Deuteronomy 4:3 kjv
Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you.
Deuteronomy 4:3 nkjv
Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal Peor; for the LORD your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor.
Deuteronomy 4:3 niv
You saw with your own eyes what the LORD did at Baal Peor. The LORD your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,
Deuteronomy 4:3 esv
Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all the men who followed the Baal of Peor.
Deuteronomy 4:3 nlt
"You saw for yourself what the LORD did to you at Baal-peor. There the LORD your God destroyed everyone who had worshiped Baal, the god of Peor.
Deuteronomy 4 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Num 25:1-9 | Israel settled in Shittim, and the people began to prostitute themselves... for the men who joined themselves to Baal-peor, and 24,000 died... | Original event of Baal-peor; God's judgment. |
| Num 31:16 | These... were the ones who acted treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor... | Moses links the plague to Balaam's counsel. |
| Josh 22:17 | Is not the iniquity of Peor enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves...? | Future generations remembered the severity of Peor. |
| Ps 106:28-31 | They yoked themselves to Baal-peor... Then Phinehas stood and intervened, and the plague was stayed. | Historical recollection of the apostasy and divine response. |
| Hos 9:10 | Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor... | God's initial joy over Israel marred by Peor. |
| 1 Cor 10:7-8 | Do not be idolaters as some of them were... We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did... twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. | Paul uses Peor as a warning against idolatry and immorality. |
| Deut 4:1-2 | Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules... you shall not add to the word that I command you... | Immediate context of listening and obeying God's commands. |
| Deut 4:4 | But you who held fast to the LORD your God are all alive today. | Contrast: those who remained faithful were preserved. |
| Deut 6:14-15 | You shall not go after other gods... for the LORD your God in your midst is a jealous God... | Warning against turning to other gods and God's jealousy. |
| Deut 7:2-4 | ...make no covenant with them and show them no mercy. You shall not intermarry... for they would turn away your sons from following Me... | Prevention of syncretism and idolatry through intermarriage. |
| Deut 13:6-11 | If your brother... entices you secretly, saying, "Let us go and serve other gods"... you shall surely kill him. | Severity of punishment for leading others to idolatry. |
| Deut 30:19 | I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death... Choose life... | Life/death depends on choosing God over other gods. |
| Exod 34:15-16 | You shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, lest, when they whore after their gods... you take of their daughters... | Early warnings against defilement through idol worship and intermarriage. |
| Lev 18:24-28 | Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things... the land vomited out its inhabitants. | Warnings against practices (including sexual sin and idolatry) that defile the land. |
| Lev 26:14-19 | But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments... I will appoint over you panic, consumption, and fever... | Curses for disobedience and covenant breaking. |
| Jos 24:19-20 | He is a holy God... He is a jealous God... He will not forgive your transgressions... lest he turn and do you harm... | Emphasizes God's holiness, jealousy, and potential wrath. |
| Ps 78:56-58 | Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God... provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their carved images. | Israel's repeated rebellion and idolatry through history. |
| Jer 7:9-11 | Will you steal, murder, commit adultery... and go after other gods... and then come and stand before me in this house...? | Condemnation of hypocrisy and persistent idolatry alongside ritual observance. |
| Rom 1:18 | For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men... | Universal truth of God's wrath against unrighteousness, exemplified at Peor. |
| Rom 6:23 | For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. | Connects the consequence of sin (death) to the historical event at Peor. |
| Rev 2:14 | But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel... | Balaam's teaching that led to Baal-peor remains a threat to New Testament believers. |
| Col 3:5-6 | Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality... covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. | New Testament injunctions against idolatry (including covetousness) and sexual sin, linking to God's wrath. |
Deuteronomy 4 verses
Deuteronomy 4 3 Meaning
Deuteronomy 4:3 serves as a foundational reminder from Moses to the Israelites of Yahweh's character as both righteous judge and covenant keeper. It directly refers to the calamitous event at Baal-peor, where God decisively judged those among them who apostatized through idolatry and sexual immorality. This verse underscores that the people witnessed firsthand the destructive consequences of disobedience and the specific, deadly wrath of the LORD against those who followed pagan gods, contrasting starkly with His preservation of the obedient.
Deuteronomy 4 3 Context
Deuteronomy chapter 4 opens Moses's second and longest sermon, delivered to the Israelites on the plains of Moab just before they were to enter the Promised Land. This chapter functions as a profound call to covenant faithfulness and obedience, emphasizing that Israel's well-being and longevity in the land are entirely contingent upon their adherence to God's commands. The immediate preceding context is the reaffirmation of the Law, particularly the Ten Commandments, given at Horeb (Mount Sinai). Verse 3 serves as a potent and recent historical example to underscore Moses's argument. The incident at Baal-peor (Numbers 25) involved Israelite men engaging in sexual immorality with Moabite and Midianite women, and participating in the worship of their god Baal-peor, leading to a devastating plague that killed 24,000 Israelites. Moses recalls this horrific event not merely as history, but as a direct, tangible demonstration of Yahweh's nature: His holy jealousy, His intolerance of idolatry, and His swift and complete judgment against apostasy, all of which the current generation directly witnessed. It sets a stark precedent for the consequences of turning away from the one true God.
Deuteronomy 4 3 Word analysis
- "Your eyes have seen" (וְעֵינֵיכֶם רֹאוֹת - ve‘eineykhem ro’ot):
- Word Level: "Eyes" (עֵינֵיכֶם - eineykhem) specifically denotes a collective, personal, and direct observation. This emphasizes empirical evidence over hearsay. "Have seen" (רֹאוֹת - ro’ot, present participle) signifies an ongoing state or direct experience.
- Significance: It implies direct witnessing. This was not a story passed down from ancestors, but an event of their immediate past. This makes their knowledge and culpability greater. God's judgment was public and undeniable. It forms a basis for warning, as their own experience is the most potent teacher.
- "what the LORD did" (אֵת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְהוָה - et asher ‘asa Yahweh):
- Word Level: "LORD" (יְהוָה - Yahweh), the covenant name of God, indicating His personal involvement and covenant fidelity, even in judgment. "Did" (עָשָׂה - ‘asa) implies active, decisive intervention.
- Significance: This emphasizes divine agency. The destruction was not accidental or caused by other forces, but a direct act of the covenant God. It asserts Yahweh's sovereignty and active presence among His people, confirming He is not a passive deity. It contrasts with pagan deities who were often manipulated by human ritual; Yahweh acts on His own accord.
- "because of Baal-peor" (בְּבַעַל פְּעוֹר - b'ba‘al Pe‘or):
- Word Level: "Baal-peor" (בַּעַל פְּעוֹר - Ba'al Pe'or) refers to a specific idol, a local manifestation of the Canaanite deity Baal, worshipped with licentious rites in connection with a mountain/cult site called Peor. "Because of" (בְּ - b') denotes the direct cause or reason for the divine action.
- Significance: This specifies the sin: idolatry and its accompanying immorality. It highlights a common temptation in the ancient Near East – the worship of fertility gods, which often involved cultic prostitution. It draws a clear causal link between apostasy and divine judgment. This was a specific test and a monumental failure of faithfulness.
- "for all the men who followed Baal-peor" (כָּל הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר הָלַךְ אַחֲרֵי בַעַל פְּעוֹר - kol ha’ish asher halakh akharey Ba‘al Pe‘or):
- Word Level: "All the men" (כָּל הָאִישׁ - kol ha’ish) highlights the comprehensive nature of the judgment, specifically targeting those responsible. "Followed" (הָלַךְ אַחֲרֵי - halakh akharey literally "walked after") is a common biblical idiom for adhering to, serving, or obeying.
- Significance: This identifies the specific segment of the community targeted by God's judgment: those who actively chose apostasy and yoked themselves to a pagan deity. It highlights individual culpability within the collective judgment. The idiom "followed after" signifies loyalty and worship given to an idol, directly competing with devotion to Yahweh.
- "the LORD your God" (יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - Yahweh Eloheychem):
- Word Level: This dual divine name emphasizes Yahweh as both the covenant God (Yahweh) and the supreme, all-powerful ruler (Elohim), but also "your God" (Eloheychem) highlighting the personal, covenantal relationship.
- Significance: This reinforces the uniqueness and exclusive claim of God on Israel. He is "their" God, implying a personal relationship and a covenant obligation. It underscores His right to judge disobedience because of this unique relationship. The specific ownership highlights the betrayal inherent in their idolatry.
- "destroyed from among you." (הִשְׁמִידוֹ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ מִקִּרְבְּכֶם - hishmido Yahweh Eloheykha miqqirb'khem):
- Word Level: "Destroyed" (הִשְׁמִיד - hishmid, Hip’hil imperfect, signifies a forceful and complete extermination). "From among you" (מִקִּרְבְּכֶם - miqqirb'khem) denotes removal from the community.
- Significance: The destruction was total for the specific group and occurred within the community, signifying purification and removal of contagion. This divine act demonstrated Yahweh's abhorrence of idolatry and His demand for holiness from His covenant people. It also serves as a warning of God's capacity for righteous indignation and swift judgment when His covenant is broken.
Deuteronomy 4 3 Bonus section
The phrase "destroyed from among you" is crucial because it speaks to both divine judgment and the concept of purity within the covenant community. God not only judged the individual idolaters but also purified the Israelite camp of the leaven of sin that threatened to corrupt the entire nation. This act was necessary for Israel to maintain their distinctness as God's holy people among pagan nations, demonstrating that His presence could not co-exist with such flagrant disloyalty. This principle extends into New Testament teachings on corporate holiness and the removal of destructive influences (e.g., the leaven of sin in 1 Corinthians 5). The emphasis on "your eyes have seen" means this was a powerful, unforgettable, public lesson from which no excuse could be made for future disobedience.
Deuteronomy 4 3 Commentary
Deuteronomy 4:3 succinctly captures a pivotal lesson from Israel's history at Baal-peor: God's severe and direct judgment on those who abandon Him for idolatry. Moses presents this not as a distant anecdote but as a direct, shared experience the present generation witnessed. This eyewitness account serves as incontrovertible proof of Yahweh's exclusive nature, His holy jealousy, and His demand for undivided loyalty. The "LORD your God" acts precisely against those who "followed Baal-peor," clearly establishing the direct cause and effect. This powerful reminder emphasizes that obedience leads to life, while idolatry leads to certain destruction from within the very community of God's people. It underlines that covenant faithfulness is a matter of life and death, an imperative for Israel's survival and blessing in the Promised Land. The Baal-peor incident remains a timeless warning: divine wrath is a terrifying reality against apostasy, demanding unwavering allegiance to the one true God.