Deut 32:19–25: the hidden face and the "no-people"

Says 32:20 has the Lord say אַסְתִּירָה פָנַי מֵהֶם (astirah fanay mehem, "I will hide My face from them," BSB).

Says 32:21 answers like with like. They קִנְאוּנִי בְלֹא־אֵל (qin'uni velo-el, "made me jealous with a no-god," literal), so he says וַאֲנִי אַקְנִיאֵם בְּלֹא־עָם (va'ani aqni'em belo-'am, "I will make them jealous with a no-people," literal). Both verbs are forms of the jealousy verb of 32:16.

Uncertain Who the "no-people" are. The lean is a foreign nation used in judgment, since the parallel line calls it בְּגוֹי נָבָל (begoy naval, "a nation without understanding," BSB) and 32:22–25 describe war and its terrors. The alternative is a wider reference to the nations as such, since neither line names a particular people.