“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.”
My Notes
What Does Deuteronomy 32:35 Mean?
Moses declares a fundamental principle of divine sovereignty: to me belongeth vengeance, and recompence. The vengeance is God's — not yours. The recompense is his to deliver — not yours to execute.
"Their foot shall slide in due time" — the wicked are standing on slippery ground. The sliding is inevitable. It is only a matter of timing — due time. God's timing. Not immediate, but certain.
"The things that shall come upon them make haste" — although the timing is God's (due time), the arrival will be swift. When the moment comes, the consequences rush in. The delay is not slowness. It is precision timing followed by rapid execution.
Paul quotes this verse in Romans 12:19: vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. The principle is carried into the New Testament and applied to Christian ethics: do not take vengeance. Leave it to God. He owns it.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does 'to me belongeth vengeance' free you from the burden of seeking revenge?
- 2.What does 'their foot shall slide in due time' mean for patience with apparent injustice?
- 3.How is the delay of justice actually precision timing rather than divine indifference?
- 4.Where are you holding onto vengeance that this verse says belongs to God?
Devotional
To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence. The vengeance belongs to God. Not to you. Not to any human system. To God. The settling of accounts is his exclusive right.
Their foot shall slide in due time. The wicked are standing on a slope. The ground beneath them is already slick. The sliding has not happened yet — but it will. In due time. God's due time. Not early, not late. Exactly when the precision of divine justice determines.
The things that shall come upon them make haste. When the time arrives, the consequences do not creep. They rush. The delay that felt like inaction was actually restraint. And when the restraint is removed, the justice is swift.
Paul carried this into the New Testament: vengeance is mine, I will repay. The application is direct: do not take revenge. The account belongs to God. The repayment is his. You are not the collection agency. He is.
Where are you trying to execute vengeance that belongs to God? Where are you frustrated by the delay when the due time has not yet arrived? The foot will slide. The consequences will hasten. But the timing — and the vengeance — belong to the one whose justice is perfect.
Let it go. It belongs to him.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
For the Lord shall judge his people,.... The true church and members of it, in opposition to the false and apostate…
Song of Moses If Deu 32:1-3 be regarded as the introduction, and Deu 32:43 as the conclusion, the main contents of the…
After many terrible threatenings of deserved wrath and vengeance, we have here surprising intimations of mercy,…
Mine are vengeance, etc.] Sam. and LXX read for the day of vengeance, etc.; and perhaps rightly, see Ginsburg, Intr.p.…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture