Deuteronomy 32:17
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
They sacrificed to devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
American King James Version (AKJV)
They sacrificed to devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
American Standard Version (ASV)
They sacrificed unto demons, which were no God, To gods that they knew not, To new gods that came up of late, Which your fathers dreaded not.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
They made offerings to evil spirits which were not God, to gods who were strange to them, which had newly come up, not feared by your fathers.
Webster's Revision
They sacrificed to devils, not to God; to gods which they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
World English Bible
They sacrificed to demons, [which were] no God, to gods that they didn't know, to new [gods] that came up of late, which your fathers didn't dread.
English Revised Version (ERV)
They sacrificed unto demons, which were no God, To gods whom they knew not, To new gods that came up of late, Whom your fathers dreaded not.
Clarke's Deuteronomy 32:17 Bible Commentary
They sacrificed unto devils - The original word שדים shedim has been variously understood. The Syriac, Chaldee, Targums of Jerusalem and Jonathan, and the Samaritan, retain the original word: the Vulgate, Septuagint, Arabic, Persic, Coptic, and Anglo-Saxon, have devils or demons. The Septuagint has εθυσαν δαιμονιοις, they sacrificed to demons: the Vulgate copies the Septuagint: the Arabic has sheeateen, the plural of Sheetan, Satan, by which the rebellious angels appear to be intended, as the word comes from the root shatana, he was obstinate, proud, refractory, went far away. And it is likely that these fallen spirits, having utterly lost the empire at which they aimed, got themselves worshipped under various forms and names in different places. The Anglo-Saxon has devils.
New gods that came newly up - מקרב באו mikkarob bau, "which came up from their neighbors;" viz., the Moabites and Amorites, whose gods they received and worshipped on their way through the wilderness, and often afterwards.
Barnes's Deuteronomy 32:17 Bible Commentary
Devils - Render, destroyers. The application of the word to the false gods points to the trait so deeply graven in all pagan worship, that of regarding the deities as malignant, and needing to be propitiated by human sufferings.
Not to God - Rather, "not God," i. e., which were not God; see the margin and Deuteronomy 32:21. Compare Deuteronomy 13:7; Deuteronomy 29:25.
Wesley's Deuteronomy 32:17 Bible Commentary
32:17 Unto devils - Unto idols, which the devils brought into the world in opposition to God, in and by which the devils often manifested themselves to men, and gave them answers, and received their worship. The Gentiles pretended to worship God in those idols, and the devils which inspired them, deluded the nations with pretences that they were a sort of lower gods.Moses takes off this mark, and shews the Israelites that these pretended gods were really devils, and therefore that it was the height of madness to honour or worship them. Not to God - For God utterly rejected those sacrifices which they offered to him together with idols.They knew not - Or, who never knew them, that is, never shewed any kindness to them, or did them any good: New gods - Not simply or absolutely, for some of these had been worshipped for many generations, but comparatively to the true God, who is the ancient of days, Deuteronomy 7:9 , and who was worshipped from the beginning of the world.Feared not - Served not, worshipped not.
