Deuteronomy 32:6 kjv
Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?
Deuteronomy 32:6 nkjv
Do you thus deal with the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, who bought you? Has He not made you and established you?
Deuteronomy 32:6 niv
Is this the way you repay the LORD, you foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?
Deuteronomy 32:6 esv
Do you thus repay the LORD, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?
Deuteronomy 32:6 nlt
Is this the way you repay the LORD,
you foolish and senseless people?
Isn't he your Father who created you?
Has he not made you and established you?
Deuteronomy 32 6 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isa 1:2 | "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth... I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me." | God as a parent, Israel as rebellious child. |
| Jer 2:27 | "They say to a wooden idol, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’" | Idolaters reject God as true Father. |
| Jer 3:19 | "I said, ‘How I would set you among My sons...and you would not turn away from following Me!’" | God's desire for a faithful child-like relationship. |
| Mal 1:6 | "A son honors his father, and a servant his master...where is My honor...My respect?" | Israel's lack of honor for their Divine Father/Master. |
| Ex 4:22 | "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is My firstborn son.’" | God's adoption/claiming of Israel as His own. |
| Ex 15:16 | "Till Your people cross over, O Lord, Till the people whom You have purchased pass over." | God "bought" (purchased) His people. |
| Isa 43:1 | "But now thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: 'Do not fear, for I have redeemed you...'" | God as Creator and Redeemer. |
| Isa 44:2 | "Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb..." | God as Creator from the very beginning. |
| Psa 78:42-43 | "They did not remember His power or the day when He redeemed them from the enemy..." | Forgetting God's acts of redemption. |
| Psa 100:3 | "Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people..." | God as Maker and Owner of His people. |
| Hos 11:1 | "When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son." | God's fatherly love and deliverance. |
| Deut 8:2-3 | "He humbled you...that He might make you know that man does not live on bread alone..." | God's formative discipline as a parent. |
| Deut 31:29 | "I know that after my death you will act corruptly and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you..." | Prophetic foretelling of Israel's corruption. |
| Psa 73:2-3 | "My feet had almost stumbled... for I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." | The danger of foolishness (moral depravity). |
| Prov 1:7 | "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction." | Defining characteristic of foolishness/senselessness. |
| Rom 9:20-21 | "But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, 'Why have you made me thus?'" | The potter/clay analogy (Creator's prerogative). |
| Eph 2:10 | "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works..." | God's creative work continued in the new covenant. |
| 1 Cor 6:20 | "For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." | Purchased through Christ in the New Covenant. |
| Gal 4:4-5 | "God sent forth His Son... that we might receive the adoption as sons." | Adoption as sons and daughters through Christ. |
| Heb 12:5-6 | "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens..." | God's fatherly discipline for those He loves. |
| 1 Pet 1:18-19 | "You were not redeemed with perishable things... but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." | Redeemed by Christ's blood (New Covenant "purchase"). |
| Phil 2:15 | "That you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation..." | Counter-example to Israel's corruption in Deut 32:6. |
Deuteronomy 32 verses
Deuteronomy 32 6 Meaning
This verse serves as a potent rhetorical indictment from God to the nation of Israel, expressed through Moses in the Song of Moses. It exposes their profound ingratitude and spiritual foolishness by contrasting their rebellion and moral decay with God's foundational, benevolent, and protective relationship as their Creator, Redeemer, and Father. It calls into question their loyalty and wisdom, given His absolute claim on them through creation and deliverance.
Deuteronomy 32 6 Context
Deuteronomy 32:6 is part of the "Song of Moses" (Deut 32:1-43), delivered just before Moses' death. This song functions as both a testimony against Israel and a prophecy concerning their future disobedience and the subsequent divine judgment, followed by ultimate restoration. After recounting God's glorious acts in history and His perfect character (v. 1-4), Moses begins to directly address Israel's predicted spiritual decay. Verse 6 immediately confronts their expected faithlessness and ingratitude. Historically, it is spoken as Israel stands on the cusp of entering the promised land, with Moses fully aware of their proneness to apostasy, often revealed in their grumbling and idolatry during the wilderness wandering. Culturally, it stood in stark contrast to the polytheistic fertility cults of Canaan, where various "gods" might be seen as ancestral or benevolent figures, but none possessed the singular power and historical faithfulness of YHWH as both Creator and Redeemer. The polemic here is clear: unlike the transient and powerless deities of the nations, Israel's God is truly their Father, who powerfully acted on their behalf.
Deuteronomy 32 6 Word analysis
- Do you thus requite the Lord?
