be careful that you are not ensnared to follow them after they are destroyed from before you, and that you not inquire after their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.” You shall not do so to Yahweh your God; for every abomination to Yahweh, which he hates, they have done to their gods; for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.
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Deuteronomy 12:30-31 sits inside this longer paragraph.
When Yahweh your God cuts off the nations from before you where you go in to dispossess them, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, be careful that you are not ensnared to follow them after they are destroyed from before you, and that you not inquire after their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.” You shall not do so to Yahweh your God; for every abomination to Yahweh, which he hates, they have done to their gods; for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever thing I command you, that you shall observe to do. You shall not add to it, nor take away from it.
Parallel Translations
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be careful that you are not ensnared to follow them after they are destroyed from before you, and that you not inquire after their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”
You shall not do so to Yahweh your God; for every abomination to Yahweh, which he hates, they have done to their gods; for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.
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Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
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take heed to thyself that thou be not ensnared to follow them, after that they are destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying: 'How used these nations to serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.'
Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God; for every abomination to the LORD, which He hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters do they burn in the fire to their gods.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (30)
- Jeremiah 32:35 (v31) They built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through…
- Deuteronomy 18:9-10 (v31) When you have come into the land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the abominations of those nations. There…
- 2 Kings 17:15-17 (v31) They rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified to them; and they…
- 2 Kings 21:2 (v31) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
- Jeremiah 7:31 (v31) They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the…
Show all 29 cross-references
- Jeremiah 10:2 (v30) Yahweh says, “Don’t learn the way of the nations, and don’t be dismayed at the signs of the sky; for the nations are dismayed at them.
- Ezekiel 20:32 (v30) “ ‘ “That which comes into your mind will not be at all, in that you say, ‘We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to…
- Exodus 23:31-33 (v30) I will set your border from the Red Sea even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River; for I will deliver the…
- Deuteronomy 7:16 (v30) You shall consume all the peoples whom Yahweh your God shall deliver to you. Your eye shall not pity them. You shall not serve their gods;…
- Deuteronomy 9:5 (v31) Not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart do you go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations…
- Deuteronomy 12:4 (v31) You shall not do so to Yahweh your God.
- Psalms 106:34-38 (v30) They didn’t destroy the peoples, as Yahweh commanded them, but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works. They served…
- Ezekiel 20:28 (v30) For when I had brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill, and every thick tree, and they…
- Ephesians 4:17 (v30) This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
- Leviticus 18:3 (vv30–31) You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived. You shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing…
- Exodus 23:2 (v31) “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. You shall not testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice.
- Numbers 33:52 (v30) then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their stone idols, destroy all their molten images,…
- Judges 2:2-3 (v30) You shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You shall break down their altars.’ But you have not listened to my voice.…
- 2 Kings 17:15 (v30) They rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified to them; and they…
- 1 Peter 4:3-4 (v30) For we have spent enough of our past time doing the desire of the Gentiles, and having walked in lewdness, lusts, drunken binges, orgies,…
- Leviticus 18:21 (v31) “ ‘You shall not give any of your children as a sacrifice to Molech. You shall not profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.
- Leviticus 18:26-30 (v31) You therefore shall keep my statutes and my ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the native-born, nor the…
- Leviticus 20:2 (v31) “Moreover, you shall tell the children of Israel, ‘Anyone of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners in Israel,…
- 2 Chronicles 33:2 (v31) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 36:14 (v31) Moreover all the chiefs of the priests, and the people, trespassed very greatly after all the abominations of the nations; and they…
- Ezekiel 20:31 (v31) When you offer your gifts, when you make your sons pass through the fire, do you pollute yourselves with all your idols to this day? Should…
- Ezekiel 23:27 (v31) Thus I will make your lewdness to cease from you, and remove your prostitution from the land of Egypt; so that you will not lift up your…
- Micah 6:7 (v31) Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams? With tens of thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my disobedience? The…
- Romans 12:2 (v30) Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing,…
29 distinct cross-references across this passage (30 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (13 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv30–31 By following their superstitions and idolatries, and thinking to…
By following their superstitions and idolatries, and thinking to serve me thereby.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv30–31 Snared; drawn into their sin and ruin.
Snared; drawn into their sin and ruin.
After that they be destroyed; i.e. by following the example they left, when their persons are destroyed.
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That thou inquire not after their gods, through curiosity to know their gods, and the manner of the worship, lest thy vain and foolish mind be seduced by its speciousness or newness.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv30–31 Take heed to thyself, that thou be not snared…
Take heed to thyself, that thou be not snared by following them,.... Their examples and customs, and so be drawn into the same idolatrous practices; see Psa 106:35, after that they be destroyed from before thee; for their idolatries and other sins:
and that thou inquire not after their gods; what they were, their names, forms, and figures:
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saying, how did these nations serve their gods? what was the manner of worship they gave them? what rites, customs, and ceremonies did they use in their adoration of them?
