Deuteronomy 32:17
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The verse highlights a chilling aspect of their rebellion: they weren't just worshiping gods unknown to their ancestors; they were actively embracing "new gods that had come recently." This points to a deliberate turning away from the tried-and-true faithfulness of God for the allure of the novel and the trendy, a pattern that continues to tempt us today.
They sacrificed to demons that were not God, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage occurs within Moses' farewell song to Israel, a poetic and prophetic summary of their history and God's covenant relationship with them. The song begins by calling heaven and earth to witness, detailing God's faithfulness and Israel's profound ingratitude and rebellion. This verse specifically describes their apostasy, where they turn from worshipping the one true God to embracing foreign and novel deities, illustrating a deep spiritual corruption.
When the Israelites turned from the Lord, they offered sacrifices not to the true God, but to beings that were fundamentally not God.
The verse highlights a profound spiritual reality: idolatry isn't just about worshipping a different deity; it's about worshipping what isn't God at all.
The Essence of Idolatry
The turning away from the Lord was not just a personal failing, but a deliberate rejection of the faith of their ancestors.
The phrase 'whom your fathers had never dreaded' is a stark indictment. It signifies not just unfamiliarity, but a conscious dismissal of the God their ancestors had reverenced and feared.
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A Deliberate Disregard
Understand the original words
shed · Hebrew Noun
Supernatural spiritual beings or entities that are not God, often associated with idolatry or pagan worship; they are considered inferior and rebellious.
This verse speaks to a pattern of behavior that deeply troubled Israel even during their early wilderness wanderings and continued through the periods of the Judges and the divided monarchy. Their turn to 'new gods' reflects a dangerous tendency to adopt the religious practices of the nations around them, particularly the Canaanites, in a desperate, misguided attempt to secure prosperity or appease perceived spiritual powers.
c. 1446 BC
Exodus from Egypt
God miraculously delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, leading them through the Red Sea. This event marked the beginning of their covenant relationship with God and their journey toward the Promised Land.
c. 1446-1406 BC
Wandering in the Wilderness
For 40 years, the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness. During this time, God provided for them, taught them His laws, and disciplined them for their repeated disobedience and idolatry.
c. 1406 BC
Conquest of Canaan Begins
Under Joshua's leadership, the Israelites began the conquest of the Promised Land, driving out the existing inhabitants. This was the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham.
c. 1400-1070 BC
Period of the Judges
Following Joshua's death, Israel entered a cycle of apostasy, oppression, and deliverance. During this period, they frequently turned to the gods of the surrounding nations.
c. 1070 BC
Establishment of the Monarchy
Israel demanded a king, establishing a monarchy that initially sought to follow God but later succumbed to the failures of its rulers.
c. 931 BC
Division of the Kingdom
Following the reign of Solomon, the united kingdom split into two: the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah. The northern kingdom, in particular, became notorious for its persistent idolatry.
c. 1400 BC (Moses' lifetime)— this verse
Moses Delivers the Song of Deuteronomy
Moses sings this song as a testimony to Israel before his death, recounting God's faithfulness and their persistent rebellion, including their sacrifice to demons and unknown gods.
This psalm echoes Deuteronomy's condemnation, stating that the Israelites sacrificed their sons and daughters to 'demons' (shedim), aligning with the theme of sacrificing to non-gods described in Deuteronomy 32:17.
1 Corinthians 10:20The Apostle Paul directly quotes from or alludes to this concept when he writes that sacrifices made by Gentiles are sacrifices to demons, not to God, reinforcing the spiritual reality of what is happening when people turn away from the true God.
Romans 1:23This verse describes humanity exchanging the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things, which parallels the act of sacrificing to created things and unknown deities instead of the Creator.
Jeremiah 2:11The prophet Jeremiah laments that 'no nation has ever exchanged its gods for others, though theirs are not gods at all,' highlighting the unnatural and foolish act of abandoning the true God for foreign and non-existent deities, a theme central to Deuteronomy 32:17.
calvinDeuteronomy 32:1-52: "Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth."
They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
Ipsi ad zelum provocaverunt me, in eo quod non est Deus, ad iracundiam me provocaverunt in vanitatibus suis: et ego ad zelum provocabo eos in eo qui non…
barnesDeuteronomy 32:17: "They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not."
Devils - Render, destroyers. The application of the word to the false gods points to the trait so deeply graven in all pagan worship, that of regarding the deities as malignant, and needing to be propitiated by human sufferings. Not to God - Rather, "not God," i. e., which were not God; see the margin and Deuteronomy 32:21. Compare Deuteronomy 1…
The verse highlights a chilling aspect of their rebellion: they weren't just worshiping gods unknown to their ancestors; they were actively embracing "new gods that had come recently." This points to a deliberate turning away from the tried-and-true faithfulness of God for the allure of the novel and the trendy, a pattern that continues to tempt us today.
This passage occurs within Moses' farewell song to Israel, a poetic and prophetic summary of their history and God's covenant relationship with them. The song begins by calling heaven and earth to witness, detailing God's faithfulness and Israel's profound ingratitude and rebellion. This verse specifically describes their apostasy, where they turn from worshipping the one true God to embracing foreign and novel deities, illustrating a deep spiritual corruption.
This passage occurs within Moses' farewell song to Israel, a poetic and prophetic summary of their history and God's covenant relationship with them. The song begins by calling heaven and earth to witness, detailing God's faithfulness and Israel's profound ingratitude and rebellion. This verse specifically describes their apostasy, where they turn from worshipping the one true God to embracing foreign and novel deities, illustrating a deep spiritual corruption.
"They sacrificed to demons that were not God, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded." — The verse highlights a chilling aspect of their rebellion: they weren't just worshiping gods unknown to their ancestors; they were actively embracing "new gods that had come recently." This points to…
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Last reviewed October 2026
