| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Deuteronomy Chapter
Twenty-nine
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 29
This
chapter begins with an intimation of another covenant the Lord was about to
make with the people of Israel, Deuteronomy 29:1;
and, to prepare their minds to an attention to it, various things which the
Lord had done for them are recited, Deuteronomy 29:2;
the persons are particularly mentioned with whom the covenant would now be
made, the substance of which is, that they should be his people, and he their
God, Deuteronomy 29:10;
and since they had seen the idols in Egypt and other countries, with which they
might have been ensnared, they are cautioned against idolatry and idolaters, as
being most provoking to the Lord, Deuteronomy 29:16;
which would bring destruction not only on particular persons, but upon their
whole land, to the amazement of posterity; who, inquiring the reason of it,
will be told, it was because they forsook the covenant of God, and particularly
were guilty of idolatry, which, whether privately or openly committed, would be
always punished, Deuteronomy 29:22.
Deuteronomy 29:1 These are
the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded
Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the
covenant which He made with them in Horeb.
YLT
1These [are] the words of
the covenant which Jehovah hath commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel
in the land of Moab, apart from the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.
These are the words of the covenant,.... Not what
go before, but follow after, in the next chapters, to the end of the book; in
which are various promises of grace, and promises of good things, both with
respect to Jews and Gentiles, intermixed with other things:
which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel
in the land of Moab; or to declare unto them, and acquaint them with, they being now
in the plains of Moab, ready to enter into the land of, Canaan:
besides the covenant which he made with them at Horeb: or Sinai;
which Jarchi interprets, besides the curses in Leviticus, delivered on Sinai;
he seems to have respect to Leviticus 26:14.
This covenant was different from that at Sinai, spoken of Exodus 24:8; being
made not only at a different time, at near forty years' distance, and at a
different place, nor Sinai; but when Israel were come nearer Mount Sion, and
were actually possessed of part of their inheritance, the land of promise, that
part of the land of Moab which the two kings of the Amorites had seized and
dwelt in, whom Israel had dispossessed; and with different persons, that
generation being dead, excepting a very few, which were at Sinai: but it was
different as to the substance and matter of it, it not only including that, and
being a renewal of it, as is generally thought, but containing such
declarations of grace which had not been made before, not only respecting the
repenting and returning Israelites, but the Gentiles also; for this covenant
was made with the stranger, as well as with Israel, Deuteronomy 29:11;
and relates to the times of the Messiah, the call of the Gentiles, the
conversion of the Jews, and their return to their own land in the latter day.
Deuteronomy 29:2 2 Now
Moses called all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all
his servants and to all his land—
YLT
2And Moses calleth unto all
Israel, and saith unto them, `Ye -- ye have seen all that which Jehovah hath
done before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his
servants, and to all his land;
Moses called unto all Israel,.... He had been speaking
before to the heads of them, and delivered at different times what is before
recorded; but now he summoned the whole body of the people together, a solemn
covenant being to be made between God and them; or such things being to be made
known unto them as were of universal concernment:
and said unto them; what is in this chapter; which is only a
preparation or introduction to what he had to declare unto them in the
following:
ye have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of
Egypt; the Targum of Jonathan is,"what the Word of the Lord
did;'for all the wonderful things there done in Egypt were done by the
essential Word of God, Christ, the Son of God; who appeared to Moses in the
bush, and sent him to Egypt, and by him and Aaron wrought the miracles there;
which many now present had seen, and were then old enough to take notice of,
and could remember, though their fathers then in being were now dead:
unto Pharaoh and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; the plagues
he inflicted on the person of Pharaoh, and on all his courtiers, and on all the
people in Egypt, for they reached the whole land.
Deuteronomy 29:3 3 the
great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders.
YLT
3the great trials which
thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders;
The great temptations which thine eyes have seen,.... Or
trials, the ten plagues which tried the Egyptians, whether they would let
Israel go; and tried the Israelites, whether they would believe in the Lord,
and trust in his almighty power to deliver them:
the signs and those great miracles: as the said plagues were
such as were beyond the power of nature to produce, and which only Omnipotence
could really effect.
Deuteronomy 29:4 4 Yet
the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to
hear, to this very day.
YLT
4and Jehovah hath not given
to you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, till this day,
Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive,.... They had
some of them seen the above miracles with their bodily eyes, but had not
discerned with the eyes of their understanding the power of God displayed in
them, the goodness of God to them on whose behalf they were wrought, in order
to obtain their deliverance, and the vengeance of God on the Egyptians for
detaining them; so Jarchi interprets it of an heart to know the mercies of the
Lord, and to cleave unto him:
and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day; to see and
observe the gracious dealings of God with them, and to hearken to his voice and
obey it: so the understanding heart, the seeing eye, and hearing ear, in things
spiritual, are from the Lord, are special gifts of his grace, which he bestows
on some, and not on others; see Proverbs 20:12. The
Targum of Jonathan is,"the Word of the Lord did not give you an heart,
&c.'
Deuteronomy 29:5 5 And
I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on
you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet.
YLT
5and I cause you to go forty
years in a wilderness; your garments have not been consumed from off you, and
thy shoe hath not worn away from off thy foot;
And I have led you forty years in the wilderness,.... From the time
of their coming out of Egypt unto that day, which though not quite complete, is
given as a round number. EupolemusF4Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l.
9. c. 30. p. 447. , an Heathen writer, confirms this date of the ministry of
Moses among the Israelites; he says, Moses performed the office of a prophet
forty years:
your clothes are not waxen old upon you: were not worn
out; all those forty years they had been in the wilderness, they had never
wanted clothes fitting for them, according to their age and stature, and which
decayed not; See Gill on Deuteronomy 8:4,
and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot; which were
necessary to wear in travelling, and especially in a rugged wilderness; and
yet, thought they had been always in use during so long a time, were not worn
out, which was really miraculous; See Gill on Deuteronomy 8:4.
Deuteronomy 29:6 6 You
have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you
may know that I am the Lord your God.
YLT
6bread ye have not eaten,
and wine and strong drink ye have not drunk, so that ye know that I [am]
Jehovah your God.
Ye have not eaten bread,.... Bread made of corn,
common bread, of their own preparing, made by the labour of their own hands;
but manna, the food of angelS, the bread of heaven:
neither have you drank wine, nor strong drink; only water
out of the rock, at least chiefly, and for constancy; though it may be, when
they were on the borders of other countries, as of the Edomites, they might
obtain some wine for their money:
that ye might know that I am the Lord your God; who was both
able and willing to provide food, drink, and raiment for them, and supply them
with all good things, and support them without the use of the common
necessaries of life; which were abundant proofs of his power and goodness.
Deuteronomy 29:7 7 And
when you came to this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came
out against us to battle, and we conquered them.
YLT
7`And ye come in unto this
place, and Sihon king of Heshbon -- also Og king of Bashan -- doth come out to
meet us, to battle, and we smite them,
And when ye came unto this place,.... The borders of Moab,
the wilderness before it, to which joined the plains they were now in; see Numbers 21:13,
Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, came out against us
unto battle; not together, but one after the other, and that very quickly; as
soon almost as they had fought with the one, and conquered him, the other came
out against them:
and we smote them; killed them and their armies, and the
inhabitants of their countries; the history of which see in Numbers 21:23.
Deuteronomy 29:8 8 We
took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, to the
Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh.
YLT
8and take their land, and
give it for an inheritance to the Reubenite, and to the Gadite, and to the half
of the tribe of Manasseh;
And we took their land,.... Which belonged to
the two kings, the lands of Jazer, Gilead, and Bashan, fine countries for
pasturage:
and gave it for an inheritances unto the Reubenites, and to the
Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh; who requested it, and to
whom it was granted on certain conditions, and they were now in possession of
it; see Numbers 32:1.
Deuteronomy 29:9 9 Therefore
keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that
you do.
YLT
9and ye have kept the words
of this covenant, and done them, so that ye cause all that ye do to prosper.
Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them,.... To do
which they were laid under great obligations, through the goodness of God to
them, in giving them victory over the two kings, and delivering their countries
into their hands, as well as by all the favours bestowed on them in the
wilderness, where they were sufficiently supplied with food, drink, and
raiment; all which is made use of as a motive and argument to engage them to
observe and keep the covenant the Lord made with them:
that ye may prosper in all that ye do: in all their
occupations and businesses of life, in their manufactures and commerce, in the
culture of their fields and vineyards, and in whatsoever they were employed in
a lawful way; the word used has sometimes, the signification of acting wisely
and prudently, as in Isaiah 52:13; hence
the Septuagint version is, "that ye may understand all that ye do";
and so the Jerusalem Targum.
Deuteronomy 29:10 10 “All
of you stand today before the Lord your God:
your leaders and your tribes and your elders and your officers, all the men of
Israel,
YLT
10`Ye are standing to-day,
all of you, before Jehovah your God -- your heads, your tribes, your elders,
and your authorities -- every man of Israel;
Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God,.... Being
gathered together at the door of the tabernacle, at the summons of Moses. Aben
Ezra interprets it round about the ark, which was the symbol of the divine
Presence:
your captains of your tribes; the heads and rulers of
them:
your elders and your officers, with all the men of Israel; not the
seventy elders only, but their elders in their several tribes, cities, and
families, men of gravity and prudence, as well as of age, and who were in some
place of power and authority or another: and the "officers" may
design such who attended the judges, and executed their orders; see Deuteronomy 16:18;
and with them were the common people, the males, who were grown persons. Aben
Ezra thinks they stood in the order in which they here are mentioned, which is
not improbable; next to Moses the princes, then the elders, and after them the
officers, and next every man of Israel, the males; and then the little ones
with the males; after them the women, and last of all the proselytes.
Deuteronomy 29:11 11 your
little ones and your wives—also the stranger who is in your camp, from
the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water—
YLT
11your infants, your wives,
and thy sojourner who [is] in the midst of thy camps, from the hewer of thy
wood unto the drawer of thy water –
Your little ones, your wives,.... Who are scarce ever
mentioned in any special law or solemn transaction:
and thy stranger that is in thy camp; not only the
proselyte of righteousness, who embraced the Jewish religion entirely, but the
proselyte of the gate, who was admitted to dwell among them, having renounced
idolatry. These standing with the Israelites, when this covenant was made, has
respect to the Gentiles, who as well as the Jews have an interest in the
covenant of grace made with Christ; in whom there is, neither Jew nor Gentile,
any difference between them:
from the hewer of thy wood to the drawer of thy water; that hewed
wood for firing and other uses, and drew water for the camp; who were generally
mean persons, and perhaps some that came out of Egypt with them are here
intended; however, mean and abject persons are meant, and signifies that none
should be excluded from a concern in this solemn affair on account of their
meanness.
Deuteronomy 29:12 12 that
you may enter into covenant with the Lord your God,
and into His oath, which the Lord your God
makes with you today,
YLT
12for thy passing over into
the covenant of Jehovah thy God, and into His oath which Jehovah thy God is
making with thee to-day;
That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy God,.... That is,
they were all to appear and stand in this order before the Lord, that they
might solemnly avouch him to be their God, and hear him declaring them to be
his people, and the many promises and prophecies of good things he should
deliver to them, as well as threatenings of wrath and vengeance in case of
disobedience to him: or "that thou shouldest pass"F5לעברך "ut transeas", V. L. Tigurine version,
Munster, Vatablus, Pagniuns, Cocceius; "ad transeundum", Montanus. :
which some think is an allusion to the manner of making covenants, by slaying a
creature, and cutting it in pieces, and passing between them, as in Jeremiah 34:18; so
Jarchi and Aben Ezra:
and into his oath; annexed to his covenant and promise, to
show the immutability and certain fulfilment of it on his part; and may signify
not only the oath he swore that they should be his people, but the oath he gave
them, and they took, that he should be their God:
which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day; which refers
both to the covenant and the oath, or the covenant confirmed by an oath, even
the covenant now made in the plains of Moab, distinct from that at Horeb or
Sinai.
Deuteronomy 29:13 13 that
He may establish you today as a people for Himself, and that He may be
God to you, just as He has spoken to you, and just as He has sworn to your
fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
YLT
13in order to establish thee
to-day to Him for a people, and He Himself is thy God, as He hath spoken to
thee, and as He hath sworn to thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
That be may establish thee this day for a people unto himself, and
that he may be unto thee a God,.... Which contains the
sum and substance of the covenant; see Jeremiah 32:38,
as he hath said unto thee, and as he had sworn unto thy fathers,
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; Deuteronomy 26:17.
Deuteronomy 29:14 14 “I
make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone,
YLT
14`And not with you alone am
I making this covenant and this oath;
Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath. That is,
Moses; for he was ordered to make this covenant with them in the name of the
Lord; what promises of good things, or declarations of his mind and will, God
would make, Moses was to deliver to them; and what was required of them he
would inform them of. Aben Ezra interprets it, not only you, but those that
will come after you, your sons and your sons' sons.
Deuteronomy 29:15 15 but
with him who stands here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with him who is not here with us
today
YLT
15but with him who is here
with us, standing to-day before Jehovah our God, and with him who is not here
with us to-day,
But with him that standeth here with us this day before the
Lord our God,.... Who are before specified according to their dignity, age,
sex, and station of life; or rather, "but as with him that
standeth", &c.
and so with him that is not here with us this day; detained at
home by illness and indisposition of body, or by one providence or another; so
that they could not come out of their tents, and make their appearance before
the tabernacle; though Jarchi interprets this of the people of future
generations.
Deuteronomy 29:16 16 (for
you know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt and that we came through the
nations which you passed by,
YLT
16for ye have known how ye
dwelt in the land of Egypt, and how we passed by through the midst of the
nations which ye have passed by;
For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt,.... How long
they and their fathers had dwelt there, the number of years they had been in
the land, as the Targum of Jonathan, which was upwards of two hundred years;
and being a country the inhabitants of which were much given to idolatry, they
had seen many of their idols, and much of their idolatrous worship; and their
hearts had been apt to be ensnared by it, and the minds of some tinctured with
it, and the remembrance thereof might make ill impressions on them; to remove
or prevent which this covenant was made:
and how we came through the nations which ye passed by; as the
Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites, and Midianites, as Aben Ezra observes, through
whose borders they came, as they passed by their countries in their journeys in
the wilderness.
Deuteronomy 29:17 17 and
you saw their abominations and their idols which were among them—wood
and stone and silver and gold);
YLT
17and ye see their
abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which [are]
with them,
And ye have seen their abominations and their idols,.... Or,
"their abominations, even their idols"; for the same are meant by
both: it is common in Scripture to call the idols of the Gentiles abominations,
without any other explanation of them; see 1 Kings 11:5;
because they are abominable to God, and ought to be so to men: the word for
idols has the signification of dung, and may be rendered dunghill gods, either
referring to such that were bred and lived in dung, as the beetle, worshipped
by the Egyptians, as Bishop Patrick observes; or which were as much to be
loathed and abhorred as the dung of any creature:
wood and stone, silver and gold; these are the materials
of which the idols they had seen in the several countries they had been in, or
passed through, were made of; some of wood, others of stone cut out of these,
and carved; others more rich and costly were made of massive gold and silver,
and were molten ones; or the images of wood were glided with gold and silver:
which were among them; now these being seen by
them in as they passed along, they might run in their minds, or be called to
remembrance by them, and so they be in danger of being drawn aside to make the
like, and worship them.
Deuteronomy 29:18 18 so
that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart
turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve
the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing
bitterness or wormwood;
YLT
18lest there be among you a
man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart is turning to-day from Jehovah
our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations, lest there be in you a root
fruitful of gall and wormwood:
Lest there should be among you man or woman, or family, or tribe,.... These
words stand in connection with Deuteronomy 29:15,
with Deuteronomy 29:16
being in a parenthesis, as may be observed, and show the design of this solemn
appearance of the people, and their entering afresh into covenant; which was to
prevent their falling into idolatry, and preserve them from it, whether a
single person of either sex, or a whole family, or even a tribe, which might be
in danger of being infected with it, and so all the people:
whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our God, to go and
serve the gods of those nations; whose heart is enticed and drawn aside at
the remembrance of the idols he has seen worshipped by others; and is looking
off from the Lord God, his faith in him being weakened, his fear of him
removed, and his affections for him lessened; and is looking towards the idols
of the nations, with a hankering mind to serve and worship them:
lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and
wormwood: the word "rosh", which we render "gall",
signifies, according to Jarchi, a bitter herb, which better suits with a root
than gall, and is elsewhere by us rendered "hemlock", Hosea 10:4; and is
by him very rightly interpreted of a wicked man among them; for not a principle
of immorality, or heresy, rooted in the mind, productive of bitter fruits, or
evil actions, is meant; but a bad man, particularly an idolater, who is rooted
in idolatry, and is guilty of and commits abominable actions; the issue of
which will be bitterness and death, if not recovered; which agrees with what
the apostle says, Hebrews 12:15; who
manifestly alludes to this passage; see the Apocrypha:"In those days went
there out of Israel wicked men, who persuaded many, saying, Let us go and make
a covenant with the heathen that are round about us: for since we departed from
them we have had much sorrow.' (1 Maccabees 1:11)and is
confirmed by what follows.
Deuteronomy 29:19 19 and
so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses
himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I follow the
dictates[a] of my
heart’—as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.
YLT
19`And it hath been, in his
hearing the words of this oath, and he hath blessed himself in his heart,
saying, I have peace, though in the stubbornness of my heart I go on, in order
to end the fulness with the thirst.
And it cometh to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse,.... That is,
the man before compared to a root bearing bitter herbs, when he should hear the
curses pronounced by the law against such persons as himself:
that he bless himself in his heart; inwardly pronounce
himself blessed, thinking himself secure from the curse of the law, and
flattering himself it will never reach him nor come upon him:
saying, I shall have peace; all happiness and
prosperity, in soul, body, and estate; inward peace of mind now, and eternal
peace hereafter:
though I walk in the imagination of my heart; in
worshipping idols which he vainly and wickedly imagined to be gods; to the
worship of which his wicked heart prompted him, and he was resolutely and
stubbornly bent upon, and in which he continued:
to add drunkenness to thirst; as a thirsty man to
quench his thirst drinks, and adds to that, or drinks yet more and more until
he is drunken; so a man inclined to idolatry, that has a secret desire after
it, thirsts after such stolen or forbidden waters, and drinks of them, adds
thereunto, drinks again and again until he is drunk with the wine of
fornication, or idolatry, as it is called Revelation 17:2; so
the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan understand the words of adding sin to sin,
particularly of adding sins of ignorance to pride, or to presumptuous ones.
Wicked men, deceivers and deceived, always grow worse and worse, increasing to
more ungodliness, and yet promise themselves peace and impunity, 1 Thessalonians 5:3.
Deuteronomy 29:20 20 “The
Lord would not spare him; for then the anger of the Lord and His jealousy would burn against that man, and every curse that
is written in this book would settle on him, and the Lord would blot out his name from under heaven.
YLT
20Jehovah is not willing to
be propitious to him, for then doth the anger of Jehovah smoke, also His zeal,
against that man, and lain down on him hath all the oath which is written in
this book, and Jehovah hath blotted out his name from under the heavens,
Then the Lord will not spare him,.... Have no mercy upon
him, nor forgive him, being an hardhearted, impenitent, stubborn, and obstinate
sinner, as well as guilty of the grossest and most provoking sin, as idolatry
is:
but then the anger of the Lord, and his jealousy, shall smoke
against that man; or, "the nose of the Lord shall smoke"F6יעשן אף יהוה
"fumabit nasus Domini", Montanus. ; alluding to an angry, wrathful,
furious man, whose brain being heated, and his passions inflamed, his breath
steams through his nostrils like smoke; it denotes the vehement anger, the
greatness of God's wrath and indignation against such a person, and his burning
zeal or jealousy for his own honour and glory injured by the idolater:
and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon
him: for as he that offends in one point is guilty of all, and
especially in such a principal point as this, which concerns the being and
worship of God; so he makes himself liable to all the curses of the law, which
shall not only come upon him, but abide on him; and there is no person clear of
them but by redemption through Christ, who, by being made a curse for his
people, has redeemed them from the curse of the law:
and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven; he shall have
no name in Israel, not in the church, and among the people of God, from whom he
is to be excommunicated; shall have no name and place in the earth, being cut
off from the land of the living; and shall have no name or fame after his
death, his memory shall rot and perish; and he shall appear to have no name in
the book of life; see Psalm 69:28.
Deuteronomy 29:21 21 And
the Lord would separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity,
according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of
the Law,
YLT
21and Jehovah hath separated
him for evil, out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the oaths of
the covenant which is written in this book of the law.
And the Lord shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of
Israel,.... Unto the evil of punishment, devote and consign him to it,
and make him a visible and distinguished mark of his displeasure and vengeance.
So some men are righteously separated from others, and preordained unto condemnation,
being wicked and ungodly men; for such God has made or appointed for the day of
evil; see Proverbs 16:4,
according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in
this book of the law; the evil of punishment he shall be separated unto shall be
according to them, or include them all; the sense is, that the wrath of God,
and the whole curse of the law due to him for his sin, shall come upon him; see
Deuteronomy 28:16,
&c.
Deuteronomy 29:22 22 so
that the coming generation of your children who rise up after you, and the
foreigner who comes from a far land, would say, when they see the plagues of
that land and the sicknesses which the Lord has laid
on it:
YLT
22`And the latter generation
of your sons who rise after you, and the stranger who cometh in from a land
afar off, have said when they have seen the strokes of that land, and its
sicknesses which Jehovah hath sent into it, --
So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up
after you,.... Not the next generation, but in future times, in ages to
come, at a great distance, even after the destruction of Judea by the Romans;
to which Deuteronomy 29:23
seems to refer:
and the stranger that shall come from a far land; on trade and
business, or for the sake of travelling, his road either lying through it, or
his curiosity leading him to see it:
shall say, when they see the plagues of the land; cities and
towns in ruins, fields lie uncultivated, and the whole land depopulated, and
all become a barren wilderness, which was once a fruitful country, a land
flowing with milk and honey:
and the sicknesses which the Lord hath laid upon it; upon the
inhabitants of it, as the pestilence and other diseases, which shall have swept
the land of them; see Deuteronomy 28:22.
This case supposes a general departure from the worship of God to the service
of idols; otherwise single individuals are punished in their own persons, as in
the Deuteronomy 29:21.
Deuteronomy 29:23 23 ‘The
whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it
bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah,
Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew
in His anger and His wrath.’
YLT
23([with] brimstone and salt
is the whole land burnt, it is not sown, nor doth it shoot up, nor doth there
go up on it any herb, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and
Zeboim, which Jehovah overturned in His anger, and in His fury,) –
And that the whole land
thereof is brimstone and salt,
and burning,.... That is,
is become exceeding barren, as all such land is where there are sulphureous
mines, or salt pits, or burning mountains; not that this would be, or has been
the case of the land of Judea in a strict literal sense; only these are
expressions made use of to show the barrenness of it, which is its case at this
day, not through the nature of its soil being changed, but through the
slothfulness of the inhabitants of it; to which time it better agrees than to
the time of its falling into the hands of the Chaldeans, who left men in it for
husbandmen and vinedressers. Aben Ezra understands this as a prayer to God,
that the land might be burnt up; that is, for the sins of the people:
that it is not
sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein; not being sown, it would
bear and produce no corn for men; and not being manured, no grass would spring
up for the cattle: and so would be
like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Admah and Zeboim; which indeed
are, strictly speaking, become a sulphurous and bituminous lake, called the
salt sea, and the lake Asphaltites, and where no green grass or corn, or any
kind of fruit grow: which the Lord overthrew in his anger and in his wrath the
Targum of Jonathan is,"which the Word of the Lord overthrew;'and it was
Jehovah, the Word, or Son of God, who rained, from Jehovah the Father, out of
heaven, fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, and the rest of the cities;
See Gill on Genesis 19:24, in
which chapter is the history of this fatal overthrow.
Deuteronomy 29:24 24 “All
nations would say, ‘Why has the Lord done so to
this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?’
YLT
24yea, all the nations have
said, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus to this land? what the heat of this
great anger?
Even all nations shall say,.... For the destruction
of this land, and the people of it, would be, as it has been, so very great and
awful, and so very remarkable and surprising, that the fame of it would be
heard among all the nations of the world, as it has been; who, upon hearing the
sad report of it, would ask the following questions:
wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? so
distinguished from all others for the fruitfulness and pleasantness of it; the
people, the inhabitants of which, he chose, above all others, to be a special
and peculiar people; and where he had a temple built for him, and where he had
his residence, and worship used to be given unto him:
what meaneth the heat of this great anger? what is the
reason of his stirring up his fierce wrath, and causing it to burn in so
furious a manner? surely it must be something very horrible and provoking
indeed!
Deuteronomy 29:25 25 Then
people would say: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them
out of the land of Egypt;
YLT
25`And they have said,
Because that they have forsaken the covenant of Jehovah, God of their fathers,
which He made with them in His bringing them out of the land of Egypt,
Then men shall say,.... The answer that will be returned to the
above questions will be this
because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their
fathers: breakers of covenants with men are always reckoned among the
worst of men, see Romans 1:31; and
especially breakers of covenant with God, and with such a God as the God of
Israel was, so good, so kind, and gracious; and of such a covenant he made with
them, in which so many good things were promised unto them, on condition of
their obedience; as the continuance in, such a land they dwelt in, with an
abundance of privileges, civil and religious: and this covenant God of theirs
was the God of their fathers also; and it was always reckoned an heinous sin
among the Heathens to forsake the gods of their ancestors; see Jeremiah 2:11,
which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of
Egypt; which is another aggravation of their breach of the covenant the
Lord made with them; it being made with them by that God, and at that time,
when he in so wonderful a manner, with such mighty power, and a outstretched
arm, and in great kindness and tenderness to them, brought then, out of hard
bondage and most wretched slavery in Egypt.
Deuteronomy 29:26 26 for
they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they did not know
and that He had not given to them.
YLT
26and they go and serve other
gods, and bow themselves to them -- gods which they have not known, and which
He hath not apportioned to them;
For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them,.... As did
all Israel, in the times of Solomon, and the ten tribes under Jeroboam, and
other succeeding kings of Israel; and the two tribes in the times of Ahaz, and
especially of Manasseh, when they worshipped all the host of heaven; see 1 Kings 11:33,
gods whom they knew not; to whom they, as well as
their fathers before them, were strangers and approved not of them; and of
whose power and goodness they had no experience, and of which there never were
any instances; yet such was their stupidity, as to leave their God, the only
true God, of whom they had many proofs in both respects, and worship these
idols, which had never been profitable and serviceable to them on any account:
and whom he hath not given unto them; which version
seems not to afford a good sense; for to what people soever has God, the true
God, given other gods to worship, which this seems to imply, though he had not
given or allowed any to them? Onkelos paraphrases it, "did not do them
good"; which Jarchi explains, the gods they chose them did not impart to
them any inheritance, or any portion; for the word used signifies to divide, or
part a portion or inheritance; now the Lord God did divide to Israel the land
of Canaan for an inheritance, but these idols had never divided anything to
them, and had been in no instance profitable or advantageous to them; and
therefore it was madness and folly in them to worship them, as well as great
ingratitude to the Lord their God, who had done such great and good things for
them; for so the words may be rendered, "and did not impart" or
"divide to them"F7ולא חלק להם "qui nihil
impertitus est eis", Pagninus; "et quorum nullus impertitus fuerat
eis quidquem", Piscator; "neque partitus est ipsis", Cocceius.
anything; that is, not anyone of them did; for the verb is singular.
Deuteronomy 29:27 27 Then
the anger of the Lord was aroused against this land,
to bring on it every curse that is written in this book.
YLT
27and the anger of Jehovah
burneth against that land, to bring in on it all the reviling that is written
in this book,
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land,.... For this
their idolatry and base ingratitude:
to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book; in this book
of Deuteronomy, and particularly Deuteronomy 28:16;
see Daniel 9:11.
Deuteronomy 29:28 28 And
the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great
indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’
YLT
28and Jehovah doth pluck them
from off their ground in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath, and doth cast
them unto another land, as [at] this day.
