Deuteronomy 4:28

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 am warning you today, as everyone on earth and everyone in heaven hears what I say. If you do not obey this command, you will soon die. You will not live long in the land that is your home on the other side of the Jordan River. You will die very soon. 27The Lord will send you out of that land to live among other nations. Only a few of you will continue to be alive. Among those nations, you will worship gods that men have made from wood and stone. Those gods cannot see or hear or eat or smell anything. 29But even in those places, if you look for the Lord your God, you will find him. If you want to serve him with everything that you think and with everything that you do, you will find him. 30When trouble happens to you in the future, you will turn back to him. When all these bad things happen to you, you will obey God again.

Deuteronomy 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• And there ye shall serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
• godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• the workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
• of men’sאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• handsיָדyâd · handH3027
• woodעֵץ‛êts · tree: woodH6086
• and stoneאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
• which neither seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• nor hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• nor eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• nor smellרִיחַrûach · to smellH7306

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:28

• Deuteronomy 28:36When you choose a king for yourselves, the Lord will send you and him away to a foreign country. It will be a place that neither you nor your ancestors have ever heard about. There you will serve gods that people have made from stone and wood.
• 1 Samuel 26:19My master and my king, please listen to me. Has the Lord made you angry with me? If that is true, a sacrifice to him may change his thoughts. But if men have made you turn against me, I ask the Lord to curse them. They have chased me out of the land that belongs to the Lord's people. They have said to me, “Go away and worship other gods!”
• Jeremiah 16:13So I will throw you out of this land. I will send you away to a land that you and your ancestors never knew. There you will worship other gods, as much as you like. I will no longer help you.” ’
• 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.
• Acts 7:42But God turned away from his people. He let them do what they wanted to do. He let them worship the stars in the sky. One of God's prophets wrote about this long ago: “God said, ‘People of Israel, listen! When you were in the wilderness for 40 years, you brought sacrifices and gifts to me. But you did not really worship me when you did that.
• Psalms 115:4Those people's idols are made from silver and gold. Yes, human hands make them!
• Psalms 135:15Other nations make idols with silver and gold. People worship things that they have made with their hands!
• Isaiah 44:9All the people who make idols are fools. The images which make them so happy are useless. Those who worship idols cannot see the truth. They do not understand what they are doing, and they will be ashamed.
• Isaiah 45:20So come, you people of the nations, you who have escaped from war. Bring yourselves in front of me together! People who carry wooden idols are fools! They pray to gods who cannot rescue them.
• Isaiah 46:7They lift the idol onto their shoulders and they carry it home. They put it in its place and it stands there. It cannot move anywhere else. If someone calls out to it for help, it does not answer. It cannot save anyone from their trouble.
• Jeremiah 10:3The customs of those people are useless. They cut down a tree in the forest. A worker uses his tools to make it into an idol.

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

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Backsliders
• Idol
• Idolatry
• Obedience
• Stones

In the dictionaries

• Add
• Consider
• Consuming
• Diminish
• Furnace
• Hearken
• Deuteronomy
• Pentateuch
• Smell

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