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Deuteronomy Chapter
Four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 4
This
chapter contains an exhortation to Israel to keep the commands, statutes, and
judgments of God, urged from the superior excellency of them to those of all
other nations, Deuteronomy 4:1,
from the manner in which they were delivered, out of the midst of fire, by a
voice of words, but no similitude seen, Deuteronomy 4:9,
and particularly the Israelites are cautioned against idolatry, from the
consideration of the goodness of God to them, in bringing them out of Egypt, Deuteronomy 4:16,
and the rather Moses is urgent upon them to be diligent in their obedience to
the laws of God, because he should quickly be removed from them, Deuteronomy 4:21,
and should they be disobedient to them, it would provoke the Lord to destroy
them, or to carry them captive into other lands, Deuteronomy 4:25
though even then, if they repented and sought the Lord, and became obedient, he
would be merciful to them, and not forsake them, Deuteronomy 4:29
and they are put in mind again of the amazing things God had done for them, in
speaking to them out of fire, and they alive; in bringing them out of another
nation, and driving out other nations to make room for them; all which he
improves, as so many arguments to move them to obedience to the divine
commands, Deuteronomy 4:32
and then notice is taken of the three cities of refuge, separated on this side
Jordan, Deuteronomy 4:41, and
the chapter is concluded with observing, that this is the law, and these the
testimonies, Moses declared and repeated to the children of Israel in the
country of Sihon and Og, who were delivered into their hands, and their lands
possessed by them, which laid them under fresh obligations to yield obedience
to God, Deuteronomy 4:44.
Deuteronomy 4:1 “Now, O Israel,
listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you
may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you.
YLT
1`And now, Israel, hearken
unto the statutes, and unto the judgments which I am teaching you to do, so
that ye live, and have gone in, and possessed the land which Jehovah God of
your fathers is giving to you.
Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the
judgments,.... The laws of God, moral, ceremonial, and judicial, which they
are exhorted to attend to and obey, in consideration of the great and good
things the Lord had done for them, ever since they came from Horeb, where they
were given them; such as providing for them, and feeding them in the
wilderness, preserving them from every hurtful thing, and delivering their
enemies into their hands, the two kings of the Amorites, which they are put in
mind of in the preceding chapters; hence this begins with "therefore
hearken"; for nothing is a greater incentive to obedience than the
kindness and goodness of God:
which I teach you for to do that ye may live; the law was
taught by Moses, but the Gospel of grace and truth by Jesus Christ; and it was
taught by him, as well as it was to be hearkened to by them, in order to yield
obedience to it; for not bare hearing, but doing the law, is the principal
thing of any avail; and which was to be done, that they might live; not a spiritual
and eternal life, which are not by the works of the law, but are had only from
Christ, through his grace and righteousness; but a corporeal life, and a
comfortable enjoyment of the blessings of it, and particularly that that might
be continued to them:
and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers
giveth you; the land of Canaan, which the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, had promised to give to their posterity, and which they were to hold by
their obedience to his laws.
Deuteronomy 4:2 2 You
shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may
keep the commandments of the Lord your God
which I command you.
YLT
2Ye do not add to the word
which I am commanding you, nor diminish from it, to keep the commands of
Jehovah your God which I am commanding you.
Ye shall not add to the word which I command you, nether shall you
diminish ought from it,.... Neither make new laws of their own, and join them to the law
of God, and set them upon a level with it, or prefer them before it; as the
Scribes and Pharisees did in Christ's time, who by their traditions made the
word of God of none effect, as do the Papists also by their unwritten
traditions; nor abrogate nor detract from the law of God, nor make void any
part of it: or else the sense is, neither do that which is forbidden, nor
neglect that which is commanded; neither be guilty of sins of omission nor
commission, nor in any way break the law of God, and teach men so to do by word
or by example; not a jot or tittle is either to be put to it, or taken from it,
Proverbs 30:5.
that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I
command you; in his name; or which he delivered unto them as his
commandments, and which were to be kept just as they were delivered, without
adding to them, or taking from them.
Deuteronomy 4:3 3 Your
eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal Peor; for the Lord your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal
of Peor.
YLT
3`Your eyes are seeing that
which Jehovah hath done in Baal-Peor, for every man who hath gone after
Baal-Peor, Jehovah thy God hath destroyed him from thy midst;
Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baalpeor,.... Because
of the idolatry the people of Israel fell into by worshipping that idol, being
drawn into it by the daughters of Moab and Midian, through the counsel of
Balaam, with whom they committed fornication; which led them to the other sin,
and both highly provoking to God. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan
are,"what the Word of the Lord has done to the worshippers of the idol
Peor;"
for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the Lord thy God hath
destroyed them from among you; 24,000 persons died on that account; which
being a recent thing, fresh in memory, and what they were eyewitnesses of, was
a caution to them to avoid the same sins, as it is to us on whom the ends of
the world are come, Numbers 23:9.
Deuteronomy 4:4 4 But
you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today,
every one of you.
YLT
4and ye who are cleaving to
Jehovah your God, [are] alive, all of you, to-day.
But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God,.... To the
worship of the Lord your God, as the Targum of Jonathan; attended the service
of the sanctuary, were observant of the laws of God, and walked in his statutes
and judgments; did not apostatize from him by idolatry or otherwise, but kept
close unto him, and followed him fully:
are alive everyone of you this day; which is very
remarkable, that in such a vast number of people not one should die in such a
space of time, it being several months since that affair happened; and besides,
in that time there was a war with the Midianites, and yet not one person died in
that war, nor as it seems by this account by any disease or disaster whatever;
see Numbers 31:49.
Deuteronomy 4:5 5 “Surely
I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them
in the land which you go to possess.
YLT
5`See, I have taught you
statutes and judgments, as Jehovah my God hath commanded me -- to do so, in the
midst of the land whither ye are going in to possess it;
Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord
my God commanded me,.... He had faithfully delivered them, without adding them, or
diminishing from them, and had diligently instructed the Israelites in them,
had taken pains to lead them into a thorough knowledge and understanding them:
that ye should do so in the land whither ye go possess it; do in like
manner as the commandments the Lord direct to; or that which is rightF5כן "rectum". ; proper and fitting to be done, by
doing which they continue in the land they were about to possess, therefore
when in it were to be careful to them; some of them could not be done till they
came into it, and all were to be done in it.
Deuteronomy 4:6 6 Therefore
be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your
understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and
say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
YLT
6and ye have kept and done
[them] (for it [is] your wisdom and your understanding) before the eyes of the
peoples who hear all these statutes, and they have said, Only, a people wise
and understanding [is] this great nation.
Keep therefore and do them,..... Observe them, take
notice of what is expressed by them, and perform them, both as to matter and
manner, as they require:
for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the
nations; that is, their wisdom and understanding would appear to other
nations by their observance of the commands of God:
which hear all these statutes; which they had a report,
got knowledge of by some of the philosophers who travelled into those parts,
and by the translation of the Bible into the Greek language:
and say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding
people; that had such a body of laws, in which they were instructed, and
according to which they were governed, and in which they walked; that were so
agreeable to reason, truth, justice, and equity; insomuch that so far as they
became known they were admired and copied after, both by Greeks and Romans; and
hence it was that the oracleF6Apud Porphyr. in Euseb Evangel.
Praepar. l. 9. c. 10. p. 413. declared, that only the Chaldeans and Hebrews
were a wise people; the Hebrews came from Chaldea, as Abraham the father of
them.
Deuteronomy 4:7 7 “For
what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call
upon Him?
YLT
7`For which [is] the great
nation that hath God near unto it, as Jehovah our God, in all we have called
unto him?
Not
so much for their number, for they were the fewest of all people; nor for the
largeness of their territories, for the land they were going to possess was but
a small country; nor for their wealth and riches, and warlike exploits, though
they were not contemptible in either; but for their happy constitution in
church and state, being directed and governed in both by laws which came
immediately from God himself; for their knowledge of divine things, and for
spiritual blessings and privileges they were favoured with, of which a special
instance is given:
who hath God so nigh unto them as the Lord our God is, in all
things that we call upon him for? God was nigh unto them
in respect of relation, being their covenant God and Father, and they his sons
and daughters, to whom the adoption belonged; and with respect to place and
presence, his tabernacle being in the midst of them, the seat of his Shechinah,
or divine Majesty, being in the most holy place, between the cherubim over the
mercy seat; and he going before them in the pillar of cloud by day, and in the
pillar of fire by night, and who might be applied unto at all times for
whatsoever they stood in need of; and who was always near unto them, to give
them advice and counsel, help and assistance; to hear their prayers, and
communicate unto them things temporal and spiritual they stood in need of: and
so the Lord is nigh to all that call upon him in faith, with fervency, and in
sincerity and truth; and herein the glory and greatness of a people, as of
Israel, lies, in being nearly related to God, a people near unto him, both as
to union and communion; and in having a communication of good things from him.
God is both a God at hand and afar off, Jeremiah 23:23.
Deuteronomy 4:8 8 And
what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous
judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?
YLT
8and which [is] the great
nation which hath righteous statutes and judgments according to all this law
which I am setting before you to-day?
And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and
judgments so righteous,.... Founded in justice and equity, and so agreeable to right
reason, and so well calculated and adapted to lead persons in the ways of
righteousness and truth, and keep them from doing any injury to each other's
persons and properties, and to maintain good order, peace, and concord among
them:
as all this law which I set before you this day? which he then
repeated, afresh declared, explained and instructed them in; for otherwise it
had been delivered to them near forty years ago. Now there was not any nation
then in being, nor any since, to be compared with the nation of the Jews, for
the wise and wholesome laws given unto them; no, not the more cultivated and
civilized nations, as the Grecians and Romans, who had the advantage of such
wise lawgivers as they were accounted, as Solon, Lycurgus, Numa, and others;
and indeed the best laws that they had seem to be borrowed from the Jews.
Deuteronomy 4:9 9 Only
take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things
your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your
life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,
YLT
9`Only, take heed to
thyself, and watch thy soul exceedingly, lest thou forget the things which
thine eyes have seen, and lest they turn aside from thy heart, all days of thy
life; and thou hast made them known to thy sons, and to thy sons' sons.
Only take heed to thyself,.... To walk according to
this law, and not swerve from it:
and keep thy soul diligently; from the transgressions
and breaches of it:
lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen; either the
statutes and judgments set before them, and the circumstances of the delivery
of them; or the punishment inflicted on the breakers of them; or the favours
bestowed on those that observed them:
and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; out of thy
mind and memory, and have no place in thy affections, through a neglect and
disuse of them:
but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; their
children and grandchildren, that they may be trained up in them in their youth,
and so not depart from them when grown up, and in years; see Deuteronomy 6:7.
Deuteronomy 4:10 10 especially
concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God
in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people
to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all
the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their
children.’
YLT
10`The day when thou hast
stood before Jehovah thy God in Horeb -- in Jehovah's saying unto me, Assemble
to Me the people, and I cause them to hear My words, so that they learn to fear
Me all the days that they are alive on the ground, and their sons they teach;
--
Specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord in Horeb,.... Above all
things Moses would have them take care not to forget the day the law was given
from Mount Sinai, which was so awful and solemn, when they saw the fire, the
smoke, the lightning, and heard the thunder and the sound of the trumpet; all
which were very shocking and terrifying: and though the men of this generation
were but young then, being under twenty years of age, yet many of them were old
enough to observe these things, and which one would think should never wear out
of their minds:
when the Lord said unto me, gather me the people together; not the
elders of the people only, but the whole body of the people, as he did, and
brought them to the foot of Mount Sinai, Exodus 19:17,
and I will make them hear my words; the ten commands which
were spoken by the Lord himself aloud, with an articulate voice, in the hearing
of all the people; and was such a terrible voice of words, that they that heard
it entreated it might be spoken to them no more, Hebrews 12:19.
that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live
upon the earth; to reverence him the lawgiver, who is able to save and to
destroy; to fear to offend him by breaking his laws, so holy, just, and good,
and delivered in such an awful and solemn manner:
and that they may teach their children; the words
they had heard, teach them obedience to them, and to be careful not to act
contrary to them; since that would bring down judgments upon them, and deprive
them of the favour they enjoyed, of which they had seen instances.
Deuteronomy 4:11 11 “Then
you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned
with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.
YLT
11and ye draw near and stand
under the mountain, and the mountain is burning with fire unto the heart of the
heavens -- darkness, cloud, yea, thick darkness:
And ye came near and stood under the mountain,.... At the
foot of it, in the lower part of the mountain, as the Targum of Jonathan, and
agrees with Exodus 19:17.
and the mountain burnt with fire unto the midst of heaven; the flame and
smoke went up into the middle of the air: with darkness, clouds, and thick
darkness; which thick darkness was occasioned partly by the smoke, which went
up like the smoke of a furnace, and partly by the thick clouds, which were on
the mount, and covered the face of the heavens, which were black and
tempestuous with them; the Septuagint renders it a "tempest", Exodus 19:18, which
denotes the obscurity of the law, and the terrors it works in the minds of men.
Deuteronomy 4:12 12 And
the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of
the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice.
YLT
12`And Jehovah speaketh unto
you out of the midst of the fire; a voice of words ye are hearing and a
similitude ye are not seeing, only a voice;
And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire,.... For the
Lord descended on Mount Sinai in a cloud, in fire, and was in the thick
darkness, from whence he delivered out the ten commands:
ye heard the voice of the words; distinctly and plainly,
not only the sound of them, but the words themselves, and so as to understand
what was meant by them:
but saw no similitude; not any likeness of the
person speaking, by which they could form any idea of him in their minds, which
was purposely done to prevent idolatry:
only ye heard a voice; that was all.
Deuteronomy 4:13 13 So
He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten
Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.
YLT
13and He declareth to you His
covenant, which He hath commanded you to do, the Ten Matters, and He writeth
them upon two tables of stone.
And he declared unto you his covenant,.... So the
law was called, because it contained, on the part of God, things which he would
have done or avoided, to which were annexed promises of long life and happiness
in the land he gave them; and they, on their part, agreed to hearken to it, and
obey it, Exodus 24:3,
which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; which see at
large in Exodus 20:1, and in
this book afterwards repeated, Deuteronomy 5:6,
and he wrote them upon two tables of stone; to denote the
durableness of them; the Targum of Jonathan says on tables of sapphire; but it
is most likely that they were written on tables of marble, since there were
great quantities of it in Mount Sinai; See Gill on Exodus 31:18.
Deuteronomy 4:14 14 And
the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that
you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess.
YLT
14`And me hath Jehovah
commanded at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, for your doing them
in the land whither ye are passing over to possess it;
And the Lord commanded me at that time,.... When the
ten commandments were delivered on Mount Sinai, and Moses was ordered to come
up to God in the mount:
to teach you statutes and judgments; laws ceremonial and
judicial, besides the ten commands given them:
that ye may do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it; the land of
Canaan, which was on the other side of Jordan, and over which they must go in
order to possess it; and when they came there, they were to hold the possession
of it by attending to those laws which forbad the sins for which the old
inhabitants of it were expelled out of it; and besides these, there were also
several laws, both ceremonial and judicial, which were to be peculiarly
observed in the land, as well as others they were obliged to do while without
it.
Deuteronomy 4:15 15 “Take
careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire,
YLT
15and ye have been very
watchful of your souls, for ye have not seen any similitude in the day of
Jehovah's speaking unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire,
Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves,.... As to keep
all the laws given them, so particularly to avoid idolatry:
for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day the Lord spake unto
you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire; and therefore, as they
had nothing that directed and led them, so they had nothing that could be a
temptation to them, to make any form or likeness, and worship it.
Deuteronomy 4:16 16 lest
you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any
figure: the likeness of male or female,
YLT
16lest ye do corruptly, and
have made to you a graven image, a similitude of any figure, a form of male or
female –
Lest ye corrupt yourselves,.... And not themselves
only, but the word and worship of God, by idolatry, than which nothing is more
corrupting and defiling, nor more abominable to God:
and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure; a graven
image, in the likeness of any figure, an idea of which they had formed in their
minds:
the likeness of male or female; of a man or a woman; so
some of the Heathen deities were in the likeness of men, as Jupiter, Mars,
Hercules, Apollo, &c. and others in the likeness of women, as Juno, Diana,
Venus, &c. Some think Osiris and Isis, Egyptian deities, the one male, the
other female, are respected; but it is not certain that these were worshipped
by them so early.
Deuteronomy 4:17 17 the
likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any
winged bird that flies in the air,
YLT
17a form of any beast which
[is] in the earth -- a form of any winged bird which flieth in the heavens –
The likeness of any beast that is on the earth,.... As there
are scarce any but the likeness of them has been made and worshipped, or the
creatures themselves, as the ox by the Egyptians, the sheep by the Thebans, the
goat by the Mendesians, and others by different people:
the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air; as the hawk,
and the bird called Ibis, and another by the name of Cneph by the Egyptians,
and the eagle by others.
Deuteronomy 4:18 18 the
likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that
is in the water beneath the earth.
YLT
18a form of any creeping
thing on the ground -- a form of any fish which [is] in the waters under the
earth;
The likeness of anything that creepeth on the ground,.... As
serpents by many; and indeed that creature is introduced into almost all the
idolatries of the Heathens, which seems to take its rise from the serpent Satan
made use of to deceive our first parents:
the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth; as the
crocodile and hippopotamus, or river horse, by the Egyptians; and Dagon and
Derceto, supposed to be figures in the form of a fish, among the Phoenicians.
Deuteronomy 4:19 19 And
take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see
the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to
worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God
has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.
YLT
19`And lest thou lift up
thine eyes towards the heavens, and hast seen the sun, and the moon, and the
stars, all the host of the heavens, and thou hast been forced, and hast bowed
thyself to them, and served them, which Jehovah thy God hath apportioned to all
the peoples under the whole heavens.
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven,.... The
starry heaven, which to do in itself is not sinful; and may be lawfully and
commendably done, to raise admiration at the wonderful works of God in them,
and lead to adore the author of them: but if not guarded against may be
ensnaring:
and when thou seest the sun and the moon, and the stars, even
all the host of heaven; those bright luminaries, so glorious to behold, and so useful
and beneficial to the earth, and the inhabitants of it:
shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them; should have
an impulse on their minds and their hearts, be inclined and drawn to the
worship of them, partly by considering their splendour, glory, and usefulness,
and partly by the example of others; for the worshipping of these seems to be
and is the first kind of idolatry men gave into, at least it was very ancient;
see Job 31:26,
which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the
whole heaven; the sun and the moon by their constant revolutions visit all the
parts of the world, and stars are fixed in both hemispheres, so that all
nations of the earth receive the benefit and advantage of all these heavenly
bodies; but were never designed to be the objects of their worship, as might be
learnt from their being divided to them, sometimes one part of the earth
enjoying them, and then another, and not present with them all at one and the
same time, which, if deities, would have been necessary; see Psalm 19:6.
Deuteronomy 4:20 20 But
the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of
Egypt, to be His people, an inheritance, as you are this day.
YLT
20`And you hath Jehovah
taken, and He is bringing you out from the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be to
Him for a people -- an inheritance, as [at] this day.
But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron
furnace,.... The allusion is to the trying and melting of metals, and
fleeing them from dross, by putting them into furnaces strongly heated, some of
which are of earth, others of iron; the word, as the Jewish writersF7Maimon.
& Bartenora in Misn. Celim. c. 8. sect. 9. & Jarchi in loc. observe,
signifies such an one in which gold and silver and other things are melted; see
Psalm 12:6 even
"out of Egypt"; which is here compared to an iron furnace, because of
the cruelty with which the Israelites were used in it, the hardships they were
put under, and the misery and bondage they were kept in; but out of all the
Lord brought them, as he does all his people sooner or later out of their
afflictions, sometimes called the furnace of affliction, Isaiah 48:10 where
their graces are tried, and they are purged, purified, and refined from their
dross and tin. This the Lord did to Israel, he brought them out of their
distressed state and condition:
to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day: to be the
Lord's inheritance, as they now were, Deuteronomy 32:9 as
well as they were quickly to inherit the land of Canaan, for which they were
brought out of the land of Egypt; and indeed they were already, even that day,
entered on their inheritance, the kingdom of the Amorites being delivered into
their hands.
Deuteronomy 4:21 21 Furthermore
the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I would not cross
over the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
YLT
21`And Jehovah hath shewed
himself wroth with me because of your words, and sweareth to my not passing
over the Jordan, and to my not going in unto the good land which Jehovah thy
God is giving to thee -- an inheritance;
Furthermore the Lord was angry with me for your sakes,.... See Deuteronomy 3:26,
and sware that I should not go over Jordan; this
circumstance of swearing is nowhere else expressed:
and that I should not go in unto that good land; the land of
Canaan; he might see it, as he did from Pisgah, but not enter into it:
which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance; to them and
to their children after them.
Deuteronomy 4:22 22 But
I must die in this land, I must not cross over the Jordan; but you shall cross
over and possess that good land.
YLT
22for I am dying in this
land; I am not passing over the Jordan, and ye are passing over, and have
possessed this good land.
But I must die in this land,.... The land of Moab, in
a mountain in it he died, and in a valley there he was buried, Deuteronomy 32:50,
I must not go over Jordan; this he repeats, as lying
near his heart; he had earnestly solicited to go over, but was denied it:
but ye shall go over, and possess that good land; this he
firmly believed and assures them of, relying on the promise and faithfulness of
God.
Deuteronomy 4:23 23 Take
heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image
in the form of anything which the Lord your God
has forbidden you.
YLT
23`Take heed to yourselves,
lest ye forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which He hath made with you,
and have made to yourselves a graven image, a similitude of anything [concerning]
which Jehovah thy God hath charged thee:
Take heed unto yourselves,.... Since he should not
be long with them, to advise, instruct, and caution them:
lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made
with you; what that required of them, and what was promised unto them on the
performance of it, and what they must expect should they break it, and
particularly be so forgetful of it, and the first articles in it, as follows:
and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything which the
Lord thy God hath forbidden thee; a graven image in the
likeness of men or women, of any beast on the earth, or fowl in heaven, or fish
in the sea.
Deuteronomy 4:24 24 For
the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
YLT
24for Jehovah thy God is a
fire consuming -- a zealous God.
For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire,.... To his
enemies; his wrath is like fire to burn up and destroy all that oppose him and
break his commands, and especially idolaters; whose sin of all others is the
most provoking to him, since it strikes at his being, his honour and glory;
wherefore it follows:
even a jealous God; who is jealous of his honour in matters of
worship, and will not suffer his glory to be given to another, nor his praise
to graven images, without resenting it or punishing for it.
Deuteronomy 4:25 25 “When
you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act
corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and do evil in the
sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him to anger,
YLT
25`When thou begettest sons
and sons' sons, and ye have become old in the land, and have done corruptly,
and have made a graven image, a similitude of anything, and have done the evil
thing in the eyes of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger: --
When thou shall beget children, and children's children,.... Children
and grandchildren, and several ages and generations have passed:
and shalt have remained long in the land; many years
and even ages, or have grown oldF8נושנ־תאם
"inveteraveritis", Montanus: "veteres facti fueritis",
Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "senueritis", Vatablus. in it: now
they were in their infancy, and as such they were about to enter into it;
during the times of the judges, they were in their childhood, or youth; in the
times of David and Solomon, they were in their manhood; after that, in their
decline; and in the times of Jeconiah and his brethren in their old age, when
for their sins they were carried captive:
and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the
likeness of anything; See Gill on Deuteronomy 25:16.
and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him
to anger; that sin of idolatry, that God provoking sin, is chiefly
intended.
Deuteronomy 4:26 26 I
call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon
utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you
will not prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed.
YLT
26I have caused to testify
against you this day the heavens and the earth, that ye do perish utterly
hastily from off the land whither ye are passing over the Jordan to possess it;
ye do not prolong days upon it, but are utterly destroyed;
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day,.... Should
they be guilty of such a sin, since they were so strongly and publicly
cautioned against it; and even the heaven and the earth were called upon as
witnesses of the law being set before them, which so expressly forbids it, Deuteronomy 30:19.
that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto you
go over Jordan to possess it; though they were now about to go over
Jordan and inherit the land of Canaan, yet they would not enjoy it long, but be
taken and carried captive out of it; as the ten tribes were by Shalmaneser king
of Assyria, and the two tribes by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and both for
their idolatry and other crimes.
Deuteronomy 4:27 27 And
the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in
number among the nations where the Lord will drive
you.
YLT
27and Jehovah hath scattered
you among the peoples, and ye have been left few in number among the nations,
whither Jehovah leadeth you,
And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations,.... As they
were by both captivities; the ten tribes were dispersed among the cities of the
Medes, and the two tribes throughout the empire of Babylon:
and ye shall be left few in number among the Heathen, whither the
Lord shall lead you; or be "men of number"F9מתי
מספר "viri numeri", Montanus, Drusius. , so
few that they might be easily numbered; which intimates that it should be other
wise with them than when in Egypt; there they were multiplied and increased the
more they were afflicted, but in these captivities they should be greatly
diminished.
Deuteronomy 4:28 28 And
there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which
neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.
YLT
28and ye have served there
gods, work of man's hands, wood and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor eat,
nor smell.
And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and
stone,.... Idols made by men, cut out of wood and stone; these they
should be enticed into the service of, or compelled to serve; which was still
more brutish and stupid than to worship the sun, moon, and stars, which were
not the works of men's hand, but the glorious works of the eternal God. But
since in their captivities they were not subject to idolatry, but were cured of
it thereby, another sense of the words is given by some, as by Onkelos and
Jonathan, who paraphrase the words of serving the people, that serve idols; but
what follows confirms the first sense:
which neither see, nor hear, nor taste, nor smell; senseless
things, which have none of the senses of seeing, hearing, and smelling, nor the
faculty of eating, which they need not to support life, of which they are
destitute; and therefore it must be monstrous stupidity to worship such
lifeless, senseless, objects; see Psalm 115:4.
Deuteronomy 4:29 29 But
from there you will seek the Lord your God,
and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all
your soul.
YLT
29`And -- ye have sought from
thence Jehovah thy God, and hast found, when thou seekest Him with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul,
But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God,.... By prayer
and supplication, acknowledging and confessing sin, and desiring that God would
be gracious and forgive it, and bring them out of their miserable condition;
even if out of those depths of affliction and distress, and though scattered
about in the world, and in the uttermost parts of it:
thou shalt find him; to be a God hearing and
answering prayer, gracious and merciful, ready to help and deliver:
if they seek him with all their heart and with all their soul; sincerely and
affectionately.
Deuteronomy 4:30 30 When
you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days,
when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice
YLT
30in distress [being] to
thee, and all these things have found thee, in the latter end of the days, and
thou hast turned back unto Jehovah thy God, and hast hearkened to His voice;
When thou art in tribulation,.... In a strange land,
in the power of a foreign enemy, and used ill:
and all these things are come upon thee; captivity,
thraldom, hard labour, and want of the necessaries of life:
even in the latter
days: in their present captivity for the rejection of the Messiah:
if thou turn to the Lord thy God; as the Jews will when
they are converted and brought to a sense of their sin, and of their need of
Christ, and seek to him as their Saviour, as they will do in the latter day, Hosea 3:5.
and shall be obedient unto his voice; not of the
law only, but of the Gospel also, proclaiming peace, pardon, righteousness, and
salvation by him whom they have pierced.
Deuteronomy 4:31 31 (for
the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor
destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.
YLT
31for a merciful God [is]
Jehovah thy God; He doth not fail thee, nor destroy thee, nor forget the
covenant of thy fathers, which He hath sworn to them.
For the Lord thy God is a merciful God,.... In
Christ, in whom he has proclaimed his name as such, of which Moses had a
comfortable view, Exodus 34:6 and
therefore could attest it from his own knowledge and experience:
he will not forsake thee; though in a strange
country, but bring them from thence into their own land again, and favour them
with his gracious presence in his house and ordinances:
neither destroy thee; from being a people; and
in a very wonderful manner are they preserved among the nations of the earth to
this day:
nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which he sware unto them; that a
Saviour should come and turn away ungodliness from them, and take away their
sins; see Romans 11:26.
Deuteronomy 4:32 32 “For
ask now concerning the days that are past, which were before you, since the day
that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the
other, whether any great thing like this has happened, or anything
like it has been heard.
YLT
32`For, ask, I pray thee, at
the former days which have been before thee, from the day that God prepared man
on the earth, and from the [one] end of the heavens even unto the [other] end
of the heavens, whether there hath been as this great thing -- or hath been
heard like it?
For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee,.... Inquire
into and consult the annals of former times, of ages past:
since the day that God created man upon the earth; trace them
quite up to the creation of the world, and men in it:
and ask from the one side of heaven to the other; traverse the
whole globe, and examine the records of every nation in it in both hemispheres:
whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing
is, or hath been heard like it? whether they can give any account of
anything seen, heard, or done like what follows; suggesting that they cannot
furnish out an instance to be mentioned with it.
Deuteronomy 4:33 33 Did
any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst
of the fire, as you have heard, and live?
YLT
33Hath a people heard the
voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, thou --
and doth live?
Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the
midst of fire,.... None ever heard the voice of God as they did, much less
speaking such words as they heard, and still less out of the midst of fire,
which was their case, Deuteronomy 4:12.
as thou hast heard, and live? which was stranger
still, when they might have expected they should, and doubtless feared they
would be, as it was wonderful they were not, consumed by it.
Deuteronomy 4:34 34 Or
did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the
midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a
mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all
that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
YLT
34Or hath God tried to go in
to take to Himself, a nation from the midst of a nation, by trials, by signs,
and by wonders, and by war, and by a strong hand, and by a stretched-out arm,
and by great terrors -- according to all that Jehovah your God hath done to
you, in Egypt, before your eyes?
Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of
another nation,.... As he now had done, namely, the nation of Israel out of the
nation of the Egyptians; this he not only had assayed to do, but had actually
done it; whereas no such instance like it could be produced, and especially as
done in the manner this was:
by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war; the word
"temptations" may be considered as a general word, as Aben Ezra
thinks, and may signify the temptations by signs, &c. or the various essays
and trials, ways, means, and methods taken by the Lord to bring about the
event; by "signs" may be meant those which were required of Moses,
and done by him before the people of Israel, and before Pharaoh, as proofs of
his mission from the Lord, Exodus 4:1 and by
"wonders", the ten plagues of Egypt, which were done by a
supernatural and miraculous operation, and were amazing things; see Psalm 78:11; and by
"war", either the slaying of the firstborn, with the destruction of
the judges and gods of Egypt, as Aben Ezra; or the Lord's fighting for Israel
at the Red sea, as Jarchi; he saved them and destroyed the Egyptians, and
showed himself to be a man of war, Exodus 14:14.
and by a mighty hand and stretched out arm; phrases
frequently used when this affair is spoken of, and are expressive of the mighty
power of God in the above instances, and in the issue of them, bringing Israel
out of Egypt; though Aben Ezra interprets it of the pillar of fire and cloud in
which the Lord went before them:
and by great terrors; which the same writer
interprets of the drowning of Pharaoh and his host in the sea, and dividing it
for Israel; but may be understood not only of the terrors which possessed him
and his people then, but at other times, especially at the time of the thunder
and lightning, and when they sat in thick darkness, and particularly when all
their firstborn were slain; see Deuteronomy 26:8,
according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt
before your eyes; among the men of Egypt, as the above writer, Pharaoh and his
courtiers: the above things were done as before them for their terror, so
before Israel for their encouragement.
Deuteronomy 4:35 35 To
you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is
God; there is none other besides Him.
YLT
35Thou, thou hast been shewn
[it], to know that Jehovah He [is] God; there is none else besides Him.
Unto thee it was showed,.... What the Lord did in
Egypt:
that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God, there
is none else besides him; that he is the one only living and true
God, and there is no other: this phrase is often used by the Prophet Isaiah, to
express the same great article of faith.
Deuteronomy 4:36 36 Out
of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He
showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the
fire.
YLT
36`From the heavens He hath
caused thee to hear His voice, to instruct thee, and on earth He hath shewed
thee His great fire, and His words thou hast heard out of the midst of the
fire.
Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might
instruct thee,.... Thunder is the voice of God, and by which he instructs men
in the greatness of his power, Job 26:14, &c.
unless his voice in giving the law, which was for the instruction of Israel, is
meant; for that was heard on earth, on Mount Sinai, to which the following
refers:
and upon earth he showed thee his great fire; on Mount
Sinai, which burned with it:
and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire; the ten
commands, and therefore may well be called, a fiery law; see Deuteronomy 4:12.
Deuteronomy 4:37 37 And
because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them;
and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power,
YLT
37`And because that He hath
loved thy fathers, He doth also fix on their seed after them, and doth bring
thee out, in His presence, by His great power, from Egypt:
And because he loved thy fathers,.... Not their immediate
fathers, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness, and entered not into the good
land because of their unbelief, but their more remote fathers or ancestors,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who had some singular testimonies of the love of God
to them, Abraham is called their friend of God, and Isaac was the son of
promise in whom the seed was called; and Jacob is particularly said to be loved
by God, when Esau was hated:
therefore he chose their seed after them; not to
eternal life and salvation, but to the enjoyment of external blessings and
privileges, to be called by his name, and to set up his name and worship among
them, and to be a special people to him above all people on the earth, as to
outward favours, both civil and ecclesiastical:
and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of
Egypt; which was done not only in the sight of the Egyptians openly,
they not daring to hinder them, as the wonders wrought to oblige them to let
them go out, done in the sight of the Israelites as before observed, but in the
sight of God, he going before them in the pillar of cloud and fire, smiling
upon them the Israelites, and looking with a frown upon the host of the Egyptians,
and conducting the people by the angel of his presence.
Deuteronomy 4:38 38 driving
out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to
give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day.
YLT
38to dispossess nations
greater and stronger than thou, from thy presence, to bring thee in to give to
thee their land -- an inheritance, as [at] this day.
To drive out nations from before thee, greater and mightier than
thou art,.... The seven nations of the land of Canaan, which were more in
number and mightier in power and strength than they, and particularly the
Amorites, who were already driven out and dispossessed of their country, even
the kingdoms and nations of Sihon and Og:
to bring thee in to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it
is this day; referring, as Aben Ezra observes, to the inheritance of the land
of the two kings of the Amorites, which the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the
half tribe of Manasseh, were put into the possession of already.
Deuteronomy 4:39 39 Therefore
know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there
is no other.
YLT
39`And thou hast known
to-day, and hast turned [it] back unto thy heart, that Jehovah He [is] God, in
the heavens above, and on the earth beneath -- there is none else;
Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart,.... Own and
acknowledge it now with thy mouth, and lay it up and consider it in thine heart
hereafter, as a truth of the greatest importance to be professed and held fast,
and to be thought of and meditated upon continually, and never to be forgotten:
that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the
earth beneath; that he has made both, and is the possessor and Lord of them,
and does what he pleases with them; that the one is his throne, his dwelling
place, and the other his footstool; and that the inhabitants of both are his
creatures, and under his authority and command, and he can dispose of them as
he pleases:
there is none else; no God in
heaven or in earth beside him.
Deuteronomy 4:40 40 You
shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you
today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that
you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”
YLT
40and thou hast kept His
statutes and His commands which I am commanding thee to-day, so that it is well
to thee, and to thy sons after thee, and so that thou prolongest days on the
ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee -- all the days.'
Thou shall keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments,.... All his
laws, moral, ceremonial, and judicial, partly being under obligation to him for
all the great and good things done by him for them before enumerated, and
partly and chiefly because he is the Lord God in heaven and in earth, and has a
right to command and ought to be obeyed:
which I command thee this day; in the name of the Lord,
and which he repeated, opened, and explained, and charged them afresh to
observe; otherwise they were such that had been given long ago:
that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee; that they and
theirs might enjoy temporal mercies, and continue in the land of Canaan, and
partake of all the blessings in it, as follows, and of the sanctuary of the
Lord, and the privileges of it:
and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the
Lord thy God giveth thee for ever; that is, that they and
theirs might live long in the land of Canaan, which the Lord gave for an
inheritance for ever, provided they kept his law, and were obedient to his
commands; see Deuteronomy 6:25,
and though they have had several interruptions by their captivities, and
especially by their present very long one, yet when they shall return and seek
the Lord their God, and David their king, they shall have their land restored
to them again, and shall never more be dispossessed of it.
Deuteronomy 4:41 41 Then
Moses set apart three cities on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of
the sun,
YLT
41Then Moses separateth three
cities beyond the Jordan, towards the sun-rising,
Then Moses severed three cities,.... To be cities of
refuge, according to the command of God, Numbers 35:14 this
he did when he had conquered the two kingdoms of the Amorites, that God had
given them for an inheritance to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half
tribe of Manasseh, Deuteronomy 4:38
though Jarchi says, and so other Jewish writers, that persons were not received
into them until the three cities appointed in the land of Canaan were separated
for the like use; See Gill on Numbers 35:14 and
these were:
on this side Jordan, toward the rising sun; on that side
of the river on which the plains of Moab lay, and the kingdoms of the Amorites,
and to the east of Jordan: so Jarchi remarks,"on that side which is on the
east of Jordan;'see Joshua 20:8.
Deuteronomy 4:42 42 that
the manslayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without
having hated him in time past, and that by fleeing to one of these cities he
might live:
YLT
42for the fleeing thither of
the man-slayer, who slayeth his neighbour unknowingly, and he is not hating him
heretofore, and he hath fled unto one of these cities, and he hath lived:
That the slayer might flee thither,.... For refuge; the
slayer of a man, but not any slayer, but
which should kill his neighbour unawares; by accident
to him, without any design and intention to kill him; ignorantly, as the
Septuagint version; and so Onkelos:
and hated him not in times past; it having never appeared
that there had been a quarrel between them, and that the slayer had shown any
enmity to the man slain any time before the fact, or bore a grudge against him,
or spite unto him:
and that, fleeing unto one of these cities, he might live; in peace and
safety unto his own death, or unto the death of the high priest, when he was
released from his confinement to the city of his refuge, and might return to
his tribe, house, family, and possessions.
Deuteronomy 4:43 43 Bezer
in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the
Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.
YLT
43Bezer, in the wilderness,
in the land of the plain, of the Reubenite; and Ramoth, in Gilead, of the
Gadite; and Golan, in Bashan, of the Manassahite.
Namely, Bezer in the
wilderness,.... In Joshua 20:8, it is
added "upon the plain"; this perhaps was the wilderness of Moab, in
the plains of it, the same with Bozrah, see Jeremiah 48:24 and
in the Apocrypha:"Hereupon Judas and his host turned suddenly by the way
of the wilderness unto Bosora; and when he had won the city, he slew all the
males with the edge of the sword, and took all their spoils, and burned the
city with fire,' (1 Maccabees 5:28)it was in
the
plain country of the Reubenites, or lay in that part of
the country which was allotted to them, and which they gave to the Levites, 1 Chronicles 6:78,
and Ramoth in Gilead of the Gadites; it lay in that part of
Mount Gilead, and among the cities of it, which fell to the share of the tribe
of Gad, and was by them given to the Levites, 1 Chronicles 6:80,
this city is frequently in Scripture called Ramothgilead; see 1 Kings 4:13.
and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites, or
"Gaulon", as the Septuagint, and from hence the country round about
was called Gaulanitis; all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, was given to the half
tribe of Manasseh, and out of it this city was given by them to the Levites, 1 Chronicles 6:71,
and appointed a city of refuge: now as these cities were typical of Christ,
there may be something observed in the names of them as agreeing with him.
"Bezer" signifies "a fortified place"; Christ is the
fortress, mountain, and place of defence for his people, and strong hold to
which the prisoners of hope turn, the strong tower whither the righteous run
and are safe. "Ramoth" signifies "exaltations"; which may
point both at the exaltation of Christ in human nature at the right hand of
God, and the exaltation of his people by him, who are raised by him from a low
estate to sit among princes, and to inherit the throne of glory, and by whom he
is exalted in his person, office, and grace. "Golan" signifies
"revealed" or" manifested": so Christ has been manifest in
the flesh, and is revealed to sinners, when they are called by his grace; to
whom they flee for refuge, and lay hold on him, the hope set before them.
Deuteronomy 4:44 44 Now
this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel.
YLT
44And this [is] the law which
Moses hath set before the sons of Israel;
And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel. Not the law
concerning the cities of refuge, but the law of the ten commands repeated in
the following chapter; so Jarchi remarks,"this which he should set in
order after this section;'as he does in the next chapter, where he repeats in
order the ten precepts, and makes observations on the manner of the delivery of
them, and urges obedience to them.
Deuteronomy 4:45 45 These
are the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which Moses spoke
to the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt,
YLT
45these [are] the
testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses hath spoken unto
the sons of Israel, in their coming out of Egypt,
These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments,.... The laws,
moral, ceremonial, and judicial, delivered in the following chapters; which are
renewed, repeated, and explained: which Moses spake unto the children of
Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt; in the third month after they came
from thence these laws were delivered to him at Mount Sinai, and he declared
them to them; and now afresh, near forty years after, repeated them to them in
the plains of Moab.
Deuteronomy 4:46 46 on
this side of the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon
king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of
Israel defeated after they came out of Egypt.
YLT
46beyond the Jordan, in the
valley over-against Beth-Peor, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorite, who
is dwelling in Heshbon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel have smitten, in
their coming out of Egypt,
On this side Jordan, in the valley, over against Bethpeor,.... Where the
Israelites abode some time; see Deuteronomy 3:29,
in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon; which was now
conquered, and in the hands of the Israelites:
whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they came out
of Egypt; not as soon as, or quickly after they came from thence; for it
was but a few months ago since this conquest was made, whereas it was near
forty years since they came out of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 4:47 47 And
they took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings
of the Amorites, who were on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising
of the sun,
YLT
47and they possess his land,
and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorite who [are] beyond
the Jordan, [towards] the sun-rising;
And they possessed his
land, and the land of Og king of Bashan,.... Seized upon them,
and took them as their own, and divided them for an inheritance among two of
their tribes and half another:
two kings of the Amorites; which is more than once
observed, that it might be taken notice of that these were of the nations of
the Canaanites Israel were to root out, and possess their land:
which were on this side Jordan, toward the sun rising; which lands
and kingdoms lay to the east of Jordan, on that side of it on which were the
plains of Moab, where Moses and Israel now were.
Deuteronomy 4:48 48 from
Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, even to Mount Sion[a] (that is,
Hermon),
YLT
48from Aroer, which [is] by the
edge of the brook Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which [is] Hermon –
From Aroer, which is by
the bank of the river Arnon,.... A city of Moab, which was situated on
the bank of the river Arnon, that was on the border of Moab, Deuteronomy 2:36,
even unto Mount Sion, which is Hermon; the meaning
is, that the lands of these two kings conquered by Israel reached from the city
Aroer on the river Arnon to Mount Hermon, the one being the southern, the other
the northern boundary of them. Here Hermon has another name Sion, and is to be
carefully distinguished from Mount Zion near Jerusalem; it lying in a different
country, and being written with a different letter in the Hebrew language. In
the Septuagint version it is called Seon, and by the Targums of Jonathan and
Jerusalem the mount of snow; See Gill on Deuteronomy 3:9.
Deuteronomy 4:49 49 and
all the plain on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah,
below the slopes of Pisgah.
YLT
49and all the plain beyond
the Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the springs of
Pisgah.
And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward,.... The
plains of Moab, on that side of Jordan to the east:
even unto the sea of the plain; the sea of Sodom, the
salt sea:
under the springs of Pisgah; that rose from Mount
Pisgah, the same with Ashdothpisgah, Deuteronomy 3:17.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)