God’s Word Translation
Deuteronomy 4:27
27The Lord will scatter you among the people of the world, and only a few of you will be left among the nations where the Lord will force you to live.
Deuteronomy 4:27 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you.
Context of Deuteronomy 4:27
25Even when you have children and grandchildren and have grown old in that land, don’t become corrupt and make carved idols or statues that represent anything. I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today: If you do this thing that the Lord your God considers evil, making him furious, 26you will quickly disappear from the land you’re going to possess on the other side of the Jordan River. You won’t live very long there. You’ll be completely wiped out. The Lord will scatter you among the people of the world, and only a few of you will be left among the nations where the Lord will force you to live. 28There you will worship wooden and stone gods made by human hands. These gods can’t see, hear, eat, or smell. 29But if you look for the Lord your God when you are among those nations, you will find him whenever you search for him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Read all of Deuteronomy 4Deuteronomy 4:27 word by word
וְהֵפִ֧יץ יְהוָ֛ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם בָּעַמִּ֑ים וְנִשְׁאַרְתֶּם֙ מְתֵ֣י מִסְפָּ֔ר בַּגּוֹיִ֕ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְנַהֵ֧ג יְהוָ֛ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם שָֽׁמָּה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- shall scatterפּוּץpûts · to scatterH6327
- you among the nationsעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- and ye shall be leftשָׁאַרshâ'ar · to remainH7604
- fewמַתmath · manH4962
- in numberמִסְפָּרmispâr · numberH4557
- among the heathenגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- shall leadנָהַגnâhag · to leadH5090
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:27
- Deuteronomy 28:62At one time you were as numerous as the stars in the sky. But only a few of you will be left, because you didn’t obey the Lord your God.
- Nehemiah 1:3They told me, “Those who survived captivity are in the province. They are enduring serious troubles and being insulted. The wall of Jerusalem has been broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.”
- Ezekiel 12:15Then they will know that I am the Lord, because I will scatter them among the nations and force them into other countries.
- Ezekiel 32:26“Meshech and Tubal are there with all their soldiers, and the graves of their soldiers are all around them. Their soldiers were all godless people. They were killed in battle because they terrified others in the land of the living.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4:27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27The Lord shall scatter you among the nations - This was amply verified in their different captivities and dispersions.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. 27scatter you: One of the curses of the covenant warned that God would scatter Israel among the nations if they broke the covenant (28:64). This meant the people would be forced to leave their land and live far away, even to distant parts of the earth. This judgment happened more than once in Israel’s history: The Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom in 722 BC. The Babylonians conquered Judah from 605 to 586 BC. Later, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-4015. Take ... good heed ... for ye saw no manner of similitude--The extreme proneness of the Israelites to idolatry, from their position in the midst of surrounding nations already abandoned to its seductions, accounts for their attention being repeatedly drawn to the fact that God did not appear on Sinai in any visible form; and an earnest caution, founded on that remarkable circumstance, is given to beware, not only of making representations of false…Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 4:27
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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