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

14Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, the time of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, so that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting. 15Then the LORD appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the tent. And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them. 17On that day My anger will burn against them, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, so that they will be consumed, and many troubles and afflictions will befall them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is no longer with us?’ 18And on that day I will surely hide My face because of all the evil they have done by turning to 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

• And the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• toאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• You will soonהִנֵּהhinnêh · beholdH2009
• restשָׁכַבshâkab · to lie down: lay downH7901
• withעִם‛im · withH5973
• your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• and theseזֶהzeh · thisH2088
• peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• will rise upקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
• and prostitute themselvesזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
• withאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• the foreignנֵכָרnêkâr · foreignH5236
• godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• ·אֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• theyהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
• are enteringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• are enteringשָׁםshâm · thereH8033
• are enteringקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• They will forsake Meעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
• and breakפָּרַרpârar · to breakH6565
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• the covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
• I have madeכָּרַתkârath · to cut: make(covenant)H3772
• with themאֵת'êth · withH854

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 31:16

• Genesis 25:8And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.
• 2 Samuel 7:12And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.
• Isaiah 57:2Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest, lying down in death.
• Acts 13:36For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay.
• Job 20:11The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust.
• Exodus 32:6So the next day they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
• Exodus 34:15Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.
• Leviticus 20:3And I will set My face against that man and cut him off from his people, because by giving his offspring to Molech, he has defiled My sanctuary and profaned My holy name.
• Judges 2:17Israel, however, did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the LORD’s commandments; they did not do as their fathers had done.
• Psalms 73:27Those far from You will surely perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.
• Psalms 106:39They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds.
• Isaiah 57:3“But come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
• Jeremiah 3:1“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers— and you would return to Me?” declares the LORD.
• Ezekiel 16:15But because of your fame, you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot. You lavished your favors on everyone who passed by, and your beauty was theirs for the asking.
• Ezekiel 23:5Oholah prostituted herself while she was still Mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors
• Hosea 2:2Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not My wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adultery from her face and the unfaithfulness 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