Deuteronomy 7:10 · Bible study
Deuteronomy 7:10 Commentary: God's Justice 'to the Face'
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
What does 'repays to his face' mean? A study of Deuteronomy 7:10 on the certainty and nature of God's judgment.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God directly and openly punishes those who hate Him, without unnecessary delay.
- Key words: ‘repays’ (H7999, Piel participle = ongoing action), ‘face’ (H6440, personal presence), ‘delay’ (H0309, imperfect = will not procrastinate).
- Main debate: Does ‘to his face’ mean in the sinner’s lifetime, in God’s anger, or as a public confrontation of arrogance?
- Theological theme: The covenant God is faithful in both mercy and justice, He repays the hater personally and openly.
- Best use: As a warning against presumption and a comfort that evil will not escape God’s justice.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
But those who hate Him He repays to their faces with destruction; He will not hesitate to repay to his face the one who hates Him.
WEB World English Bible 2000
and repays those who hate him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack to him who hates him. He will repay him to his face.
KJV King James Version 1769
And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
and repaying to those hating Him, unto their face, to destroy them; He delayeth not to him who is hating Him--unto his face, He repayeth to him--
Darby Darby Bible 1890
and repayeth them that hate him [each] to his face, to cause them to perish: he delayeth not with him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And repaying forthwith them that hate him, so as to destroy them, without further delay immediately rendering to them what they deserve.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y que da el pago en su cara al que le aborrece, destruyéndolo: ni lo dilatará al que le odia, en su cara le dará el pago.
E que retribui em sua face ao que lhe aborrece, destruindo-o: nem o dilatará ao que lhe odeia, em sua face lhe retribuirá.
Mais il use directement de représailles envers ceux qui le haïssent, et il les fait périr; il ne diffère point envers celui qui le hait, il use directement de représailles.
und vergilt denen, die ihn hassen, ins Angesicht, daß er sie umbringe, und säumt sie nicht, daß er denen vergelte ins Angesicht, die ihn hassen.
En Hij vergeldt een ieder van hen, die Hem haten, in zijn aangezicht, om hem te verderven; Hij zal het Zijn hater niet vertrekken, in zijn aangezicht zal Hij het hem vergelden.
ma rende immediatamente a quelli che l’odiano ciò che si meritano, distruggendoli; non differisce, ma rende immediatamente a chi l’odia ciò che si merita.
A oddający tym, którzy go mają w nienawiści, każdemu w twarz jego, aby go wytracił; nie omieszka temu, który go ma w nienawiści, w twarz jego odda mu.
и воздает ненавидящим Его в лице их, погубляя их; Он не замедлит, ненавидящему Его самому лично воздаст.
向恨他的 人當 面 報應他們，將他們滅絕。凡恨他的人必 報應 他們，決不 遲延。
Rewarding his haters to their face with destruction; he will have no mercy on his hater, but will give him open punishment.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Deuteronomy 7:10
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree this verse asserts that God punishes those who hate Him directly and openly, 'to their face.' Keil and Delitzsch note the repetition intensifies the certainty: the wicked see and feel that God strikes them. Barnes states it means punishment 'in their own proper persons,' while Wesley paraphrases it as judgment so clear that adversaries cannot avoid it. Calvin, however, emphasizes the added dimension of humiliation: God confronts the arrogant 'face to face,' breaking their proud confidence. The consensus holds the verse as a deliberate counterpart to verse 9, showing the covenant God deals faithfully with both love and hatred, mercy to the thousandth generation, justice to the individual hater, without slackness or delay. None of the consulted sources dispute that the language is emphatic and personal.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Public/open judgment: Most modern commentators: 'to the face' means openly, visibly, so the sinner knows they are being judged (Wesley, Barnes, Keil).
- In the sinner's lifetime: Jewish tradition (Onkelos, Jarchi) and Gill mention that God repays the wicked while they still live, not only after death.
- Confrontation of arrogance: Calvin: God opposes the proud to their face, humbling their brazen confidence.
What is clear: God will certainly and directly punish those who hate Him, and His judgment—however long it seems to delay—will not fail to come.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'to his face' | All commentators understand it as emphasizing personal, direct judgment that the hater cannot miss or evade. | Calvin interprets it as God confronting the arrogant face to face. Gill and others note Jewish traditions (Onkelos, Jarchi) that read it as 'in their lifetime.' Some see it as simply 'openly/ publicly.' |
| Who qualifies as 'one who hates God'? | It includes those who are directly hostile to God and those who reject His commandments by persistent disobedience. | Wesley says it includes opposition to God's people and word. The narrower reading limits it to flagrant sinners; the wider reading includes any willful breach of covenant. |
| Timing of judgment | God's repayment is not slow or negligent, 'He will not be slack.' | Some (e.g., the Chaldee paraphrase via Gill) take 'not slack' as immediate punishment in this life. Others (Keil, Calvin) see it as certain judgment that may come at God's appointed time, which could be later in history or eschatologically. |
| Relation to the second commandment (Exodus 20:5) | Moses is extending the Decalogue's principle: God visits iniquity on haters and shows mercy to lovers. | Exodus 20:5 mentions 'to the third and fourth generation.' Deuteronomy 7:10 repeats only the hater's personal repayment. Some (Cambridge) see a shift from intergenerational to individual accountability. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Deuteronomy 7 sits within Moses’ second address to Israel on the plains of Moab, just before they enter Canaan. The immediate concern is the seven nations inhabiting the land, peoples greater and more numerous than Israel (v.1). Israel is commanded to destroy them utterly, make no treaties, and avoid intermarriage, because those nations would turn Israel's heart to other gods (v.4). This context of holy war and covenant separation frames verse 10.
The phrase 'to his face' (אֶל־פָּנָיו, el panav) draws on the Hebrew concept of panim, presence, countenance, the front of a person. When God repays 'to the face,' He does so publicly and directly, with no intermediary. This mirrors ancient Near Eastern royal practice where a king would personally confront a rebel rather than delegate punishment. The repetition in the verse, 'repays to their face… repay him to his face', drives the point home. As Calvin notes, the arrogant who 'provoke God as if He were powerless' are met with a judgment they cannot ignore.
The verse quotes and expands the second commandment (Exodus 20:5), which speaks of God 'visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children' but here the focus is narrowed to the individual hater. Moses is reinforcing the seriousness of covenant violation: turning from God to idols is not a private lapse but an act of high treason that brings swift, public retribution.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentaries note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Masoretic Text is stable across manuscripts. One minor point: the repetition of 'to his face' may have been stressed in ancient scribal tradition to ensure no reader missed the emphasis, but the wording itself is not disputed.
Reception History
This verse has been read soberly across church history. Early Christian writers (e.g., Origen, Jerome) used it to argue that God’s patience does not mean He overlooks sin, He will eventually repay. During the Reformation, Calvin and the Geneva Bible stressed the verse as a warning to the ungodly that God’s judgment is personal and public, while Luther’s catechisms paired it with the Gospel promise. In more recent centuries, Wesley and Methodist tradition linked the 'haters' to those who persist in rebellion, not merely those with enmity of heart. The verse appears in many Christian discussions of divine justice, often alongside Romans 12:19 ('Vengeance is mine, I will repay') to show continuity between Old and New Testaments.
Preaching This Verse
Three-Point Outline
- God's Justice Is Personal, The repeated 'to his face' means the Lord sees and confronts the sinner directly. No one hides from the Judge.
- God's Justice Is Certain, 'He will not be slack.' Though divine patience may seem like delay, judgment will come at the right time, with full force.
- God's Justice Balances His Mercy, Covenant love to thousands (v.9) and repayment to the face (v.10) are two sides of the same faithful God.
Five-Point Outline
- The Identity of the Hater, 'Those who hate him' includes not only direct hostility but also those who reject His commandments (Wesley).
- The Manner of Repayment, 'To the face' = open, unambiguous, in this life or at the final judgment.
- The Purpose of Destruction, 'To destroy him' (leha’avido) indicates final, complete justice against unrepentant evil.
- The Timeliness of God's Action, 'Not slack' reassures the faithful that God has not forgotten or grown weak.
- The Contrast with Mercy, Up to a thousand generations of love vs. immediate repayment to the hater, grace is God's native language; judgment is His strange work.
Illustration Hooks
- A court case where the judge delays sentencing for years, then delivers the verdict with full evidence in open court, justice delayed but finally 'to the face.'
- Someone who cheats a business partner, assuming the loss will never be discovered, only to be publicly exposed years later.
- A parent who warns a child repeatedly, then enforces a consequence face to face, not in anger but in faithfulness to the rule.
Questions Your Congregation Is Asking
- Does God really punish people today, or is judgment only at the end of time?
- How do I reconcile this verse with Jesus' command to love enemies?
- If God is patient, why does He sometimes seem to punish immediately, while other times He waits?
Leading a Discussion
This verse stands as the sober flip side of verse 9. God's faithfulness means He keeps both covenant mercy and covenant judgment. As you study, let the text speak without softening it. Justice is part of God's character, and understanding it deepens our awe at the cross where justice and mercy meet.
Discussion Questions
- Read Deuteronomy 7:9, 10 together. What contrast does Moses draw between the two verses?
- The phrase 'to his face' is used twice. Why do you think Moses repeats it? What does it tell you about the nature of God's judgment?
- What does it mean to 'hate' God in this context? How does Wesley's explanation, hating God 'by construction and consequence', broaden your understanding?
- How does this verse fit with Exodus 34:6, 7, where God is described as 'slow to anger'? Are the two in tension?
- Does the certainty of judgment make you more aware of your own sin, or more grateful for grace? Explain.
- How should this truth affect the way we pray for people who are opposed to God?
- In what ways does the cross of Christ both satisfy and transform this pattern of 'repayment to the face'?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 20:5 | you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, |
| Deuteronomy 7:9 | Know therefore that Yahweh your God himself is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness to a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commandments, |
| Deuteronomy 32:25 | Outside the sword will bereave, and in the rooms, terror on both young man and virgin, the nursing infant with the gray-haired man. |
| Deuteronomy 32:35 | Vengeance is mine, and recompense, at the time when their foot slides, for the day of their calamity is at hand. Their doom rushes at them.” |
| Deuteronomy 32:41 | if I sharpen my glittering sword, my hand grasps it in judgment; I will take vengeance on my adversaries, and will repay those who hate me. |
| Psalms 21:8 | Your hand will find out all of your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you. |
| Psalms 21:9 | You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath. The fire shall devour them. |
| Proverbs 11:31 | Behold, the righteous shall be repaid in the earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner! |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes clarifies that the "groves" commanded to be destroyed are not trees but wooden idols of Ashtaroth. He notes God deliberately chose Israel when they were just one man, Abraham, amid many powerful nations, and their later growth came from the very blessing that fulfilled His promise. He interprets "repaying enemies to their face" as God punishing them in their own persons.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin argues the "face" in this verse does not refer to God's anger or to rewards given during the sinner's lifetime. He reads it as the wicked's own arrogant face, their shameless defiance that God will directly humble and cast down before their eyes.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary highlights that the reasons given for destroying other nations and avoiding their worship
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note stresses that God repays His enemies openly and without delay. Judgment comes directly to their face, meaning they will personally and publicly experience His vengeance. There is no postponement for those who hate Him.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that God punishes those who hate Him openly, publicly, and without delay, often in their own lifetime. He highlights that such sinners are audacious, sinning boldly before God's face, and therefore receive swift, visible judgment they cannot resist.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch stresses that Moses borrows the language of the Ten Commandments as a pointed warning against idolatry. By adding "to destroy him" and that God does not delay repayment to His haters, the writer emphasizes immediate and visible retribution, not just eventual judgment.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange sees the seven Canaanite nations as a deliberate caricature of Israel: seven against one. The command to destroy them is not national hatred but a theocratic principle—hatred for God’s sake that flows from love for Him, not selfish enmity. He warns against misapplying this as carnal hatred, noting the New Covenant’s spirit of grace.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry focuses on the motive behind God's harsh command: Israel's separation from the Canaanites was not about ethnic hatred but about holiness. God chose this people purely out of His own love and covenant faithfulness, not their worth, so they must reflect His character by rejecting every form of idolatry.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley broadens "them that hate him" to include those who oppose God's people or wilfully break his commands, not just open enemies. He says God punishes such people openly, to their face, so they cannot miss it. Though God delays judgment beyond what seems timely, he is still slow to anger.