Deuteronomy 32:17

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:15-18

We have here a description of the apostasy of Israel from God, which would shortly come to pass, and to which already they had a disposition. One would have thought that a people under so many obligations to their God, in duty, gratitude, and interest, would never have turned from him; but, alas! they turned aside quickly. Here are two great instances of their wickedness, and each of them amounted to an apostasy from God:? I. Security and sensuality, pride and insolence, and the other common... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:17

They sacrificed to devils, not to God ,.... Their sacrifices being continued, when it was the will of God they should cease, were reckoned by him not as, offered to him, but to demons, and to such that were not God; they being therein under the instigation of Satan, and doing his lusts, John 8:44 ; just as Pagans and Papists, worshipping idols under the influence and direction of Satan, are said to worship devils, and sacrifice to them, 1 Corinthians 10:20 ; and indeed setting up their... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 32:17

They sacrificed unto devils - The original word שדים shedim has been variously understood. The Syriac, Chaldee, Targums of Jerusalem and Jonathan, and the Samaritan, retain the original word: the Vulgate, Septuagint, Arabic, Persic, Coptic, and Anglo-Saxon, have devils or demons. The Septuagint has εθυσαν δαιμονιοις , they sacrificed to demons: the Vulgate copies the Septuagint: the Arabic has sheeateen , the plural of Sheetan , Satan, by which the rebellious angels appear to be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:15-18

Israel's ungrateful return for the Lord's benefits. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:15-18

Jeshurun. I. A GOOD NAME BELIED . Jeshurun, equivalent to righteous. An honorable name, but sadly falsified by the conduct described. How many Jeshuruns have thus forsaken the God of their early vows! Notice, a good name is of no account without the good character. Balaam praised Israel's righteousness, and wished to "die the death of the righteous" ( Numbers 23:10 , Numbers 23:21 ); but it is the being righteous, not the being called so, which makes the happy deathbed. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:15-18

The damager of worldly success. Success, when granted, bids for men's trust. They begin accordingly to insinuate that the reliable Rock who begat them is not the source of all success, and that the rill may be tracked to some nearer source. Hence new gods, novelties of man's imagination, or demons from the waste, grateful for even a false faith, are worshipped; and the ever-living and true God forgotten. Apostasy and skepticism, we would repeat, are born of luxury and success. Men think,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:15-25

Sowing and reaping. The connection between sin and suffering is natural, organic, and universal. Suffering, in some form, is the proper development of sin. Like the plants of nature, sin has its seed within itself. I. WE HAVE A CASE OF AGGRAVATED SIN . 1. It was a wanton abuse of special cloudiness . The splendid gifts of providence, which ought to have bound them by golden ties of obligation to God, were erected into barriers to shut out God from them. An inner... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 32:17

Devils ; shedim , a word which occurs only here and Psalms 106:37 . It stands connected with the verb שׁוּד , to rule, and means primarily "lords." The LXX . render by δαιμόνια , demons. In Assyrian it is said to be a name for demigods. Not to God ; rather, to a not God , a composite term in apposition to shedim ; the meaning is rightly given in the margin of the Authorized Version, "which were not God." To new gods that came newly up. The word rendered by... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Deuteronomy 32:1-42

Song of MosesIf 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 differs signally in diction and idiom from the preceding... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Deuteronomy 32:16-17

Deuteronomy 32:16-17. They provoked him to jealousy Speaking after the manner of men. See on Numbers 25:11. The word expresses not only the hot displeasure and indignation of God, but also the ground of it, which was Israel’s falseness to him, whom they had accepted as their husband, and their spiritual whoredom with other gods. They sacrificed unto devils Not that they actually considered their gods under the notion of devils; but, whatever pretext they might have for their idolatry,... read more

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