Deuteronomy 8:14
in Deuteronomy 8then your heart will become proud, and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget Jehovah thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;
KJV
Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
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This verse in Deuteronomy 8
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
when you eat and are satisfied
on Deuteronomy 8:12-14
Verse 1 promised that they may "live and multiply", and verse 13 uses that Hebrew verb three times, over herds and flocks, silver and gold. What was promised is what endangers them, and here they build the "fine houses" themselves, a harder case than the inherited houses of 6:10-12. The proud heart comes first and forgetting follows, and the thing forgotten is "the house of slavery".
This site's exposition
your heart will become proud
The God who would be forgotten is named by what he did, the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and verses 15 and 16 extend that record through the wilderness. The description is the remedy for the pride it warns of. Matthew Henry reads the proud heart as the mind rising with the estate into self-conceit, and counsels a low spirit in a high condition.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The provision he made for thee in the wilderness, that great and terrible wilderness." They must never forget the impressions which the horror of that wilderness made upon them; see Jer. ii. 6 , where it is called the very shadow of death.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Then thine heart be lifted up,....
When the estate rises, the mind is apt to rise with it, in self-conceit, self-complacency, and self-confidence. Let us therefore strive to keep the spirit low in a high condition; humility is both the ease and the ornament of prosperity.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And you will forget that you were a slave and your heart was downcast.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The yod in yirbeyun (multiply) is in place of a heh. 22 For the root of yirbeyun is resh, bet, heh.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְרָ֖ם | veram | and it will be lifted up | H7311 → | 190 times |
| לְבָבֶ֑ךָ | levavekha | heart your | H3824 → | 252 times |
| וְשָֽׁכַחְתָּ֙ | veshakhachta | and you will forget | H7911 → | 102 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַמּוֹצִיאֲךָ֛ | hamotziakha | who brought out you | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֵאֶ֥רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| מִבֵּ֥ית | mibeit | from a house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| עֲבָדִֽים׃ | ʾavadim | slaves | H5650 → | 799 times |
וְרָ֖םand it will be lifted up
veramH7311 →190 times
לְבָבֶ֑ךָheart your
levavekhaH3824 →252 times
וְשָֽׁכַחְתָּ֙and you will forget
veshakhachtaH7911 →102 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
הַמּוֹצִיאֲךָ֛who brought out you
hamotziakhaH3318 →1067 times
מֵאֶ֥רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
מִבֵּ֥יתfrom a house of
mibeitH1004 →2046 times
עֲבָדִֽים׃slaves
ʾavadimH5650 →799 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 8:11Be careful not to forget the LORD your God by failing to keep His commandments and ordinances and statutes, which I am giving you this day.
it leads to
- Psalms 106:21
They forgot God their Savior, who did great things in Egypt,
- Hosea 2:8–9
For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.
- Proverbs 1:32
For the waywardness of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
- Proverbs 30:9
Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.
- Psalms 106:21
Through
2 Chronicles 26:16But when Uzziah grew powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 8:17
You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 32:25
But because his heart was proud, Hezekiah did not repay the favor shown to him. Therefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 25:19
You have said, ‘Look, I have defeated Edom,’ and your heart has become proud and boastful. Now stay at home. Why should you stir up trouble so that you fall—you and Judah with you?”
- Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
- Deuteronomy 8:17
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 John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.