They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.
Parallel translations
- WEB They moved him to jealousy with strange gods. They provoked him to anger with abominations.
- BSB They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations.
- NKJV They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods; With abominations they provoked Him to anger.
- NASB “They made Him jealous with strange gods; With abominations they provoked Him to anger.
- NLT They stirred up his jealousy by worshiping foreign gods; they provoked his fury with detestable deeds.
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 provoked God to jealousy with strange gods and to anger with abominations. It matters because idolatry directly affronts God's exclusive covenant claim on His people.
Overview
Israel's turning to foreign gods is presented as a betrayal that rightly stirs God's jealousy. God's jealousy is not petty but the appropriate response of faithful covenant love to unfaithfulness. This depiction of idolatry as spiritual betrayal underscores why exclusive devotion to God matters, a devotion restored to His people through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 78:58For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
- 1 Cor 10:22Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
- Deut 5:9Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
- Nah 1:1–2The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
- 2 Kgs 23:13And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
- Deut 7:25The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.
- Lev 18:27(For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)
- 1 Kgs 14:22And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 32:16 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.