Deuteronomy 31:18 (DBY)

Passage

And I will entirely hide my face in that day for all the evils that they have wrought, because they turned unto other gods.

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 31:16 And Jehovah said to Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the strange gods of the land into which they enter, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.

Deuteronomy 31:17 And my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them, and they will say in that day, Have not these evils befallen me because my God is not in my midst?

Deuteronomy 31:18 And I will entirely hide my face in that day for all the evils that they have wrought, because they turned unto other gods.

Deuteronomy 31:19 And now, write ye this song, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy 31:20 For I shall bring them into the land which I swore unto their fathers, which floweth with milk and honey; and they will eat and fill themselves, and wax fat, and will turn unto other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "entirely", "hide", "face", "evils", "wrought", "turned", "other", and "gods". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "entirely" and "hide", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "And my anger shall be kindled against..." into verse 19's "And now write ye this song and...", so "entirely" and "hide" belong inside that flow. In Deuteronomy context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "entirely" and "hide" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.