23 I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
24 They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.
25 The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.
26 I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
27 Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this.
28 For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.
29 O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
30 How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?
31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:
33 Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.
23 I will heap H5595 mischiefs H7451 upon them; I will spend H3615 mine arrows H2671 upon them.
24 They shall be burnt H4198 with hunger, H7458 and devoured H3898 with burning heat, H7565 and with bitter H4815 destruction: H6986 I will also send H7971 the teeth H8127 of beasts H929 upon them, with the poison H2534 of serpents H2119 of the dust. H6083
25 The sword H2719 without, H2351 and terror H367 within, H2315 shall destroy H7921 both the young man H970 and the virgin, H1330 the suckling H3243 also with the man H376 of gray hairs. H7872
26 I said, H559 I would scatter them into corners, H6284 I would make the remembrance H2143 of them to cease H7673 from among men: H582
27 Were it not H3884 that I feared H1481 the wrath H3708 of the enemy, H341 lest their adversaries H6862 should behave themselves strangely, H5234 and lest they should say, H559 Our hand H3027 is high, H7311 and the LORD H3068 hath not done H6466 all this.
28 For they are a nation H1471 void H6 of counsel, H6098 neither is there any understanding H8394 in them.
29 O that H3863 they were wise, H2449 that they understood H7919 this, that they would consider H995 their latter end! H319
30 How should one H259 chase H7291 a thousand, H505 and two H8147 put ten H7233 thousand H505 to flight, H5127 except H3808 their Rock H6697 had sold H4376 them, H3588 and the LORD H3068 had shut them up? H5462
31 For their rock H6697 is not as our Rock, H6697 even our enemies H341 themselves being judges. H6414
32 For their vine H1612 is of the vine H1612 of Sodom, H5467 and of the fields H7709 of Gomorrah: H6017 their grapes H6025 are grapes H6025 of gall, H7219 their clusters H811 are bitter: H4846
33 Their wine H3196 is the poison H2534 of dragons, H8577 and the cruel H393 venom H7219 of asps. H6620
23 I will heap evils upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them:
24 `They shall be' wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat And bitter destruction; And the teeth of beasts will I send upon them, With the poison of crawling things of the dust.
25 Without shall the sword bereave, And in the chambers terror; `It shall destroy' both young man and virgin, The suckling with the man of gray hairs.
26 I said, I would scatter them afar, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men;
27 Were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy, Lest their adversaries should judge amiss, Lest they should say, Our hand is exalted, And Jehovah hath not done all this.
28 For they are a nation void of counsel, And there is no understanding in them.
29 Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!
30 How should one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Except their Rock had sold them, And Jehovah had delivered them up?
31 For their rock is not as our Rock, Even our enemies themselves being judges.
32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, And of the fields of Gomorrah: Their grapes are grapes of gall, Their clusters are bitter:
33 Their wine is the poison of serpents, And the cruel venom of asps.
23 I gather upon them evils, Mine arrows I consume upon them.
24 Exhausted by famine, And consumed by heat, and bitter destruction. And the teeth of beasts I send upon them, With poison of fearful things of the dust.
25 Without bereave doth the sword, And at the inner-chambers -- fear, Both youth and virgin, Suckling with man of grey hair.
26 I have said: I blow them away, I cause their remembrance to cease from man;
27 If not -- the anger of an enemy I fear, Lest their adversaries know -- Lest they say, Our hand is high, And Jehovah hath not wrought all this.
28 For a nation lost to counsels `are' they, And there is no understanding in them.
29 If they were wise -- They deal wisely `with' this; They attend to their latter end:
30 How doth one pursue a thousand, And two cause a myriad to flee! If not -- that their rock hath sold them, And Jehovah hath shut them up?
31 For not as our Rock `is' their rock, (And our enemies `are' judges!)
32 For of the vine of Sodom their vine `is', And of the fields of Gomorrah; Their grapes `are' grapes of gall -- They have bitter clusters;
33 The poison of dragons `is' their wine And the fierce venom of asps.
23 I will heap mischiefs upon them; Mine arrows will I spend against them.
24 They shall be consumed with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, And with poisonous pestilence; And the teeth of beasts will I send against them, With the poison of what crawleth in the dust.
