Deuteronomy 32:20
in Deuteronomy 32He said: “I will hide My face from them; I will see what will be their end. For they are a perverse generation—children of unfaithfulness.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: For they are a very perverse generation, Children in whom is no faithfulness.
KJV
And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 32
Commentary
11 notes on this verseChildren in whom is no faith - לא אמן בם lo emon bam, “There is no steadfastness in them,” they can never be depended on. They are fickle, because they are faithless.
This site's exposition
When the LORD saw this, He rejected them
on Deuteronomy 32:19-21
Verse 21 is an exchange, a no-god answered by “those who are not a people”, with the same two verbs on both sides. Paul quotes the second half at Romans 10:19 of the Gentiles hearing what Israel did not.
This site's exposition
I will hide My face from them
The Hebrew behind unfaithfulness comes from the root of amen, and Adam Clarke renders it as no steadfastness in them. Matthew Henry sets it beside Isaiah 63:8, where God had counted on sons who would keep faith. The hidden face was announced already at 31:17-18.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
There is peace and joy in the hearts of those upon whom the face of the Lord looks. But for those from whom he turns away there is an accumulation of evils. He does not desire to look upon evil, because he is good. But if he deliberately looks toward evil, then wickedness takes root, because of humankind's infidelity.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
They were faithless, and a people that could not be trusted. When he saved them, and took them into covenant, he said, Surely they are children that will not lie ( Isa. lxiii. 8 ); but when they proved otherwise, children in whom is no faith, they deserved to be abandoned, and that the God of truth should have no more to do with them.
I will see - I will make them and others see, what the fruit of such actions shall be. No faith - No fidelity: perfidious, that have broken their covenant so solemnly made with me.
And he said, I will hide my face from them,....
He kept him as the apple of his eye, with all the care and tenderness that could be, from the malignant influences of an open sky and air, and all the perils of an inhospitable desert. The pillar of cloud and fire was both a guide and a guard to them.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A promise of the destruction of their enemies and oppressors at last, and the glorious deliverance of a remnant of Israel,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
THESE two texts will serve to show the different estimate which God has of unbelief and of faith. He says of unbelievers, in my text taken from Deuteronomy, "They are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith"—as much as to say that the absence of faith proves them to be froward, presumptuous, willful, disobedient—a people at cross-purposes with God. He says not only that they are perverse and froward, but He adds an emphatic word—"they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith." The second text most clearly shows us that God has a high approbation for faith, for He, Himself, by the Holy Spirit, says, "Blessed is that man that makes the Lord His trust." Here, then, we have set before us a great evil to which we are sadly inclined—and a great Grace which we greatly need. May God the Holy Spirit work faith in us by His own gracious power! Alas, it is still true that "all men have not faith." Even when an Apostle preached, we read of the congregation, that some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. There is that division among you at this time. Oh, that unbelievers may become Believers before this service ends! I will tell you what I shall be driving at this morning—I have a special character in view and I long to be made useful to persons of that sort. Outspoken and naked unbelief the most of you abhor. Should unbelief display itself in its real hideousness, you who have been brought up religiously would be startled at its approach, would close the door immediately and bolt it fast lest such a demon of the deep should gain an entry into your souls! Consequently, unbelief, when it attacks the regular hearer of the Gospel, takes care to disguise itself. It pretends to be something other than it is.
THESE two texts will serve to show the different estimate which God has of unbelief and of faith. He says of unbelievers, in my text taken from Deuteronomy, "They are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith"—as much as to say that the absence of faith proves them to be froward, presumptuous, willful, disobedient—a people at cross-purposes with God. He says not only that they are perverse and froward, but He adds an emphatic word—"they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith."
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַסְתִּ֤ירָה | ʾastirah | I will hide | H5641 → | 80 times |
| פָנַי֙ | fanai | face my | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מֵהֶ֔ם | mehem | from <the> them | ||
| אֶרְאֶ֖ה | ʾereh | I will see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| מָ֣ה | mah | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אַחֲרִיתָ֑ם | ʾacharitam | [will be] end their | H319 → | 61 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| ד֤וֹר | dor | [are] a generation of | H1755 → | 167 times |
| תַּהְפֻּכֹת֙ | tahpukhot | perversiti<es> | H8419 → | |
| הֵ֔מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| בָּנִ֖ים | banim | children | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | [whom] not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֵמֻ֥ן | ʾemun | faithfulness | H529 → | |
| בָּֽם׃ | bam | [is] in <the> them |
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אַסְתִּ֤ירָהI will hide
ʾastirahH5641 →80 times
פָנַי֙face my
fanaiH6440 →2123 times
מֵהֶ֔םfrom <the> them
mehem
אֶרְאֶ֖הI will see
ʾerehH7200 →1300 times
מָ֣הwhat?
mahH4100 →752 times
אַחֲרִיתָ֑ם[will be] end their
ʾacharitamH319 →61 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
ד֤וֹר[are] a generation of
dorH1755 →167 times
תַּהְפֻּכֹת֙perversiti<es>
tahpukhotH8419 →
הֵ֔מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
בָּנִ֖יםchildren
banimH1121 →4930 times
לֹא־[whom] not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אֵמֻ֥ןfaithfulness
ʾemunH529 →
בָּֽם׃[is] in <the> them
bam
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
2 Chronicles 20:20Early in the morning they got up and left for the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Hear me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the…
it leads to
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- John 14:1
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well.
- John 11:40
Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
- Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
- Luke 16:31
Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
- Romans 8:31
Through
Deuteronomy 32:5His people have acted corruptly toward Him; the spot on them is not that of His children, but of a perverse and crooked generation.
it leads to
- Isaiah 1:4
Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on…
- Philippians 2:15
so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world
- Matthew 17:17
“O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me.”
- Isaiah 1:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies17
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1784: “Unbelief Condemned and Faith Commended” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor Book 1; 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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.