But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
Parallel translations
- WEB But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
- BSB But if your heart turns away and you do not listen, but are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,
- NKJV But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them,
- NASB But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but allow yourself to be led astray and you worship other gods and serve them,
- NLT “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods,
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
But a heart that turns away to idols chooses the path of death. Spiritual apostasy leads to ruin.
Overview
Moses warns of the opposite choice: a heart drawn away to worship other gods. The turning of the heart, not merely outward acts, marks the path to destruction. This underscores that the great danger is idolatry of the heart, from which the gospel rescues by binding the affections to the one true God in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 2 Tim 4:4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
- Prov 1:32For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
- Heb 3:12Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
- John 3:19–21And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
- 1 Sam 12:25But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
- Prov 14:14The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
- Deut 17:17Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
- 1 Kgs 11:2Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
- Heb 12:25See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
- Deut 29:18–28Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 30:17 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.