Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
Parallel translations
- WEB For you shall see the land from a distance; but you shall not go there into the land which I give the children of Israel.”
- BSB Although you shall see from a distance the land that I am giving the Israelites, you shall not enter it.”
- NKJV Yet you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel.”
- NASB For you will see the land at a distance but you will not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel.”
- NLT So you will see the land from a distance, but you may not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”
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
Moses will see the land from a distance but not enter it. The promise is shown to him, yet entry is withheld as the consequence of his sin.
Overview
God tempers discipline with grace, granting Moses sight of Canaan though not possession. There is real loss here, yet also mercy in letting him glimpse the fulfillment of God's covenant promise. The tension between seeing and not entering anticipates the New Testament hope: where Moses could not lead Israel in, Joshua (a name sharing the root of "Jesus") would, and Christ leads His people into the true rest (Heb. 4:8-9).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Deut 34:1–4And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,
- Deut 32:49Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:
- Heb 11:13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
- Deut 1:37Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.
- Num 27:12And the LORD said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel.
- Deut 3:27Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
- Heb 11:39And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
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 32:52 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.