Deuteronomy 30:17 (GNV)

Passage

But if thine heart turne away, so that thou wilt not obey, but shalt be seduced and worship other gods, and serue them,

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 30:15 Beholde, I haue set before thee this day life and good, death and euill,

Deuteronomy 30:16 In that I commaund thee this day, to loue the Lord thy God, to walke in his wayes, and to keepe his commandements, and his ordinances, and his lawes, that thou mayest liue, and be multiplied, and that the Lord thy God may blesse thee in the land, whither thou goest to possesse it.

Deuteronomy 30:17 But if thine heart turne away, so that thou wilt not obey, but shalt be seduced and worship other gods, and serue them,

Deuteronomy 30:18 I pronounce vnto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, ye shall not prolong your dayes in the lande, whither thou passest ouer Iorden to possesse it.

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heauen and earth to recorde this day against you, that I haue set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. therefore chuse life, that both thou and thy seede may liue,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thine", "heart", "turne", "away", "thou", "wilt", "obey", and "shalt". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thine" and "heart", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "In that I commaund thee this day..." into verse 18's "I pronounce vnto you this day that...", so "thine" and "heart" 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 "thine" and "heart" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.