Deuteronomy 32:16 — Word Study
WLCיַקְנִאֻ֖הוּ בְּזָרִ֑ים בְּתוֹעֵבֹ֖ת יַכְעִיסֻֽהוּ׃
BSAThey provoked His jealousyqânâʼ▸ [stirred up, moved to anger, a righteous, godly envy] with foreign godszûwr [strange, pagan] they enraged Himkaʻaç▸ [provoked to anger, stirred up wrath] with abominationstôwʻêbah [disgusting, detestable practices, idolatry]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| יַקְנִאֻ֖הוּ | they made jealous him | Verb hiphil imperfect third person masculine plural, suffix |
| בְּזָרִ֑ים | by strange [gods] | Preposition |
| בְּתוֹעֵבֹ֖ת | by abominations | Preposition, noun common feminine plural absolute |
| יַכְעִיסֻֽהוּ׃ | they provoked to anger him | Verb hiphil imperfect third person masculine plural, suffix |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations. |
| KJV | They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. |
| ASV | They moved him to jealousy with strange gods; With abominations provoked they him to anger. |
| YLT | They make Him zealous with strangers, With abominations they make Him angry. |
| WEB | They moved him to jealousy with strange gods. They provoked him to anger with abominations. |
| BBE | The honour which was his they gave to strange gods; by their disgusting ways he was moved to wrath. |
Where they part company is בְּזָרִ֑ים — see How Translations Differ.
The sentence has a main clause with two prepositional phrases detailing how the provocation occurred, followed by another main clause that describes the resulting anger.
6 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Deuteronomy 32:16
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Song of Mosesgenerated
Deuteronomy 32:16 reflects on Israel's unfaithfulness to God, illustrating how they turned to foreign gods and practices that provoked His jealousy. This verse is part of a larger warning that recounts the consequences of abandoning the true God for idols, emphasizing the seriousness of their actions as seen in the verses surrounding it.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deuteronomy 5:9 | You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, |
| 2 | 1 Kings 14:22 | And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by the sins they committed they provoked Him to jealous anger more than all their fathers had done. |
| 3 | Nahum 1:1–2 | |
| 4 | 1 Corinthians 10:22 | Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? |
| 5 | Deuteronomy 7:25 | You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the LORD your God. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 7 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — יַקְנִאֻ֖הוּ, yak.ni.'U.hugenerated
The verb קָנָא (qana') means to be jealous or envious, indicating a strong emotional response. In this context, it conveys God's righteous anger towards His people for their infidelity. The hiphil form here suggests that the people actively stirred up this jealousy by their actions.
This jealousy is not merely a human emotion; it reflects God's desire for exclusive devotion from His people. The use of the suffix indicates that the jealousy is directed towards Him, emphasizing the personal nature of this provocation.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses provoked for יַקְנִאֻ֖הוּ and abominations for בְּתוֹעֵבֹ֖ת.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main verb יַקְנִאֻ֖ governs the clause, indicating the action of provoking jealousy. Two prepositional phrases follow, detailing how this provocation occurred: with foreign gods and by abominations.
The structure emphasizes the direct relationship between the people's actions and God's emotional response, illustrating a clear cause-and-effect dynamic in the sentence.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates יַקְנִאֻ֖הוּ with με (me), indicating a direct rendering of the action of provoking God. This choice maintains the focus on the personal nature of the relationship between God and His people.
The Greek word ἀλλοτρίοις for בְּזָרִ֑ים suggests a similar meaning of foreignness, aligning with the Hebrew's connotation of strangeness or alien worship.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Deuteronomy 32:16 tells us that the Israelites made God jealous by worshiping foreign gods and committing detestable practices. This verse is part of a song that warns about the consequences of turning away from God.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Provoking God's jealousy means turning away from Him to worship other gods, which is seen as a betrayal of the covenant relationship He has with His people.
Examples of foreign gods include Baal and Asherah, which were worshiped by surrounding nations and led the Israelites astray.
Abominations refer to practices that are morally repugnant to God, including idolatry and other forms of worship that violate His commands.
This verse highlights God's desire for exclusive devotion from His people and His righteous anger toward their unfaithfulness.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what ways might I be tempted to turn away from God in my own life?
- How can I ensure that my worship remains focused on God alone?
- What practices in my life could be considered abominations or distractions from my relationship with God?
- How does understanding God's jealousy help me appreciate His love and commitment to me?
Commentators on this verse — 6 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Deuteronomy 32:16 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThey provoked him to jealousy with strange [gods],.... Or "with others" (h); the word "gods" is not in the text, nor were the Jews guilty of worshipping strange gods or idols in the times of Christ,
Read John Gill on Deuteronomy 32 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThey provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.
Read Robert Jamieson on Deuteronomy 32 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleTo jealousy, i.e. to anger and fury, for jealousy is the rage of a man, . And withal it implies the ground of his anger, to wit, their falseness to God, whom they had owned and accepted as their Husband, and their spiritual whoredom with other gods.
Read Matthew Poole on Deuteronomy 32 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsDeuteronomy 32:16 They provoked him to jealousy with strange [gods], with abominations provoked they him to anger.Ver. 16. They provoked him to jealousy.]
Read John Trapp on Deuteronomy 32 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges16. moved him to jealousy] This form of the vb. is found only here, and in Deuteronomy 32:21 b, Psalms 78:58; another form in Deuteronomy 32:21 a. On God’s jealousy see Deuteronomy 4:24. strange] Jeremiah 2:25; Jeremiah 3:13. See above on Deuteronomy 32:12. abominations] See Deuteronomy 7:25, and cp. Isaiah 44:19. provoked] Deuteronomy 4:25.
Read Cambridge on Deuteronomy 32 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible16. Departing from God, they will give themselves up to the worship of idols. They provoked him to jealousy is a figure taken from the marriage relation.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Deuteronomy 32 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations.
They moved him to jealousy with strange gods. They provoked him to anger with abominations.
They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations.
They made him jealous with other gods, they enraged him with abhorrent idols.
Tyndale line
They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.
They moved him to jealousy with strange gods; With abominations provoked they him to anger.
They moved him to jealousy with strange gods, With abominations provoked they him to anger.
They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods , with abominations they provoked him to anger.
They prouoked him with strange gods: they prouoked him to anger with abominations.
Strictly literal
They moved him to jealousy with strange gods, With abominations did they provoke him to anger.
They make Him zealous with strangers, With abominations they make Him angry.
They make Him zealous with strangers, || They make Him angry with abominations.
They incensed him with strange gods, with abominations they provoked him to anger.
They made Yahweh jealous by their strange gods; with their abominations they angered him.
From the Latin
They provoked him by strange gods, and stirred him up to anger, with their abominations.
Simplified
You made the Lord jealous by worshiping foreign gods; you made him angry with such disgusting practices.
The honour which was his they gave to strange gods; by their disgusting ways he was moved to wrath.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text is supported by the Septuagint, which matches all four words in the verse. The Samaritan Pentateuch differs slightly, using the word תועבות instead of בְּתוֹעֵבֹ֖ת, while the Dead Sea Scrolls show partial restoration, indicating some textual variation.
יַקְנִאֻ֖הוּ בְּזָרִ֑ים בְּתוֹעֵבֹ֖ת יַכְעִיסֻֽהוּ׃
4 of the 4 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
יקנאהו בזרים ובתועבות יכעיסהו
2 words differ from the Masoretic Text: ו (and), תועבות (abomination)
[יקניאו׳ני] בזרים [בתועבות] יכעיסו׳ני
1 word on the leather — 1 partly restored, 2 supplied entire by an editor.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Deuteronomy 32:16
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
The Hebrew word קָנָא (qana') is a verb that conveys meanings related to jealousy and zeal. It can mean to be jealous, envious, or zealous, and can also imply provoking jealousy or anger. The entries highlight its use in different forms, particularly the Piel and Hiphil stems, indicating both personal feelings and actions that incite jealousy.
[קָנָא] vb. denom.
Pi. be jealous, zealous
be jealous of
be envious of
be zealous for
excite to jealous anger
Hiph. provoke to jealous anger
base
H7065 קָנָא vb. denom. Pi. be jealous, zealous
7065 qana' kaw-naw'
a primitive root; to be (causatively, make) zealous, i.e. (in
a bad sense) jealous or envious:--(be) envy(-ious), be (move
to, provoke to) jealous(-y), X very, (be) zeal(-ous).
קָנָא (qa.na) — be jealous.
1) to envy, be jealous, be envious, be zealous
1a) (Piel)
1a1) to be jealous of
1a2) to be envious of
1a3) to be zealous for
1a4) to excite to jealous anger
1b) (Hiphil) to provoke to jealous anger, cause jealousy
V-Hiphil-Imperf-3mp | Suff — Verb hiphil imperfect third person masculine plural · suffixHVhi3mp/Sp3ms
זוּר (zuwr) is a Hebrew verb meaning to be a stranger or to become estranged. It can describe a person as strange or foreign, and it also has connotations of loathsomeness. The word can refer to committing adultery or being alienated, with its usage found in contexts involving estrangement or foreignness.
