Judgment · A foolish nation to provoke them

Deuteronomy 32:19-27

Moses · ~1406 BC · Status: Fulfilled · Confidence: 65%
“And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.”
King James Version · the opening — all 9 verses are below
More of Deuteronomy 32 on this siteDeuteronomy 32:35-43

From the Song of Moses — God will provoke unfaithful Israel to jealousy by 'a foolish nation,' which Paul applies to the Gentiles.

Read the whole passage — all 9 verses (KJV)

32:19And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.

32:20And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.

32:21They 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.

32:22For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

32:23I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.

32:24They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.

32:25The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.

32:26I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:

32:27Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this.

Fulfillment References

Romans 10:19 Romans 11:11 Deuteronomy 32:21 Isaiah 65:1

How Traditions Read This Prophecy

Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalThe 'foolish nation' provoking Israel to jealousy is the believing Gentiles (Rom. 10:19) — the one God drawing all peoples to Himself in Christ.
JewishGod's response to idolatry — provoking Israel through 'a non-people'; read within the Song's covenant-lawsuit warning.
CatholicPaul applies 'a foolish nation' to the Gentiles, whose faith provokes Israel to jealousy (Rom. 10:19).
ProtestantPaul cites this (Rom. 10:19; 11:11) — the Gentiles ('not a people') provoke Israel to jealousy, a key to his Romans 9-11 argument.
OrthodoxThe mystery of Gentile inclusion provoking Israel, fulfilled in the gospel.
DispensationalThe Gentile age provoking Israel to jealousy, preceding national restoration.
AcademicPaul's use of Deut. 32:21 is central to the study of his 'jealousy' motif and Israel-Gentile theology in Romans.
Open the full interactive entry →
Audio narration (listen to this prophecy read aloud), cross-references, Hebrew/Greek, Dead Sea Scrolls notes, a prophetic timeline, network maps, study tools and multi-tradition analysis in the interactive explorer.
Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, D.Min. · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.