Deuteronomy 31:18 (LSB)

Passage

But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods.

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 31:16 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers; and this people will arise and play the harlot with the foreign gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have cut with them.

Deuteronomy 31:17 Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will find them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have found us?’

Deuteronomy 31:18 But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods.

Deuteronomy 31:19 “So now, write this song for yourselves and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it in their mouths, so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel.

Deuteronomy 31:20 For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and are satisfied and become fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them and spurn Me and break My covenant.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Then My anger will be kindled against..." into verse 19's "So now write this song for yourselves...", so "surely" 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 "surely" and "hide" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.