Deuteronomy 9:8 kjv
Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you.
Deuteronomy 9:8 nkjv
Also in Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry enough with you to have destroyed you.
Deuteronomy 9:8 niv
At Horeb you aroused the LORD's wrath so that he was angry enough to destroy you.
Deuteronomy 9:8 esv
Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you.
Deuteronomy 9:8 nlt
Even at Mount Sinai you made the LORD so angry he was ready to destroy you.
Deuteronomy 9 8 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Exod 32:7-10 | And the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, for your people... have corrupted themselves... they have made for themselves a golden calf... Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them." | Golden Calf, God's intent to destroy, Moses intercedes |
| Num 14:11-12 | And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me...? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them." | Israel's rebellion at Kadesh-barnea, God's intention to destroy them |
| Ps 78:40-41 | How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert!... they tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel. | General Israelite rebellion and provoking God |
| Ps 95:8-10 | "Harden not your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test... For forty years I loathed that generation." | Warning against hardening hearts, like wilderness generation |
| Ps 106:19-20 | They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. | Specific to Golden Calf idolatry at Horeb |
| 1 Cor 10:6-7 | Now these things took place as examples for us... Do not be idolaters as some of them were. | Old Testament rebellions as warnings for New Testament believers |
| Heb 3:7-11 | Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness... They shall not enter my rest." | Warning against unbelief and hardening hearts, connecting to wilderness generation |
| Deut 9:16 | And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a molded calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you. | Confirms the sin of the golden calf at Horeb |
| Deut 31:27 | "For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet with you, you have been rebellious against the LORD; how much more after my death!" | Moses' prediction of Israel's persistent rebellion |
| Jer 7:19 | Is it I whom they provoke? declares the LORD. Is it not themselves, to their own shame? | God's perspective on human sin as self-inflicted harm |
| Eze 20:13 | "But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness... so I swore that I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them." | Consistent pattern of Israel's rebellion and God's deserved wrath |
| Rom 1:18 | For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. | General principle of God's wrath against sin |
| Rom 11:22 | Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. | Illustrates God's dual attributes of judgment and grace |
| Exod 33:3 | "...lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people." | God's awareness of Israel's nature and the potential for immediate judgment |
| Num 25:3-4 | So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD burned against Israel... hang them before the LORD." | Another instance of God's immediate and destructive anger for idolatry |
| Neh 9:16-17 | "But they and our fathers acted proudly and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments... you were a forgiving God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love..." | Summarizes Israel's rebellion and God's persistent mercy |
| Isa 63:10 | But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy and himself fought against them. | Emphasizes grieving God through rebellion |
| Heb 12:29 | for our God is a consuming fire. | The fearsome, pure nature of God that reacts to impurity |
| Rev 15:1 | Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. | Final revelation of God's righteous wrath against sin |
| Zech 7:12 | They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. So there came great wrath from the LORD of hosts. | Consequences of spiritual hardening and divine wrath |
| Judg 2:20 | So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel... "Because this nation has transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers..." | God's anger consistently aroused by covenant breaking |
Deuteronomy 9 verses
Deuteronomy 9 8 Meaning
Deuteronomy 9:8 states that the Israelites profoundly angered the LORD at Horeb, also known as Mount Sinai, to such an extent that He was prepared to annihilate them. This verse serves as a potent reminder of Israel's consistent disobedience and God's righteous anger in response to their unfaithfulness, specifically recalling the sin of the golden calf, and His divine forbearance through Moses' intercession.
Deuteronomy 9 8 Context
Deuteronomy chapter 9 is a pivotal passage within Moses' second address to Israel, given just before they enter the Promised Land. The primary purpose is to humble Israel by reminding them that their success in conquering the land is not due to their own righteousness or strength, but entirely to God's faithfulness to His covenant oath with their patriarchs, and also because of the wickedness of the nations already inhabiting Canaan. Verse 8 specifically brings up the golden calf incident at Mount Horeb (Sinai), which represents the epitome of their early rebellion and a stark demonstration of their undeserving nature. By recalling this specific, foundational act of idolatry and disobedience immediately after receiving the covenant law, Moses dismantles any notion of Israel's self-worth or merit. This narrative counters the human tendency to claim credit for blessings or interpret divine favor as a reward for inherent goodness. Historically and culturally, the reminder serves to bind the present generation to the historical covenant relationship and its obligations, while reinforcing the severe consequences of breaking covenant with YHWH, especially through idolatry, a widespread practice among surrounding cultures.
