Deuteronomy 31:18 (YLT)

Passage

and I certainly hide My face in that day for all the evil which it hath done, for it hath turned unto other gods.

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 31:16 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Lo, thou art lying down with thy fathers, and this people hath risen, and gone a-whoring after the gods of the stranger of the land into the midst of which it hath entered, and forsaken Me, and broken My covenant which I made with it;

Deuteronomy 31:17 and Mine anger hath burned against it in that day, and I have forsaken them, and hidden My face from them, and it hath been for consumption, and many evils and distresses have found it, and it hath said in that day, Is it not because that my God is not in my midst--these evils have found me?

Deuteronomy 31:18 and I certainly hide My face in that day for all the evil which it hath done, for it hath turned unto other gods.

Deuteronomy 31:19 `And now, write for you this song, and teach it the sons of Israel; put it in their mouths, so that this song is to Me for a witness against the sons of Israel,

Deuteronomy 31:20 and I bring them in unto the ground which I have sworn to their fathers--flowing with milk and honey, and they have eaten, and been satisfied, and been fat, and have turned unto other gods, and they have served them, and despised Me, and broken My covenant.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "certainly", "hide", "face", "evil", "hath", "done", and "turned". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "certainly" and "hide", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "and Mine anger hath burned against it..." into verse 19's "And now write for you this song...", so "certainly" 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 "certainly" and "hide" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.