25 From without shall the sword bereave them, and in the chambers, terror -- Both the young man and the virgin, The suckling with the man of gray hairs.
26 I would say, I will scatter, I will make the remembrance of them to cease from among men,
27 If I did not fear provocation from the enemy, Lest their adversaries should misunderstand it, Lest they should say, Our hand is high, and Jehovah has not done all this.
28 For they are a nation void of counsel, And understanding is not in them.
29 Oh that they had been wise! they would have understood this, They would have considered their latter end!
30 How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Were it not that their Rock had sold them, And Jehovah had delivered them up?
31 For their rock is not as our Rock: Let our enemies themselves be judges.
32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, And of the fields of Gomorrah: Their grapes are grapes of poison, Bitter are their clusters;
33 Their wine is the poison of dragons, And the cruel venom of vipers.
23 I will heap evils on them; I will spend my arrows on them:
24 [They shall be] wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat Bitter destruction; The teeth of animals will I send on them, With the poison of crawling things of the dust.
25 Outside shall the sword bereave, In the chambers terror; [It shall destroy] both young man and virgin, The suckling with the man of gray hairs.
26 I said, I would scatter them afar, I would make the memory of them to cease from among men;
27 Were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy, Lest their adversaries should judge wrongly, Lest they should say, Our hand is exalted, Yahweh has not done all this.
28 For they are a nation void of counsel, There is no understanding in them.
29 Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!
30 How should one chase a thousand, Two put ten thousand to flight, Except their Rock had sold them, Yahweh had delivered them up?
31 For their rock is not as our Rock, Even our enemies themselves being judges.
32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, Of the fields of Gomorrah: Their grapes are grapes of gall, Their clusters are bitter:
33 Their wine is the poison of serpents, The cruel venom of asps.
23 I will send a rain of troubles on them, my arrows will be showered on them.
24 They will be wasted from need of food, and overcome by burning heat and bitter destruction; and the teeth of beasts I will send on them, with the poison of the worms of the dust.
25 Outside they will be cut off by the sword, and in the inner rooms by fear; death will take the young man and the virgin, the baby at the breast and the grey-haired man.
26 I said I would send them wandering far away, I would make all memory of them go from the minds of men:
27 But for the fear that their haters, uplifted in their pride, might say, Our hand is strong, the Lord has not done all this.
28 For they are a nation without wisdom; there is no sense in them.
29 If only they were wise, if only this was clear to them, and they would give thought to their future!
30 How would it be possible for one to overcome a thousand, and two to send ten thousand in flight, if their rock had not let them go, if the Lord had not given them up?
31 For their rock is not like our Rock, even our haters themselves being judges.
32 For their vine is the vine of Sodom, from the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are the grapes of evil, and the berries are bitter:
33 Their wine is the poison of dragons, the cruel poison of snakes.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Deuteronomy 32
Commentary on Deuteronomy 32 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 32
De 32:1-43. Moses' Song, Which Sets Forth the Perfections of God.
1. Give ear, O ye heavens; … hear, O earth—The magnificence of the exordium, the grandeur of the theme, the frequent and sudden transitions, the elevated strain of the sentiments and language, entitle this song to be ranked amongst the noblest specimens of poetry to be found in the Scriptures.
2, 3. My doctrine shall drop, &c.—The language may justly be taken as uttered in the form of a wish or prayer, and the comparison of wholesome instruction to the pure, gentle, and insinuating influence of rain or dew, is frequently made by the sacred writers (Isa 5:6; 55:10, 11).
4. He is the Rock—a word expressive of power and stability. The application of it in this passage is to declare that God had been true to His covenant with their fathers and them. Nothing that He had promised had failed; so that if their national experience had been painfully checkered by severe and protracted trials, notwithstanding the brightest promises, that result was traceable to their own undutiful and perverse conduct; not to any vacillation or unfaithfulness on the part of God (Jas 1:17), whose procedure was marked by justice and judgment, whether they had been exalted to prosperity or plunged into the depths of affliction.
