And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh saw and abhorred, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.
- BSB When the LORD saw this, He rejected them, provoked to anger by His sons and daughters.
- NKJV “Andwhen the Lord saw it, He spurned them, Because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters.
- NASB ¶“The Lord saw this, and spurned them Because of the provocation by His sons and daughters.
- NLT “The Lord saw this and drew back, provoked to anger by his own sons and daughters.
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
The LORD saw and rejected His people because of the provocation of His sons and daughters. It matters because God responds justly to the persistent rebellion of those He loves.
Overview
God's spurning is a grieved, righteous reaction to the provocation of His own children. The family language intensifies the pathos, for these are His sons and daughters who have rebelled. This sober portrayal of divine displeasure reveals the seriousness of sin even among God's people, and underscores the mercy by which He later restores them, ultimately through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ps 106:40Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.
- Isa 1:2Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
- Ps 5:4For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
- Judg 2:14And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
- Amos 3:2–3You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
- Zech 11:8Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
- Ps 10:3For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
- Ps 82:6–7I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
- Ps 78:59When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
- Lev 26:11And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.
- Rev 3:16So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
- Jer 11:15What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.
- Jer 44:21–23The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind?
- Lam 2:6And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the LORD hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 32:19 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.