For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.
Parallel translations
- WEB For if you turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and you will destroy all these people.”
- BSB For if you turn away from following Him, He will once again leave this people in the wilderness, and you will be the cause of their destruction.”
- NKJV For if you turn away from following Him, He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”
- NASB For if you turn away from following Him, He will once more leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”
- NLT If you turn away from him like this and he abandons them again in the wilderness, you will be responsible for destroying this entire nation!”
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 warns that if they turn away, God will again abandon Israel in the wilderness, and they will be the cause of the nation's ruin. Their choice carries weight for everyone.
Overview
Moses presses the danger to its conclusion: turning back from following God would bring renewed abandonment and destroy the whole people. The verse underscores how covenant faithfulness is corporate, not merely individual. It anticipates the gospel truth that perseverance matters and that the leaders and members of God's people bear responsibility for one another's steadfastness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 2 Chr 15:2And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
- 1 Cor 8:11–12And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
- Deut 28:15–68But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
- Deut 30:17–19But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
- Josh 22:16–18Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD?
- 2 Chr 7:19–22But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;
- Rom 14:15But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.
- Lev 26:14–18But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
- Num 14:30–35Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
- Matt 18:7Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
- Rom 14:20–21For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
- Jer 38:23So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 32:15 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.