Deuteronomy 4 · Verse 31

Deuteronomy 4:31

(For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
Deuteronomy 4:31, King James Version

Deuteronomy 4:31 in other translations

BSBFor the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers, which He swore to them by oath.
WEBFor the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not fail you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them.
ASVfor Jehovah thy God is a merciful God; he will not fail thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
YLTfor a merciful God is Jehovah thy God; He doth not fail thee, nor destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which He hath sworn to them.
DARBY— for Jehovah thy God is a merciful God, — he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he swore unto them.
BBEBecause the Lord your God is a God of mercy, he will not take away his help from you or let destruction overtake you, or be false to the agreement which he made by an oath with your fathers.
Webster(For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which he swore to them.

What does Deuteronomy 4:31 mean?

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy 4:24-40

Moses urged the greatness, glory, and goodness of God. Did we consider what a God he is with whom we have to do, we should surely make conscience of our duty to him, and not dare to sin against him. Shall we forsake a merciful God, who will never forsake us, if we are faithful unto him? Whither can we go? Let us be held to our duty by the bonds of love, and prevailed with by the mercies of God to cleave to him…

Read the full comment on Deuteronomy 4:24-40 →

Deuteronomy 4:31 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כִּ֣יkiforH3588
אֵ֤ל'el[is] a GodH410
רַחוּם֙ra.ChumcompassionateH7349
יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ'e.lo.Hei.khaGod yourH430
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
יַרְפְּךָ֖yar.pe.Khahe will abandon youH7503
וְלֹ֣אve.Lo'and notH3808
יַשְׁחִיתֶ֑ךָyash.chi.Te.khahe will destroy youH7843
וְלֹ֤אve.Lo'and notH3808
יִשְׁכַּח֙yish.Kachhe will forgetH7911
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
בְּרִ֣יתbe.Rit[the] covenant ofH1285
אֲבֹתֶ֔יךָ'a.vo.Tei.khaancestors yourH1
אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhichH834
נִשְׁבַּ֖עnish.Ba'he sworeH7650
לָהֶֽם\׃la.Hemto them

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Deuteronomy 4:31

  • Deuteronomy 31:8

    And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

  • Psalms 116:5

    Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

  • Nehemiah 9:31

    Nevertheless for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

  • Jonah 4:2

    And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

  • 2 Chronicles 30:9

    For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.

  • Exodus 34:6-7

    And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

  • Leviticus 26:42

    Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.

  • Psalms 145:8-9

    The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

  • Deuteronomy 31:6

    Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

  • Numbers 14:18

    The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

  • Psalms 111:9

    He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.

  • Psalms 111:5

    He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the Lord.
Ex 34:6,7; Nu 14:18; 2Ch 30:9; Ne 1:5; 9:31; Ps 86:5,15; 116:5
Ps 145:8,9; Jon 4:2; Mic 7:18
forget.
Le 26:42,45; Ps 105:8; 111:5,9; Jer 14:21; Lu 1:72

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Deuteronomy 4:30

    When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;

  • Deuteronomy 4:31

    (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

  • Deuteronomy 4:32

    For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?

Read all of Deuteronomy 4

Deuteronomy 4:31 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Porque Dios misericordioso es Jehová tu Dios; no te dejará, ni te destruirá, ni se olvidará del pacto de tus padres que les juró.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Car l’ Éternel, ton Dieu, est un ✶Dieu miséricordieux, il ne t’abandonnera pas et ne te détruira pas; et il n’oubliera pas l’alliance de tes pères, qu’il leur a jurée.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Denn ein barmherziger Gott ist Jehova, dein Gott; er wird dich nicht lassen und dich nicht verderben und wird des Bundes deiner Väter nicht vergessen, den er ihnen geschworen hat.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Quia Deus misericors Dominus Deus tuus est: non dimittet te, nec omnino delebit, neque obliviscetur pacti, in quo juravit patribus tuis.