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 call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that you will certainly perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to take possession of it. You will not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you. There you will serve gods, the work of human hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear, nor eat nor smell anything. 29But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. 30When you are in distress and all these things happen to you, in the latter days you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice.

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

• Thereשָׁםshâm · thereH8033
• you will serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
• godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• the workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
• of humanאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• handsיָדyâd · handH3027
• woodעֵץ‛êts · tree: woodH6086
• and stoneאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
• whichאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• neitherלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:28

• Deuteronomy 28:36The Lord will bring you and your king, whom you appoint over you, to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods, made of wood and stone.
• 1 Samuel 26:19Now then, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has incited you against me, may He accept an offering; but if it is people, cursed are they before the Lord, because they have driven me out today so that I would have no share in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’
• Jeremiah 16:13So I will hurl you off this land to the land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will serve other gods day and night, because I will show you no compassion.’
• Ezekiel 20:32And whatever comes into your mind certainly will not come about, when you say: ‘We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, serving wood and stone.’
• Acts 7:42But God turned away and gave them over to serve the heavenly lights; as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘You did not offer Me victims and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness, did you, house of Israel?
• Psalms 115:4Their idols are silver and gold, The work of human hands.
• Psalms 135:15The idols of the nations are nothing but silver and gold, The work of human hands.
• Isaiah 44:9Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame.
• Isaiah 45:20“Gather yourselves and come; Come together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge, Who carry around their wooden idol And pray to a god who cannot save.
• Isaiah 46:7They lift it on the shoulder, carry it, And set it in its place, and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may shout to it, it cannot answer; It cannot save him from his distress.
• Jeremiah 10:3For the customs of the peoples are futile; For it is wood cut from the forest, The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.

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