[זוּר] vb. be a stranger
Qal
Pf. become estranged
Pt. as adj. strange, or as noun stranger
Niph. Pf. be estranged
Hoph. Pt. estranged
H2114a זוּר be a stranger .. Pf. become estranged
. Pt. as adj. strange, or as noun stranger
. Pf. be estranged
. Pt. estranged
H2114b זוּר, זִיר be loathsome
2114 zuwr zoor
a primitive root; to turn aside (especially for lodging);
hence to be a foreigner, strange, profane; specifically
(active participle) to commit adultery:--(come from) another
(man, place), fanner, go away, (e-)strange(-r, thing, woman).
זוּר (zur) — be a stranger.
1) to be strange, be a stranger
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to become estranged
1a2) strange, another, stranger, foreigner, an enemy (participle)
1a3) strange woman, prostitute, harlot (meton)
1b) (Niphal) to be estranged
1c) (Hophal) to be a stranger, be one alienated
זוּר (zur) — be loathsome.
loathsome (of breath) (participle)
Prep | Adj — PrepositionHR/Aampa
('elohim; theoi):
I. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
1. Superhuman Beings (God and Angels)
2. Judges, Rulers
3. Gods of the Nations
4. Superiority of Yahweh to Other Gods
5. Regulations Regarding the Gods of the Nations
6. Israel's Tendency to Idolatry
II. IN THE APOCRYPHA
III. IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Hebrew plural 'elohim is generally known as the plural of "majesty" and is the ordinary name for God. The meaning of the plural seems to be "plenitude of powers." It denotes the fullness of those attributes of power which belonged to the Divine Being. Thus it is usually translated in the singular, "God," when referring to the God of Israel. When reference is made to the gods of the other nations the word is translated in the plural, "gods." The heathen nations usually had a plurality of gods. Among the Semites it was customary for one nation or tribe to have its own particular god. Often there were many…
The words god and gods, Hebrew ELOHIM, are several times used in Scripture to express the power, office, or excellence of some created beings, as angels, magistrates, Ex 22:20,28 Ps 86:8 97:12; often also for the false gods of the heathen. These were exceedingly numerous, and are denoted by various terms, signifying vanity, falsehood, etc. Among the first objects to be deified were the sun, the moon, and the chief powers of nature. Innumerable animals, deceased men, all ages, passions, and conditions of man, and every thing which fear, lust, malice, pride, or caprice could suggest, were made objects of worship. The gods of modern India are numbered by millions.
→ See IDOL
→ See IDOLATRY
→ See IMAGE
תּוֹעֵבַה (tow`ebah) means 'abomination' and refers to something morally disgusting. It can denote idolatry, unclean food, or ethical wickedness. The word is built from a feminine active participle of another root, and its usage encompasses both ritual and ethical contexts.
תּוֹעֵבַה 117 n.f. abomination
base
H8441 תּוֹעֵבַה abomination
8441 tow`ebah to-ay-baw'
or tonebah {to-ay-baw'}; feminine active participle of 8581;
properly, something disgusting (morally), i.e. (as noun) an
abhorrence; especially idolatry or (concretely) an idol:--
abominable (custom, thing), abomination.
see HEBREW for 08581
תּוֹעֵבַה (to.e.vah) — abomination.
1) a disgusting thing, abomination, abominable
1a) in ritual sense (of unclean food, idols, mixed marriages)
1b) in ethical sense (of wickedness etc)
Prep | N-fp — Preposition · noun common feminine plural absoluteHR/Ncfpa
כָּעַס (ka`as) is a Hebrew verb that conveys a range of emotions related to anger and vexation. It can mean to be angry, vexed, or indignant, and can also imply provoking someone to anger. The word has different forms, including Qal (to be angry), Piel (to provoke to anger), and Hiphil (to vex).
כָּעַס vb. be vexed, angry
Qal
be vexed, indignant
be angry
Piel. provoke to anger
Hiph.
vex
vex, provoke to anger
base
H3707 כָּעַס be vexed, angry
3707 ka`ac kaw-as'
a primitive root; to trouble; by implication, to grieve,
rage, be indignant:--be angry, be grieved, take indignation,
provoke (to anger, unto wrath), have sorrow, vex, be wroth.
כָּעַס (ka.as) — to provoke.
1) to be angry, be vexed, be indignant, be wroth, be grieved, provoke to anger and wrath
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to be vexed, be indignant
1a2) to be angry
1b) (Piel) to provoke to anger
1c) (Hiphil)
1c1) to vex
1c2) to vex, provoke to anger
V-Hiphil-Imperf-3mp | Suff — Verb hiphil imperfect third person masculine plural · suffixHVhi3mp/Sp3ms