Deuteronomy 32:23
New International Version
“I will heap calamities on them and spend my arrows against them.

New Living Translation
I will heap disasters upon them and shoot them down with my arrows.

English Standard Version
“‘And I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend my arrows on them;

Berean Standard Bible
I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend My arrows against them.

King James Bible
I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.

New King James Version
‘I will heap disasters on them; I will spend My arrows on them.

New American Standard Bible
‘I will add misfortunes to them; I will use up My arrows on them.

NASB 1995
‘I will heap misfortunes on them; I will use My arrows on them.

NASB 1977
‘I will heap misfortunes on them; I will use My arrows on them.

Legacy Standard Bible
‘I will heap calamities on them; I will exhaust My arrows on them.

Amplified Bible
‘I will heap misfortunes on them; I will use My arrows on them.

Christian Standard Bible
“I will pile disasters on them; I will use up my arrows against them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
I will pile disasters on them; I will use up My arrows against them.

American Standard Version
I will heap evils upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them:

Contemporary English Version
I'll send disaster after disaster to strike you like arrows.

English Revised Version
I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
I will bring one disaster after another on them. I will use up all my arrows on them.

Good News Translation
"'I will bring on them endless disasters and use all my arrows against them.

International Standard Version
I'll bury them in misfortunes and bring them to an end with my arrows.

Majority Standard Bible
I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend My arrows against them.

NET Bible
I will increase their disasters, I will use up my arrows on them.

New Heart English Bible
"I will heap evils on them. I will spend my arrows on them.

Webster's Bible Translation
I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend my arrows upon them.

World English Bible
“I will heap evils on them. I will spend my arrows on them.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
I heap calamities on them, "" I consume My arrows on them.

Young's Literal Translation
I gather upon them evils, Mine arrows I consume upon them.

Smith's Literal Translation
I will gather evils upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
I will heap evils upon them, and will spend my arrows among them.

Catholic Public Domain Version
I will heap evils upon them, and I will expend my arrows among them.

New American Bible
I will heap evils upon them and exhaust all my arrows against them:

New Revised Standard Version
I will heap disasters upon them, spend my arrows against them:
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend my arrows upon them.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And I shall gather evils upon them and I shall feed them my thunderbolts.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
I will heap evils upon them; I will spend Mine arrows upon them;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
I will gather evils upon them, and will fight with my weapons against them.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Song of Moses
22For a fire has been kindled by My anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol; it consumes the earth and its produce, and scorches the foundations of the mountains. 23I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend My arrows against them. 24They will be wasted from hunger and ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague; I will send the fangs of wild beasts against them, with the venom of vipers that slither in the dust.…

Cross References
Jeremiah 6:19
Hear, O earth! I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their own schemes, because they have paid no attention to My word and have rejected My instruction.

Isaiah 13:11
I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the haughtiness of the arrogant and lay low the pride of the ruthless.

Ezekiel 5:16-17
When I shower you with the deadly arrows of famine and destruction that I will send to destroy you, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of food. / I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

Leviticus 26:18-21
And if after all this you will not obey Me, I will proceed to punish you sevenfold for your sins. / I will break down your stubborn pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze, / and your strength will be spent in vain. For your land will not yield its produce, and the trees of the land will not bear their fruit. ...

Amos 4:6-10
“I afflicted all your cities with cleanness of teeth and all your towns with lack of bread, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD. / “I also withheld the rain from you when the harvest was three months away. I sent rain on one city but withheld it from another. One field received rain; another without rain withered. / People staggered from city to city for water to drink, but they were not satisfied; yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD. ...

2 Kings 22:16-17
that this is what the LORD says: I am about to bring calamity on this place and on its people, according to all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read, / because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place and will not be quenched.’

Lamentations 3:47
Panic and pitfall have come upon us—devastation and destruction.

Hosea 13:8
Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast tearing them apart.

Psalm 11:6
On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur; a scorching wind will be their portion.

Isaiah 24:17-18
Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of the earth. / Whoever flees the sound of panic will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Revelation 6:8
Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beasts of the earth.

Matthew 24:7-8
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. / All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Luke 21:11
There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

Revelation 8:7-12
Then the first angel sounded his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, along with a third of the trees and all the green grass. / Then the second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood, / a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. ...


Treasury of Scripture

I will heap mischiefs on them; I will spend my arrows on them.

heap mischiefs

Deuteronomy 28:15
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

Leviticus 26:18,24
And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins…

Isaiah 24:17,18
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth…

spend

Psalm 7:12,13
If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready…

Lamentations 3:13
He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.

Ezekiel 5:16
When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:

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Deuteronomy 32
1. Moses' song, which sets forth God's mercy and vengeance
46. He exhorts them to set their hearts upon it
48. God sends him up to mount Nebo to see the land, and to die














I will heap disasters upon them
The phrase "heap disasters" in the Hebrew text is "אָסִיף עָלֵיהֶם רָעוֹת" (asif alehem ra'ot). The verb "אָסִיף" (asif) means "to add" or "to increase," suggesting an intensification of calamities. This reflects God's righteous judgment upon Israel for their disobedience and idolatry. Historically, this can be seen as a warning to the Israelites, who were prone to turning away from God despite His continuous guidance and blessings. The disasters mentioned are not arbitrary but are a direct consequence of the covenantal relationship between God and His people, where blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience (Deuteronomy 28).

I will spend My arrows against them
The imagery of "arrows" in the Hebrew "אֲכַלֶּה בָּם חִצַּי" (akhaleh bam chitzai) is a powerful metaphor for divine judgment. Arrows in ancient warfare were instruments of precision and destruction, often used by skilled archers to strike from a distance. Here, they symbolize the various forms of divine retribution that God would unleash upon Israel. The phrase "spend My arrows" suggests a complete and exhaustive use of God's arsenal of judgments, indicating that His patience has limits. This serves as a sobering reminder of the seriousness of sin and the certainty of divine justice. In the broader scriptural context, arrows are often associated with God's wrath (Psalm 7:13, Lamentations 3:12-13), emphasizing the severity of turning away from His commandments.

(23) Mischiefs.--Literally, ills. Comp. Ezekiel 5:16 : "I will send upon them the evil arrows of famine . . . I will increase the famine upon them."

Verse 23. - I will spend mine arrows upon them; I will inflict on them so many calamities that none shall remain. The evils sent on men by God are represented as arrows shot on them from above. (Cf. ver. 42; Job 6:4; Psalm 7:13; Psalm 38:2; Psalm 45:5; Psalm 58:7; Zechariah 9:14; Homer, 'Iliad,' 1:45, etc.)

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
I will heap
אַסְפֶּ֥ה (’as·peh)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 5595: To sweep or snatch away, catch up

disasters
רָע֑וֹת (rā·‘ō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 7451: Bad, evil

upon them;
עָלֵ֖ימוֹ (‘ā·lê·mōw)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

I will spend
אֲכַלֶּה־ (’ă·ḵal·leh-)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 3615: To be complete, at an end, finished, accomplished, or spent

My arrows
חִצַּ֖י (ḥiṣ·ṣay)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 2671: A piercer, an arrow, a wound, thunderbolt, the shaft of a, spear

against them.
בָּֽם׃ (bām)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew


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OT Law: Deuteronomy 32:23 I will heap evils on them (Deut. De Du)
Deuteronomy 32:22
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