5. They have corrupted themselves—that is, the Israelites by their frequent lapses and their inveterate attachment to idolatry.
their spot is not the spot of his children—This is an allusion to the marks which idolaters inscribe on their foreheads or their arms with paint or other substances, in various colors and forms—straight, oval, or circular, according to the favorite idol of their worship.
6. is not he thy father that hath bought thee—or emancipated thee from Egyptian bondage.
and made thee—advanced the nation to unprecedented and peculiar privileges.
8, 9. When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance—In the division of the earth, which Noah is believed to have made by divine direction (Ge 10:5; De 2:5-9; Ac 17:26, 27), Palestine was reserved by the wisdom and goodness of Heaven for the possession of His peculiar people and the display of the most stupendous wonders. The theater was small, but admirably suited for the convenient observation of the human race—at the junction of the two great continents of Asia and Africa, and almost within sight of Europe. From this spot as from a common center the report of God's wonderful works, the glad tidings of salvation through the obedience and sufferings of His own eternal Son, might be rapidly and easily wafted to every part of the globe.
he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel—Another rendering, which has received the sanction of eminent scholars, has been proposed as follows: "When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam and set the bounds of every people, the children of Israel were few in numbers, when the Lord chose that people and made Jacob His inheritance" (compare De 30:5; Ge 34:30; Ps 105:9-12).
10. found him in a desert land—took him into a covenant relation at Sinai, or rather "sustained," "provided for him" in a desert land.
a waste howling wilderness—a common Oriental expression for a desert infested by wild beasts.
11. As an eagle … fluttereth over her young—This beautiful and expressive metaphor is founded on the extraordinary care and attachment which the female eagle cherishes for her young. When her newly fledged progeny are sufficiently advanced to soar in their native element, she, in their first attempts at flying, supports them on the tip of her wing, encouraging, directing, and aiding their feeble efforts to longer and sublimer flights. So did God take the most tender and powerful care of His chosen people; He carried them out of Egypt and led them through all the horrors of the wilderness to the promised inheritance.
13, 14. He made him ride on the high places, &c.—All these expressions seem to have peculiar reference to their home in the trans-jordanic territory, that being the extent of Palestine that they had seen at the time when Moses is represented as uttering these words. "The high places" and "the fields" are specially applicable to the tablelands of Gilead as are the allusions to the herds and flocks, the honey of the wild bees which hive in the crevices of the rocks, the oil from the olive as it grew singly or in small clumps on the tops of hills where scarcely anything else would grow, the finest wheat (Ps 81:16; 147:14), and the prolific vintage.
15. But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked—This is a poetical name for Israel. The metaphor here used is derived from a pampered animal, which, instead of being tame and gentle, becomes mischievous and vicious, in consequence of good living and kind treatment. So did the Israelites conduct themselves by their various acts of rebellion, murmuring, and idolatrous apostasy.
17. They sacrificed unto devils—(See on Le 17:7).
21. those which are not a people—that is, not favored with such great and peculiar privileges as the Israelites (or, rather poor, despised heathens). The language points to the future calling of the Gentiles.
23. I will spend mine arrows upon them—War, famine, pestilence (Ps 77:17) are called in Scripture the arrows of the Almighty.
29. Oh, … that they would consider their latter end—The terrible judgments, which, in the event of their continued and incorrigible disobedience, would impart so awful a character to the close of their national history.
32. vine of Sodom … grapes of gall—This fruit, which the Arabs call "Lot's Sea Orange," is of a bright yellow color and grows in clusters of three or four. When mellow, it is tempting in appearance, but on being struck, explodes like a puffball, consisting of skin and fiber only.
44-47. Moses … spake all the words of this song in the ears, &c.—It has been beautifully styled "the Song of the Dying Swan" [Lowth]. It was designed to be a national anthem, which it should be the duty and care of magistrates to make well known by frequent repetition, to animate the people to right sentiments towards a steadfast adherence to His service.
48-51. Get thee up … and die … Because ye trespassed … at Meribah—(See on Nu 20:13).
52. thou shalt see the land, but thou shalt not go thither—(Nu 27:12). Notwithstanding so severe a disappointment, not a murmur of complaint escapes his lips. He is not only resigned but acquiescing; and in the near prospect of his death, he pours forth the feelings of his devout heart in sublime strains and eloquent blessings.