Deuteronomy 28:14
in Deuteronomy 28Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from any of the words I command you today, and do not go after other gods to serve them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and shalt not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
KJV
And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 28
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
The LORD will make you the head and not the tail
on Deuteronomy 28:13-14
Verse 14 gives the condition in its simplest form, turning neither to the right nor to the left. It names what turning aside would mean: to “go after other gods to serve them”.
This site's exposition
to the right or
Henry reads the right hand and the left as two ways off the road. Superstition lies on one side and profaneness on the other. He names other gods as the sin Israel was most prone to, and the one the LORD would be most displeased with.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And thou shall not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day,.... Depart from them as a rule to walk by, turn out from them as a path to walk in, neglect and disobey them, and go into practices contrary to them: turning to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them; which to do was to break the first and principal table of the law, than which nothing was more abominable and provoking to God.
The particulars of this blessing. It is promised that the providence of God should prosper them in all their outward concerns. These blessings are said to overtake them,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thou shalt not go aside - to the right hand or to the left - The way of obedience is a straight way; it goes right forward; he who declines either to right or left from this path goes astray and misses heaven.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
This is connected with the expression [in the preceding Verse 13] if thou shalt hearken, meaning that all these blessings will come upon you when you will hearken to His commandments, and when you will not turn aside to the right, or to the left.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The meaning thereof is that He will make you the head of all peoples and not the tail of any one of the nations, for it is possible that you will be the head of many peoples and yet be the tail of one nation more distinguished than you.
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. 3 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָס֗וּר | tasur | you will turn aside | H5493 → | 299 times |
| מִכָּל־ | mikol | from all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַדְּבָרִים֙ | hadevarim | the words | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָנֹכִ֜י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| מְצַוֶּ֥ה | metzaveh | [am] commanding | H6680 → | 494 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֛ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַיּ֖וֹם | haiyom | this day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| יָמִ֣ין | yamin | right [hand] | H3225 → | 140 times |
| וּשְׂמֹ֑אול | usemol | and left [hand] | H8040 → | 54 times |
| לָלֶ֗כֶת | lalekhet | to walk | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֛י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֥ים | ʾelohim | gods | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲחֵרִ֖ים | ʾacherim | other | H312 → | 166 times |
| לְעָבְדָֽם׃ ס | leavedam | to serve them | H5647 → | 288 times |
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תָס֗וּרyou will turn aside
tasurH5493 →299 times
מִכָּל־from all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
הַדְּבָרִים֙the words
hadevarimH1697 →1440 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אָנֹכִ֜יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
מְצַוֶּ֥ה[am] commanding
metzavehH6680 →494 times
אֶתְכֶ֛ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
הַיּ֖וֹםthis day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
יָמִ֣יןright [hand]
yaminH3225 →140 times
וּשְׂמֹ֑אולand left [hand]
usemolH8040 →54 times
לָלֶ֗כֶתto walk
lalekhetH1980 →1546 times
אַחֲרֵ֛יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
אֱלֹהִ֥יםgods
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אֲחֵרִ֖יםother
ʾacherimH312 →166 times
לְעָבְדָֽם׃ סto serve them
leavedamH5647 →288 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 30:21And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 5:32
So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.
- Proverbs 3:5–6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
- Isaiah 58:11
The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
- Isaiah 42:16
I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These…
- Deuteronomy 5:32
Through
Deuteronomy 5:32So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.
it leads to
- Proverbs 4:27
Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 1:7
Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 23:6
Be very strong, then, so that you can keep and obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, not turning aside from it to the right or to the…
- Proverbs 4:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the 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.