Deuteronomy 8:19 (DBY)

Passage

And it shall be, if thou do at all forget Jehovah thy God, and go after other gods, and serve them, and bow down to them, I testify against you this day that ye shall utterly perish.

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 8:17 and thou say in thy heart, My power and the might of my hand has procured me this wealth.

Deuteronomy 8:18 But thou shalt remember Jehovah thy God, that it is he who giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

Deuteronomy 8:19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget Jehovah thy God, and go after other gods, and serve them, and bow down to them, I testify against you this day that ye shall utterly perish.

Deuteronomy 8:20 As the nations which Jehovah is causing to perish before you, so shall ye perish; because ye would not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah your God.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "thou", "forget", "jehovah", "after", "other", "gods", and "serve". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "But thou shalt remember Jehovah thy God..." into verse 20's "As the nations which Jehovah is causing...", so "shall" and "thou" 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 "shall" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.