New English Translation
Deuteronomy 4:31
31(for he is a merciful God), he will not let you down or destroy you, for he cannot forget the covenant with your ancestors that he confirmed by oath to them.
Deuteronomy 4:31 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)(For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
- New International Version (NIV)For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.
- New King James Version (NKJV)(for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.
Context of Deuteronomy 4:31
29But if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find him, if, indeed, you seek him with all your heart and soul. 30In your distress when all these things happen to you in the latter days, if you return to the Lord your God and obey him (for he is a merciful God), he will not let you down or destroy you, for he cannot forget the covenant with your ancestors that he confirmed by oath to them. 32Indeed, ask about the distant past, starting from the day God created humankind on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether there has ever been such a great thing as this, or even a rumor of it. 33Have a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the middle of fire, as you yourselves have, and lived to tell about it?
Read all of Deuteronomy 4Deuteronomy 4:31 word by word
כִּ֣י אֵ֤ל רַחוּם֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לֹ֥א יַרְפְּךָ֖ וְלֹ֣א יַשְׁחִיתֶ֑ךָ וְלֹ֤א יִשְׁכַּח֙ אֶת־בְּרִ֣ית אֲבֹתֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖ע לָהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- a mercifulרַחוּםrachûm · compassionateH7349
- Godאֵל'êl · GodH410
- he will not forsakeרָפָהrâphâh · to slackenH7503
- thee, neither destroyשָׁחַתshâchath · to ruinH7843
- thee, nor forgetשָׁכַחshâkach shâkêach · to forgetH7911
- the covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
- of thy fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- which he swareשָׁבַעshâba‛ · to swearH7650
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:31
- Exodus 34:6The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness,
- Numbers 14:18‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in loyal love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children until the third and fourth generations.’
- 2 Chronicles 30:9For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and sons will be shown mercy by their captors and return to this land. The Lord your God is merciful and compassionate; he will not reject you if you return to him.”
- Nehemiah 1:5Then I said, “Please, O lord God of heaven, great and awesome God, who keeps his loving covenant with those who love him and obey his commandments,
- Nehemiah 9:31However, due to your abundant mercy you did not do away with them altogether; you did not abandon them. For you are a merciful and compassionate God.
- Psalms 86:5Certainly O Lord, you are kind and forgiving, and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you.
- Psalms 116:5The Lord is merciful and fair; our God is compassionate.
- Psalms 145:8The Lord is merciful and compassionate; he is patient and demonstrates great loyal love.
- Jonah 4:2He prayed to the Lord and said, “Oh, Lord, this is just what I thought would happen when I was in my own country. This is what I tried to prevent by attempting to escape to Tarshish! – because I knew that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment.
- Micah 7:18There is no other God like you! You forgive sin and pardon the rebellion of those who remain among your people. You do not remain angry forever, but delight in showing loyal love.
- Leviticus 26:42I will remember my covenant with Jacob and also my covenant with Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.
- Psalms 105:8He always remembers his covenantal decree, the promise he made to a thousand generations –
- Psalms 111:5He gives food to his faithful followers; he always remembers his covenant.
- Jeremiah 14:21For the honor of your name, do not treat Jerusalem with contempt. Do not treat with disdain the place where your glorious throne sits. Be mindful of your covenant with us. Do not break it!
- Luke 1:72He has done this to show mercy to our ancestors, and to remember his holy covenant –
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4:31
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 29-40Verses 29-40 Unwilling, as it might seem, to close his discourse with words of terror, Moses makes a last appeal to them in these verses in a different strain. Deuteronomy 4:34 Temptations - Compare Deuteronomy 7:18-19; Deuteronomy 29:2-3; not, “i. e.” the tribulations and persecutions undergone by the Israelites, out the plagues miraculously inflicted on the Egyptians. Deuteronomy 4:37 He chose their seed after them - literally, “his seed after him.”…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. 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 4:31
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
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