Deuteronomy 12:30

Deuteronomy 12:30 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
• New International Version (NIV)and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’

Context of Deuteronomy 12:30

28Be careful to obey all these commands that I am giving to you. Then you will be doing things that the Lord your God says are good and right. You and your children will enjoy a happy life. 29When you go into the land where the other nations live, the Lord your God will remove them. You will take their land and you will live on it. But after the Lord has destroyed them, be careful! Do not do the same wrong things as they do. Do not try to worship their gods. Do not say, ‘How do the people of these nations worship their gods? I would like to do the same thing!’ 31No! You must not worship the Lord your God in the same way that those people worship their gods. When they worship, they do wicked things that the Lord hates. They even burn their children with fire, to make sacrifices to their gods. 32Be careful to do everything that I am telling you. Do not add anything to these commands. Do not remove anything from them.

Deuteronomy 12:30 word by word

הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֗ פֶּן־תִּנָּקֵשׁ֙ אַחֲרֵיהֶ֔ם אַחֲרֵ֖י הִשָּׁמְדָ֣ם מִפָּנֶ֑יךָ וּפֶן־תִּדְרֹ֨שׁ לֵֽאלֹהֵיהֶ֜ם לֵאמֹ֨ר אֵיכָ֨ה יַעַבְד֜וּ הַגּוֹיִ֤ם הָאֵ֙לֶּה֙ אֶת־אֱלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם וְאֶעֱשֶׂה־כֵּ֖ן גַּם־אָֽנִי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Take heedשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: carefulH8104
• to thyself that thou be not snaredנָקַשׁnâqash · to snareH5367
• by followingאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• that they be destroyedשָׁמַדshâmad · to destroyH8045
• from beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• thee; and that thou enquireדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
• not after their godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• How did these nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
• even so will I doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• likewiseגַּםgam · alsoH1571

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 12:30

• Deuteronomy 7:16You must remove the people of every nation that the Lord your God will put under your power. Do not be kind to them. Do not worship their gods. If you do that, they will make you turn away from God.
• Exodus 23:31I will decide where the borders of your land will be. You will have the land from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will put the people who live there under your power. As you move into the land, you will chase those people out.
• Leviticus 18:3They were living in Egypt, but they must not do as the people in Egypt do. Now I am bringing them to live in Canaan. They must not live in the way that the people in Canaan live. They must not do the things that those people do.
• Numbers 33:52Then you must chase out all the people who live in that land. You must destroy all their idols that are made from wood or stone. Also destroy the altars where they worship their false gods.
• Judges 2:2I told you not to make any agreement with the people who live in this land. I told you to destroy the altars where they worship their gods. But you have not done as I told you. Why have you not obeyed me?
• 2 Kings 17:15They did not obey God's rules. They did not accept the covenant that he had made with their ancestors. They did not listen when he warned them. Instead, they worshipped useless idols, which caused them to become useless themselves. The Lord had commanded them not to live in the same way that the nations around them did. But they did that anyway.
• Psalms 106:34The Lord commanded his people to destroy the nations of Canaan, But they did not obey the Lord's command.
• Ezekiel 20:28I took them to the land which I had promised to give to them. But when they were there, they continued to offer sacrifices to idols. They did this on every high hill or under every green tree that they saw! They burned sweet incense and they poured out wine as offerings in all those places. That made me very angry.
• Jeremiah 10:2The Lord says, ‘Do not copy the way that people of other nations live. They are afraid of strange things that they see in the sky. But you must not be afraid of those things.
• Ezekiel 20:32You think, ‘We want to live like the people of other nations and clans. They worship idols that are made from wood and stone.’ But these thoughts will never happen.
• Romans 12:2Do not become like the people who belong to this world. But let God completely change the way that you think, so that you live differently. Then you will understand what God wants you to do. You will know what is good. You will know what pleases God. You will know what is completely right.
• Ephesians 4:17So I say this to you. I am sure that I have the Lord's authority to say it. You must not live any longer like the Gentile people who do not know God. They do whatever their silly ideas teach them to do.
• 1 Peter 4:3You have already had enough time in your life to do bad things. Those are the kinds of things that people who do not know God like to do. You did many evil things that your bodies wanted to do. You had sex in a wrong way. You often became drunk. You went to wild parties where you drank too much alcohol. You also worshipped useless idols.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 12:30

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 30This caution is based upon the notion generally entertained in the ancient pagan world, that each country had its own tutelary deities whom it would be perilous to neglect; compare 1 Kings 20:23; 2 Kings 17:26. Israel was to shun such superstitions as unworthy of the elect people of God.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-32Verses 5-32 The command to bring ALL the sacrifices to the door of the tabernacle, was now explained with reference to the promised land. As to moral service, then, as now, men might pray and worship every where, as they did in their synagogues. The place which God would choose, is said to be the place where he would put his name. It was to be his habitation, where, as King of Israel, he would be found by all who reverently sought him. Now, under the…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 29-3029-30. Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them ... saying, How did these nations serve their gods?--The Israelites, influenced by superstitious fear, too often endeavored to propitiate the deities of Canaan. Their Egyptian education had early impressed that bugbear notion of a set of local deities, who expected their dues of all who came to inhabit the country which they honored with their protection, and severely resented the…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 12:30

• Company
• Fellowship
• Judgments

In the dictionaries

• High place
• Idolatry
• Lust
• Rest
• Atonement, Day of
• Chemosh
• Criticism
• Cruel; Cruelty
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genesis

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 12

• 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
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings