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Deuteronomy Chapter
Eleven
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 11
In
this chapter, the exhortation to love the Lord, and keep his commands, is
repeated and urged again and again from various considerations; as not only
from the chastisement of Pharaoh and the wicked Egyptians, but of such Israelites
who offended the Lord, and transgressed his law, Deuteronomy 12:1,
from the goodness and excellency of the land they were going to inherit, Deuteronomy 11:8,
from the blessing of rain that would come upon it, and be productive of all
good things for man and beast, in case of obedience, and a restraint of it in
case of disobedience, Deuteronomy 11:12,
from the continuance of them and their offspring in the land, should they be
careful to observe the commands themselves, and teach them their children, Deuteronomy 11:18,
and from the extensiveness of their conquests and dominions, Deuteronomy 11:22
and from the different issue and effects of their conduct and behaviour, a
blessing upon them if obedient, but a curse if disobedient, Deuteronomy 11:26
and the chapter is concluded with an exhortation to pronounce the blessing on
Mount Gerizim, and the curse on Mount Ebal; the situation of which places is
described when they should come into the land of Canaan, of which they are
assured, Deuteronomy 11:29.
Deuteronomy 11:1 “Therefore you
shall love the Lord your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His
commandments always.
YLT
1`And thou hast loved
Jehovah thy God, and kept His charge, and His statutes, and His judgments, and
His commands, all the days;
Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God,.... Because
he is so great and glorious in himself, and because he had done such great and
good things for them, the Israelites, particularly in the multiplication of
them, the last thing mentioned:
and keep his charge; whatsoever the Lord had
charged them to observe, even what follow:
and his statutes and his judgments, and his commandments, alway; all his laws,
ceremonial, judicial, and moral; and that constantly and continually, all the
days of their lives.
Deuteronomy 11:2 2 Know
today that I do not speak with your children, who have not known
and who have not seen the chastening of the Lord your God,
His greatness and His mighty hand and His outstretched arm—
YLT
2and ye have known to-day --
for it is not your sons who have not known, and who have not seen the
chastisement of Jehovah your God, His greatness, His strong hand, and His
stretched-out arm,
And know you this day,.... Take notice of, and
diligently attend unto, what is now about to be delivered:
for I speak not unto your children which have not known, and which
have not seen, the chastisement of the Lord your God; who have no
knowledge and experience of the chastisement of the Lord on themselves, or on
their foes or friends; and with whom the argument drawn from it could not come
with that force, and make that impression, as it might be thought it would,
being used with them who had perfect knowledge of it. The Targums of Onkelos
and Jonathan render it doctrine, which, being children, they were not
instructed so perfectly in as they were who were adult persons, to whom Moses
directs his discourse:
his greatness, his mighty hand, and stretched out arm: the exceeding
greatness of his power, displayed in the following instances.
Deuteronomy 11:3 3 His
signs and His acts which He did in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh king of
Egypt, and to all his land;
YLT
3and His signs, and His
doings, which He hath done in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and
to all his land;
And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt,.... The
miraculous works done there, the ten plagues inflicted on the Egyptians for
refusing to let Israel go:
unto Pharaoh king, of Egypt, and unto all his land; for those
plagues not only affected him and his court, and his metropolis, but all parts
of the land, the inhabitants of it everywhere.
Deuteronomy 11:4 4 what
He did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and their chariots: how He made
the waters of the Red Sea overflow them as they pursued you, and how the
Lord has destroyed them to this day;
YLT
4and that which He hath done
to the force of Egypt, to its horses, and to its chariot, when He hath caused
the waters of the Red Sea to flow against their faces in their pursuing after
them, and Jehovah destroyeth them, unto this day;
And what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to
their chariots,.... At the Red sea, when they pursued Israel in order to bring
them back or destroy them, after they had let them go, which army was very
numerous; see Exodus 14:7.
how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them; "or to
flow over their faces"F2הציף־על פניהם "fecit inundare super facics eorum",
Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. :
as they pursued after you; so that they could not
see their way, nor steer their course after them; and not only so, but were
covered with the waters of the sea, drowned in them, and sunk to the bottom of
them: and how the Lord hath destroyed them unto this day; either continued to
destroy them yet more and more by one means or another; or else the destruction
made by the several plagues upon them, and particularly that of their army at
the Red sea, which was the strength and glory of the nation, was so general and
extensive, that they never recovered it to that day; and so were in no capacity
of coming out against them, and attacking them, and doing them any hurt, all
the forty years they had been in the wilderness; of which no doubt they had
knowledge, and of their condition and circumstances there.
Deuteronomy 11:5 5 what
He did for you in the wilderness until you came to this place;
YLT
5and that which He hath done
to you in the wilderness, till your coming in unto this place;
And what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came unto
this place. Meaning not so much the good things he did for them in divers
places, as the chastisements and corrections he had exercised them with for
their murmurings, rebellions, idolatry, and uncleanness, as at Taberah,
Kibrothhattaavah, on the coast of Edom, and plains of Moab; by fire, by sword,
by plagues, and fiery serpents; the instances both before and after being of
this sort.
Deuteronomy 11:6 6 and
what He did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the
earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, their households, their tents,
and all the substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all
Israel—
YLT
6and that which He hath done
to Dathan, and to Abiram, sons of Eliab, sons of Reuben, when the earth hath
opened her mouth and swalloweth them, and their houses, and their tents, and
all that liveth, which is at their feet, in the midst of all Israel:
And what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son
of Reuben,.... When they with Korah and his company quarrelled with Moses
and Aaron about the priesthood, Numbers 16:1, how
the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up; the history of which see in Numbers 16:30.
and their households and their tents; not their
houses and their tents, as the Septuagint and some other versions; for though
the word signifies houses, and is often used for them, yet here it must signify
families, their wives, and children; since they had no houses, but dwelt in
tents, all which were swallowed up with them:
and all the substance that was in their possession; gold, silver,
cattle, household goods, and whatever they were possessed of:
or was at their feetF3אשר ברגליהם "quae erat in pedibus
eorum", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus. ; or which followed them, their living
creatures; or was for them, as Aben Ezra interprets it; for, their use,
service, and necessity: and this was done
in the midst of all Israel; openly and publicly,
they beholding it, as follows; and therefore should be rendered, "before
all Israel"F4בקרב "coram omni
Israele", Noldius, p. 212. No. 975. ; and, besides, the tents of Dathan
and Abiram, Reubenites, were not in the midst of Israel.
Deuteronomy 11:7 7 but
your eyes have seen every great act of the Lord which He
did.
YLT
7`-- But [it is] your eyes
which are seeing all the great work of Jehovah, which He hath done;
But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the Lord which he
did; Even all before related, with many others; and therefore the
instruction they should learn from thence should be as follows.
Deuteronomy 11:8 8 “Therefore
you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may be
strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess,
YLT
8and ye have kept all the
command which I am commanding thee to-day, so that ye are strong, and have gone
in, and possessed the land whither ye are passing over to possess it,
Therefore shall you keep all the commandments which I command you
this day,.... For the reasons before suggested, as well as for what
follow:
that ye may be strong; healthful in body, and
courageous in mind, for sin tends to weaken both; whereas observance of the
commands of God contributes to the health and strength of the body, and the
rigour of the mind; both which were necessary to the present expedition they
were going upon:
and go in and possess the land whither ye go to possess it; the land of
Canaan, they were marching towards in order to possess it; and nothing would
more inspire them with courage, and cause them to enter it manfully without
fear of their enemies, than obedience to the commands of God; whose presence
being promised them on that account, they might expect it, and so had nothing
to fear from the inhabitants of the land.
Deuteronomy 11:9 9 and
that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, ‘a land
flowing with milk and honey.’[a]
YLT
9and so that ye prolong days
on the ground which Jehovah hath sworn to your fathers to give to them and to
their seed -- a land flowing with milk and honey.
And that ye may prolong your days in the land,.... Not only
enter it, and take possession of it, but continue in it long, which depended
upon their obedience to the laws of God:
which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to
their seed; had promised with an oath, so that they might be assured of the
enjoyment of it, though they could not be of their continuance in it, unless
they obeyed the divine commands:
a land that floweth with milk and honey; abounds with
all good things, whose fruits are fat as milk, and sweet as honey; so the
Targum of Jonathan.
Deuteronomy 11:10 10 For
the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from
which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot,
as a vegetable garden;
YLT
10`For the land whither thou
art going in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt whence ye have come
out, where thou sowest thy seed, and hast watered with thy foot, as a garden of
the green herb;
For the land whither thou goest in to possess it,.... The land
of Canaan they were about to take possession of:
is not as the land of Egypt,
from whence ye came out; either the whole land of Egypt, or that part of it, Rameses, in
which Israel dwelt, and which was the best of it, as Jarchi observes, and yet
Canaan exceeded that; though the design of this passage is not so much to set
forth the superior excellency and fertility of the land of Canaan to that of
Egypt, which was certainly a very fruitful country; see Genesis 13:10 but
to observe some things in which they differed, whereby they both became
fruitful, and in which Canaan had the advantage:
where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a
garden of herbs; as a gardener when he has sowed his seed, or planted his plants,
waters them that they may grow, by carrying his water pot from bed to bed,
which requires much labour and toil. In Egypt rain seldom fell, especially in
some places it was very rare, though that there was none at all is a vulgar
mistake; See Gill on Zechariah 14:18 F5See
also Vansleb's Relation of a Voyage to Egypt, p. 213. who speaks of large rains
in Egypt. . To supply the want of it the river Nile overflowed once a year,
which not only moistened the earth, but left mud or slime upon it, which made
it fruitful; but this was not sufficient, for what through the river not
overflowing enough sometimes, and so as to reach some places, and through the
heat of the sun hardening the earth again, it was found necessary to cut canals
from it, and by water from thence to water it, as a gardener waters his seed
and plants; and it is to this watering that respect is here had, not to the
overflowing of the Nile, for that was before the seed was sown; but to the
watering of it out of the canals, which was done after it was sown; the former
was without any trouble of theirs, the latter with much labour; the manner in
which it is done is expressed by the phrase "with thy foot", which
the Targum explains "by thyself", by their own labour and industry.
Jarchi is more particular; "the land of Egypt had need to "have water
brought from the Nile with thy foot; he seems to have understood the phrase to
signify carrying water on foot from the Nile to the place where it was wanted;
but the custom still in use in Egypt, when they water their fields,
plantations, or gardens, will give us a clear understanding of this phrase; as
a late traveller informs usF6Shaw's Travels, p. 408. , the water is
drawn out of the river (Nile) by instruments, and lodged in capacious cisterns;
when plants require to be refreshed, they strike out the plugs that are fixed
in the bottoms of the cisterns, and then the water gushing out, is conducted
from one rill to another by the gardener, who is always ready as occasion
requires to stop and divert the torrent by turning the earth against it
"with his foot", and opening at the same time with his mattock a new
trench to receive it: and to the same purpose another learned personF7Clayton's
Chronology of the Hebrew Bible, p. 478. has observed, that at other times (than
the flowing of the Nile) they are obliged to have recourse to art, and to raise
the water out of the river and some deep pits by the help of machines, which
water is afterwards directed in its course by channels cut in the ground, which
convey the water to those places where it is wanted; and when one part of the
ground is sufficiently watered, they then stop that channel, by thrusting some
earth into the entrance of it "with their foot", and then also
"with their foot" open a passage into the next channel, and so on:
and Philo the JewF8De Confusione Ling p. 325. speaks of a machine
with which they used to water fields, and was worked with the feet by going up
the several steps within, which gave motion to it.
Deuteronomy 11:11 11 but
the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys,
which drinks water from the rain of heaven,
YLT
11but the land whither ye are
passing over to possess it, [is] a land of hills and valleys; of the rain of
the heavens it drinketh water;
But the land whither ye go to possess it is a land of hills and
valleys,.... And so could not be watered by the overflow of a river, and
by canals cut out of it, and in the manner Egypt was; which was for the most
part a plain and flat country, but not so Canaan, in which were many hills and
mountains, as those about Jerusalem, Carmel, Tabor, Lebanon, and others; and
plains and valleys, as the valley of Jezreel, &c. and which made it more
delightful and pleasant for prospects; see Deuteronomy 8:7 and
drinketh water of the rain of heaven; by which it was watered, refreshed, and
made fruitful; not by means of men, but by the Lord himself, and so with much
more ease to men, and without the toil and labour they were obliged to in
Egypt, as well as it was both more healthful and pleasant; for the damps that
arose from the overflow of the Nile were sometimes prejudicial to health; and
during the season of its overflow, which was in the summer, they were obliged
to keep in their houses, and could not walk abroad for weeks together; to which
inconveniences the land of Canaan was not subject; but then, as its fertility
depended on rain from heaven, the Israelites would be under the greater
obligation to observe the commands of God, who could give and withhold it at
his pleasure, and as they conducted themselves; which seems to be the general
drift of this passage.
Deuteronomy 11:12 12 a
land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to
the very end of the year.
YLT
12a land which Jehovah thy
God is searching; continually [are] the eyes of Jehovah thy God upon it, from
the beginning of the year even unto the latter end of the year.
A land which the Lord thy God careth for,.... In a very
particular and special manner; otherwise he has a general care of the whole
world, and all the parts of it; for as the earth is his, and the fulness
thereof, his providential care reaches everywhere; but as this spot was what he
had chosen for his own residence, and the place of his worship, and for an
habitation for his peculiar people; he exercised a more peculiar care over it,
to make it fruitful, commodious, and pleasant; or which "he seeketh"F9דרש "quaerit", Pagninus; "quaerens",
Montanus. ; that is, the good of it, and to make it convenient, useful, and
delightful to his people; yea, which he sought for and desired for his own
habitation, Psalm 132:13,
the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the
beginning of the year even unto the end of the year; his eyes of
providence, to give the former and the latter rain, and that there be seedtime
and harvest in their seasons, and that the fruits of it be produced at their
proper time; some at the beginning, others at the end of the year, and others
in the intervening months, and all wisely suited to the good of the inhabitants
of it.
Deuteronomy 11:13 13 ‘And
it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you
today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all
your heart and with all your soul,
YLT
13`And it hath been -- if
thou hearken diligently unto My commands which I am commanding you to-day, to
love Jehovah your God, and to serve Him with all your heart, and with all your
soul –
And it shall come to pass, if you shall hearken diligently unto my
commandments which I command you this day,.... In the name, and by
the authority of the Lord, the only lawgiver:
to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart,
and with all your soul; see Deuteronomy 10:12.
Jarchi interprets this of prayer; but it is not to be restrained to that only,
but includes the whole service of God, in all the parts of it, performed from a
principle of love to him, and in sincerity and truth.
Deuteronomy 11:14 14 then
I[b] will give you
the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that
you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.
YLT
14that I have given the rain
of your land in its season -- sprinkling and gathered -- and thou hast gathered
thy corn, and thy new wine, and thine oil,
That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season,.... Such a
quantity of it as the land required, a sufficiency of it to make it fruitful,
and that in proper time:
the first rain and the latter rain; the former rain in
Marchesvan, the latter rain in Nisan, as the Targum of Jonathan; the first fell
about our October, which was at or quickly after seedtime, to water the seed
that it might take root, and grow and spring up; and the latter fell about
March, a little before harvest, to ripen the corn, and swell and plump the ears
of it, and make them yield more and better; See Gill on Joel 2:23,
that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil; which were
the principal things the land afforded for the sustenance of men; bread corn,
the stay and staff of human life, and which strengthens man's heart, and makes
him fit for labour; wine, which is his drink, and makes the heart of man glad
and cheerful; and oil, which in these countries was used instead of butter, and
was fattening, and made the face to shine, Psalm 104:15. The
ingathering of these fruits were at different times; the barley harvest first,
the wheat harvest next, and after that the vintage, and the gathering of the
olives; and by means of rain in due season they were favoured with each of
these.
Deuteronomy 11:15 15 And
I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be
filled.’
YLT
15and I have given herbs in
thy field for thy cattle, and thou hast eaten, and been satisfied.
And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle,.... By giving
plentiful showers of rain at proper times, to cause it to spring up and grow,
that so there might be food for the cattle of every sort, greater or lesser;
see Psalm 104:13,
that thou mayest eat and be full; which refers to the
preceding verse as well as to this; and the sense is, that the Israelites might
eat of and enjoy the fruits of the earth to satiety; namely, their corn, wine,
and oil; and that their cattle might have grass enough to supply them with.
Deuteronomy 11:16 16 “Take
heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve
other gods and worship them,
YLT
16`Take heed to yourselves,
lest your heart be enticed, and ye have turned aside, and served other gods,
and bowed yourselves to them,
Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived,.... By
observing the influence of the heavens upon the fruitfulness of the earth, and
so be drawn to the worship of the host of them, the sun, moon, and stars; or by
the examples of nations round about them; and by the plausible arguments they
may make use of, taken from the traditions of ancestors, from antiquity, and
the consent of nations, and the great numbers of worshippers, and the like:
and ye turn aside; from the true God, and the worship of him;
or from the law, as Jarchi, which directs to the worship of one God, and
forbids idolatry, or the worshipping of images:
and serve other gods, and worship them; other gods
than the one only living and true God; gods that made not the heavens and the
earth, and which cannot give rain, nor any blessing and mercy of life, nor help
and deliver their worshippers when in distress.
Deuteronomy 11:17 17 lest
the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that
there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from
the good land which the Lord is giving you.
YLT
17and the anger of Jehovah
hath burned against you, and He hath restrained the heavens, and there is no
rain, and the ground doth not give her increase, and ye have perished hastily
from off the good land which Jehovah is giving to you.
And then the Lord's wrath be kindled against you,.... For their
idolatry, nothing being more provoking to him than that, it being contrary to his
nature and being, as well as to his will, and to his honour and glory:
and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain; the treasures
and storehouses of it there, or the windows of it, the clouds, which when
opened let it down, but when shut withhold it; the key of rain is one of the
keys which the Jews sayF11Targum Jon. in Deut. xxviii. 12. the Lord
keeps in his own hand, and with it he opens and no man shuts, and shuts and no
man opens; see Deuteronomy 28:12.
and that the land yield not her fruit; which is
unavoidably the case when rain is withheld:
and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord
giveth you; for if the land does not yield its fruits sufficient to support
the inhabitants of it, they must in course perish.
Deuteronomy 11:18 18 “Therefore
you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind
them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
YLT
18`And ye have placed these
my words on your heart, and on your soul, and have bound them for a sign on
your hand, and they have been for frontlets between your eyes;
Verses 18-20
Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart, and in
your soul,.... Treasure up the laws of God delivered to them in their
minds, retain them in their memories, and cherish a cordial affection for them;
which would be an antidote against apostasy, idolatry, and other sins, Psalm 119:11.
and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as
frontlets between your eyes; of this and the two following verses; see
Gill on Deuteronomy 6:7;
see Gill on Deuteronomy 6:8;
see Gill on Deuteronomy 6:9.
Deuteronomy 11:19 19 You
shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house,
when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
YLT
19and ye have taught them to
your sons, by speaking of them in thy sitting in thy house, and in thy going in
the way, and in thy lying down, and in thy rising up,
Deuteronomy 11:20 20 And
you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,
YLT
20and hast written them on
the side-posts of thy house, and on thy gates,
Deuteronomy 11:21 21 that
your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which
the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens
above the earth.
YLT
21so that your days are
multiplied, and the days of your sons, on the ground which Jehovah hath sworn
to your fathers to give to them, as the days of the heavens on the earth.
That your days may be multiplied,.... Long life being a
very desirable blessing, and which is promised to those that obey and keep the
law; see Deuteronomy 30:19.
and the days of your children; which are dear to
parents, and the continuance of whose lives, next to their own, is most
desirable, yea, as desirable as their own; and especially it is desirable that
they might have a posterity descending from them, to enjoy for ever their
estates and possessions; as it was to the people of Israel, that they might
have a seed always to dwell
in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them; the land of
Canaan, so often spoken of as the promise, oath, and gift of God:
as the days of heaven upon the earth; that is, as
long as the heavens and the earth shall be, and the one shall be over the
other, as they will be to the end of time.
Deuteronomy 11:22 22 “For
if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do—to love
the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him—
YLT
22`For, if ye diligently keep
all this command which I am commanding you -- to do it, to love Jehovah your
God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave to Him,
For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I
command you to do them,.... Observe and take notice of them, even all of them, and so as
not merely to have a theory or notional knowledge of them, but to put them in
practice:
to love the Lord your God; and show it by obeying
his commands, and which is the end of the commandment, and the principle from
which all obedience should flow:
to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; see Deuteronomy 10:12.
Deuteronomy 11:23 23 then
the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will
dispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves.
YLT
23then hath Jehovah
dispossessed all these nations from before you, and ye have possessed nations,
greater and mightier than you;
Then will the Lord drive out all those nations from before you,.... By little
and little, even all the seven nations which then inhabited the land of Canaan;
and this he would do to make room for them, that they might inherit the land;
see Deuteronomy 7:1.
and ye shall possess greater nations, and mightier than yourselves; countries
whose inhabitants were more in number, and greater in strength, than they; and
therefore the conquest of them was not to be ascribed to themselves, but to the
Lord; this is often observed; see Deuteronomy 7:1.
Deuteronomy 11:24 24 Every
place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: from the wilderness
and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the Western Sea,[c] shall be
your territory.
YLT
24every place on which the
sole of your foot treadeth is yours; from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the
river, the river Phrat, even unto the farther sea is your border;
Every place wherein the soles of your feet shall tread,.... Meaning
in the land of Canaan; though the Jews vainly apply this to every land, and
country, and place therein, where any of them come; pleasing themselves with
this foolish fancy, that all shall be theirs that the foot of any of them have
trod upon, or they have dwelt in; but that it respects only the land of Canaan
appears by the following description of it and its boundaries:
from the wilderness; the wilderness of Paran,
which lay to the south of it, where Kadesh was, from whence the spies were
sent, and was the southern border of it:
and Lebanon; which was a range of mountains to the north of it; and was the
northern border of the land:
from the river, the river Euphrates; which was the eastern
border of it, when it was carried to its utmost extent, as in the days of
Solomon, 1 Kings 4:21.
even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be: the
Mediterranean sea, which was the western border of the land of Canaan, or
"the hinder sea", and so it is called Zechariah 14:8, it
lay at the back of them; for if a man stands with his face to the east, the
south will be on his right hand, and the north on his left, and the west will
be behind him, or at the back of him.
Deuteronomy 11:25 25 No
man shall be able to stand against you; the Lord your God
will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you
tread, just as He has said to you.
YLT
25no man doth station himself
in your presence; your dread and your fear doth Jehovah your God put on the
face of all the land on which ye tread, as He hath spoken to you.
There shall be no man able to stand before you,.... Meaning
not a single man, such an one as Og, or any of the sons of Anak, the giants;
because it could never be thought, imagined, or feared, that one man only
should be able to stand against 600,000 fighting men, but any people or nation,
though greater and mightier than they:
for the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you, and the dread of
you, upon all the land that ye shall tread upon: that is, upon all the
land of Canaan, and the inhabitants of it; who should hear what wonderful
things had been done for them in Egypt, and at the Red sea, and in the
wilderness; and what they had done to Sihon and Og, and to their countries, and
which accordingly was fulfilled, Joshua 2:9.
as he hath said unto you; had promised them, Deuteronomy 2:25
and which was prophesied of in the prophetic song at the Red sea; see Exodus 15:14.
Deuteronomy 11:26 26 “Behold,
I set before you today a blessing and a curse:
YLT
26`See, I am setting before
you to-day a blessing and a reviling:
Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse,.... Meaning
the law of God, and the statutes, judgments, and commandments of it; which, if
obeyed, blessings would be bestowed upon them; but if disobeyed, they would be
liable to the curses of it, as the following words explain it; see Deuteronomy 30:15
everyone of the Israelites were called upon to see and consider this matter, it
being an interesting one to them all.
Deuteronomy 11:27 27 the
blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God
which I command you today;
YLT
27the blessing, when ye
hearken unto the commands of Jehovah your God, which I am commanding you
to-day;
A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God,.... That is,
a blessing should come upon them, even all temporal blessings they stood in
need of; they should be blessed in body and estate, in their families, and in
their flocks, in town and country; see Deuteronomy 28:1,
which I command you this day; afresh repeated to them,
and enjoined them the observation of it in the name of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 11:28 28 and
the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to
go after other gods which you have not known.
YLT
28and the reviling, if ye do
not hearken unto the commands of Jehovah your God, and have turned aside out of
the way which I am commanding you to-day, to go after other gods which ye have
not known.
And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your
God,.... Accursed in body and estate, in basket and store; in their
families, flocks, and herds; within doors and without; in city, and country;
going out, or coming in; in this world, and that to come, if divine goodness
prevent not; see Deuteronomy 28:15.
but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day; which the law
he gave them, and repeated to them, directed them to walk in:
to go after other gods, which ye have not known; to serve and
worship the gods of other nations, strange gods, which neither they nor their
fathers knew anything of, or ever received any good thing from; and which
indeed are no gods, and nothing in the world, as an idol is.
Deuteronomy 11:29 29 Now
it shall be, when the Lord your God has brought you into
the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing on Mount
Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.
