Deuteronomy 31:18
in Deuteronomy 31And on that day I will surely hide My face because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evil which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.
KJV
And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 31
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
You will soon rest with your fathers
on Deuteronomy 31:16-18
God tells Moses what the nation will do before it enters the land. The words are those of a broken marriage, “prostitute themselves with the foreign gods”, the figure Hosea builds a book on, and the judgment is withdrawal, “hide My face from them”. The people are quoted in advance naming the cause, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown tie the hidden face to the second temple's lack of the Shekinah.
This site's exposition
I will surely hide My face
Surely renders a doubled Hebrew verb, haster astir, in which the verb hide stands twice. The doubling marks certainty. The Talmud at Chullin 139b hears the name Esther in these words, the book in which God is never named and Israel is still preserved.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), which would be such manifest indications of God's displeasure against them that they themselves would be constrained to own it: Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us? Those that have sinned away their God will find that thereby they pull all mischiefs upon their own heads.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
I will surely hide my face in that day,....
But, if God hide his face from us and our prayers, we are undone. He directs Moses to deliver them a song, in the composing of which he should be divinely inspired, and which should remain a standing testimony for God as faithful to them in giving them warning, and against them as persons false to themselves in not taking the warning,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the Lord said unto Moses, . . . this people will rise up--In this remarkable interview, Moses was distinctly apprised of the infidelity of Israel, their corruptions of the true religion through intercourse with the idolatrous inhabitants of Canaan (Am 5:26), and their chastisements in consequence of those national defections.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
I will surely hide my face - Withdraw my approbation and my protection. This is a general meaning of the word in Scripture.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָנֹכִ֗י | veanokhi | and I | H595 → | 359 times |
| הַסְתֵּ֨ר | haster | certainly <to hide> | H5641 → | 80 times |
| אַסְתִּ֤יר | ʾastir | I will hide | H5641 → | 80 times |
| פָּנַי֙ | panai | face my | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֔וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| עַ֥ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָרָעָ֖ה | haraah | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשָׂ֑ה | ʾasah | it has done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| פָנָ֔ה | fanah | it has turned | H6437 → | 135 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | gods | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲחֵרִֽים׃ | ʾacherim | other | H312 → | 166 times |
וְאָנֹכִ֗יand I
veanokhiH595 →359 times
הַסְתֵּ֨רcertainly <to hide>
hasterH5641 →80 times
אַסְתִּ֤ירI will hide
ʾastirH5641 →80 times
פָּנַי֙face my
panaiH6440 →2123 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֔וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
עַ֥לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָרָעָ֖הthe evil
haraahH7451 →662 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָשָׂ֑הit has done
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
פָנָ֔הit has turned
fanahH6437 →135 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםgods
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אֲחֵרִֽים׃other
ʾacherimH312 →166 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Babylonian Talmud, Chullin 139b; Hebrew text, Deuteronomy 31:18; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.