Deuteronomy 9:17 kjv
And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes.
Deuteronomy 9:17 nkjv
Then I took the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.
Deuteronomy 9:17 niv
So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes.
Deuteronomy 9:17 esv
So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.
Deuteronomy 9:17 nlt
So I took the stone tablets and threw them to the ground, smashing them before your eyes.
Deuteronomy 9 17 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Exod 32:7-8 | And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people… have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned aside… made for themselves a golden calf…” | People's quick turning to idolatry. |
| Exod 32:19 | And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tables out of his hands and broke them… | The immediate context and Moses' wrath. |
| Exod 32:20 | He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder… and made the people of Israel drink it. | Destruction of the idol. |
| Exod 34:1 | The Lord said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.” | God's instruction for new tables. |
| Deut 9:18-19 | Then I lay prostrate before the Lord… for forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all the sin… I was in dread of the anger and hot displeasure… | Moses' intercession and fear. |
| Ps 106:19-23 | They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. They exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass… he would have destroyed them, had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him… | Recounts the Horeb incident and Moses' intercession. |
| Neh 9:16-18 | But they and our fathers acted proudly and stiffened their neck… they refused to obey… Yes, even when they had made for themselves a molded calf and said, 'This is your God…' | Echoes Israel's ongoing rebellion. |
| Jer 31:31-32 | Behold, the days are coming… when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel… not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand… my covenant that they broke… | Prophecy of a new covenant due to the old being broken. |
| Ezek 36:26-27 | And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you… and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. | God's enabling for future obedience. |
| Matt 5:17 | Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. | Jesus fulfilling the Law. |
| Rom 2:21-23 | You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? | Humanity's continued struggle with the Law. |
| Rom 3:20 | For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. | The Law reveals sin, but cannot justify. |
| Gal 3:10-11 | For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” | The Law's inability to save without perfect obedience. |
| Gal 3:19 | Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made… | Purpose of the Law as a temporary guardian. |
| Heb 8:6-7 | But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. | Superiority of the New Covenant in Christ. |
| Heb 8:13 | In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. | Old Covenant becoming obsolete. |
| Heb 9:15 | Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. | Christ's mediation of the New Covenant. |
| Heb 10:1-4 | For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. | The Law as a shadow, not reality. |
| 1 Pet 2:9-10 | But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. | New Covenant people called to obedience. |
| James 2:10 | For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. | All-encompassing nature of Law-breaking. |
| Jude 1:5 | Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. | Reminder of consequences of unbelief and disobedience. |
| Acts 7:42-43 | But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: 'Did you bring me slaughtered animals and sacrifices… and you took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan…' | Stephen's speech on Israel's idolatry. |
Deuteronomy 9 verses
Deuteronomy 9 17 Meaning
Deuteronomy 9:17 describes Moses' physical act of shattering the two stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments, which he received from God on Mount Horeb. This action symbolized the immediate and severe breach of the covenant between God and the people of Israel, occurring right after their grievous sin of worshipping the golden calf. It graphically demonstrated the extent of their idolatry and rebellion in God's eyes, and consequently, the broken state of the sacred agreement that had just been established.
Deuteronomy 9 17 Context
This verse is found within Moses' farewell address to the Israelites in the land of Moab, just before they enter the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy chapters 9 and 10, Moses deliberately recalls Israel's past rebellions against God, especially the catastrophic incident of the golden calf at Mount Horeb (Sinai). This recounting serves a critical purpose: to disabuse the people of any notion that they are about to receive the land due to their own righteousness or merit. Instead, Moses emphatically states that their entry is solely due to God's faithfulness to His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to destroy the wickedness of the present inhabitants of Canaan. Verse 17 dramatically depicts Moses' visceral reaction to Israel's idolatry, demonstrating the immediate and public breakdown of their freshly established covenant relationship with Yahweh. Historically, this event solidified for the first generation a vivid lesson on God's holiness and His utter detestation of idolatry and disobedience.
