Deuteronomy 31:20

Deuteronomy 31:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.
• New International Version (NIV)When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their ancestors, and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and worship them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant.
• New King James Version (NKJV)When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant.

Context of Deuteronomy 31:20

18But I will certainly hide My face [from them] in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods [to worship lifeless idols, to honor handmade relics]. 19“Now then, write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it in their mouth, so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel. For when I bring them into the land which I have sworn to their fathers, a land [of plenty] flowing with milk and honey, and they have eaten and are satisfied and become prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise and reject Me and break My covenant. 21Then it shall come about, when many evils and troubles have come on them, that this [sacred] song will confront them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten from the mouth of their descendants. For I know their inclination which is developing even now, before I bring them into the land which I have sworn to give them.” 22So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy 31:20 word by word

כִּֽי־אֲבִיאֶ֜נּוּ אֶֽל־הָאֲדָמָ֣ה׀ אֲשֶׁר־נִשְׁבַּ֣עְתִּי לַאֲבֹתָ֗יו זָבַ֤ת חָלָב֙ וּדְבַ֔שׁ וְאָכַ֥ל וְשָׂבַ֖ע וְדָשֵׁ֑ן וּפָנָ֞ה אֶל־אֱלֹהִ֤ים אֲחֵרִים֙ וַעֲבָד֔וּם וְנִ֣אֲצ֔וּנִי וְהֵפֵ֖ר אֶת־בְּרִיתִֽי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For when I shall have broughtבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
• them into the landאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
• which I swareשָׁבַעshâba‛ · to swearH7650
• unto their fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• that flowethזוּבzûb · to flow: flowingH2100
• with milkחָלָבchâlâb · milkH2461
• and honeyדְּבַשׁdebash · honeyH1706
• and they shall have eatenאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• and filledשָׂבֵעַώâba‛ ώâbêa‛ · to satisfyH7646
• themselves, and waxen fatדָּשֵׁןdâshên · to prosperH1878
• then will they turnפָּנָהpânâh · to turnH6437
• unto otherאַחֵר'achêr · anotherH312
• godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• and serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
• them, and provokeנָאַץnâ'ats · to spurnH5006
• me, and breakפָּרַרpârar · to breakH6565
• my covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 31:20

• Deuteronomy 6:10“Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore (solemnly promised) to [give] your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give you, [a land with] great and splendid cities which you did not build,
• Deuteronomy 7:1“When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you are entering to possess, and has cleared away many nations before you, the Hittite and the Girgashite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, seven nations greater and mightier than you,
• Deuteronomy 8:7For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills;
• Exodus 3:8So I have come down to rescue them from the hand (power) of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a land [that is] good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey [a land of plenty]—to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
• Deuteronomy 8:10When you have eaten and are satisfied, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.
• Nehemiah 9:25They captured fortified cities and a fertile land. They took possession of houses full of all good things, Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, And fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat, And they reveled and were delighted in Your great goodness.
• Deuteronomy 32:15“But Jeshurun (Israel) became fat and kicked [at God]. You became fat, thick, sleek, and obstinate! Then he abandoned God who had made him, And scorned the Rock of his salvation.
• Psalms 17:10They have closed their unfeeling heart [to kindness and compassion]; With their mouths they speak proudly and make presumptuous claims.
• Psalms 73:7Their eye bulges from fatness [they have more than the heart desires]; The imaginations of their mind run riot [with foolishness].
• Psalms 119:70Their heart is insensitive like fat [their minds are dull and brutal], But I delight in Your law.
• Jeremiah 5:28They are fat and they are sleek (prosperous), They excel in acts of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the orphan, so that they [the wicked] may prosper, And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
• Jeremiah 50:11“Though you are glad, though you rejoice, O you who plunder My heritage, Though you are wanton and skip about like a heifer in the grass And neigh like stallions,
• Ezekiel 34:16“I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bandage the crippled, and strengthen the weak and the sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong [who have become hard-hearted and perverse]. I will feed them with judgment and punishment.
• Hosea 13:6When they had their pasture, they became satisfied, And being satisfied, their heart became proud (self-centered); Therefore they forgot Me.
• Deuteronomy 31:16The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down [in death] with your fathers; and this people will arise and play the prostitute (commit apostasy) with the foreign gods [of the people] of the land, where they go to be among them. They will abandon (turn away from) Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 31:20

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14-23Verses 14-23 The transaction recorded in these verses may be regarded as the solemn inauguration of Joshua to the office to which he had some time before Numbers 27:22 been called, and his recognition in it by God, which were manifested by his being summoned into the tabernacle with Moses while the Lord appeared in the pillar of cloud (compare Numbers 11:25; Numbers 12:5). Deuteronomy 31:16 The future apostasy of the people is announced in the presence of…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-22Verses 14-22 Moses and Joshua attended the Divine Majesty at the door of the tabernacle. Moses is told again that he must shortly die; even those who are most ready and willing to die, need to be often reminded of its coming. The Lord tells Moses, that, after his death, the covenant he had taken so much pains to make between Israel and their God, would certainly be broken. Israel would forsake Him; then God would forsake Israel. Justly does he cast those…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20land flowing with milk and honey: See study note on 6:3. eat their fill: Fatness suggested blessing and prosperity, not obesity or self-indulgence. reject me: Israel would ignore God and dishonor him by wrongly thinking their prosperity came from their own efforts or the false gods of the land.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-2216-22. the Lord said unto Moses, ... this people will rise up--In this remarkable interview, Moses was distinctly apprised of the infidelity of Israel, their corruptions of the true religion through intercourse with the idolatrous inhabitants of Canaan (Am 5:26), and their chastisements in consequence of those national defections.Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 31:20

• Backsliders
• Death
• Idolatry
• Minister, Christian
• Prosperity
• Riches

In the dictionaries

• Courage
• Geber
• Hilkiah
• Crime; Crimes
• Deuteronomy
• Law in the Old Testament
• Moses

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings