For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?

DEUTERONOMY 31:27KJV
Know the Bible

Deuteronomy 31:27 (KJV)

What does Deuteronomy 31:27 mean?

Deuteronomy 31:27 records Moses warning Israel’s leaders that the people’s past conduct gives him reason to expect further defiance of the LORD. His question about what will happen after his death presses the leaders to take that warning seriously.

Moses speaks as someone who has witnessed the people’s conduct firsthand. His image of a “stiff neck” pictures an animal that resists being guided. The phrase makes the people’s resistance vivid: they have refused to follow the LORD’s direction.

The Hebrew behind Deuteronomy 31:27

  • “rebellion” — מֶרִי (meri): This word means resistance or defiance. Moses describes a pattern of opposition, rather than simply a mistake.
  • “stiff” — קָשֶׁה (qasheh): This word can mean hard or stubborn. Joined with “neck,” it gives a physical picture of a people unwilling to be directed.

Why Deuteronomy 31:27 matters

  • Moses’s concern rests on experience. He says, “I know thy rebellion,” pointing to conduct he has seen while still alive among the people.
  • The warning also explains why Moses wants the law kept as a witness. In verse 26, he tells the Levites to place the book of the law beside the ark, where it will stand as a witness against the people.
  • The question “how much more after my death?” looks ahead to a change in leadership. Moses expects the people’s resistance to become more serious when he is no longer there.

Where else these words appear

“rebellion” Hebrew H4805 · used in 21 verses

  • Numbers 17:10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.
  • Ezekiel 2:5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear,(for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
  • Ezekiel 12:2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.

“neck” Hebrew H6203 · used in 32 verses

  • Genesis 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
  • Joshua 7:8 O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!
  • Job 16:12 I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.

“stiff” Hebrew H7186 · used in 36 verses

  • Genesis 42:7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
  • Deuteronomy 26:6 And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:
  • 2 Chronicles 10:13 And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men,

“rebellious” Hebrew H4784 · used in 43 verses

  • Numbers 20:10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
  • 1 Kings 13:26 And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.
  • Isaiah 1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.