Deuteronomy 32:51

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex) Deuteronomy 32:51 appears in the Hebrew Old Testament. The text above is from the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Each word links to its Strong’s number, a concise gloss, and parsing drawn from the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible morphology. Click any word for its full Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB) entry.
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Deuteronomy 32:51 (World English Bible). Public Domain. Lemma interlinear Bible study tool, https://lemma.gebible.app/v/deuteronomy/32/51.

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English Translation
because you trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn't sanctify me in the midst of the children of Israel.
World English Bible · Public Domain
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Compare translations 3

The same verse in 3 English versions, stacked beneath the original-language interlinear above. Click any original word for its lexicon entry.

Each is an independent rendering of the whole verse — the interlinear is not word-aligned to these translations.

Highlighted words mark where these versions differ — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment.

  • World English Bible Public Domain
    because you trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn't sanctify me in the midst of the children of Israel.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of MeribahKadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    because you were unfaithful to me among the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, wilderness of Zin; because you did not regard me as holy among the sons of Israel.

unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult).

Versions to compare (up to 4)

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Show all 18 translations

Every available English version of this verse, each an independent rendering of the whole verse.

  • World English Bible Public Domain
    because you trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn't sanctify me in the midst of the children of Israel.
  • Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
    For at the waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you broke faith with Me among the Israelites by failing to treat Me as holy in their presence.
  • Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
    For at the waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you broke faith with Me among the Israelites by failing to treat Me as holy in their presence.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of MeribahKadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
  • American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
    because ye trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
  • Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
    because ye trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
  • Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
    Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel, at the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the wildernesse of Zin: for ye sanctified me not among the children of Israel.
  • Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
    Because you trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel, at the waters of contradiction in Cades of the desert of Sin: and you did not sanctify me among the children of Israel.
  • Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
    `Because ye trespassed against me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribath-Kadesh, the wilderness of Zin -- because ye sanctified Me not in the midst of the sons of Israel;
  • Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    because you trespassed against Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribath-Kadesh, the wilderness of Zin, because you did not sanctify Me in the midst of the sons of Israel.
  • Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
    This will happen because you were unfaithful to me among the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah in Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you did not treat me with honor and respect among the people of Israel.
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    because you were unfaithful to me among the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, wilderness of Zin; because you did not regard me as holy among the sons of Israel.
  • Darby Bible Public Domain
    because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye hallowed me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
  • World Messianic Bible Public Domain
    because you trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn’t uphold my holiness among the children of Israel.
  • Webster's Bible Public Domain
    Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
  • Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    For there at the waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Desert of Zin, you both were unfaithful to me. You misrepresented me to the Israelites when you didn't treat me as holy in their presence.
  • Bible in Basic English Public Domain
    Because of your sin against me before the children of Israel at the waters of Meribath Kadesh in the waste land of Zin; because you did not keep my name holy among the children of Israel.
  • JPS Tanakh (1917) Public Domain
    Because ye trespassed against Me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribath-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified Me not in the midst of the children of Israel.

Literal Standard Version (2020), Covenant Press — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). Unlocked Literal Bible (unfoldingWord) — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult). Free Bible Version, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org).

Word by word

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מְרִיבַ֥ת
mᵉrîybâh
H4808
“strife of”
Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Construct
Part of Speech
Noun
Type
Common
Gender
Feminine
Number
Singular
State
Construct
Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H7378