YLT
29`And it hath been, when
Jehovah thy God doth bring thee in unto the land whither thou art going in to
possess it, that thou hast given the blessing on mount Gerizim, and the
reviling on mount Ebal;
And it shall come to pass, when the Lord thy God hath bought thee
into the land whither thou goest to possess it,.... Which is often
observed, as being near at hand; and when and where many things were to be
done, which could not be done in the place and circumstances they now were,
particularly what follows:
that thou shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim, and the curse
upon Mount Ebal; that is, pronounce the one on one mountain, and the other on the
other mountain, or at least towards them, or over against them. The Targum of
Jonathan is"ye shall set six tribes on Mount Gerizim, and six tribes on
Mount Ebal; (#De 27:12,13) blessing they shall
turn their faces against Mount Gerizim, and cursing they shall turn their faces
against Mount Ebal;'with which agrees the account given in the Misnah;"six
tribes went to the top of Mount Gerizim, and six to the top of Mount Ebal; and
the priests and the Levites, and the ark, stood below in the middle; the
priests surrounded the ark, and the Levites the priests, and all Israel were on
this and on that side of the ark, as in Joshua 8:33 then
they turned their faces against Gerizim, they opened with the blessing, blessed
is he that maketh not any graven or molten image, and both answered
"Amen"; then they turned their faces against Mount Ebal, and opened
with the curse, Deuteronomy 27:15
and both answered AmenF19Sotah, c. 7. sect. 5. ;'see the performance
of this command in Joshua 8:33.
Deuteronomy 11:30 30 Are
they not on the other side of the Jordan, toward the setting sun, in the land
of the Canaanites who dwell in the plain opposite Gilgal, beside the terebinth
trees of Moreh?
YLT
30are they not beyond the
Jordan, behind the way of the going in of the sun, in the land of the
Canaanite, who is dwelling in the plain over-against Gilgal, near the oaks of
Moreh?
Are they not on the other side Jordan,.... Opposite
to that where Moses now was in the plains of Moab, even in Samaria; so in the
MisnahF20Sotah, c. 7. sect. 5. it is said,"as soon as Israel
passed over Jordan, they came to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, which are in
Samaria;'but those mountains were not near Jordan nor Jericho, to which the
people of Israel came first, but sixty miles from thence; though they were, as
Moses says, on the other side from the place they now were:
by the way wherewith the sun goeth down; or, as the
Targum of Jonathan,"after the way of the sun setting;'following that, or
taking their direction from thence, signifying that they lay to the west of
Jordan:
in the land of the Canaanites; of that particular tribe
or nation which were eminently called Canaanites, for these dwelt by the sea by
the coast of Jordan, Numbers 13:29 or as
further described:
that dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal; in the plain
open champaign country opposite to Gilgal; not that Gilgal Joshua encamped at
before he came to Jericho, which in Moses's time was not known by that name,
but another, as Dr. LightfootF21Chorograph. Cent. c. 48. observes,
and he thinks Galilee is meant:
beside the plains of Moreh; near to Shechem, Genesis 12:6 and
that Gerizim, one of these mountains, was not far from Shechem, is evident from
Judges 9:6 and so
in the MisnahF23Sotah, c. 7. sect. 5. it is said, that these
mountains were on the side of Shechem, which is in the plains of Moreh, as in Deuteronomy 11:30
as the plains of Moreh here denote Shechem, so there: Benjamin of Tudela saysF24Itinerarium,
p. 38, 40. there is a valley between them, in which lies Shechem; and in his
time there were on Mount Gerizim fountains and orchards, but Mount Ebal was dry
like stones and rocks. The Targum of Jonathan here, instead of Moreh, reads
Mamre; see Genesis 13:18.
Deuteronomy 11:31 31 For
you will cross over the Jordan and go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you will possess it and dwell in it.
YLT
31for ye are passing over the
Jordan to go in to possess the land which Jehovah your God is giving to you;
and ye have possessed it, and dwelt in it,
For ye shall pass over Jordan, to go in to possess the land Which
the Lord your God giveth you,.... They were now near it, and by this they
are assured they should pass over it, in order to take possession of the land
God had given them, and which gift of his was a sufficient title to it:
and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein: should not
only take possession of it, but make their abode in it; they are assured hereby
of continuance in it, on condition they obeyed the laws of God, as follows.
Deuteronomy 11:32 32 And
you shall be careful to observe all the statutes and judgments which I set
before you today.
YLT
32and observed to do all the
statutes and the judgments which I am setting before you to day.
And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments,.... Take
notice of them, and heed unto them, so as to practise them:
which I set before you this day; repeated in order to
them, on the observance of which depended their continuance in the land of
Canaan; and therefore this is so often repeated and urged.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)