Deuteronomy 32:17

Sacrificed unto devils. Compare 1 Cor. 10:19, 20. The supreme abomination of heathen worship was the sacrifice of children to demons (see Ps. 106:37). A sinful course seems to proceed by almost imperceptible stages. The first step may not be a positive act of lawlessness but rather a negative sin, the omission of some positive requirement. One step leads to another, until there may result a complete reversal of one’s former conduct. Yet it seems almost beyond belief that God’s chosen people could have worshiped devils and offered their own sons and daughters as sacrificial offerings. To stray from God’s path may lead to the most fearful alternatives, as it did for Israel.

Came newly up. Or, “lately arrived.” Compare Isaiah’s graphic description (Isa. 44:15; see also Judges 5:8).

Feared not. The Hebrew verb expresses dread, horror, as, for example, “be horribly afraid” (Jer. 2:12; Eze. 32:10).