Tree of Life Version
Deuteronomy 4:28
28There you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which do not see or hear or eat or smell.
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 to witness against you today that you will certainly be carried off quickly from the land you are crossing over the Jordan to possess. You will not prolong your days on it, for you will certainly be destroyed. 27Adonai will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where Adonai will drive you. There you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which do not see or hear or eat or smell. 29But from there you will seek Adonai your God and you will find Him, when you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30“When you are in distress and all these things have come on you, in the latter days you will return to Adonai your God and listen to His voice.
Read all of Deuteronomy 4Deuteronomy 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- And there ye shall serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
- godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- the workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
- of men’sאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- handsיָדyâd · handH3027
- woodעֵץ‛êts · tree: woodH6086
- and stoneאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
- which neither seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- nor hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- nor eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- nor smellרִיחַrûach · to smellH7306
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 4:28
- Deuteronomy 28:36“Adonai will bring you and the king you set over you to a nation you and your fathers have not known—and there you will serve other gods, wood and stone.
- 1 Samuel 26:19Now please, let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If Adonai has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if men have done so, then cursed are they before Adonai, because they have now driven me out that I would not cling to Adonai’s inheritance, saying: ‘Go, worship other gods.’
- Jeremiah 16:13So I will cast you out of this land into a land that you have not known—neither you nor your fathers—and there you will serve other gods day and night. For I will give you no grace.’
- Ezekiel 20:32What comes up in your mind will not happen at all, when you say, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the families of the countries, worshiping wood and stone.’
- Acts 7:42But God turned and gave them over to serve the host of heaven, just as it is written in the book of the Prophets: ‘It was not to Me that you brought sacrifices and offerings for forty years in the wilderness, was it, O House of Israel?
- Psalms 115:4Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
- Psalms 135:15The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
- Isaiah 44:9Those who fashion idols are empty. Their precious things do not profit. Their witnesses do not see or know, so they will be put to shame.
- Isaiah 45:20“Assemble yourselves and come, draw near together, fugitives of the nations! Those who carry their wooden idols have no knowledge, praying to a god who cannot save.
- Isaiah 46:7They lift it upon a shoulder and carry it. They set in its place and there it stands. It does not budge from its place. Even if one cry to it, it cannot answer, nor save anyone from his trouble.”
- Jeremiah 10:3The customs of the peoples are useless: it is just a tree cut from the forest, the work of the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.
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
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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