Deuteronomy 31:16

Deuteronomy 31:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.
• New International Version (NIV)And the Lord said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.

Context of Deuteronomy 31:16

14And Jehovah said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. 15And Jehovah appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud: and the pillar of cloud stood over the door of the Tent. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and play the harlot after the strange gods of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. 17Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come upon them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us? 18And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evil which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.

Deuteronomy 31:16 word by word

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה הִנְּךָ֥ שֹׁכֵ֖ב עִם־אֲבֹתֶ֑יךָ וְקָם֩ הָעָ֨ם הַזֶּ֜ה וְזָנָ֣ה׀ אַחֲרֵ֣י׀ אֱלֹהֵ֣י נֵֽכַר־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר ה֤וּא בָא־שָׁ֙מָּה֙ בְּקִרְבּ֔וֹ וַעֲזָבַ֕נִי וְהֵפֵר֙ אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר כָּרַ֖תִּי אִתּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• riseקָמָיqûm · (Leb)-kamaiH6965
• playזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
• godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• goבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• forsakeעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
• breakפָּרַרpârar · to breakH6565
• covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
• madeכָּרַתkârath · to cut: cutH3772

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 31:16

• Genesis 25:8And Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years, and was gathered to his people.
• 2 Samuel 7:12When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
• Isaiah 57:2He entereth into peace; they rest in their beds, each one that walketh in his uprightness.
• Acts 13:36For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
• Job 20:11His bones are full of his youth, But it shall lie down with him in the dust.
• Exodus 32:6And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
• Exodus 34:15lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot after their gods, and sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee and thou eat of his sacrifice;
• Leviticus 20:3I also will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
• Judges 2:17And yet they hearkened not unto their judges; for they played the harlot after other gods, and bowed themselves down unto them: they turned aside quickly out of the way wherein their fathers walked, obeying the commandments of Jehovah; but they did not so.
• Psalms 73:27For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: Thou hast destroyed all them that play the harlot, departing from thee.
• Psalms 106:39Thus were they defiled with their works, And played the harlot in their doings.
• Isaiah 57:3But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the harlot.
• Jeremiah 3:1They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, will he return unto her again? will not that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith Jehovah.
• Ezekiel 16:15But thou didst trust in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by; his it was.
• Ezekiel 23:5And Oholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbors,
• Hosea 2:2Contend with your mother, contend; for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband; and let her put away her whoredoms from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 31:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers - שכב shocheb, thou shalt lie down; it signifies to rest, take rest in sleep, and, metaphorically, to die. Much stress cannot be safely laid on this expression to prove the immortality of the soul, or that the people in the time of Moses had a distinct notion of its separate existence. It was, however, understood in this sense by Jonathan ben Uzziel, who in his Targum paraphrases the word thus: "Thou shalt lie…Read the comment
• 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. 1-29For a covenant document to remain binding and important, it had to be kept in a place where both sides could easily find it. The book of Deuteronomy needed to be preserved for future generations. In this way, Israel would continue to remember to submit to the Lord’s rule.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 31:16

• Backsliders
• Death
• Fellowship
• Idolatry
• Ingratitude
• Minister, Christian
• Whoredom

In the dictionaries

• Moses
• Courage
• Geber
• Hilkiah
• Crime; Crimes
• Daniel, Book of
• Deuteronomy
• God, Strange
• Law in the Old Testament
• Sleep

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