This very day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon all the nations under heaven. They will hear the reports of you and tremble in anguish because of you.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Today I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole sky, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of you.”
- KJV This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.
- NKJV This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’
- NASB This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the faces of people everywhere, who, when they hear the news of you, will tremble and be in anguish because of you.’
- NLT Beginning today I will make people throughout the earth terrified because of you. When they hear reports about you, they will tremble with dread and fear.’”
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
God promises to make surrounding nations dread Israel as they hear of her victories. It shows that Israel's conquests rest on God's action, not merely human strength.
Overview
As Israel begins to engage the kingdoms east of the Jordan, the LORD pledges to spread fear of His people among the nations. This dread is a means by which God prepares the way for His covenant promises to be fulfilled, echoing the earlier promise in Exodus 23:27. It underscores that the LORD fights for His people, a theme that points forward to the greater deliverance secured in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Deut 11:25No man will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the fear and dread of you upon all the land, wherever you set foot, as He has promised you.
- Exod 15:14–16The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the dwellers of Philistia.
- Deut 28:10Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will stand in awe of you.
- Exod 23:27I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.
- Ps 105:38Egypt was glad when they departed, for the dread of Israel had fallen on them.
- Rev 3:9Look at those who belong to the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews but are liars instead. I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I love you.
- Josh 2:9–12and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of you.
- Josh 9:24The Gibeonites answered, “Your servants were told clearly that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we have done this.
- 2 Kgs 7:6–7For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”
- Jer 33:9So this city will bring Me renown, joy, praise, and glory before all the nations of the earth, who will hear of all the good I do for it. They will tremble in awe because of all the goodness and prosperity that I will provide for it.
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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 2:25 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.