Deuteronomy 31:17

17 And my strong vengeance shall be wroth against that people in that day, and I shall forsake it, and I shall hide my face from it, and it shall be into devouring; all evils and tormentings shall find it, so that it say in that day, Verily for the Lord is not with me, these evils have found me. (And my strong vengeance shall be stirred against them in that day, and I shall forsake them, and I shall hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured; and many evils and torments shall find them, so that they say on that day, Truly these evils have found us, because the Lord is not with us.)

Deuteronomy 31:17 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 31:17

Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day
As the anger of a man is against his wife who has treacherously departed from him: and jealousy, which is the rage of such a man, is very cruel; and much more the wrath and anger of a jealous God, who is a consuming fire:

and I will forsake them;
withdraw his favours from them, and his protection of them:

and I will hide my face from them;
take no notice of them in a providential way for good, nor hear their cries, to deliver them from evil:

and they shall be devoured;
by their enemies, or by the sore judgments of God, by famine, sword, pestilence, and evil beasts, they and their substance:

and many evils and troubles shall befall them;
both in their own land, and in other countries, where they would be, and have been carried captive:

so that they will say in that day, are not these evils come upon us,
because our God [is] not amongst us?
of which they would be sensible by their being exposed to their enemies for want of his protection, and by the evils upon them through his displeasure, and by their being deprived of the good things that came from him; but no intimation is given of their being sensible of their sins as the cause of all this.

Deuteronomy 31:17 In-Context

15 and the Lord appeared there in a pillar of cloud, that stood in the entering of the tabernacle (that stood at the entrance to the Tabernacle).

16 And the Lord said to Moses, Lo! thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, and this people shall rise up, and it shall do fornication, or idolatry, going after alien gods in the land, into which it shall enter, that it dwell therein; there it shall forsake me, and shall make void the bond of peace, which I covenanted with it. (And the Lord said to Moses, Lo! soon thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, that is, thou shalt die, and then this people shall rise up, and they shall do fornication, or idolatry, going after foreign, or other, gods in the land, into which they shall enter, to live there; and they shall forsake me there, and they shall make void, or shall break, the covenant, which I made with them.)

17 And my strong vengeance shall be wroth against that people in that day, and I shall forsake it, and I shall hide my face from it, and it shall be into devouring; all evils and tormentings shall find it, so that it say in that day, Verily for the Lord is not with me, these evils have found me. (And my strong vengeance shall be stirred against them in that day, and I shall forsake them, and I shall hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured; and many evils and torments shall find them, so that they say on that day, Truly these evils have found us, because the Lord is not with us.)

18 Soothly I shall hide my face, and cover it in that day, for all the evils which this people hath done, for it hath followed alien gods. (And I shall hide my face, and cover it on that day, for all the evils which this people hath done, for they have followed foreign, or other, gods.)

19 Now therefore write ye to you this song, and teach ye the sons of Israel, that they hold it in mind, and sing it in mouth; and that this song be to me for a witnessing among the sons of Israel. (And so now write down this song for you, and teach ye it to the Israelites, so that they can remember it, and sing it with their mouths; and so that this song can be a witness for me against the Israelites.)