכֶּ֔ם כִּי־ה֖וּא חַיֵּיכֶ֑ם וּבַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֗ה תַּאֲרִ֤יכוּ יָמִים֙ עַל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אַתֶּ֜ם עֹבְרִ֧ים אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֛ן שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ (פ)

For it is not an empty thing for you, as it is your life. Your life depends on observing the Torah, as a man suspended above a deep chasm depends on the rope that supports him, or as one who sojourns through the desert depends on his last ration of water. And through this matter you will extend your days on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of it.

וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה בְּעֶ֛צֶם הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃

The Lord spoke to Moses on that very day, the same day that Moses recited the song of Haazinu , and the last day of Moses’ life, saying:

עֲלֵ֡ה אֶל־הַר֩ הָעֲבָרִ֨ים הַזֶּ֜ה הַר־נְב֗וֹ אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מוֹאָ֔ב אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־פְּנֵ֣י יְרֵח֑וֹ וּרְאֵה֙ אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן אֲשֶׁ֨ר אֲנִ֥י נֹתֵ֛ן לִבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לַאֲחֻזָּֽה׃

Ascend to this highland of Avarim, a tall mountain visible from all its sides [ avarav ], Mount Nevo, which is in the land of Moav, which is opposite Jericho. The precise location of this mountain is unknown nowadays. And from the mountain you shall see the land of Canaan that I am giving to the children of Israel as a portion. I will thereby fulfill My promise that you will see the land.

וּמֻ֗ת בָּהָר֙ אֲשֶׁ֤ר אַתָּה֙ עֹלֶ֣ה שָׁ֔מָּה וְהֵאָסֵ֖ף אֶל־עַמֶּ֑יךָ כַּֽאֲשֶׁר־מֵ֞ת אַהֲרֹ֤ן אָחִ֙יךָ֙ בְּהֹ֣ר הָהָ֔ר וַיֵּאָ֖סֶף אֶל־עַמָּֽיו׃

Your ascent upon the mountain is not only to see the land. You are commanded to die on the mountain that you are ascending there, and be gathered to your people, your soul will return to its source. This latter expression is used only in reference to the passing of a righteous individual. And you shall

עַל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר מְעַלְתֶּ֜ם בִּ֗י בְּתוֹךְ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּמֵֽי־מְרִיבַ֥ת קָדֵ֖שׁ מִדְבַּר־צִ֑ן עַ֣ל אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־קִדַּשְׁתֶּם֙ אוֹתִ֔י בְּת֖וֹךְ בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

This is because you trespassed against Me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of dispute of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Tzin; because you did not sanctify Me in the midst of the children of Israel. You should have sanctified Me, but you failed to do so. The punishment for this sin is not your death, which will come about because you have completed your task in this world. The punishment is that after your extraordinary efforts to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the struggles in the wilderness, you will not be privileged to enjoy the inheritance of the land.

כִּ֥י מִנֶּ֖גֶד תִּרְאֶ֣ה אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ וְשָׁ֙מָּה֙ לֹ֣א תָב֔וֹא אֶל־הָאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִ֥י נֹתֵ֖ן לִבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (פ)

For from a distance you will see the land, but there you will not come, to the land that I am giving to the children of Israel.