Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you.
Parallel translations
- WEB For whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh. Because of these abominations, Yahweh your God drives them out from before you.
- KJV For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
- BSB For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD. And because of these detestable things, the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you.
- NKJV For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.
- NASB For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God is going to drive them out before you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Everyone who practices these occult arts is detestable to God, and it was for such sins that He drove out the nations. Persistent rebellion against God invites His judgment.
Overview
God declares these practices an abomination and identifies them as the very reason He was dispossessing the Canaanites. This shows His holiness will not overlook sin and His judgments are just. It also warns Israel that the same God who judged the nations would hold His own people accountable.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Lev 18:24“‘Don’t defile yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled.
- Deut 9:4Don’t say in your heart, after Yahweh your God has thrust them out from before you, saying, “For my righteousness Yahweh has brought me in to possess this land”; because Yahweh drives them out before you because of the wickedness of these nations.
- Lev 18:27(for the men of the land that were before you had done all these abominations, and the land became defiled);
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 18:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.