Deuteronomy 8 14

Deuteronomy 8:14 kjv

Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

Deuteronomy 8:14 nkjv

when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

Deuteronomy 8:14 niv

then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Deuteronomy 8:14 esv

then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,

Deuteronomy 8:14 nlt

Do not become proud at that time and forget the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 8 verses

Deuteronomy 8 14 Meaning

This verse serves as a crucial spiritual warning for the people of Israel as they are about to enter the prosperous land. It admonishes them against the internal peril of pride arising from future material blessings, which can lead to forgetting the Lord their God. This forgetfulness is equated with a failure to remember and acknowledge the miraculous deliverance He provided from the brutal slavery in Egypt. It highlights the subtle yet profound danger of prosperity leading to self-reliance and neglect of the divine source of all blessings.

Deuteronomy 8 14 Context

Deuteronomy 8 is part of Moses' farewell addresses to the generation poised to enter the Promised Land. The preceding chapters emphasized the singularity of God, the importance of absolute loyalty to Him, and the core commandments of the covenant. Chapter 8 specifically focuses on Israel's forty years in the wilderness as a period of discipline, testing, and learning God's faithfulness and provision. It describes how God humbled them and provided for them, teaching them reliance on His word and not just on bread.

Verse 14 then serves as a stark warning, anticipating the temptation they will face once they inhabit a land flowing with milk and honey, a place of plenty contrasting sharply with the wilderness. Moses warns them that the very prosperity God is about to bestow upon them carries the danger of spiritual forgetfulness and pride. The verse implicitly draws a comparison between the dependence forged in adversity (wilderness) and the potential arrogance that comes with ease and self-sufficiency (Canaan). This context underscores that God's desire for His people's material well-being is secondary to their spiritual fidelity.

Deuteronomy 8 14 Word analysis

• then your heart be lifted up (וְרָם לְבָבֶךָ, w’ram levav’kha)

  • your heart (לְבָבֶךָ, levav’kha): In Hebrew thought, the levav (heart) is not merely the seat of emotions, but the entire inner being—the intellect, will, affections, and conscience. It signifies the core of a person's identity and decision-making. Here, it indicates an internal state and spiritual disposition.
  • be lifted up (וְרָם, w’ram): From the root רוּם (rum), meaning "to be high, exalted." While sometimes used positively for God's exaltedness, when applied to humans in this context, it signifies arrogance, haughtiness, pride, and self-exaltation. It describes a swollen sense of self-importance or achievement.

• and you forget (וְשָׁכַחְתָּ, w’shakach’ta)

  • forget (שָׁכַח, shakach): This is more than mere accidental oversight or a lapse in memory. In biblical context, to "forget" God implies a deliberate neglect, a practical abandonment of His commands, His covenant, and His deeds. It's a failure to live in the reality of who God is and what He has done, leading to ungratefulness and disobedience.

• the Lord your God (יהוה אלהיך, YHWH Eloheyka)

  • the Lord (יהוה, YHWH): The unpronounceable tetragrammaton, the covenant name of God, revealing His personal, relational, and unchanging faithfulness. It underscores His specific relationship with Israel as their redeemer.
  • your God (אלהיך, Eloheyka): Emphasizes the particular and exclusive covenant relationship between God and Israel, reinforcing their obligations to Him alone. It reminds them of His supreme authority over them.

• who brought you out (אֲשֶׁר הוֹצִיאֲךָ, ’asher hotzi’akha)

  • brought you out (הוֹצִיאֲךָ, hotzi’akha): From the root יָצָא (yatza), "to go out, bring forth." This highlights God's direct, powerful, and deliberate intervention. It underscores His active role as the rescuer, emphasizing that Israel's freedom was entirely His doing, not their own.

• of the land of Egypt (מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, me’eretz Mitzrayim)

  • land of Egypt (מִצְרַיִם, Mitzrayim): Represents not only a specific geographic location but also a pagan, idolatrous, oppressive empire. It symbolizes a state of spiritual and physical bondage, the antithesis of the freedom and divine relationship Israel now enjoyed.

• from the house of slavery (מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים, mibbet avadim)

  • house of slavery (בֵּית עֲבָדִים, bet avadim): A strong, emphatic idiom stressing the comprehensive and systematic nature of their bondage. It paints a picture of utter servitude and a state from which only a mighty, sovereign power could possibly deliver them.

• Word-Group Analysis:

  • "then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God": This powerful phrase establishes a causal link between prosperity leading to internal arrogance ("heart lifted up") and this arrogance leading directly to spiritual neglect ("forget the Lord your God"). It indicates a dangerous progression where an ungrateful spirit of self-sufficiency erases the awareness of divine provision and sovereignty. This is the central warning of the verse.
  • "who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery": This recurrent reminder (found throughout Deuteronomy and the Pentateuch) serves as the foundational argument for why Israel must not forget. It recalls their lowest, most helpless state and magnifies the magnitude of God's unmerited, miraculous intervention. The dual expression ("land of Egypt," "house of slavery") reinforces the complete, inescapable nature of their former bondage, leaving no room for them to take credit for their liberation. It acts as the unshakeable basis for their perpetual gratitude and obedience.

Deuteronomy 8 14 Bonus section

• This verse highlights that both adversity (wilderness training, Deut 8:2-3) and prosperity (entering the promised land) are forms of divine testing. While the wilderness teaches dependence through scarcity, the land of plenty tests dependence through abundance. This presents a critical insight that our attitude in comfort is as spiritually revealing as our attitude in hardship.
• The connection between a "lifted heart" (pride) and "forgetting God" underscores the spiritual reality that pride is the root of many sins, primarily severing the essential bond of humility and reliance on the Creator. It’s an inward turning from the divine to the self.
• The phrase "house of slavery" (beit avadim) serves not just as a descriptor of their historical circumstance but also carries an ethical and spiritual weight, emphasizing a condition of powerlessness and total subjection that makes God’s deliverance all the more glorious and imperative for Israel to remember.

Deuteronomy 8 14 Commentary

Deuteronomy 8:14 encapsulates a timeless spiritual truth: prosperity, though a blessing, can also be a significant test, arguably more perilous than adversity. Moses warns that when blessings accumulate, there's a profound risk of the "heart being lifted up." This "lifting up" signifies pride, self-reliance, and an attributing of success to one's own efforts, wisdom, or strength rather than to God's generous hand. This pride then leads directly to "forgetting the Lord your God." This forgetfulness is not necessarily an intellectual amnesia about God's existence, but a practical amnesia about His ongoing active presence, His past redemptive acts, and His covenantal demands. It's a failure to live in conscious dependence on Him and gratitude for His provisions.

The vivid recall of Israel's deliverance from "the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery" serves as the powerful antidote to this forgetfulness. It grounds their identity and present blessings firmly in God's unparalleled saving grace from a state of utter helplessness. To forget God is, therefore, to forget the very act that brought them into being as a nation and secured their freedom. This divine act of liberation leaves no room for human boasting or self-aggrandizement. The verse cautions that unchecked pride and the resulting forgetfulness lead to a disavowal of God's role, setting the stage for disobedience and spiritual decline. It teaches that true blessedness is found not merely in what God provides, but in maintaining a humble, grateful, and dependent heart towards the Provider, remembering always the depths from which He redeemed us.

• Examples for practical usage:
  • When experiencing career success, one might remember their initial struggles and attribute all subsequent achievements to personal talent, rather than divine favour or guidance.
  • A nation might, in times of economic boom or military strength, cease to acknowledge God's hand in their prosperity and begin to trust solely in their own might or political structures.
  • An individual blessed with good health and well-being might take it for granted, neglecting prayer and gratitude, living as if these blessings are inherent rights rather than gifts from the Creator.