Deuteronomy 9 17 Word analysis
- And I took: Hebrew: וָאֶתְפֹּשׂ (va'etpos), derived from תפשׂ (tafas), meaning "to grasp," "seize," or "lay hold of." This implies a deliberate and strong hold on the tablets before their destruction. It was not accidental.
- the two tables: Hebrew: שְׁנֵי הַלֻּחֹת (sh'nei ha-luchot). Refers to the divine tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments by the finger of God Himself. They were the tangible representation and legal document of God's covenant with Israel. Their perfect divine origin makes their destruction all the more poignant, highlighting the severity of the human offense.
- and cast them: Hebrew: וָאֲשַׁלִּכֵם (va'ashlikhem), derived from שׁלך (shalak), meaning "to throw," "cast," or "fling away." This signifies a forceful and decisive action, conveying deep distress, righteous anger, and sorrow at the betrayal of the covenant. It wasn't merely dropping them; it was a deliberate breaking action.
- out of my two hands: Hebrew: מֵעַל שְׁתֵּי יָדָי (me'al sh'tei yaday). This emphasizes Moses' full physical engagement and the public nature of the act. The shattering was done in full view of the sinning community, for maximum symbolic impact and as an immediate, visual consequence of their sin.
- and broke them: Hebrew: וָאֲשַׁבְּרֵם (va'ashab'rem), derived from שׁבר (shabar), meaning "to break," "shatter," or "crush." This action literally, publicly, and symbolically demonstrated that the covenant had been broken by Israel’s idolatry. The integrity of the covenant, like the tablets, was shattered by their immediate and heinous rebellion against God’s first two commandments.
- before your eyes: Hebrew: לְעֵינֵיכֶם (l'eineikhem). This phrase stresses the public, observable nature of Moses' action. It was a vivid, unforgettable lesson for the entire assembly, underscoring the severity of their sin and the catastrophic rupture of their relationship with God. It leaves no room for doubt about the extent of their failure.
- Words-group analysis:
- "I took... and cast them... and broke them": This sequence of verbs demonstrates a determined, intentional, and public act by Moses, acting as a prophet embodying God's reaction. It's not a mere fit of temper, but a prophetic object lesson.
- "the two tables... before your eyes": This juxtaposition highlights the precious, divine nature of what was destroyed ("the two tables") and the profound public culpability for it ("before your eyes"). The visible breaking of God's perfect law publicly manifested the invisible brokenness of their covenant loyalty.
Deuteronomy 9 17 Bonus section
The breaking of the first tablets, meticulously recorded, signifies more than just a historical event. It establishes a profound theological truth: the Law, perfect and holy as it is, cannot by itself justify or redeem a people prone to rebellion. Its primary function became to reveal sin (Rom 3:20) and expose humanity’s deep-seated inability to perfectly obey, thus serving as a "guardian" or "pedagogue" until Christ (Gal 3:24). The subsequent carving of new tables by Moses (Exod 34:1)—not God’s direct inscription—may subtly indicate a slight shift in the nature of the covenant relationship, emphasizing grace alongside judgment, preparing the way for the Spirit-empowered obedience promised under the New Covenant. This entire incident stands as a powerful cautionary tale against presumption upon God's grace and a vivid demonstration of the consequences of forsaking Him for idols.
Deuteronomy 9 17 Commentary
Deuteronomy 9:17 serves as a visceral reminder of Israel's utter failure to uphold their end of the covenant, almost immediately after its inception. Moses shattering the tables was a powerful prophetic act, visually representing God's holy wrath and the irreparable breach of the covenant caused by Israel's egregious idolatry at Horeb. It underscores that God’s covenant is not merely a set of rules but a relational agreement; breaking the commands means breaking the relationship. This act starkly reveals the inherent human incapacity to perfectly adhere to God’s holy standard and foreshadows the need for a "new covenant" (Jer 31:31-34) established on better promises through grace and a transformed heart, a reality fully realized in Jesus Christ. The fragility of the law written on stone, susceptible to human sin, points to the need for God to write His law on hearts, empowered by His Spirit, to achieve genuine obedience. It's a foundational text highlighting the revealing nature of the Law—it clearly identifies sin and the need for divine mercy and a new way of relating to God.