What Does Deuteronomy 7:16 Mean in the King James?
And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The word translated “consume” is the ordinary verb “eat,” making whole peoples the object of ingestion while the verse forbids pity for them.
THE MEANING
You face a command to consume whole peoples whom God gives to you, with no pity. It calls service to their gods a snare, binding mass violence and rejection of rival worship in one order.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the assumption that scriptural commands are always gentle: here, the text forbids pity while commanding the consumption of whole peoples.
THE ROOT
וְאָכַלְתָּ
veʾakhaltā
GROWS FROM
אכל
ʾ-k-l
eat, consume
The verb translated “consume” is the ordinary Hebrew verb “eat,” and its object is “all the peoples.” Related food nouns preserve the same root, so the verse voices this violence as ingestion, not simply victory.
ALSO GROWS
ʾokhel: food
אֹכֶל
This noun carries the same eat/consume root, sharpening the force of making peoples the object of consumption.
maʾakhal: food, foodstuff
מַאֲכָל
This branch keeps the eating image visible beneath the verse’s English wording.
נֹתֵן
nōtēn
GROWS FROM
נתן
n-t-n
give, set, place
Under “deliver” is the verb of giving or placing: the peoples are also framed as what God gives to you. Beside “eat,” that root holds transfer and consumption together in one sentence.
ALSO GROWS
natan: to give, set, place
נָתַן
This verb names the giving carried by the clause about the peoples God places in your hand.
mattanah: gift, present
מַתָּנָה
This noun shares the root and makes the clause’s sense of transfer visible.
תַעֲבֹד
taʿavod
GROWS FROM
עבד
ʿ-b-d
serve, work
The verb translated “serve” shares its root with “servant” and “service/work.” The verse frames devotion to the rival gods as entering their service, which it names as a snare.
ALSO GROWS
ʿeved: servant, slave
עֶבֶד
This noun shows the bond implicit in the act of serving.
ʿavodah: service, work
עֲבוֹדָה
This branch links service to the ongoing work or labor one gives to a master.
THE PATTERN
What receives your service can become the trap that holds you.
They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?THE THREAD
They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.The same Hebrew root עבד (ʿ-b-d, “serve”) appears in both verses, and Exodus makes the consequence explicit: serving their gods is a snare. The shared verb exposes the mechanism in Deuteronomy, the trap is entered through service.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us