Deuteronomy 31:16

And the Lord said to Mosheh, Behold, thou wilt lie down in the dust with thy fathers, and thy soul shall be treasured in the treasury of eternal life with thy fathers: but this wicked people will rise up and go astray after the idols of the nations among whom they come, and will forsake My worship, and change My covenant which I have made with them.

[16] It is unlikely that the word will arise is part of the previous phrase [Sanhedrin 90b], because if it were, how then could one make sense out of the following words, this people, and become faithless?

The word become faithless means to withdraw one’s loyalty.

after the gods of the nations of the land As we all know, God is One. Any apparent alteration in His actions is due to alterations in the actedupon objects (for God ’s actions do not change, since they are One with the Divine Intelligence). The purpose of all service to God is to preserve one’s capacity to receive Divine influence, each object according to its nature. It is in this sense that we must understand “the laws of the land’s God” [II Kings 17: 26]. Similarly, Yaaqov said “Remove the strange idols” [Genesis 35: 2] [prior to entering the holy city of Bethel — Translator]. The alteration of Yaaqov’s location also effected the extent to which God tolerated sexual relations which are forbidden on grounds of consanguinity — verbum sat sapienti [cf. comment on Leviticus 18: 26]. ...

The antecedent of within which [masculine] could be the noun foreigner, as if the verse had read, “…and become faithless by following after the gods of the foreign nations, they being the gods of the land…”. It is more likely, though, that the antecedent is the word land, which occasionally is found taking the masculine gender (compare, “the land could not support [masculine] them” [Genesis 13: 6], and “the land is darkened” [Isaiah 9: 18]).

THE GODS OF ‘NEICHAR’ OF THE LAND — “the gods of the [foreign] peoples of the Land.” This is Rashi’s language. But it is not correct. (foreign) applies to the peoples — “the gods of the foreign peoples.” Ramban contends that the term “foreign” applies to the gods, as will be explained. Rather, it means “the gods that are foreign to this Land,” for the Glorious Name is called the G-d of the Land, similar to what is stated, because they know not the manner of the G-d of the Land. Similarly, And they spoke of the G-d of Jerusalem, as concerning the gods of the peoples of the earth and it is further written, They shall not dwell in the Eternal’s Land. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra mentioned this [here], and I have already explained it.

WHITHER HE GOETH TO BE ‘B’KIRBO’ (AMONG THEM). This means “whither he [the foreign god] goes to be among His people and His servants.” Or b’kirbo may mean “in the midst of the Land,” as in the expressions: and the land was not able to bear them; (land) is feminine, Scripture sometimes uses it as the subject of a masculine verb, as in this verse, where the verb nasa (able to bear) is used in connection with ha’aretz instead of the feminine verb nasah. Here, too, b’kirbo [literally: “in the midst of him”] is used with reference to “the Land” instead of the feminine b’kirboh. the land burnt up, (burnt up) instead of the feminine ne’tmah. in accordance with the words of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra.