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Deuteronomy 32:30

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Deuteronomy 32:30 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “How should one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Except their Rock had sold them, And Jehovah had delivered them up?” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

How should one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Except their Rock had sold them, And Jehovah had delivered them up?
Deuteronomy 32:30 — American Standard Version

Context — Deuteronomy 32

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
27Were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy, Lest their adversaries should judge amiss, Lest they should say, Our hand is exalted, And Jehovah hath not done all this.
28For they are a nation void of counsel, And there is no understanding in them.
29Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!
30How should one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Except their Rock had sold them, And Jehovah had delivered them up?
31For their rock is not as our Rock, Even our enemies themselves being judges.
32For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, And of the fields of Gomorrah: Their grapes are grapes of gall, Their clusters are bitter:
33Their wine is the poison of serpents, And the cruel venom of asps.
← Deuteronomy 32:29Deuteronomy 32:31 →
← Full Chapter 32 Deuteronomy Overview

What do historical commentaries say?

Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Song of Moses If Deuteronomy 32:1-3 be regarded as the introduction, and Deuteronomy 32:43 as the conclusion, the main contents of the song may be grouped under three heads, namely, (1) Deuteronomy 32:4-18, the faithfulness of God, the faithlessness of Israel; (2) Deuteronomy 32:19-33, the chastisement and the need of its infliction by God; (3) Deuteronomy 32:34-42, God’s compassion upon the low and humbled state of His people. The Song differs signally in diction and idiom from the preceding chapters; just as a lyrical passage is conceived in modes of thought wholly unlike those which belong to narrative or exhortation, and is uttered in different phraseology. There are, however, in the…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“One - Israelite. Their rock - Their God, who was their refuge and defence. Sold them - Namely, for bond - slaves, had given themselves up into their enemies hands. Shut them up - As it were in the net which their enemies had laid for them. Deuteronomy 32:31”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“32:30 How could one person chase a thousand: When God gives his people over to destruction, they are vulnerable against all odds. • their Rock: Here the metaphor is used ironically. The very one upon whom Israel should stand as the source of their strength will desert them because of their own wickedness and unfaithfulness (see 32:4).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“one chase: Lev 26:8; Jos 23:10; Jdg 7:22, Jdg 7:23; Sa1 14:15-17; Ch2 24:24; Isa 30:17 sold them: Jdg 2:14, Jdg 3:8; Psa 44:12; Isa 50:1, Isa 52:3; Mat 18:25 shut them: Job 11:10, Job 16:11; Psa 31:8 Deuteronomy 32:31”
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Related study paths

Read Deuteronomy 32 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification