But they would not listen, but were stubborn, like their ancestors who did not believe in the LORD their God — Israel's fundamental sin was refusal to listen (לֹא שָׁמְעוּ, *lo shamu*), a stubborn resistance that characterized not merely one generation but ancestral inheritance. The phrase "stubborn, like their ancestors who did not believe in the LORD their God" (וַיִּקְשׁוּ אֶת־עׇרְפָּם כְּאָבוֹתָם, *way-yiqshu et-orfam ke-avotam*) invokes the persistent rebellion that characterized Israel from the wilderness wandering through the conquest. "Stiffening the neck" (הִקְשׁוּ עֹרֶף, *hikashu oref*) was Israel's characteristic rebellion against divine guidance.

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