Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who are around you;
- BSB Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you.
- NKJV You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you
- NASB You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you,
- NLT “You must not worship any of the gods of neighboring nations,
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
Israel must not follow the gods of surrounding nations. Idolatry is forbidden because God demands exclusive worship.
Overview
Moses warns against turning to the gods of neighboring peoples, a constant temptation in Canaan. Covenant faithfulness means refusing all rival deities. This call to exclusive worship is fulfilled in the gospel, where Christ alone is Lord and all idolatry is renounced (1 John 5:21).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Jer 25:6And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
- 1 Jn 5:21Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
- Deut 13:7Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
- Deut 8:19And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
- Deut 11:28And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
- Exod 34:14–16For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
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 6:14 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.