The Wilderness Years

for I--I have known thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck; lo, in my being yet alive with you to-day, rebellious ye have been with Jehovah, and also surely after my death.

`Assemble unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your authorities, and I speak in their ears these words, and cause to testify against them the heavens and the earth,

for I have known that after my death ye do very corruptly, and have turned aside out of the way which I commanded you, and evil hath met you in the latter end of the days, because ye do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, to make Him angry with the work of your hands.'

And Moses speaketh in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, till their completion: --

`Give ear, O heavens, and I speak; And thou dost hear, O earth, sayings of my mouth!

Drop as rain doth My doctrine; Flow as dew doth My sayings; As storms on the tender grass, And as showers on the herb,

For the Name of Jehovah I proclaim, Ascribe ye greatness to our God!

The Rock! --perfect is His work, For all His ways are just; God of stedfastness, and without iniquity: Righteous and upright is He.

It hath done corruptly to Him; Their blemish is not His sons', A generation perverse and crooked!

To Jehovah do ye act thus, O people foolish and not wise? Is not He thy father--thy possessor? He made thee, and doth establish thee.

Remember days of old--Understand the years of many generations--Ask thy father, and he doth tell thee; Thine elders, and they say to thee:

In the Most High causing nations to inherit, In His separating sons of Adam--He setteth up the borders of the peoples By the number of the sons of Israel.

For Jehovah's portion is His people, Jacob is the line of His inheritance.

He findeth him in a land--a desert, And in a void--a howling wilderness, He turneth him round--He causeth him to understand--He keepeth him as the apple of His eye.

As an eagle waketh up its nest, Over its young ones fluttereth, Spreadeth its wings--taketh them, Beareth them on its pinions; --

Jehovah alone doth lead him, And there is no strange god with him.

He maketh him ride on high places of earth, And he eateth increase of the fields, And He maketh him suck honey from a rock, And oil out of the flint of a rock;

Butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs, and rams, sons of Bashan, And he-goats, with fat of kidneys of wheat; And of the blood of the grape thou dost drink wine!

And Jeshurun waxeth fat, and doth kick: Thou hast been fat--thou hast been thick, Thou hast been covered. And he leaveth God who made him, And dishonoureth the Rock of his salvation.

They make Him zealous with strangers, With abominations they make Him angry.

They sacrifice to demons--no god! Gods they have not known--New ones--from the vicinity they came; Not feared them have your fathers!

The Rock that begat thee thou forgettest, And neglectest God who formeth thee.

And Jehovah seeth and despiseth--For the provocation of His sons and His daughters.

And He saith: I hide My face from them, I see what is their latter end; For a froward generation are they, Sons in whom is no stedfastness.

They have made Me zealous by `no-god,' They made Me angry by their vanities; And I make them zealous by `no-people,' By a foolish nation I make them angry.