Just as the Lord has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the Lord your God.
Parallel translations
- WEB As the nations that Yahweh makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you wouldn’t listen to Yahweh your God’s voice.
- KJV As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.
- BSB Like the nations that the LORD has destroyed before you, so you will perish if you do not obey the LORD your God.
- NKJV As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.
- NASB Like the nations that the Lord eliminates from you, so you shall perish, because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God.
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
If Israel disobeys, they will perish like the nations God destroys before them. Privilege does not exempt them from judgment.
Overview
Israel is warned that disobedience will bring the same judgment that falls on the pagan nations. Covenant status does not protect those who refuse to listen to God's voice. This impartial justice reminds all who are near to God that genuine faith and obedience, not mere privilege, mark the people who are truly his.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Dan 9:11–12Yes, all Israel have transgressed your law, turning aside, that they should not obey your voice: therefore the curse and the oath written in the law of Moses the servant of God has been poured out on us; for we have sinned against him.
- 2 Chr 36:16–17but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until Yahweh’s wrath arose against his people, until there was no remedy.
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 8:20 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.