Deuteronomy 32:4
in Deuteronomy 32He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The Rock, his work is perfect; For all his ways are justice: A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, Just and right is he.
KJV
He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
⋯
This verse in Deuteronomy 32
Commentary
3 notes on this verseBut he who is on the white horse is called "faithful," not so much because he trusts as because he is trustworthy, that is, he is worthy of being trusted. According to Moses, the Lord is faithful and true. For he is also true in contradistinction to a shadow and a type and an image, since the Word that powers from heaven is true. For the Word on earth is not like the Word in heaven, inasmuch as he has become flesh and is expressed by means of a shadow and types and images.
This site's exposition
He is the Rock, his work is perfect
on Deuteronomy 32:4-6
This is where God is given the name Rock, and the song then uses it at verses 15, 18, 30 and 31, with the enemies' rock set against it at verse 37. Numbers 20:7-11 has Moses striking a rock for water inside the forty years he is retelling, and 1 Corinthians 10:4 says of that rock that it was Christ. Verse 6 asks whether this is how a father is repaid, and it lists three things done for the people, bought, made and established.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He is the Rock - The word צור tsur is rendered Creator by some eminent critics; and khalyk is the reading in the Arabic Version. Rab. Moses ben Maimon, in his valuable work, Moreh Nebochim, observes that the word צור tsur, which is ordinarily translated rock, signifies origin, fountain, first cause, etc., and in this way it should be translated here: “He is the first principle, his work is perfect.” As he is the cause of all things, he must be infinitely perfect; and consequently all his works must be perfect in their respective kinds.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַצּוּר֙ | hatzur | the rock | H6697 → | 78 times |
| תָּמִ֣ים | tamim | [is] perfect | H8549 → | |
| פָּעֳל֔וֹ | poolo | work his | H6467 → | |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| דְּרָכָ֖יו | derakhav | ways his | H1870 → | 707 times |
| מִשְׁפָּ֑ט | mishpat | [are] justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
| אֵ֤ל | ʾel | a God of | H410 → | 241 times |
| אֱמוּנָה֙ | ʾemunah | faithfulness | H530 → | |
| וְאֵ֣ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| עָ֔וֶל | ʾavel | [is] injustice | H5766 → | |
| צַדִּ֥יק | tzadik | [is] righteous | H6662 → | 206 times |
| וְיָשָׁ֖ר | veyashar | and upright | H3477 → | 119 times |
| הֽוּא׃ | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
הַצּוּר֙the rock
hatzurH6697 →78 times
תָּמִ֣ים[is] perfect
tamimH8549 →
פָּעֳל֔וֹwork his
pooloH6467 →
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
דְּרָכָ֖יוways his
derakhavH1870 →707 times
מִשְׁפָּ֑ט[are] justice
mishpatH4941 →422 times
אֵ֤לa God of
ʾelH410 →241 times
אֱמוּנָה֙faithfulness
ʾemunahH530 →
וְאֵ֣יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
עָ֔וֶל[is] injustice
ʾavelH5766 →
צַדִּ֥יק[is] righteous
tzadikH6662 →206 times
וְיָשָׁ֖רand upright
veyasharH3477 →119 times
הֽוּא׃he
hu'H1931 →1879 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
Isaiah 26:4Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
it leads to
- Psalms 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 12:2
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
- Psalms 62:8
Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Psalms 55:22
Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.
- Psalms 18:2
Through
Daniel 4:37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in…
it leads to
- James 4:6–7
But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Psalms 33:4–5
For the word of the LORD is upright, and all His work is trustworthy.
- James 4:6–7
Through
Psalms 92:15to proclaim, “The LORD is upright; He is my Rock, and in Him there is no unrighteousness.”
it leads to
- Romans 9:14
What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not!
- Romans 9:14
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Faith34 verses
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 2.49.