Deuteronomy 9 8 Word analysis
Also: Signals an additional, significant instance of rebellion, highlighting a pattern of Israel's unfaithfulness.
at Horeb: (Hebrew: חֹרֵב, Horev). Refers to Mount Sinai, the "mountain of God" where the covenant was established and the Law given. This location emphasizes the profound gravity of their sin, as they rebelled precisely where they had just solemnly entered into covenant with YHWH and witnessed His power and holiness.
you provoked: (Hebrew: הִקְצַפְתֶּם, hiqtzaptem, from the root קצף, qatsaph). Signifies active, intentional vexing, irritation, or causing anger. It's a direct and deliberate affront to God's holiness and authority, not an accidental offense. This term emphasizes their culpability.
the LORD: (Hebrew: יְהוָה, YHWH). The covenant name of God, signifying His eternal, self-existent, and covenant-keeping nature. Provoking YHWH means sinning against the very One who is gracious and bound to them by promise, thus escalating the severity of the offense.
to wrath: (Hebrew: קֶצֶף, qetseph). Signifies fierce anger, indignation, or rage. God's wrath is not a human temper tantrum but a holy, just, and righteous response to sin and rebellion against His pure character and sovereign will. It reveals His profound opposition to evil.
so that the LORD was angry with you: Reinforces the direct and powerful consequence of their provocation. It’s a statement of divine displeasure, leading to potential judgment. This confirms God’s active emotional response to human sin.
enough to destroy you: Shows the extremity of God’s anger and the serious existential threat posed by their sin. This was not a minor annoyance, but a offense so severe that it warranted their complete annihilation, a fate only averted by Moses' intercession (Deut 9:25-29). It highlights the fragile state of the covenant due to human sin, emphasizing grace as the only preserving factor.
"Also at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath": This phrase immediately points to the most infamous and foundational act of rebellion, setting the stage for Moses to remind them that their journey of rebellion started even before the forty years in the wilderness. It underlines the concept of 'sin at the source' of the covenant. The covenant initiation site becoming the sin initiation site is deeply ironic and tragic.
"provoked the LORD to wrath": This pairing explicitly links human disobedience to divine reaction. It underscores that God's wrath is not arbitrary but a just, necessary response to unholy actions that break His covenant. It emphasizes the active nature of their offense against a personal God.
"the LORD was angry with you enough to destroy you": This climactic phrase illustrates the just deserts of their sin and the sheer severity of God's holy displeasure. It stresses the near-catastrophic consequence, which implies the necessity of extraordinary divine intervention and intercession (Moses' prayers, reflecting God's ultimate patience and mercy).
Deuteronomy 9 8 Bonus section
The episode at Horeb, recalled in this verse, functions as a perpetual theological warning throughout Scripture. It demonstrates that the initial outpouring of divine grace (the Exodus and covenant at Sinai) does not prevent human beings from immediately falling into profound rebellion. This tension between God's grace and human stubbornness is a recurring theme in the biblical narrative. The threat of destruction at Horeb, averted only by Moses' fervent prayer and unique mediation, foreshadows the greater mediation of Jesus Christ, who stands between humanity and God's righteous wrath. Scholars emphasize that God's "anger" (qetseph) here is holy indignation, a part of His justice, not an uncontrollable outburst. It is always proportional to the offense against His holiness and love. This divine wrath, though fearsome, is also the guarantee that evil and sin will not ultimately prevail, reinforcing God's righteous governance over creation.
Deuteronomy 9 8 Commentary
Deuteronomy 9:8 serves as a stark reminder of Israel's intrinsic unworthiness and persistent rebellion, setting the theological foundation for understanding God's grace in their salvation and inheritance of the land. At Horeb, the very mountain where the divine covenant was forged, Israel immediately broke their vows through idolatry with the golden calf. This provocation was not a trivial matter; it so inflamed God's righteous wrath that He intended to wipe out the nation. This episode highlights several truths: God’s wrath is real, just, and severe against sin, especially against covenant-breaking; human sinfulness is profound and capable of provoking God to judgment; and critically, God's enduring covenant faithfulness and mercy are demonstrated through the intercession of a mediator, Moses, preventing total destruction. The verse undercuts any sense of Israelite merit, driving home the point that the land and their continued existence are entirely by divine grace, not their performance. It challenges the presumption of self-righteousness, grounding salvation firmly in God's initiative and compassion.