Deuteronomy 7:4

4 for she shall deceive thy son, that he follow not me, that he serve more alien gods; and then the fierce vengeance of the Lord shall be wroth, and shall do away thee soon. (for she shall deceive thy son, so that he shall not follow me, and moreover, so that he serve foreign, or other, gods; and then the Lord shall be angry, and with fierce vengeance he shall swiftly do thee away.)

Deuteronomy 7:4 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 7:4

For they will turn away thy son from following me
From the pure worship of God, his word, statutes, and ordinances:

that they may serve other gods;
worship their idols; that is, the daughters of Heathens, married to the sons of Israelites, would entice them from the worship of the true God to idolatry; so the Targum of Jonathan; as Solomon's wives drew him aside: or "he will turn away thy son" F4; meaning, as Jarchi observes, that the son of an Heathen, that marries the daughter of an Israelite, will turn away the son born of her to idolatry, called here the grandfather's son; though Aben Ezra says this respects the son mentioned in the preceding verse, that is, the son married to an Heathen woman, and not to a son born in such marriage:

so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee
suddenly;
by some immediate judgment striking dead at once; there being nothing more provoking to God than idolatry, that being directly contrary to his being, nature, perfections, honour, and glory, of which he is jealous.


FOOTNOTES:

F4 (ryoy) "faciet recedere": Pagninus, Montanus; so Junius and Tremellius, Piscator, Tigurine version, Vatablus, V. L. all in the singular number.

Deuteronomy 7:4 In-Context

2 and when thy Lord God hath betaken them to thee, thou shalt smite them unto death, thou shalt not make with them a bond of peace, neither thou shalt have mercy upon them, (and when the Lord thy God hath delivered them unto thee, thou shalt strike them down unto the death, thou shalt not make a covenant, or a peace treaty, with them, nor shalt thou have mercy on them,)
3 neither thou shalt fellowship marriages with them; thou shalt not give thy daughter to his son, neither thou shalt take his daughter to thy son (nor shalt thou take his daughter for thy son);
4 for she shall deceive thy son, that he follow not me, that he serve more alien gods; and then the fierce vengeance of the Lord shall be wroth, and shall do away thee soon. (for she shall deceive thy son, so that he shall not follow me, and moreover, so that he serve foreign, or other, gods; and then the Lord shall be angry, and with fierce vengeance he shall swiftly do thee away.)
5 But rather thou shalt do these things to them; destroy ye their altars, and break ye their molten images of metal, and cut ye down their woods, and burn ye their graven images. (But rather thou shalt do these things to them; destroy ye their altars, and break ye up their metal idols, and cut ye down their sacred groves, or poles, and burn ye up their carved idols.)
6 For thou art an holy people to thy Lord God; thy Lord God chose thee, that thou be a special people to him, of all peoples that be on earth. (For thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God chose thee to be his special people, out of all the peoples that be on the earth.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.