Deuteronomy 29:18

Summary

The verse warns against the presence, among the people, of any individual or group whose lev ("heart", H3824) turns away from Yehovah toward the gods of other nations. It closes with an image: such a person is compared to a root that produces poisonous and bitter fruit, using two plant-derived nouns for bitterness.

Key words

• pen ("lest", H6435) — a subordinating particle introducing a negative purpose/fear clause; it opens both halves of the verse, creating two parallel warnings.
• levav ("heart", H3824) — construct noun with the suffix o ("his"), forming "his heart"; construct state binds it directly to the following participle as its subject.
• foneh ("turning away", H6437G) — qal participle, masculine singular, functioning as a present/ongoing description: "[whose heart] is turning away," not a completed act but a continuing orientation.
• sheresh ("root", H8328) — masculine singular noun, the subject of the second pen clause, introducing the horticultural metaphor.
• poreh ("bearing fruit", H6509) — qal participle paired with sheresh, describing the root's ongoing action of producing.
• rosh ("poison", H7219) and la'anah ("wormwood", H3939) — two nouns joined by ve- ("and", H9002), naming what the root produces; both denote bitter or toxic plant substances.

What the text says

The verse is built on two parallel clauses, each introduced by pen ("lest", H6435) followed by yesh ("there is", H3426) plus the preposition ba- ("among", H9003) with the suffix "you" (H9036). This pen yesh bakhem formula ("lest there be among you...") is repeated verbatim to open both halves, giving the verse a symmetrical structure: first a warning about a person or group ('ish "man" H0376G, 'ishah "woman" H0802G, mishpachah "clan" H4940, shevet "tribe" H7626H — four categories joined by 'o "or" H0176A), then a warning about a root.

In the first clause, the relative particle 'asher ("who", H0834A) introduces a description of that person's condition: levavo foneh hayom me'im Yehovah 'Eloheinu — "his heart is turning away today from with Yehovah our God." The participle foneh (H6437G) presents this turning not as a single event but as a present, ongoing disposition. The purpose of this turning is expressed through two infinitives joined by la-: lalekhet ("to go", H1980G) and la'avod ("to serve", H5647H) — "to go, to serve the gods of those nations," the double infinitive emphasizing both the departure and the resulting action of service to 'elohei hagoyim hahem ("the gods of those nations", using H0430J construct plural).

The second clause shifts to a botanical image using the same pen yesh bakhem opening. Here sheresh ("root", H8328) is the subject of the participle poreh ("bearing fruit", H6509), and what it bears is named by two nouns in sequence, rosh ("poison", H7219) and la'anah ("wormwood", H3939), joined by the conjunction ve- (H9002). The construct chains throughout (levav-o, 'Elohei-nu, 'elohei ha-goyim) tightly link possessor and possessed without additional words, a feature of Hebrew that English renders with "of" or possessive pronouns.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the two Hebrew nouns rosh (H7219) and la'anah (H3939) as χολῇ ("gall/bile") καὶ πικρίᾳ ("bitterness"), shifting from specific plant names to more general terms for bitter substances. The Vulgate uses fel ("gall") et amaritudinem ("and bitterness"), similarly generalizing rather than naming specific plants. The Hebrew sheresh poreh ("a root bearing") is rendered in the LXX as ῥίζα ἄνω φύουσα ("a root growing upward/springing up"), adding a directional nuance ("upward") not explicit in the Hebrew participle poreh (H6509) alone.