even so will I do likewise; or however, if this was not determined on when the inquiries were made, there was danger that this would be the result of them, and therefore the caution is given.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v30 By following them - By following the example they…
By following them - By following the example they left, when their persons are destroyed.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v31 Verse 31. Their sons and their daughters they have…
Verse 31. Their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire] Almost all the nations in the world agreed in offering human victims to their gods on extraordinary occasions, by which it is evident that none of those nations had any right notion of the Divine nature. How necessary, then, was the volume of revelation, to teach men what that religion is with which God can be well pleased! The Hindoos to this day offer human victims to their goddess Cali, and at the temple of Jaggernaut; and yet, notwithstanding this, there are found certain persons who, while they profess Christianity, are absolutely unwilling to send the Hindoos the Gospel of Christ, because they think it would not be politically wise! But the wisdom of this world has ever been foolishness with God; and in spite of all this infidel policy, the word of the Lord shall have free course and be glorified.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v30 Deu 12:30. By following them — By following the…
Deu 12:30. By following them — By following the example they left, when their persons are destroyed.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v30 This caution is based upon the notion generally entertained…
This caution is based upon the notion generally entertained in the ancient pagan world, that each country had its own tutelary deities whom it would be perilous to neglect; compare 1Ki 20:23; 2Ki 17:26. Israel was to shun such superstitions as unworthy of the elect people of God.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv30–31 Imitate. Hebrew, "be ensnared by imitation them." The example…
Imitate. Hebrew, "be ensnared by imitation them." The example of the wicked, is one of the most dangerous snares which the devil can place in our way. Notwithstanding these repeated admonitions of God, we see how prone the Hebrews were to adopt the superstitious customs of these nations, whose destruction ought surely to have warned them to keep at a distance. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v30 (30) Take heed to thyself that thou be not…
(30) Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared.—A necessary caution. “The fear” of heathen deities often attached itself to their seats of worship. It was found necessary to caution Israel against the fear of them and the dread of them in much later times. (See Jer_10:2-5.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v31 For even their sons and their daughters have they…
For even their sons and their daughters have they burnt in the fire to their gods. Elsewhere the phrase used is "make to pass through the fire", (Deu_18:10) or simply "make to pass through to Molech" (Lev_18:21; Jer_32:35) This has led some to maintain that the ceremony described was merely a februation, a lustration by fire, and not an actual burning alive of these victims; but there can be no doubt that both among the Ammonites and the Phoenicians, and indeed wherever the worship of Baal or Molech was followed, the offering of children in sacrifice by burning prevailed (Munter, "Religion der Karthager," p. 18, 2nd edit.; Selden, "De Diis Syris Syntag," i.e. 6, pp. 93, 257, edit. Beyer, Amst., 1680).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared…
Deu_12:30
Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following after them.
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Danger of a conquered foe
It is a remarkable fact, and is proved by Dr. Bell (in his History of British Insects), that the poison of the rattlesnake is even secreted after death. Dr. Bell, in his dissections of the rattlesnakes which have been dead many hours, has found that the poison continued to be secreted so fast as to require to be dried up occasionally with sponge or rag. The immoral author, like these rattlesnakes, not only poisons during his lifetime, but after death: because his books possess the subtle power of secreting the venom to a horrible degree. A moral sponge is constantly called into requisition to obliterate his poison for many years after he himself has been dead. (Scientific Illustrations.)
Revival of a conquered sin
As the bough of a tree bent from its usual course returns to its old position as soon as the force by which it had yielded is removed; so do men return to their old habits as soon as the motives, whether of interest or fear, which had influenced them, are done away. Nature, says Lord Bacon, is often hidden, sometimes overcome, seldom extinguished. Let not a man trust his victory over his nature too far, for nature will lie buried a great time, and yet revive upon the occasion or temptation; like as it was with AEsops damsel, turned from a cat to a woman, who sat very demurely at the boards end till a mouse ran before her. The same philosopher gives the following admirable caution:--A mans nature runs either to herbs or weeds; therefore let him seasonably water the one and destroy the other.
Need for watchfulness
None are so likely to maintain watchful guard over their hearts and lives as those who know the comfort of living in near communion with God. They feel their privilege and will fear losing it. They will dread failing from their high estate, and marring their own comfort by bringing clouds between themselves and Christ. He that goes on a journey with little money about him takes little thought of danger, and cares little how late he travels. He, on the contrary, that carries gold and jewels, will be a cautious traveller; he will look well to his roads, his horses, and his company, and run no risks. The fixed stars are those that tremble most. The man that most fully enjoys the light of Gods countenance, will be a man tremblingly afraid of losing its blessed consolations, and jealously fearful of doing anything to grieve the Holy Ghost. (Bp. Ryle.)
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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v31 Do not add to it or take away from…
Do not add to it or take away from it
They are not to create more laws nor are they to ignore laws that God has given them.
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translationWords
abomination
false god
fire
command
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v31 12:31 burn their sons and daughters: Human sacrifice was…
12:31 burn their sons and daughters: Human sacrifice was one of the most abhorrent practices of ancient pagan religions. The Ammonites believed that their god Molech required such sacrifice from his worshipers (Lev 18:21; 20:2; 2 Kgs 23:10; Jer 32:35).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.