And you will become an object of horror, a song of mockery, and an object of taunting among all the peoples where the Lord drives you.
Parallel translations
- WEB You will become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where Yahweh will lead you away.
- KJV And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
- BSB You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
- NKJV And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you.
- NLT You will become an object of horror, ridicule, and mockery among all the nations to which the Lord sends 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
Israel will become an object of horror, a proverb and a byword among the nations.
Overview
Once meant to draw nations to reverence God, Israel becomes a cautionary tale. Their downfall makes them a symbol of ruin among the peoples. This tragic reversal of their high calling shows the public shame of covenant unfaithfulness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jer 24:9I will even give them up to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil; to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them.
- Jer 25:9behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,” says Yahweh, “and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations around. I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations.
- 1 Kgs 9:7–8then I will cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and I will cast this house, which I have made holy for my name, out of my sight; and Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
- 2 Chr 7:20then I will pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have made holy for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
- Ps 44:13–14You make us a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and a derision to those who are around us.
- Zech 8:13It shall come to pass that, as you were a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Don’t be afraid. Let your hands be strong.”
- Deut 29:22–28The generation to come, your children who will rise up after you, and the foreigner who will come from a far land, will say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses with which Yahweh has made it sick;
- Deut 28:28Yahweh will strike you with madness, with blindness, and with astonishment of heart.
- Joel 2:17Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare your people, Yahweh, and don’t give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”
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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 28:37 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.