TWOT: 2159c

strife, contention
  1. עַל֩ ʻal H5921 “upon” Preposition
  2. אֲשֶׁ֨ר ʼăsher H834 “which” Particle, Relative
  3. מְעַלְתֶּ֜ם mâʻal H4603 “to betray” Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural
  4. בְּתוֹךְ֙ tâvek H8432 “in/at · midst of” Preposition + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct
  5. בְּנֵ֣י bên H1121 “sons of” Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct
  6. יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל Yisrâʼêl H3478 “Israel” Noun, Proper
  7. בְּמֵֽי mayim H4325 “in/at · water(s) of” Preposition + Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct
  8. קָדֵ֖שׁ Qâdêsh H6946 “Kadesh” Noun, Proper
  9. מִדְבַּר midbâr H4057 “wilderness of” Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct
  10. צִ֑ן Tsin H6790 “Zin” Noun, Proper
  11. עַ֣ל ʻal H5921 “upon” Preposition
  12. אֲשֶׁ֤ר ʼăsher H834 “which” Particle, Relative
  13. לֹֽא lôʼ H3808 “not” Particle, Negative
  14. קִדַּשְׁתֶּם֙ qâdash H6942 “to consecrate” Verb, Piel, Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural
  15. אוֹתִ֔י ʼêth H853 “- · me” Particle, Direct Object + Suffix, Personal, 1st Person, Common, Singular
  16. בְּת֖וֹךְ tâvek H8432 “in/at · midst of” Preposition + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct
  17. בְּנֵ֥י bên H1121 “sons of” Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct
  18. יִשְׂרָאֵֽל Yisrâʼêl H3478 “Israel” Noun, Proper

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

20
words
14
distinct lemmas
Pentateuch
section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is מְרִיבַ֥ת strife H4808 — appearing just 7 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

מְרִיבַ֥ת strife H4808 occurs in 7 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

  • 2 verbs
  • 11 nouns
  • 3 prepositions
  • 4 particles

Verb forms

  • מְעַלְתֶּ֜ם Qal · Perfect
  • קִדַּשְׁתֶּם֙ Piel · Perfect

Repetition

Words recur within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

  • עַל֩ upon H5921 ×2
  • בְּתוֹךְ֙ midst H8432 ×2
  • בְּנֵ֣י son H1121 ×2
  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל Israel H3478 ×2
  • אֲשֶׁ֨ר which H834 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 38 words from the Hebrew and 32 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 20 Hebrew tokens and 26 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

8

Topical passages linked to Deuteronomy 32:51 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

  • Numbers 27:14 because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the waters before their eyes. (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
  • Numbers 20:11–14 Moses lifted up his hand, and struck the rock with his rod twice: and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle.
  • Numbers 20:24 Aaron shall be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah.
  • Deuteronomy 3:23–27 I begged Yahweh at that time, saying,
  • 1 Kings 13:21–26 and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, Thus says Yahweh, Because you have been disobedient to the mouth of Yahweh, and have not kept the commandment which Yahweh your God commanded you,
  • Leviticus 10:3 Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what Yahweh spoke of, saying, "'I will show myself holy to those who come near me, And before all the people I will be glorified.'" Aaron held his peace.
  • Isaiah 8:13 Yahweh of hosts, him shall you sanctify; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
  • 1 Peter 4:17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don't obey the Gospel of God?

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Deuteronomy 32:51 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

עַל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר מְעַלְתֶּ֜ם בִּ֗י בְּתוֹךְ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּמֵֽי מְרִיבַ֥ת קָדֵ֖שׁ מִדְבַּר צִ֑ן עַ֣ל אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא קִדַּשְׁתֶּם֙ אוֹתִ֔י בְּת֖וֹךְ בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

because you trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn't sanctify me in the midst of the children of Israel.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Deuteronomy 32:51 Septuagint · lemma form

διότι ἀπειθέω ὁ ῥῆμα ἐγώ ἐν ὁ υἱός ἰσραήλ ἐπί ὁ ὕδωρ ἀντιλογία καδης ἐν ὁ ἔρημος σιν διότι οὐ ἁγιάζω ἐγώ ἐν ὁ υἱός ἰσραήλ

Because you⌃ disobeyed my word among the children of Israel, at the waters of strife of Cades in the wilderness of Sin; because you⌃ sanctified me not among the sons of Israel.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

2

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

  1. Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)
    עַל דִי שַׁקַרְתּוּן בְּמֵימְרִי בְּגוֹ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמֵי מַצוּת רְקָם מַדְבְּרָא דְצִין עַל דִי לָא קַדִשְׁתּוּן יָתִי בְּגוֹ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

    (no public-domain English translation for this verse)

    Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

  2. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)
    אָתִיב לֵיהּ מָרֵי עַלְמָא וְכֵן אָמַר מִן בִּגְלַל דְשַׁקַרְתּוּן בְּמֵימְרִי בִּמְצַע בְּנֵי יִשְרָאֵל בְּמוֹי מַצוֹת רְקַם מַדְבְּרָא דְצִין מְטוֹל דְלָא קַדִישְׁתּוּן יָתִי בִּמְצַע בְּנֵי יִשְרָאֵל

    The Lord of the world answered him, and said: Because thou didst prevaricate with My Word In the midst of the children of Israel, at the Waters of Contention at Rekem in the desert of Zin, and didst not sanctify Me among them;

    Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Deuteronomy 32:51 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Joseph Benson's Commentary

Deu 32:51-52. Because ye trespassed — God reminds him of the sin he had committed long before, and this Moses records as an acknowledgment, made at his death, of God’s justice, and a warning to all people not to distrust or disobey the voice of God. It is good for the holiest of men to die repenting even of their early sins. Yet thou shalt see the land — And see it as the earnest of that better country, which is only seen with the eye of faith. What is death to him who has a believing prospect and a steadfast hope of eternal life?

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Tyndale Open Resources

32:51 you betrayed me: During the wilderness sojourn, Moses dishonored the Lord by striking a water-producing rock. This fit of impatient anger disqualified Moses from entering the Promised Land (Num 20:1-13; see Deut 1:37; 3:26-27).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Geneva Bible (1599)

Geneva Bible translators

Ye were not earnest and constant to maintain mine honor.

Or, of strife.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 51. Ye trespassed against me - at the waters of Meribah] See Clarke on Nu 20:12.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

51. because ye brake faith with me] So Driver. The phrase is chiefly found in P, Ez. and Chron. The judgement on Moses is explained not as in Deut. by the sin of the people, but by that of Aaron and Moses himself. See above, Further Note to Ch. Deu_1:36-38.

in the midst] Heb. betok, P’s synonym for the bekì́rĕb of Deut.

the waters of Meribah of Kadesh] As elsewhere in P, Num_27:14; cp. Num_20:13; Num_20:24, Eze_47:19; Eze_48:28, Deu_33:2, Psa_81:7 (8), Psa_106:32.

wilderness of Zin] Heb. Ṣin, only in P, Num_13:21, etc. See above, introd. to ch. Deu_2:1-8.

sanctified me] Cp. P, Num_20:12; Num_27:14. Notice the play upon the name Ḳadesh.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Cades. Hebrew, "at the waters of Meriba-Cadesh," &c.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The Pulpit Commentary

cf. Num_20:13, Num_20:24. Because ye sanctified me not (Num_27:14; 1Pe_3:15)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Wesley's Explanatory Notes

Because ye trespassed - God reminds him of the sin he had committed long before. It is good for the holiest of men to die repenting, even of their early sins.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

על אשר מעלתם בי BECAUSE YE TRESPASSED AGAINST ME — i.e., because you made the people to trespass against Me.

על אשר לא קדשתם אותי BECAUSE YE SANCTIFIED ME NOT — i.e. because you brought it about that I was not sanctified; I said to you, ‘Speak to the rock!” They, however, smote it and had therefore to smite it twice. Had they, however, spoken to it, and it had given forth its water without being smitten, the Name of the Heaven would have been sanctified; for the Israelites would have said, “How is it with the rock which is subject neither to reward nor to punishment, for when it acts meritoriously it receives no reward and when it sins it is not punished? It fulfils so obediently the command of its Creator! — how much the more should we do so!”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Deuteronomy, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 20 words (14 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is mᵉrîybâh (“strife”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

  1. How does “strife” (mᵉrîybâh) shape what this verse is saying?
  2. Genesis 13:8 shares the word «strife» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
  3. “upon” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
  4. These translations render this verse differently. What is at stake in choosing one wording over another?
  5. The verb «מְעַלְתֶּ֜ם» is Qal Perfect. How does its form color the action?
  6. Reading how Joseph Benson's Commentary and Tyndale Open Study Notes read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

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Old Testament
Old Testament edition

Read the OT as the Masoretic Hebrew (MT) or the Greek Septuagint (LXX).

English shown for the Greek Septuagint (in the Hebrew ↔ Greek comparison).

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