God’s Word Translation
Deuteronomy 32:17
17They sacrificed to demons that are not God, to gods they never heard of. These were new gods, who came from nearby, gods your ancestors never worshiped.
Deuteronomy 32:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
- New International Version (NIV)They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God— gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your ancestors did not fear.
- English Standard Version (ESV)They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.
- New King James Version (NKJV)They sacrificed to demons, not to God, To gods they did not know, To new gods, new arrivals That your fathers did not fear.
Context of Deuteronomy 32:17
15Jeshurun got fat and disrespectful. (You got fat! You were stuffed! You were gorged!) They abandoned the God who made them and treated the rock of their salvation like a fool. 16They made him furious because they worshiped foreign gods and angered him because they worshiped worthless idols. They sacrificed to demons that are not God, to gods they never heard of. These were new gods, who came from nearby, gods your ancestors never worshiped. 18(You ignored the rock who fathered you and forgot the God who gave you life.) 19The Lord saw this and rejected them, because his own sons and daughters had made him angry.
Read all of Deuteronomy 32Deuteronomy 32:17 word by word
יִזְבְּח֗וּ לַשֵּׁדִים֙ לֹ֣א אֱלֹ֔הַ אֱלֹהִ֖ים לֹ֣א יְדָע֑וּם חֲדָשִׁים֙ מִקָּרֹ֣ב בָּ֔אוּ לֹ֥א שְׂעָר֖וּם אֲבֹתֵיכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- They sacrificedזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
- unto devilsשֵׁדshêd · demonH7700
- not to Godאֱלֹהַּ'ĕlôahh 'ĕlôahh · godH433
- to godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- whom they knewיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- not, to newחָדָשׁchâdâsh · newH2319
- cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- newlyקָרֹבqârôb qârôb · nearH7138
- upבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- whom your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- fearedשָׂעַרώâ‛ar · to knowH8175
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 32:17
- Leviticus 17:7The people must stop sacrificing to goat idols and chasing after them as though they were prostitutes. This is a permanent law for the people and for future generations.
- Psalms 106:37They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
- 1 Corinthians 10:20Hardly! What I am saying is that these sacrifices which people make are made to demons and not to God. I don’t want you to be partners with demons.
- 1 Timothy 4:1The Spirit says clearly that in later times some believers will desert the Christian faith. They will follow spirits that deceive, and they will believe the teachings of demons.
- Revelation 9:20The people who survived these plagues still did not turn to me and change the way they were thinking and acting. If they had, they would have stopped worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk.
- Deuteronomy 32:21They made him furious because they worshiped foreign gods and angered him because they worshiped worthless idols. So I will use those who are not my people to make them jealous and a nation of godless fools to make them angry.
- Jeremiah 10:15They are worthless jokes. When they are punished, they disappear.
- 1 Corinthians 8:4Now about eating food that was offered to false gods: We know that the false gods in this world don’t really exist and that no god exists except the one God.
- 1 Corinthians 10:19Do I mean that an offering made to a false god is anything, or that a false god itself is anything?
- Deuteronomy 28:64Then the Lord will scatter you among all the people of the world, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will serve gods made of wood and stone that neither you nor your ancestors ever knew.
- Isaiah 44:8Don’t be terrified or afraid. Didn’t I make this known to you long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God except me? There is no ⌞other⌟ rock; I know of none.
- Judges 5:8When the people chose new gods, war broke out inside the city gates. Not a weapon was seen among 40,000 in Israel.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 32:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17They sacrificed unto devils - The original word שדים shedim has been variously understood. The Syriac, Chaldee, Targums of Jerusalem and Jonathan, and the Samaritan, retain the original word: the Vulgate, Septuagint, Arabic, Persic, Coptic, and Anglo-Saxon, have devils or demons. The Septuagint has , they sacrificed to demons: the Vulgate copies the Septuagint: the Arabic has sheeateen, the plural of Sheetan, Satan, by which the rebellious angels appear…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-42Verses 1-42 Song of Moses If Deuteronomy 32:1-3 be regarded as the introduction, and Deuteronomy 32:43 as the conclusion, the main contents of the song may be grouped under three heads, namely, (1) Deuteronomy 32:4-18, the faithfulness of God, the faithlessness of Israel; (2) Deuteronomy 32:19-33, the chastisement and the need of its infliction by God; (3) Deuteronomy 32:34-42, God‘s compassion upon the low and humbled state of His people. The Song…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-18Verses 15-18 Here are two instances of the wickedness of Israel, each was apostacy from God. These people were called Jeshurun, "an upright people," so some; "a seeing people," so others: but they soon lost the reputation both of their knowledge and of their righteousness. They indulged their appetites, as if they had nothing to do but to make provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts of it. Those who make a god of themselves, and a god of their…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17demons: In the ancient Near East, people believed gods protected individuals and places from harm. But, worshiping these pagan gods was actually worshiping evil spirits (compare 1 Corinthians 10:20–21; Revelation 9:20). newly arrived gods: These were false gods that Israel had never before encountered.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. They sacrificed unto devils--(See on Le 17:7).Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 32:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 32
- 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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