Deuteronomy 4:28

KJV1611 – Modern English

And there you 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

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  There you will serve gods made by human hands—objects of wood and stone that cannot see, hear, eat, or smell.

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

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

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And there ye shall serve{H5647} gods,{H430} the work{H4639} of men's{H120} hands,{H3027} wood{H6086} and stone,{H68} which neither see,{H7200} nor hear,{H8085} nor eat,{H398} nor smell.{H7306}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And there ye shall serve{H5647}{(H8804)} gods{H430}, the work{H4639} of men's{H120} hands{H3027}, wood{H6086} and stone{H68}, which neither see{H7200}{(H8799)}, nor hear{H8085}{(H8799)}, nor eat{H398}{(H8799)}, nor smell{H7306}{(H8686)}.

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  and there ye shall serue goddes which are the workes of mans hande, wod and stone which nether se nor heare nor eate nor smell.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  There shal ye serue goddes, which are ye workes of mens handes, euen wodd & stone, which nether se ner heare, ner eate ner smell.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  And there ye shall serue gods, euen ye worke of mans hand, wood, and stone, which neither see, nor heare, nor eate, nor smell.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And there ye shall serue gods which are the worke of mans hande, wood and stone, which neither see, nor heare, nor eate, nor smell.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

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

• Webster's Bible (1833)

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

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  and ye have served there gods, work of man's hands, wood and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

• American Standard Version (1901)

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

• American Standard Version (1901)

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

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  There you will be the servants of gods, made by men's hands, of wood and stone, having no power of seeing or hearing or taking food or smelling.

• World English Bible (2000)

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

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  There you will worship gods made by human hands– wood and stone that can neither see, hear, eat, nor smell.

Referenced Verses

• Deut 28:36 : 36 The LORD shall bring you, and your king whom you shall set over you, unto a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone.
• Deut 28:64 : 64 And the LORD shall scatter you among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known, even wood and stone.
• Jer 16:13 : 13 Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers, and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.
• 1 Sam 26:19 : 19 Now, therefore, please let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, cursed are they before the LORD, for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, 'Go, serve other gods.'
• Isa 44:9 : 9 Those who make a carved image are all of them vanity; and their delightful things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
• Isa 46:7 : 7 They carry him upon the shoulder, they bear him, and set him in his place, and he stands; from his place he shall not move: yes, one shall cry to him, yet he cannot answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
• Jer 10:3 : 3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
• Jer 10:9 : 9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple are their clothing: they are all the work of skilled men.
• Isa 45:20 : 20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations: they have no knowledge who set up the wood of their carved image, and pray to a god that cannot save.
• Ps 115:4-8 : 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5 They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; 6 They have ears, but they do not hear; noses they have, but they do not smell; 7 They have hands, but they do not handle; feet they have, but they do not walk; nor do they speak through their throat. 8 Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts 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 do not speak; eyes have they, but they do not see; 17 They have ears, but they do not hear; neither is there any breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them are like them: so is everyone that trusts in them.
• Ezek 20:32 : 32 And what comes into your mind shall not happen, that you say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.
• Ezek 20:39 : 39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord GOD; Go, serve every one his idols, and hereafter also, if you will not listen to me: but pollute my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.
• Acts 7:42 : 42 Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, Did you offer to me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?