They went and served other gods, and they worshiped gods they had not known—gods that the LORD had not given to them.
Parallel translations
- WEB and went and served other gods, and worshiped them, gods that they didn’t know, and that he had not given to them.
- KJV For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:
- NKJV for they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they did not know and that He had not given to them.
- NASB And they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they have not known and whom He had not assigned to them.
- NLT Instead, they turned away to serve and worship gods they had not known before, gods that were not from the Lord.
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
They turned to serve and worship false gods they had never known. Idolatry, the breach of the first commandment, brought the curse.
Overview
The specific sin is named: Israel went and served other gods, gods 'they didn't know' and that God 'had not given to them.' This violation of exclusive devotion to the Lord is the essence of covenant betrayal. The verse highlights idolatry as humanity's root rebellion, from which the gospel rescues us by reconciling sinners to the one true God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Deut 28:64Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
- 2 Kgs 17:7–18All this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had worshiped other gods
- Jer 19:3–13saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and residents of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on this place that the ears of all who hear of it will ring,
- Judg 5:8When they chose new gods, then war came to their gates. Not a shield or spear was found among forty thousand in Israel.
- Judg 2:12–13Thus they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed after various gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and provoked the LORD to anger,
- 2 Chr 36:12–17And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke for the LORD.
- Jer 44:2–6“This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster that I brought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, they lie today in ruins and desolation
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 29:26 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.