New King James Version
Deuteronomy 32:27
27Had I not feared the wrath of the enemy, Lest their adversaries should misunderstand, Lest they should say, “Our hand is high; And it is not the Lord who has done all this.” ’
Deuteronomy 32:27 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the Lord hath not done all this.
- New International Version (NIV)but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest the adversary misunderstand and say, ‘Our hand has triumphed; the Lord has not done all this.’ ”
- English Standard Version (ESV)had I not feared provocation by the enemy, lest their adversaries should misunderstand, lest they should say, "Our hand is triumphant, it was not the Lord who did all this."'
- New Living Translation (NLT)But I feared the taunt of Israel’s enemy, who might misunderstand and say, “Our own power has triumphed! The Lord had nothing to do with this!”’
Context of Deuteronomy 32:27
25The sword shall destroy outside; There shall be terror within For the young man and virgin, The nursing child with the man of gray hairs. 26I would have said, “I will dash them in pieces, I will make the memory of them to cease from among men,” Had I not feared the wrath of the enemy, Lest their adversaries should misunderstand, Lest they should say, “Our hand is high; And it is not the Lord who has done all this.” ’ 28“For they are a nation void of counsel, Nor is there any understanding in them. 29Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!
Read all of Deuteronomy 32Deuteronomy 32:27 word by word
לוּלֵ֗י כַּ֤עַס אוֹיֵב֙ אָג֔וּר פֶּֽן־יְנַכְּר֖וּ צָרֵ֑ימוֹ פֶּן־יֹֽאמְרוּ֙ יָדֵ֣ינוּ רָ֔מָה וְלֹ֥א יְהוָ֖ה פָּעַ֥ל כָּל־זֹֽאת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Were it notלוּלֵאlûlê' lûlêy · unlessH3884
- that I fearedגּוּרgûr · to dreadH1481
- the wrathכַּ֫עַסka‛as ka‛aώ · vexationH3708
- of the enemyאֹיֵב'ôyêb 'ôyêb · enemyH341
- lest their adversariesצַרtsar tsâr · enemyH6862
- should behave themselves strangelyנָכַרnâkar · to alienateH5234
- lest they should sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Our handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
- highרוּםrûm · to exaltH7311
- and the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- hath not doneפָּעַלpâ‛al · to workH6466
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 32:27
- 1 Samuel 12:22For the Lord will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you His people.
- Isaiah 37:28“But I know your dwelling place, Your going out and your coming in, And your rage against Me.
- Isaiah 47:7And you said, ‘I shall be a lady forever,’ So that you did not take these things to heart, Nor remember the latter end of them.
- Jeremiah 19:4“Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents
- Lamentations 1:9Her uncleanness is in her skirts; She did not consider her destiny; Therefore her collapse was awesome; She had no comforter. “O Lord, behold my affliction, For the enemy is exalted!”
- Ezekiel 20:13Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they despised My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.
- Zechariah 1:14So the angel who spoke with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I am zealous for Jerusalem And for Zion with great zeal.
- Exodus 32:12Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people.
- Numbers 14:15Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying,
- Joshua 7:9For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”
- Psalms 115:1Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth.
- Psalms 140:8Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; Do not further his wicked scheme, Lest they be exalted. Selah
- Isaiah 10:8For he says, ‘Are not my princes altogether kings?
- Isaiah 37:10“Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”
- Isaiah 37:12Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?
- Daniel 4:30The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 32:27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy - Houbigant and others contend that wrath here refers not to the enemy, but to God; and that the passage should be thus translated: "Indignation for the adversary deters me, lest their enemies should be alienated, and say, The strength of our hands, and not of the Lord's, hath done this." Had not God punished them in such a way as proved that his hand and not the hand of man had done it, the heathens would…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. 26-38Verses 26-38 The idolatry and rebellions of Israel deserved, and the justice of God seemed to demand, that they should be rooted out. But He spared Israel, and continues them still to be living witnesses of the truth of the Bible, and to silence unbelievers. They are preserved for wise and holy purposes and the prophecies give us some idea what those purposes are. The Lord will never disgrace the throne of his glory. It is great wisdom, and will help much…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 27if I had not dreaded: God is never terrified or intimidated. This fear is concern that Israel’s enemies would attribute their success to their own efforts rather than to God’s sovereign judgment of his people (see Exodus 32:11–14).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-431. Give ear, O ye heavens; ... hear, O earth--The magnificence of the exordium, the grandeur of the theme, the frequent and sudden transitions, the elevated strain of the sentiments and language, entitle this song to be ranked amongst the noblest specimens of poetry to be found in the Scriptures.Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 32:27
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries