Deuteronomy - 32:20



20 He said, "I will hide my face from them. I will see what their end shall be; for they are a very perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Deuteronomy 32:20.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
And he said: I will hide my face from them, and will consider what their last end shall be: for it is a perverse generation, and unfaithful children.
And He saith: I hide My face from them, I see what is their latter end; For a froward generation are they, Sons in whom is no stedfastness.
And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very fraudulent generation, children in whom is no faith.
And he said, My face will be veiled from them, I will see what their end will be: for they are an uncontrolled generation, children in whom is no faith.
And He said: 'I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be; For they are a very froward generation, Children in whom is no faithfulness.
And he said: 'I will hide my face from them, and I will consider their very end. For this is a perverse generation, and they are unfaithful sons.
Et dixit, Abscondam faciem meam ab eis, Videbo quid in novissimo eorum: generatio enim perversitatum sunt: et filii in quibus nulla est fides.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

I will see what their end shall be - Compare the similar expression in Genesis 37:20.

Children in whom is no faith - לא אמן בם lo emon bam, "There is no steadfastness in them," they can never be depended on. They are fickle, because they are faithless.

And he said, I will hide my face from them,.... Now the Lord proceeds to pass sentence on the Jews for their ill treatment of his Son, and of his followers; which respects judgments that should come upon them, both spiritual and temporal, or corporeal; the former lies in Deuteronomy 32:20, and the latter in Deuteronomy 32:22; and this the Lord said in his own heart and mind, decreed and determined it within himself, and declared it in his word by his prophets, as here and in other places: and this first part of the sentence denotes the withdrawing of the gracious presence of God, and the manifestation of his favour, from the people of the Jews, his dislike and contempt of them, having taken out from among them the remnant according to the election of grace, the disciples and followers of Christ; and the removal of the Gospel, and the ordinances of it, from them, the means of light and knowledge, joy and comfort, and the giving of them up to blindness and hardness of heart, which continues to this day; they have a vail of darkness and ignorance upon their hearts while reading the books of the Old Testament, which will be done away when they turn to the Lord, and not before; likewise this was fulfilled when all the symbols of the divine Presence were removed, when the temple was destroyed, and all things in it, or carried away; and this house, which was formerly the house of God, and where he dwelt, was left desolate by him; and it is remarkable, that a little before the destruction of Jerusalem, a voice was heard in the temple, "let us go hence", as Josephus relates (z):
I will see what their end shall be: their destruction, called in the New Testament "the end of the world"; the end of the Jewish church state and commonwealth: this the Lord said, not as ignorant what it should be, or when it would be; but the sense is, either that he would cause them and others to see it, when he should bring wrath upon them to the uttermost; or that he would look upon it with pleasure and delight, which would be an aggravation of their punishment, Proverbs 1:26,
for they are a very froward generation; men of perverse spirits, of a contrary and contradictory temper and disposition, who pleased not God, and were contrary to all men; as well as contradicted and blasphemed the Gospel of Christ, were men of distorted principles in religion, implicated and inconsistent, they wresting the Scriptures to their own destruction; and were obstinate, stubborn, and inflexible in their notions and practices, and that to the last, which was their ruin:
children in whom is no faith; for though they had faith in one God, in the Scriptures of the Old Testament as the word of God, in the law of Moses, and in a future state, the resurrection of the dead, and judgment to come; especially the Pharisees, the greater part of the Jews; yet though they were the children of Abraham, and would be thought to be the children of God, they had no faith in Jesus, the true Messiah; him they disbelieved and rejected; and as their fathers could not enter into the land of Canaan, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness, because of unbelief; so these were cast out of the land, and from the Lord, because of their unbelief in the rejection of the Messiah. Aben Ezra observes, that it may be interpreted there is no men of faithfulness, or no faithful men among them, as in Psalm 12:1; they were a faithless generation, covenant breakers, broke their covenant with God, and therefore he rejected them.
(z) De Bello Jude. l. 6. c. 5. sect. 3.

I will see - I will make them and others see, what the fruit of such actions shall be. No faith - No fidelity: perfidious, that have broken their covenant so solemnly made with me.

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