Deuteronomy 28:36

Summary

Deuteronomy 28:36 states that Yehovah will lead the addressee and the king appointed over him into exile among a nation unknown to him and his ancestors, where he will serve other gods made of wood and stone.

Key words

• yo.Lekh ("he will lead", H1980J) — hiphil (causative) form, marked here as jussive/future action, indicating Yehovah as the causal agent of the movement into exile.
• ta.Kim ("you will raise up", H6965I) — hiphil imperfect, describing the addressee's own future action of installing a king, distinct from Yehovah's action in the main clause.
• ya.Da'.ta ("you have known", H3045) — qal perfect, marking completed past knowledge (or lack thereof), contrasted with the unknown nation.
• 'a.Vad.ta ("you will serve", H5647H) — qal sequential perfect, continuing the narrative chain begun with the vav on ve., projecting a future consequence tied to the preceding clause.
• 'E.lo.Him ("gods", H0430J) — masculine plural noun, here referring to the "other gods" served in the foreign nation.

What the text says

The verse opens with yo.Lekh ("he will lead", H1980J), a hiphil form with a jussive-type function attached to the subject Yah.weh (H3068G), establishing Yehovah as the one causing the movement described. The direct object markers 'o.te. (H0853) and 'et (H0853) attach the pronominal suffixes marking "you" (H9031) and "your king" (mal.ke.kha, H4428G + H9021) as the two entities being led. The relative clause introduced by 'a.Sher ("whom", H0834A) with ta.Kim ("you will raise up", H6965I) describes this king as one the addressee himself will install, using a hiphil imperfect that expresses an action not yet completed at the time of speaking.

The destination is Goy ("a nation", H1471A), further specified by a second relative clause with 'a.Sher ("which", H0834A) and the negated perfect ya.Da'.ta ("you have known", H3045), extending via 'a.Tah ("you", H0859A) and va.'a.vo.Tei.kha ("and your ancestors", H0001G + H9021) to include both the addressee and prior generations in this lack of knowledge. The narrative vav on ve.'a.Vad.ta (H9001 + H5647H) shifts to a sequential perfect, syntactically continuing the chain of events as a consequence following the exile. The final clause names the objects of this service: 'E.lo.Him 'a.che.Rim ("other gods", H0430J + H312), specified in apposition by 'etz ("wood", H6086G) and 'A.ven ("stone", H0068G), naming the material composition of these gods rather than a separate category.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders mal.ke.kha ("your king", H4428G) with the plural τοὺς ἄρχοντάς σου ("your rulers"), where the Hebrew has a singular noun. The Vulgate follows the Hebrew singular with regem tuum ("your king"). The LXX also renders the final phrase as ξύλοις καὶ λίθοις ("with woods and stones," dative plural), differing formally from the Hebrew singular nouns 'etz (H6086G) and 'A.ven (H0068G), though conveying the same material sense; the Vulgate matches the Hebrew singulars with ligno et lapidi ("wood and stone").