I would have said that I would cut them to pieces and blot out their memory from mankind,
Parallel translations
- WEB I said that I would scatter them afar. I would make their memory to cease from among men;
- KJV I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
- NKJV I would have said, “I will dash them in pieces, I will make the memory of them to cease from among men,”
- NASB ‘I would have said, “I will wipe them out, I will remove the mention of their name from humanity,”
- NLT I would have annihilated them, wiping out even the memory of them.
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
God says He nearly determined to scatter them and blot out their memory among men. It matters because it shows how fully Israel's sin deserved utter judgment.
Overview
God's stated inclination to erase Israel's memory reveals the severity their sin warranted. Yet the very wording ('I said that I would') sets up the restraining mercy revealed in the next verse. This near-judgment, withheld for God's own purposes, displays the tension between justice and mercy that finds its resolution at the cross of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 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.
- Isa 63:16Yet You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.
- Lev 26:38You will perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies will consume you.
- Lev 26:33But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
- Ps 34:16But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to wipe out all memory of them from the earth.
- Deut 28:25The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
- Deut 28:37You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
- Deut 4:27Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
- Luke 21:24They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 32:26 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.