They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
Parallel translations
- WEB They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods that they didn’t know, to new gods that came up recently, which your fathers didn’t dread.
- BSB They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they had not known, to newly arrived gods, which your fathers did not fear.
- NKJV They sacrificed to demons, not to God, To gods they did not know, To new gods, new arrivals That your fathers did not fear.
- NASB “They sacrificed to demons, who were not God, To gods whom they have not known, New gods who came lately, Whom your fathers did not know.
- NLT They offered sacrifices to demons, which are not God, to gods they had not known before, to new gods only recently arrived, to gods their ancestors had never feared.
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 sacrificed to demons rather than God, to new gods their fathers had not known. It matters because it unmasks idolatry as worship offered to demonic powers.
Overview
Behind the idols Israel served lay demonic reality, a truth Paul affirms in 1 Corinthians 10:20. Chasing after 'new gods' meant abandoning the God who had proven faithful for unknown and dangerous powers. This exposes the spiritual seriousness of idolatry and highlights the deliverance from dark powers accomplished through Christ's victory on the cross.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Deut 28:64And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.
- Judg 5:8They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
- Lev 17:7And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
- Deut 32:21They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
- Isa 44:8Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
- Ps 106:37–38Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,
- 1 Tim 4:1Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
- 1 Cor 10:19–20What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
- 1 Cor 8:4As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
- Jer 10:15They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
- Rev 9:20And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
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 32:17 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.