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Deuteronomy 32:41

in Deuteronomy 32

when I sharpen My flashing sword, and My hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on My adversaries and repay those who hate Me.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

If I whet my glittering sword, And my hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine adversaries, And will recompense them that hate me.

KJV

If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.

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This verse in Deuteronomy 32

Commentary

2 notes on this verse
If I whet my glittering sword,.... That is, I will do it as sure as I live, if I do not, be it so and so; what that is is not said, but left to be concluded. A glittering sword is a sword drawn, the blade of it drawn out of the scabbard, cleaned and polished, whetted and made sharp, that it may more easily penetrate and pierce; and this, being brandished, glitters like lightning, as the word used signifies.

This site's exposition

If I whet my glittering sword

on Deuteronomy 32:41-42

The last clause of verse 42 is hard in Hebrew, and the King James reads from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy where other translators give the long haired heads of the enemy, taking the word for the hair of a man under a vow. Isaiah 34:5-6 and 63:1-6 work the same picture of a sword and a stained garment, and Revelation 19:11-15 hands it to the rider on the white horse. The judgment in these two verses falls on the adversaries rather than on Israel, which is the hinge into verse 43.

The words behind it

12 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • אִם־if

    ʾim-H518 →1069 times

  • שַׁנּוֹתִי֙I sharpen

    shanotiH8150 →

  • בְּרַ֣ק[the] lightning of

    berakH1300 →

  • חַרְבִּ֔יsword my

    charbiH2719 →413 times

  • וְתֹאחֵ֥זso it may take hold

    vetochezH270 →

  • בְּמִשְׁפָּ֖טon judgment

    bemishpatH4941 →422 times

  • יָדִ֑יhand my

    yadiH3027 →1618 times

  • אָשִׁ֤יבI will return

    ʾashivH7725 →1056 times

  • נָקָם֙vengeance

    nakamH5359 →17 times

  • לְצָרָ֔יto foes my

    letzaraiH6862 →109 times

  • וְלִמְשַׂנְאַ֖יand to [those who] hate me

    velimsanaiH8130 →146 times

  • אֲשַׁלֵּֽם׃I will repay

    ʾashalemH7999 →116 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Psalms 31:23Love the LORD, all His saints. The LORD preserves the faithful, but fully repays the arrogant.6 worksIsaiah 66:16For by fire and by His sword, the LORD will execute judgment on all flesh, and many will be slain by the LORD.5 worksIsaiah 34:5–6When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.4 worksJob 20:25It is drawn out of his back, the gleaming point from his liver. Terrors come over him.4 worksPsalms 7:12If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.4 worksExodus 20:5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Isaiah 27:1In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.3 works2 Chronicles 19:2Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to confront him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, the wrath of the LORD is upon you.3 works2 Timothy 3:4traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,2 worksIsaiah 1:24Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah, I will be relieved of My foes and avenge Myself on My enemies.2 worksZephaniah 2:12“You too, O Cushites, will be slain by My sword.”2 worksRomans 1:30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents.2 worksRomans 8:7because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.2 worksDeuteronomy 5:9You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,2 worksJeremiah 50:29Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.2 worksIsaiah 66:6Hear the uproar from the city; listen to the voice from the temple! It is the voice of the LORD, repaying His enemies what they deserve!2 worksDeuteronomy 32:35Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”2 worksMark 1:2As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.”2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Exodus 20:5

    You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 5:9

      You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…

    • Numbers 14:18

      ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon…

    • Deuteronomy 4:24

      For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

    • Exodus 34:14

      For you must not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

    • Joshua 24:19

      But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your rebellion or your sins.

  • Through

    Isaiah 27:1

    In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 51:9

      Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the…

    • Isaiah 66:16

      For by fire and by His sword, the LORD will execute judgment on all flesh, and many will be slain by the LORD.

    • Ezekiel 29:3

      Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says,…

Where this verse is studied

About Deuteronomy

Moses Comes Down from Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Moses Comes Down from Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Deuteronomy: the study guide →Read Deuteronomy 32 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.

Read on in Deuteronomy 32 →