Requite(גָּמַל, gamal): To deal with, render, or recompense. This is a rhetorical question implying an utterly unthinkable, reprehensible return for God's good. It suggests a betrayal of a reciprocal relationship, yet it's entirely one-sided from God's initiating grace. It highlights a debt of gratitude entirely ignored.
- O foolish and senseless people?
Foolish(נָבָל, nabal): Not merely intellectually deficient, but morally and spiritually depraved. This term implies godlessness, contempt for divine wisdom and righteousness (e.g., Ps 14:1 "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God'"). It refers to someone who is senseless in character, lacking proper reverence for God.Senseless(לֹא חָכָם, lo chakam): Literally, "not wise" or "without wisdom." This reinforces the nabal character. It indicates a lack of discernment and understanding of basic spiritual truths – specifically, understanding the identity of their God and His relationship to them. It's an indictment of their moral and intellectual failure to grasp what is clearly evident.- Words-group: "O foolish and senseless people?" This damning descriptor highlights Israel's profound spiritual blindness. Their behavior is not a momentary lapse but reflects a fundamental lack of wisdom and moral integrity in failing to recognize God's benevolence and rightful claim. This phrase sets the stage for the rest of the verse by explaining the root cause of their treacherous actions.
- Is not He your Father, who bought you?
Father(אָב, ’av): Here, "Father" signifies God as the originator, provider, and protector. For Israel, this carries the deep covenantal meaning of Him being the Father of their nation, having chosen and nurtured them as His peculiar people. This challenged pagan ideas of localized gods.Bought you(קָנָה, qanah): This versatile verb means to buy, acquire, possess, or create. In this context, it has a dual meaning:- Created/Formed: God "acquired" or "produced" Israel as a nation from nothing, creating them into His own people (e.g., Ex 15:16 "the people whom You have purchased"; Ps 78:54 "this mountain which Your right hand has purchased").
- Redeemed/Purchased: God "bought them back" from slavery in Egypt through miraculous power, delivering them from bondage, thereby establishing an unbreakable claim on them.
- Words-group: "Is not He your Father, who bought you?" This phrase strongly asserts God's ultimate claim and foundational relationship with Israel. He is not just their creator but also their redeemer. The rhetorical question drives home the undeniable truth of His unique bond with them, making their ingratitude even more heinous.
- He made you and established you.
Made you(עָשָׂה, 'asah): To do, make, or form. This refers to God's active role in forming Israel as a nation, shaping their identity and existence. It speaks to His hand in their very being.Established you(כּוּן, kun): To set up, prepare, establish, confirm. This signifies God's active and continuous work in securing Israel's position, ensuring their stability, and setting them firmly as His covenant people. It highlights His sustaining providence.- Words-group: "He made you and established you." This expands on the previous assertion, detailing God's active, continuous involvement in Israel's history. From their very formation to their secure establishment as a nation, God's hand has been ever-present, meticulously crafting their destiny and providing all that was needed for their well-being. This reinforces His right to their complete devotion.
Deuteronomy 32 6 Bonus section
The profound lament in Deuteronomy 32:6 resonates across scripture, finding echoes in prophetic indictments of Israel's spiritual adultery and rebellion against the Lord (e.g., Isa 1:2-3, Jer 2:13, Hos 11:1-2). This foundational description of God as Father and Israel as His children directly confronts the worldview of surrounding pagan nations who had multiple, often capricious, gods, without such a unique and historically grounded claim. The language implies that Israel's "foolishness" is not ignorance, but a deliberate choice to turn from revealed truth, an intellectual and moral rebellion. Furthermore, this concept of being "bought with a price" or "purchased" by God foreshadows the New Testament concept of redemption through the blood of Christ, where believers are bought out of slavery to sin to belong wholly to God (1 Cor 6:20, 1 Pet 1:18-19). The call for Israel to acknowledge their "Father" speaks to the inherent expectation of obedience and honor that God deserves from those He has so generously blessed.
Deuteronomy 32 6 Commentary
Deuteronomy 32:6 unveils the profound tragedy of spiritual ingratitude. God, speaking through Moses, asks Israel how they could betray such a comprehensive, loving, and foundational relationship. He identifies Himself not merely as a deity, but intimately as their Father, their Creator (qanah as originator) and their Redeemer (qanah as buyer from bondage). This Fatherhood is established not by mere procreation but through a deliberate act of choosing, creating, and establishing them as a unique nation (Ex 4:22). He made them, giving them their identity and existence, and established them, giving them their land, law, and purpose. Their actions, characterized as "foolish" (morally bankrupt, rejecting God's wisdom) and "senseless" (lacking discernment), are a direct insult to the very One who gave them everything. The verse underscores the unbreakable claim God has on His people through both creation and redemption, making their disloyalty not just an error but a profound ethical and relational failure.