Deuteronomy 31:16

Deuteronomy 31:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.
• New International Version (NIV)And the Lord said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.

Context of Deuteronomy 31:16

14Then the Lord said to Moses, “The day of your death is near. Summon Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting so that I can commission him.” So Moses and Joshua presented themselves in the tent of meeting. 15The Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud that stood above the door of the tent. Then the Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die, and then these people will begin to prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land into which they are going. They will reject me and break my covenant that I have made with them. 17At that time my anger will erupt against them and I will abandon them and hide my face from them until they are devoured. Many disasters and distresses will overcome them so that they will say at that time, ‘Have not these disasters overcome us because our God is not among us?’ 18But I will certainly hide myself at that time because of all the wickedness they will have done by turning to other gods.

Deuteronomy 31:16 word by word

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה הִנְּךָ֥ שֹׁכֵ֖ב עִם־אֲבֹתֶ֑יךָ וְקָם֩ הָעָ֨ם הַזֶּ֜ה וְזָנָ֣ה׀ אַחֲרֵ֣י׀ אֱלֹהֵ֣י נֵֽכַר־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר ה֤וּא בָא־שָׁ֙מָּה֙ בְּקִרְבּ֔וֹ וַעֲזָבַ֕נִי וְהֵפֵר֙ אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר כָּרַ֖תִּי אִתּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• Behold, thou shalt sleepשָׁכַבshâkab · to lie down: lay downH7901
• with thy fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• and this peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• will rise upקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
• and go a whoringזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
• afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• the godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• of the strangersנֵכָרnêkâr · foreignH5236
• of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• whither they goבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• amongקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• them, and will forsakeעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
• me, and breakפָּרַרpârar · to breakH6565
• my covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
• which I have madeכָּרַתkârath · to cut: make(covenant)H3772

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 31:16

• Genesis 25:8Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. He joined his ancestors.
• 2 Samuel 7:12When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom.
• Isaiah 57:2Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace; they rest on their beds.
• Acts 13:36For David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, died, was buried with his ancestors, and experienced decay,
• Job 20:11His bones were full of his youthful vigor, but that vigor will lie down with him in the dust.
• Exodus 32:6So they got up early on the next day and offered up burnt offerings and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.
• Exodus 34:15Be careful not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you, you will eat from his sacrifice;
• Leviticus 20:3I myself will set my face against that man and cut him off from the midst of his people, because he has given some of his children to Molech and thereby defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name.
• Judges 2:17But they did not obey their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned aside from the path their ancestors had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not.
• Psalms 73:27Yes, look! Those far from you die; you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you.
• Psalms 106:39They were defiled by their deeds, and unfaithful in their actions.
• Isaiah 57:3But approach, you sons of omen readers, you offspring of adulteresses and prostitutes!
• Jeremiah 3:1“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife, he may not take her back again. Doing that would utterly defile the land. But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. So what makes you think you can return to me?” says the Lord.
• Ezekiel 16:15“‘But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every man who passed by so that your beauty became his.
• Ezekiel 23:5“Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians – warriors
• Hosea 2:2Plead earnestly with your mother (for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband), so that she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle, and turn away from her sexually immoral behavior.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 31:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers - שכב shocheb, thou shalt lie down; it signifies to rest, take rest in sleep, and, metaphorically, to die. Much stress cannot be safely laid on this expression to prove the immortality of the soul, or that the people in the time of Moses had a distinct notion of its separate existence. It was, however, understood in this sense by Jonathan ben Uzziel, who in his Targum paraphrases the word thus: "Thou shalt lie…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14-23Verses 14-23 The transaction recorded in these verses may be regarded as the solemn inauguration of Joshua to the office to which he had some time before Numbers 27:22 been called, and his recognition in it by God, which were manifested by his being summoned into the tabernacle with Moses while the Lord appeared in the pillar of cloud (compare Numbers 11:25; Numbers 12:5). Deuteronomy 31:16 The future apostasy of the people is announced in the presence of…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-22Verses 14-22 Moses and Joshua attended the Divine Majesty at the door of the tabernacle. Moses is told again that he must shortly die; even those who are most ready and willing to die, need to be often reminded of its coming. The Lord tells Moses, that, after his death, the covenant he had taken so much pains to make between Israel and their God, would certainly be broken. Israel would forsake Him; then God would forsake Israel. Justly does he cast those…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-29For a covenant document to remain binding and important, it had to be kept in a place where both sides could easily find it. The book of Deuteronomy needed to be preserved for future generations. In this way, Israel would continue to remember to submit to the Lord’s rule.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-2216-22. the Lord said unto Moses, ... this people will rise up--In this remarkable interview, Moses was distinctly apprised of the infidelity of Israel, their corruptions of the true religion through intercourse with the idolatrous inhabitants of Canaan (Am 5:26), and their chastisements in consequence of those national defections.Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 31:16

• Backsliders
• Death
• Fellowship
• Idolatry
• Ingratitude
• Minister, Christian
• Whoredom

In the dictionaries

• Moses
• Courage
• Geber
• Hilkiah
• Crime; Crimes
• Daniel, Book of
• Deuteronomy
• God, Strange
• Law in the Old Testament
• Sleep

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 31

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings