Deuteronomy 31:16
in Deuteronomy 31And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and play the harlot after the strange gods of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.
KJV
And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 31
Commentary
3 notes on this verseBehold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers - שכב shocheb, thou shalt lie down; it signifies to rest, take rest in sleep, and, metaphorically, to die. Much stress cannot be safely laid on this expression to prove the immortality of the soul, or that the people in the time of Moses had a distinct notion of its separate existence.
This site's exposition
thou shalt sleep with thy fathers
on Deuteronomy 31:16-18
God tells Moses what the nation will do before Moses is dead and before the nation is in the land. The words are the words of a broken marriage, go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land and break my covenant, which is the figure Hosea builds a whole book on. The judgment named is withdrawal, I will hide my face from them, and the people are quoted in advance getting the diagnosis right, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown tie the hidden face to the absence of the Shekinah from the second temple.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Worshipping the gods of the Canaanites (who had been the natives, but henceforward were to be looked upon as the strangers of that land) would undoubtedly be counted a deserting of God, and, like adultery, a violation of the covenant.
The words behind it
28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֔ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| הִנְּךָ֥ | hinekha | here you | H2009 → | 843 times |
| שֹׁכֵ֖ב | shokhev | [are] about to lie down | H7901 → | 212 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| אֲבֹתֶ֑יךָ | ʾavoteikha | ancestors your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְקָם֩ | vekam | and it will arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| הָעָ֨ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַזֶּ֜ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וְזָנָ֣ה׀ | vezanah | and it will act as a prostitute | H2181 → | 94 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֣י׀ | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֣י | ʾelohei | [the] gods of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| נֵֽכַר־ | nekhar- | <the> foreignness of | H5236 → | |
| הָאָ֗רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| ה֤וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| בָא־ | va'- | [is] about to go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| שָׁ֙מָּה֙ | shamah | there towards | H8033 → | 834 times |
| בְּקִרְבּ֔וֹ | bekirbo | in midst its | H7130 → | 227 times |
| וַעֲזָבַ֕נִי | vaazavani | and it will forsake me | H5800 → | 215 times |
| וְהֵפֵר֙ | vehefer | and it will break | H6565 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּרִיתִ֔י | beriti | covenant my | H1285 → | 284 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| כָּרַ֖תִּי | karati | I made | H3772 → | 288 times |
| אִתּֽוֹ׃ | ʾito | with it | H854 → | 929 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֔הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
הִנְּךָ֥here you
hinekhaH2009 →843 times
שֹׁכֵ֖ב[are] about to lie down
shokhevH7901 →212 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
אֲבֹתֶ֑יךָancestors your
ʾavoteikhaH1 →1212 times
וְקָם֩and it will arise
vekamH6965 →628 times
הָעָ֨םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
הַזֶּ֜ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
וְזָנָ֣ה׀and it will act as a prostitute
vezanahH2181 →94 times
אַחֲרֵ֣י׀after
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] gods of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
נֵֽכַר־<the> foreignness of
nekhar-H5236 →
הָאָ֗רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhere
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
ה֤וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
בָא־[is] about to go
va'-H935 →2568 times
שָׁ֙מָּה֙there towards
shamahH8033 →834 times
בְּקִרְבּ֔וֹin midst its
bekirboH7130 →227 times
וַעֲזָבַ֕נִיand it will forsake me
vaazavaniH5800 →215 times
וְהֵפֵר֙and it will break
veheferH6565 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּרִיתִ֔יcovenant my
beritiH1285 →284 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
כָּרַ֖תִּיI made
karatiH3772 →288 times
אִתּֽוֹ׃with it
ʾitoH854 →929 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
Judges 10:13But you have forsaken Me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 2:13
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
- 1 Chronicles 28:9
As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought.…
- Judges 2:12
Thus they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed after various gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down…
- Jeremiah 2:13
Through
Exodus 34:15Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.
it leads to
- Judges 2:17
Israel, however, did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience…
- Psalms 106:28
They yoked themselves to Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.
- 1 Corinthians 8:4
So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one.
- Numbers 25:2
who also invited them to the sacrifices for their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to these gods.
- Judges 2:17
Through
Judges 10:6And again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. They served the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and Philistines. Thus…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 23:13
The king also desecrated the high places east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh…
- 2 Kings 23:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.