Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 32:37
He will say: “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses delivers the Song of Moses to Israel, forecasting the Lord's future vindication after their national strength collapses. Verse 37 shifts to the Lord's voice, addressing the nation regarding the fate of their idols.
The words — The Hebrew צ֖וּר (tzur) translates literally as "rock," while חָסָ֥יוּ (cha.Sa.yu) means "they sought refuge." The interrogative אֵ֣י ('ei) "where?" frames the verse as a direct challenge to absent deities.
The thread — This rhetorical dismissal of failed gods appears in Jeremiah 2:28 and Judges 10:14, where Israel is told to cry out to self-made idols in trouble. The same motif surfaces in 2 Kings 3:13, where reliance on foreign spiritual authorities is rejected.
Why it lands — The text forces a direct accounting of what sustains a community when human power evaporates. It requires the reader to separate functional support from silent idols without softening the indictment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 2:28 But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O Judah.
- Judges 10:14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you in your time of trouble.”
- 2 Kings 3:13 Elisha, however, said to the king of Israel, “What have we to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and of your mother!” “No,” replied the king of Israel, “for it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”