And the Lord rooted them out of the land,.... Which was
true both at the Babylonish captivity by Nebuchadnezzar, and at their present
one by the Romans; and especially the latter, by whom they have been so rooted
out, as that they have not been able to return to it these 1700 years, nor to
have any inheritance or possession in it; whereas, at the end of seventy years,
they returned from the Babylonish captivity to their land again: and which was
done
in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation; which were
most abundantly shown in the utter destruction of their land, city, and temple,
by the Romans:
and cast them another land, as it is this day; the ten
tribes were cast into Assyria, and from thence into the cities of the Medes,
the two tribes into the land of Chaldea, and now into all lands; and none their
own, but another, a strange and foreign country. The word "cast"
denotes the vehemence of the divine displeasure at them, expressed by the
removal of them out of their own land into another. In the Hebrew word for
"cast", a middle letter in it is greater than usual; the reason of
which perhaps is, that this dealing of God with them might be observed and
taken notice of as very remarkable; and Ainsworth thinks it is to observe the
greatness of the punishment; and the Jews understand this of the casting away
of the ten tribes: and they gather from hence that the ten tribes shall not
return, though about it they are divided; for so they say in the MisnahF8Sanhedrin,
c. 11. sect. 3. ,"the ten tribes shall not return, as it is said, and cast
them into another land, as this day; as the day goes and does not return, so
they go and return not; these are the words of R. Akiba. R. Eliezer says, as
the day brings on darkness and light, so the ten tribes who are now dark shall
be enlightened.'
Deuteronomy 29:29 29 “The
secret things belong to the Lord our God,
but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our
children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
YLT
29`The things hidden [are] to
Jehovah our God, and the things revealed [are] to us and to our sons -- to the
age, to do all the words of this law.
The secret things belong unto the Lord our God,....
Respecting the people of Israel, and the providential dealings of God with
them, and especially the final rejection of them; with respect to which, the
apostle's exclamation agrees with this, Romans 11:33; and
though the Lord had revealed many things which should befall them, there were
others still secret with him, and the reasons of others; and particularly the
times and seasons of their accomplishment, which he retains in his own power, Acts 1:6. There are
many secret things in nature, which cannot be found out and accounted for by
men, which the Lord only knows; and there are many things in Providence, which
are unsearchable, and past finding out by finite minds, especially the true
causes and reasons of them; and there are many things relating to God himself,
which remain secret with him; notwithstanding the revelation he has made of
himself; for not only some of his perfections, as eternity, immensity, &c.
are beyond our comprehension; but the mode of subsistence of the three divine
Persons in the Godhead, the paternity of the one, the generation of the other,
and the procession of the Spirit from them both; the union of the two natures,
divine and human, in the person of Christ; the thoughts, purposes, and decrees
of God within himself, until brought into execution; and so there are many
things relating to his creatures, as the particular persons predestinated unto
eternal life, what becomes of such who die in infancy, what will befall us in
life, when we shall die, where and in what manner, and also the day and hour of
the last judgment. The Jews generally interpret this and what follows of the
sins of men, and punishment for them, and, particularly, idolatry; take Aben
Ezra's sense instead of many,"he that commits idolatry secretly, his
punishment is by the hand of heaven (from God immediately); he that commits it
openly, it lies upon us and upon our children to do as is written in the
law:"
but those things which are revealed belong to us and
to our children for ever; the things of nature and Providence, which are plain and
manifest, are for our use and instruction; and especially the word and
ordinances of God, which are the revelation of his will, the doctrines and
promises contained in the Scriptures, each of the duties of religion, and the
commandments of God, such as are of eternal obligation, which may be chiefly
designed, because it follows:
that we may do all the words of this law: for the end
of this revelation is practice; hearing and reading the word will be of no
avail, unless what is heard and read is practised. Some render the wordsF9So
some in Fagius and Vatablus. ,"the secret things of the Lord our God are
revealed to us and to our children;'but neither the construction of the words
in the original, nor the Hebrew accents, will admit of such a version;
otherwise it would furnish out a very great truth: for the secrets of God's
love, of his council and covenant, are revealed unto his people, as well as
many of his providences, and the mysteries of his grace; see Psalm 25:14. There
are some extraordinary pricks in the Hebrew text on the words "to us and
to our children": which are designed to point out the remarkable and
wonderful condescension and goodness of God, in making a revelation of his mind
and will, both with respect to doctrine and duty, to the sons of men.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)