כַּגֹּויִ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֤ר יְהוָה֙ מַאֲבִ֣יד מִפְּנֵיכֶ֔ם כֵּ֖ן תֹאבֵד֑וּן עֵ֚קֶב לֹ֣א תִשְׁמְע֔וּן בְּקֹ֖ול יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
(Deuteronomy 8:20)
Like the nations that the LORD destroys before you, so shall you perish, because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God.
Word-by-Word Explanation
- כַּגֹּויִם — “like the nations.” The preposition כְּ (“like, as”) + plural גֹּויִם (“nations”).
- אֲשֶׁר — “that / which.” Relative pronoun introducing a clause.
- יְהוָה — “YHWH, the LORD.” The divine name.
- מַאֲבִיד — “is destroying / destroys.” Participle from אָבַד in the causative Hifil stem (“to cause to perish, destroy”). The participle here has a present or general sense: “the LORD destroys.”
- מִפְּנֵיכֶם — “from before you.” Preposition מִן (“from”) + פָּנִים (“face, presence”) + suffix -כֶם (“you,” plural). Idiomatically, “before you.”
- כֵּן — “so, thus.” Signals comparison: as with them, so with you.
- תֹאבֵדוּן — “you shall perish.” Imperfect 2nd person plural from אָבַד (“to perish”). Note the matching irony: nations perish by God’s action, Israel may perish by disobedience.
- עֵקֶב — “because / as a consequence.” Often used to mean “on account of, in return for.”
- לֹא — “not.” Negation particle.
- תִשְׁמְעוּן — “you listen / obey.” Imperfect 2nd person plural from שָׁמַע (“to hear, obey”).
- בְּקֹול — “to the voice.” Preposition בְּ (“in, with, to”) + noun קוֹל (“voice, sound”).
- יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם — “the LORD your God.” Title + אֱלֹהִים (“God”) with suffix -כֶם (“your,” plural).
Word Order and Sentence Flow
The structure is comparative and conditional in feel:
- כַּגֹּויִם אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה מַאֲבִיד מִפְּנֵיכֶם — “Like the nations that the LORD destroys before you…”
- כֵּן תֹאבֵדוּן — “…so you shall perish…”
- עֵקֶב לֹא תִשְׁמְעוּן בְּקוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם — “…because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God.”
The verse ties Israel’s fate directly to their obedience: the grammar mirrors the warning with its balance of כַּ… כֵּן (“as… so”).
Comparison Structure
| Like the nations… | So you… | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| כַּגֹּויִם… מַאֲבִיד מִפְּנֵיכֶם like the nations the LORD destroys before you |
כֵּן תֹאבֵדוּן so you shall perish |
עֵקֶב לֹא תִשְׁמְעוּן because you would not listen |
How the Sentence Works (Beginner’s View)
- Comparison markers: כַּ… כֵּן work like “as… so” in English.
- Participle vs. Imperfect: מַאֲבִיד (participle) shows God’s ongoing action, while תֹאבֵדוּן (imperfect) warns of Israel’s future possibility.
- Cause marker: עֵקֶב introduces the reason: disobedience to God’s voice.
Brick by Brick: Building Hebrew Understanding
This verse showed you how Hebrew frames warnings with poetic symmetry: “as… so.” You saw how participles show ongoing divine action and imperfects warn of potential futures. By noticing the tiny signals — כַּ, כֵּן, עֵקֶב — you gain the tools to follow Hebrew reasoning straight through its grammar. Brick by brick, the patterns become second nature.
“Don’t be discouraged — every prefix, suffix, and verb you recognize is another step in mastering the living rhythm of Biblical Hebrew!”
