In those foreign countries, where they will live as exiles, the Israelites will worship pagan gods, lifeless idols. There is no hint in the text that their conquerors will force them to do this, it is rather that on their own they will eventually worship the pagan deities.

Serve: that is, worship (see verse 19).

The gods of wood and stone are man-made idols, the work of men’s hands; therefore they cannot see, hear, eat, or smell (see Psa 115.4-6; 135.15-17). In some languages this first sentence will be expressed as “There you will worship idols made of wood and stone that represent gods…” or “… likenesses of gods that they have made out of wood….” See the comments on “graven image” in 4.16.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .