The Meaning of Deuteronomy 32:6 Explained

Deuteronomy 32:6

KJV: Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?

YLT: To Jehovah do ye act thus, O people foolish and not wise? Is not He thy father -- thy possessor? He made thee, and doth establish thee.

Darby: Do ye thus requite Jehovah, Foolish and unwise people? Is not he thy father that hath bought thee? Hath he not made thee and established thee?

ASV: Do ye thus requite Jehovah, O foolish people and unwise? Is not he thy father that hath bought thee? He hath made thee, and established thee.

What is the context of Deuteronomy 32:6?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Do ye thus requite  the LORD,  O foolish  people  and unwise?  [is] not he thy father  [that] hath bought  thee? hath he not made  thee, and established  thee? 

What does Deuteronomy 32:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Deuteronomy 32:1-14 - Moses' Song: The Lord's Favor Upon Israel
The song of Moses, like the fabled song of the swan, was his last and sweetest. It is probably the noblest ode in the whole compass of the Bible, and is the source from which subsequent singers derived suggestions for their noblest outbursts. The marginal references prove how deeply it dyed the national sentiment.
It excels in the names and designations of the Almighty. He is the Rock: Deuteronomy 31:4; Deuteronomy 31:15; Deuteronomy 31:18; Deuteronomy 31:30; Jehovah: Deuteronomy 31:6; Father: Deuteronomy 31:6; the Most High: Deuteronomy 31:8; God: El, the strong, Deuteronomy 31:15, etc. What a study are the names of God, scattered through the Bible! Each was coined to meet some need of the human soul. What the rocks of the desert are to its shifting sands God is amid the changes of this mortal existence.
This earlier part of the song is very tender. We are God's portion; the apple of His eye; as young eaglets, whom the mother-bird is carefully teaching to fly, the favored recipients of God's richest gifts, Deuteronomy 31:13, etc. [source]

Chapter Summary: Deuteronomy 32

1  Moses' song, which sets forth God's mercy and vengeance
46  He exhorts them to set their hearts upon it
48  God sends him up to mount Nebo to see the land, and to die

What do the individual words in Deuteronomy 32:6 mean?

Do to Yahweh you do this O people foolish and unwise [Is] not He your Father [who] bought you He Has not made you and established you
הֲ־ לַיְהוָה֙ תִּגְמְלוּ־ זֹ֔את עַ֥ם נָבָ֖ל וְלֹ֣א ؟ חָכָ֑ם הֲלוֹא־ הוּא֙ אָבִ֣יךָ קָּנֶ֔ךָ ה֥וּא עָֽשְׂךָ֖ וַֽיְכֹנְנֶֽךָ

לַיְהוָה֙  to  Yahweh 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
תִּגְמְלוּ־  you  do 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine plural
Root: גָּמַל  
Sense: to deal fully with, recompense.
זֹ֔את  this 
Parse: Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
עַ֥ם  O  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
נָבָ֖ל  foolish 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: נָבָל  
Sense: foolish, senseless, fool.
؟ חָכָ֑ם  unwise 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: חָכָם  
Sense: wise, wise (man).
הֲלוֹא־  [Is]  not 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
אָבִ֣יךָ  your  Father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
קָּנֶ֔ךָ  [who]  bought  you 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular, second person masculine singular
Root: קָנָה 
Sense: to get, acquire, create, buy, possess.
עָֽשְׂךָ֖  Has  not  made  you 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular, second person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
וַֽיְכֹנְנֶֽךָ  and  established  you 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular, second person masculine singular
Root: כּוּן 
Sense: to be firm, be stable, be established.