Deuteronomy 32:5

His people have been unfaithful ¹  to him; they have not acted like his children ²  – this is their sin. ³  They are a perverse ⁴  and deceitful generation.

They have acted corruptly towards him; to their shame they are no longer his children, but a warped and crooked generation.

"They have acted corruptly toward Him, They are not His children, because of their defect; But are a perverse and crooked generation.

"But they have acted corruptly toward him; when they act like that, are they really his children? They are a deceitful and twisted generation.

His messed-up, mixed-up children, his non-children, throw mud at him but none of it sticks.

They have become false, they are not his children, the mark of sin is on them; they are an evil and hard-hearted generation.

yet his degenerate children have dealt falsely with him, a perverse and crooked generation.

"They have corrupted themselves; They are not His children, Because of their blemish: A perverse and crooked generation.

His people have been unfaithful ¹  to him; they have not acted like his children ²  – this is their sin. ³  They are a perverse ⁴  and deceitful generation.

¹ tc The 3rd person masculine singular שָׁחַת (shakhat) is rendered as 3rd person masculine plural by Smr, a reading supported by the plural suffix on מוּם (mum, “defect”) as well as the plural of בֵּן (ben, “sons”).

tn Heb “have acted corruptly” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); NRSV “have dealt falsely.”

² tn Heb “(they are) not his sons.”

³ tn Heb “defect” (so NASB). This highly elliptical line suggests that Israel’s major fault was its failure to act like God’s people; in fact, they acted quite the contrary.

⁴ tn Heb “twisted,” “crooked.” See Ps 18:26.