Berean Standard Bible
Deuteronomy 4:28
28And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.
Deuteronomy 4:28 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
- New International Version (NIV)There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.
Context of Deuteronomy 4:28
26I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you. And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.
Read all of Deuteronomy 4Deuteronomy 4:28 word by word
וַעֲבַדְתֶּם־שָׁ֣ם אֱלֹהִ֔ים מַעֲשֵׂ֖ה יְדֵ֣י אָדָ֑ם עֵ֣ץ וָאֶ֔בֶן אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־יִרְאוּן֙ וְלֹ֣א יִשְׁמְע֔וּן וְלֹ֥א יֹֽאכְל֖וּן וְלֹ֥א יְרִיחֻֽן׃Read the interlinear
- And thereשָׁםshâm · thereH8033
- you will serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
- man-madeמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
- man-madeיָדyâd · handH3027
- man-madeאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of woodעֵץ‛êts · tree: woodH6086
- and stoneאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
- whichאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- cannotלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
- seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- smellרִיחַrûach · to smellH7306
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:28
- Deuteronomy 28:36The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.
- 1 Samuel 26:19Now please, may my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then may He accept an offering. But if men have done it, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD! For today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’
- Jeremiah 16:13So I will cast you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’
- Ezekiel 20:32When you say, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the peoples of the lands, serving wood and stone,’ what you have in mind will never come to pass.
- Acts 7:42But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
- Psalms 115:4Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
- Psalms 135:15The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
- Isaiah 44:9All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
- Isaiah 45:20Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
- Isaiah 46:7They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.
- Jeremiah 10:3For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4:28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28There ye shall serve gods - wood and stone - This was also true of the Israelites, not only in their captivities, but also in their own land. And it may now be literally the case with the ten tribes who were carried away captive by the Assyrians, and of whose residence no man at present knows any thing with certainty. That they still exist there can be no doubt; but they are now, most probably, so completely incorporated with the idolaters among whom they…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25-28Verses 25-28 Compare with these verses Leviticus 26:33-40, and Deuteronomy 28:64 ff.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 24-40Verses 24-40 Moses urged the greatness, glory, and goodness of God. Did we consider what a God he is with whom we have to do, we should surely make conscience of our duty to him, and not dare to sin against him. Shall we forsake a merciful God, who will never forsake us, if we are faithful unto him? Whither can we go? Let us be held to our duty by the bonds of love, and prevailed with by the mercies of God to cleave to him. Moses urged God's authority…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-40Moses gave a long speech to the Israelites because of their recent failures and what he thought would happen in Canaan.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2828. there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands--The compulsory measures of their tyrannical conquerors would force them into idolatry, so that their choice would become their punishment.Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 4:28
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4
- 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
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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