Deuteronomy 28:36
in Deuteronomy 28The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
KJV
The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 28
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
The LORD will afflict you with painful, incurable boils on your knees and thighs
on Deuteronomy 28:35-37
Verse 36 brings the king into the curse, his one appearance here, with the king law of 17:14-20 behind it. 2 Kings 24:15 and 25:7 record two kings of Judah carried off.
This site's exposition
gods of wood and stone
Henry and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the service of gods of wood and stone as the sin turned into the sentence. Henry cites Daniel 3:6, the furnace of Babylon. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown cite Jeremiah 44:17-19, where exiles in Egypt burned incense to the Queen of Heaven.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Thy king - The calamity shall be both universal, which even thy king shall not be able to avoid, much less the subjects, who have far less advantage and opportunity for escape; and irrecoverable, because he who should protect or rescue them is lost with them, Lam. iv, 10. Wood and stone - So what formerly was their choice and delight now becomes their plague and misery.
And the Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shall set over thee,....
Note, God often makes men's sin their punishment, and chooses their delusions. You shall serve other gods, that is, "You shall serve those that do serve them;" a nation is often in scripture called by the name of its gods, as Jer. xlviii.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Can any thing be conceived more dreadful than the calamities threatened in these verses?
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יוֹלֵ֨ךְ | yolekh | he will lead | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֹֽתְךָ֗ | ʾotekha | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְאֶֽת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַלְכְּךָ֙ | malkekha | king your | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תָּקִ֣ים | takim | you will raise up | H6965 → | 628 times |
| עָלֶ֔יךָ | ʾaleikha | over you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| גּ֕וֹי | goy | a nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָדַ֖עְתָּ | yada'ta | you have known | H3045 → | 945 times |
| אַתָּ֣ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וַאֲבֹתֶ֑יךָ | vaavoteikha | and ancestors your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְעָבַ֥דְתָּ | veavadta | and you will serve | H5647 → | 288 times |
| שָּׁ֛ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֥ים | ʾelohim | gods | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲחֵרִ֖ים | ʾacherim | other | H312 → | 166 times |
| עֵ֥ץ | ʾetz | wood | H6086 → | 328 times |
| וָאָֽבֶן׃ | vaaven | and stone | H68 → | 273 times |
יוֹלֵ֨ךְhe will lead
yolekhH1980 →1546 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֹֽתְךָ֗<obj.> you
ʾotekhaH853 →10935 times
וְאֶֽת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מַלְכְּךָ֙king your
malkekhaH4428 →2525 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תָּקִ֣יםyou will raise up
takimH6965 →628 times
עָלֶ֔יךָover you
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
גּ֕וֹיa nation
goyH1471 →561 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָדַ֖עְתָּyou have known
yada'taH3045 →945 times
אַתָּ֣הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
וַאֲבֹתֶ֑יךָand ancestors your
vaavoteikhaH1 →1212 times
וְעָבַ֥דְתָּand you will serve
veavadtaH5647 →288 times
שָּׁ֛םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
אֱלֹהִ֥יםgods
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אֲחֵרִ֖יםother
ʾacherimH312 →166 times
עֵ֥ץwood
ʾetzH6086 →328 times
וָאָֽבֶן׃and stone
vaavenH68 →273 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 4:28And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:64
Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you…
- Jeremiah 16:13
So I will cast you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you…
- Isaiah 46:7
They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not…
- Deuteronomy 28:64
Through
Jeremiah 16:13So I will cast you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 4:26–28
I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it,…
- Jeremiah 15:14
Then I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know, for My anger will kindle a fire that will burn against you.”
- Jeremiah 17:4
And you yourself will relinquish the inheritance that I gave you. I will enslave you to your enemies in a land that you do not know, for you have kindled My anger; it will…
- 2 Chronicles 7:20
then I will uproot Israel from the soil I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. I will make it an object of…
- Deuteronomy 4:26–28
Through
2 Chronicles 36:20Those who escaped the sword were carried by Nebuchadnezzar into exile in Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 27:7
All nations will serve him and his son and grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will enslave him.
- Jeremiah 27:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
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About Deuteronomy

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
