Deuteronomy 8:20

20 As [with] the nations that Yahweh [is] destroying {before you}, so you shall perish because you would not obey the voice of Yahweh your God.

Deuteronomy 8:20 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 8:20

As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so
shall ye perish
Be cut off by the sword, or cast out as they were, the same sins, particularly idolatry, being committed by them. This is to be understood of the seven nations of the land of Canaan, which the Lord would be gradually destroying when Israel came into the possession of their land; and they might righteously expect the same treatment, should they be guilty of the same sins:

because ye would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God;
expressed in his law, especially in the two first precepts of it, which require the worship of one God, and forbid the worshipping of idols; or to the Word of the Lord, as the Targum of Jonathan, Christ, the essential Word, in whom the name of the Lord was, and whose voice Israel was to obey, ( Exodus 23:20-22 ) .

Deuteronomy 8:20 In-Context

18 But you must remember Yahweh your God, for he [is] the [one] giving you strength to acquire wealth in order to confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors {as it is today}.

19 And it will happen [that] if you indeed forget Yahweh your God and you go after other gods and you serve them and you bow down before them, I warn you today that you will surely perish.

20 As [with] the nations that Yahweh [is] destroying {before you}, so you shall perish because you would not obey the voice of Yahweh your God.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "from your faces"