Deuteronomy 4:28

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַעֲבַדְתֶּם־שָׁ֣ם אֱלֹהִ֔ים מַעֲשֵׂ֖ה יְדֵ֣י אָדָ֑ם עֵ֣ץ וָאֶ֔בֶן אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־יִרְאוּן֙ וְלֹ֣א יִשְׁמְע֔וּן וְלֹ֥א יֹֽאכְל֖וּן וְלֹ֥א יְרִיחֻֽן׃

Transliteration

wəʿăḇaḏtem-there ʾĕlōhîm, maʿăśēh yəḏê ʾāḏām, ʿēṣ and-ʾeḇen, which not-yirʾûn and-not yišməʿûn and-not yōʾḵəlûn and-not yərîḥun.

Grammar Details

• *wəʿăḇaḏtem*: waw consecutive + verb, Qal perfect, 2nd person masculine plural - and you will serve
• *ʾĕlōhîm*: masculine plural noun - gods/deities
• *maʿăśēh*: construct state, masculine singular noun - work/product of
• *yəḏê*: construct state, feminine dual noun - hands of
• *ʾāḏām*: masculine singular noun - man/mankind
• *ʿēṣ*: masculine singular noun - wood/tree
• *ʾeḇen*: feminine singular noun - stone
• *yirʾûn*: verb, Qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural - they see
• *yišməʿûn*: verb, Qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural - they hear
• *yōʾḵəlûn*: verb, Qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural - they eat
• *yərîḥun*: verb, Hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural - they smell

Word Meanings

• *ʾĕlōhîm*: gods/deities/divine beings (plural form)
• *maʿăśēh*: work/product/handiwork
• *ʿēṣ*: wood/tree/timber
• *ʾeḇen*: stone/rock

Referenced Verses

• Deut 28:36 : 36 Jehovah will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
• Deut 28:64 : 64 And Jehovah will scatter thee among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers, even wood and stone.
• Jer 16:13 : 13 therefore will I cast you forth out of this land into the land that ye have not known, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; for I will show you no favor.
• 1 Sam 26:19 : 19 Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it be Jehovah that hath stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if it be the children of men, cursed be they before Jehovah: for they have driven me out this day that I should not cleave unto the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other gods.
• Isa 44:9 : 9 They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity; and the things that they delight in shall not profit; and their own witnesses see not, nor know: that they may be put to shame.
• Isa 46:7 : 7 They bear it upon the shoulder, they carry it, and set it in its place, and it standeth, from its place shall it not remove: yea, one may cry unto it, yet can it not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
• Jer 10:3 : 3 For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe.
• Jer 10:9 : 9 There is silver beaten into plates, which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the artificer and of the hands of the goldsmith; blue and purple for their clothing; they are all the work of skilful men.
• Isa 45:20 : 20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
• Ps 115:4-8 : 4 Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men's hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not; 6 They have ears, but they hear not; Noses have they, but they smell not; 7 They have hands, but they handle not; Feet have they, but they walk not; Neither speak they through their throat. 8 They that make them shall be like unto them; Yea, every one that trusteth in them.
• Ps 135:15-18 : 15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men's hands. 16 They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not; 17 They have ears, but they hear not; Neither is there any breath in their mouths. 18 They that make them shall be like unto them; Yea, every one that trusteth in them.
• Ezek 20:32 : 32 and that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, in that ye say, We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.
• Ezek 20:39 : 39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Go ye, serve every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me; but my holy name shall ye no more profane with your gifts, and with your idols.
• Acts 7:42 : 42 But God turned, and gave them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, Did ye offer unto me slain beasts and sacrifices Forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?