Deuteronomy 30:17
in Deuteronomy 30But if your heart turns away and you do not listen, but are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But if thy heart turn away, and thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
KJV
But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
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This verse in Deuteronomy 30
Commentary
4 notes on this verseObserve, It is not for every failure in the particulars of their duty that ruin is threatened, but for apostasy and idolatry: though every violation of the command deserved the curse, yet the nation would be destroyed by that only which is the violation of the marriage covenant.
This site's exposition
But if your heart turns away and you do not listen
on Deuteronomy 30:17-18
Henry observed that the ruin threatened here hangs on the apostasy of verse 17. The King James word denounce in verse 18 occurs only here in that version. Moses speaks in his own person, “I declare to you today”, putting his own testimony behind the sentence.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But if thine heart turn away,.... From the true God, and the right worship of him, and from his commands, statutes, and judgments: so that thou wilt not hear; the voice of the Lord and obey it, or hearken to his laws, and do them: but shalt be drawn away; by an evil heart, and by the ill examples of others: and worship other gods and serve them; the gods of the Gentiles, the idols of the people, besides the one living and true God, the God of Israel.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Love of God and compliance with His will are the only ways of securing the blessings and avoiding the evils described. The choice was left to them, and in urging upon them the inducements to a wise choice, Moses warmed as he proceeded into a tone of solemn and impressive earnestness similar to that of Paul to the elders of Ephesus (Ac 20:26, 27).
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| יִפְנֶ֥ה | yifneh | it will turn away | H6437 → | 135 times |
| לְבָבְךָ֖ | levavekha | heart your | H3824 → | 252 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשְׁמָ֑ע | tishma' | you will listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| וְנִדַּחְתָּ֗ | venidachta | and you will be drawn aside | H5080 → | 55 times |
| וְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֛יתָ | vehishtachavita | and you will bow down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| לֵאלֹהִ֥ים | lelohim | to gods | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲחֵרִ֖ים | ʾacherim | other | H312 → | 166 times |
| וַעֲבַדְתָּֽם׃ | vaavadtam | and you will serve them | H5647 → | 288 times |
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
יִפְנֶ֥הit will turn away
yifnehH6437 →135 times
לְבָבְךָ֖heart your
levavekhaH3824 →252 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשְׁמָ֑עyou will listen
tishma'H8085 →1159 times
וְנִדַּחְתָּ֗and you will be drawn aside
venidachtaH5080 →55 times
וְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֛יתָand you will bow down
vehishtachavitaH7812 →172 times
לֵאלֹהִ֥יםto gods
lelohimH430 →2601 times
אֲחֵרִ֖יםother
ʾacherimH312 →166 times
וַעֲבַדְתָּֽם׃and you will serve them
vaavadtamH5647 →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
Hebrews 3:12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 17:5
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Jeremiah 7:24
Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.
- Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
- Jeremiah 18:12
But they will reply, ‘It is hopeless. We will follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’”
- 1 Corinthians 10:12
So the one who thinks he is standing firm should be careful not to fall.
- Jeremiah 17:5
Through
2 Timothy 4:4So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
it leads to
- Zechariah 7:11
But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
- Zechariah 7:11
Through
1 Kings 11:2These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to…
it leads to
- Exodus 34:16
And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.
- Deuteronomy 7:3–4
Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
- Exodus 34:16
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.