Deuteronomy 32:18
in Deuteronomy 32You ignored the Rock who brought you forth; you forgot the God who gave you birth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, And hast forgotten God that gave thee birth.
KJV
Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
⋯
This verse in Deuteronomy 32
Commentary
7 notes on this verseOf the rock - Of God, one of whose titles this is, or of Christ, who is called the rock, 1 Cor. x, 4, whom the Israelites tempted.
This site's exposition
They sacrificed to demons, not to God
on Deuteronomy 32:17-18
The Hebrew word behind “demons” stands twice in the Old Testament, here and at Psalm 106:37, where sons and daughters are sacrificed. Paul carries this clause into 1 Corinthians 10:20, where the Gentiles sacrifice to demons and not to God.
This site's exposition
the God who gave you birth
The verb behind gave you birth is used of a mother in labour, as at Isaiah 51:2 of Sarah who bore Israel. The Rock who fathered the nation is also pictured bearing it in pain. Isaiah 49:15 uses the same mother's picture.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful. Mindfulness of God would prevent sin, but, when the world is served and the flesh indulged, God is forgotten; and can any thing be more base and unworthy than to forget the God that is the author of our being, by whom we subsist, and in whom we live and move?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Of the rock that begat thee thou art unmindful,....
A prediction of the wasting destroying judgments which God would bring upon them for their sins, in which God is here justified by the many aggravations of their impieties,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Of the Rock that begat thee - צור tsur, the first cause, the fountain of thy being. See the note on Deu 32:4.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| צ֥וּר | tzur | [the] rock | H6697 → | 78 times |
| יְלָדְךָ֖ | yeladekha | [which] he fathered you | H3205 → | 496 times |
| תֶּ֑שִׁי | teshi | you forgot | H7876 → | |
| וַתִּשְׁכַּ֖ח | vatishkach | and you forgot | H7911 → | 102 times |
| אֵ֥ל | ʾel | God | H410 → | 241 times |
| מְחֹלְלֶֽךָ׃ | mecholelekha | [who] gave birth to you | H2342 → |
צ֥וּר[the] rock
tzurH6697 →78 times
יְלָדְךָ֖[which] he fathered you
yeladekhaH3205 →496 times
תֶּ֑שִׁיyou forgot
teshiH7876 →
וַתִּשְׁכַּ֖חand you forgot
vatishkachH7911 →102 times
אֵ֥לGod
ʾelH410 →241 times
מְחֹלְלֶֽךָ׃[who] gave birth to you
mecholelekhaH2342 →
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 32:4He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
it leads to
- Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 18:30–31
As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
- Psalms 92:15
to proclaim, “The LORD is upright; He is my Rock, and in Him there is no unrighteousness.”
- 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.
- 2 Samuel 22:31–32
As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
- Isaiah 26:4
Through
Jeremiah 2:32Does a maiden forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for days without number.
it leads to
- Psalms 106:21
They forgot God their Savior, who did great things in Egypt,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 13:25
This is your lot, the portion I have measured to you,” declares the LORD, “because you have forgotten Me and trusted in falsehood.
- Psalms 106:21
Through
Isaiah 17:10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines—
it leads to
- Jeremiah 2:32
Does a maiden forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for days without number.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 2:32
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies17
On this verse
On this chapter
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.