Deuteronomy 8:19

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְהָיָ֗ה אִם־שָׁכֹ֤חַ תִּשְׁכַּח֙ אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ וְהָֽלַכְתָּ֗ אַחֲרֵי֙ אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים וַעֲבַדְתָּ֖ם וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִ֣יתָ לָהֶ֑ם הַעִדֹ֤תִי בָכֶם֙ הַיּ֔וֹם כִּ֥י אָבֹ֖ד תֹּאבֵדֽוּן׃

Transliteration

And-hāyāh if-šākōaḥ tiškaḥ ʾet-YHWH ʾĕlōhêkā and-hālaktā after ʾĕlōhîm ʾăḥērîm and-ʿăbadtām and-hištaḥăwîtā to-them haʿidōtî against-you the-yôm that ʾābōd tōʾbēdûn.

Grammar Details

• *hāyāh*: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular - it will be
• *šākōaḥ*: Qal infinitive absolute - to forget
• *tiškaḥ*: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine singular - you forget
• *ʾet*: direct object marker
• *YHWH*: proper noun - the divine name
• *ʾĕlōhêkā*: masculine plural noun with 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your God
• *hālaktā*: Qal perfect 2nd person masculine singular - you go
• *ʾĕlōhîm*: masculine plural noun - gods
• *ʾăḥērîm*: masculine plural adjective - other
• *ʿăbadtām*: Qal perfect 2nd person masculine singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix - you serve them
• *hištaḥăwîtā*: Hishtaphel perfect 2nd person masculine singular - you bow down
• *haʿidōtî*: Hiphil perfect 1st person singular - I testify
• *yôm*: masculine singular noun with definite article - the day
• *ʾābōd*: Qal infinitive absolute - to perish
• *tōʾbēdûn*: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine plural paragogic nun - you shall perish

Word Meanings

• *hāyāh*: it will be/happen/come to pass
• *šākōaḥ* *tiškaḥ*: utterly forget/surely forget/completely forget
• *hālaktā*: you go/walk/follow
• *ʾĕlōhîm* *ʾăḥērîm*: other gods/foreign gods
• *ʿăbadtām*: you serve them/worship them
• *hištaḥăwîtā*: you bow down/prostrate yourself/worship
• *haʿidōtî*: I testify/warn/witness against
• *ʾābōd* *tōʾbēdûn*: you shall surely perish/utterly be destroyed/completely be lost

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  And it shall be, if you do at all forget the LORD your God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And it shall be, if thou shalt{H7911} forget{H7911} Jehovah{H3068} thy God,{H430} and walk{H1980} after{H310} other{H312} gods,{H430} and serve{H5647} them, and worship{H7812} them, I testify{H5749} against you this day{H3117} that ye shall surely{H6} perish.{H6}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And it shall be, if thou do at all{H7911}{(H8800)} forget{H7911}{(H8799)} the LORD{H3068} thy God{H430}, and walk{H1980}{(H8804)} after{H310} other{H312} gods{H430}, and serve{H5647}{(H8804)} them, and worship{H7812}{(H8694)} them, I testify{H5749}{(H8689)} against you this day{H3117} that ye shall surely{H6}{(H8800)} perish{H6}{(H8799)}.

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  For yf thou shalt forget the Lorde thy god and shalt walke after straunge goddes and serue them and worsheppe them, I testyfye vnto you this daye, that ye shall surely perysh.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  But yf thou shalt forget the LORDE thy God, and folowe other goddes, and serue them, and worshipe the, I testifye ouer you this daye, that ye shal vtterly perishe.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  And if thou forget the Lord thy God, and walke after other gods, and serue them, and worship them, I testifie vnto you this day that ye shal surely perish.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And if thou forget the Lord thy God, and walke after straunge gods, and serue them, and worship them: I testifie vnto you this day, that ye shal surely perishe.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  It shall be, if you shall forget Yahweh your God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  `And it hath been -- if thou really forget Jehovah thy God, and hast gone after other gods, and served them, and bowed thyself to them, I have testified against you to-day that ye do utterly perish;

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And it shall be, if thou shalt forget Jehovah thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And it shall be, if thou shalt forget Jehovah thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And it is certain that if at any time you are turned away from the Lord your God, and go after other gods, to be their servants and to give them worship, destruction will overtake you.

• World English Bible (2000)

  It shall be, if you shall forget Yahweh your God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  Now if you forget the LORD your God at all and follow other gods, worshiping and prostrating yourselves before them, I testify to you today that you will surely be annihilated.

Referenced Verses

• Deut 4:26 : 26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will surely be quickly destroyed from the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not extend your days there but will be utterly destroyed.
• Deut 28:58-68 : 58 If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law that are written in this book, and do not fear this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God— 59 then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues upon you and your descendants, severe and lasting plagues, and terrible and enduring diseases. 60 He will bring back upon you all the diseases of Egypt, which you dreaded, and they will cling to you. 61 The LORD will also bring upon you every sickness and plague not written in this Book of the Law, until you are completely destroyed. 62 You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God. 63 Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and multiply, so it will please Him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess. 64 Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will serve other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known. 65 Among those nations, you will find no peace, and no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious heart, failing eyes, and a despairing soul. 66 Your life will hang in doubt before you. You will be filled with fear night and day, and you will not be sure of your life. 67 In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights your eyes will see. 68 The LORD will bring you back to Egypt in ships, in the way I said you would never see again. There, you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.
• Deut 29:25-28 : 25 They turned to other gods and worshiped and bowed down to them, gods they did not know and gods the LORD had not given to them.' 26 Therefore the LORD’s anger burned against this land, bringing upon it every curse written in this book. 27 In His anger and great wrath, the LORD uprooted them from their land and cast them into another land, as it is today. 28 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.
• Deut 30:18-19 : 18 I declare to you today that you shall surely perish and will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,
• Josh 23:13 : 13 then you can be certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land the LORD your God has given you.
• 1 Sam 12:25 : 25 But if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away.
• Dan 9:2 : 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the books the number of years that, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, must be fulfilled for the desolation of Jerusalem—seventy years.
• Amos 3:2 : 2 You only have I known among all the families of the earth; therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.
• Zeph 1:18 : 18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to rescue them on the day of the Lord's wrath. The whole earth will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy, for He will bring a sudden and complete destruction on all the inhabitants of the earth.
• Zeph 3:6 : 6 I have cut off nations; their corner towers are in ruins. I have laid waste their streets, so that no one passes through. Their cities are destroyed; there is no one left—no inhabitant.
• Luke 12:47-48 : 47 That servant who knew his master’s will and did not prepare or act according to his will, will be beaten with many blows. 48 But the one who did not know and did things deserving of punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.
• Luke 13:3 : 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.
• Luke 13:5 : 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.