1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken H8085 diligently H8085 unto the voice H6963 of the LORD H3068 thy God, H430 to observe H8104 and to do H6213 all his commandments H4687 which I command H6680 thee this day, H3117 that the LORD H3068 thy God H430 will set H5414 thee on high H5945 above all nations H1471 of the earth: H776
If ye walk H3212 in my statutes, H2708 and keep H8104 my commandments, H4687 and do H6213 them; Then I will give H5414 you rain H1653 in due season, H6256 and the land H776 shall yield H5414 her increase, H2981 and the trees H6086 of the field H7704 shall yield H5414 their fruit. H6529 And your threshing H1786 shall reach H5381 unto the vintage, H1210 and the vintage H1210 shall reach H5381 unto the sowing time: H2233 and ye shall eat H398 your bread H3899 to the full, H7648 and dwell H3427 in your land H776 safely. H983 And I will give H5414 peace H7965 in the land, H776 and ye shall lie down, H7901 and none shall make you afraid: H2729 and I will rid H7673 evil H7451 beasts H2416 out of the land, H776 neither shall the sword H2719 go H5674 through your land. H776 And ye shall chase H7291 your enemies, H341 and they shall fall H5307 before H6440 you by the sword. H2719 And five H2568 of you shall chase H7291 an hundred, H3967 and an hundred H3967 of you shall put ten thousand H7233 to flight: H7291 and your enemies H341 shall fall H5307 before H6440 you by the sword. H2719 For I will have respect H6437 unto you, and make you fruitful, H6509 and multiply H7235 you, and establish H6965 my covenant H1285 with you. And ye shall eat H398 old store, H3462 and bring forth H3318 the old H3465 because H6440 of the new. H2319 And I will set H5414 my tabernacle H4908 among H8432 you: and my soul H5315 shall not abhor H1602 you. And I will walk H1980 among H8432 you, and will be H1961 your God, H430 and ye shall be H1961 my people. H5971 I am the LORD H3068 your God, H430 which brought you forth H3318 out of the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 that ye should not be their bondmen; H5650 and I have broken H7665 the bands H4133 of your yoke, H5923 and made you go H3212 upright. H6968
Wherefore it shall come to pass, if H6118 ye hearken H8085 to these judgments, H4941 and keep, H8104 and do H6213 them, that the LORD H3068 thy God H430 shall keep H8104 unto thee the covenant H1285 and the mercy H2617 which he sware H7650 unto thy fathers: H1 And he will love H157 thee, and bless H1288 thee, and multiply H7235 thee: he will also bless H1288 the fruit H6529 of thy womb, H990 and the fruit H6529 of thy land, H127 thy corn, H1715 and thy wine, H8492 and thine oil, H3323 the increase H7698 of thy kine, H504 and the flocks H6251 of thy sheep, H6629 in the land H127 which he sware H7650 unto thy fathers H1 to give H5414 thee. Thou shalt be blessed H1288 above all people: H5971 there shall not be male H6135 or female barren H6135 among you, or among your cattle. H929 And the LORD H3068 will take away H5493 from thee all sickness, H2483 and will put H7760 none of the evil H7451 diseases H4064 of Egypt, H4714 which thou knowest, H3045 upon thee; but will lay H5414 them upon all them that hate H8130 thee. And thou shalt consume H398 all the people H5971 which the LORD H3068 thy God H430 shall deliver H5414 thee; thine eye H5869 shall have no pity H2347 upon them: neither shalt thou serve H5647 their gods; H430 for that will be a snare H4170 unto thee. If thou shalt say H559 in thine heart, H3824 These nations H1471 are more H7227 than I; how H349 can H3201 I dispossess H3423 them? Thou shalt not be afraid H3372 of them: but shalt well H2142 remember H2142 what the LORD H3068 thy God H430 did H6213 unto Pharaoh, H6547 and unto all Egypt; H4714 The great H1419 temptations H4531 which thine eyes H5869 saw, H7200 and the signs, H226 and the wonders, H4159 and the mighty H2389 hand, H3027 and the stretched out H5186 arm, H2220 whereby the LORD H3068 thy God H430 brought thee out: H3318 so shall the LORD H3068 thy God H430 do H6213 unto all the people H5971 of whom thou art afraid. H3373 H6440 Moreover the LORD H3068 thy God H430 will send H7971 the hornet H6880 among them, until they that are left, H7604 and hide H5641 themselves from H6440 thee, be destroyed. H6 Thou shalt not be affrighted H6206 at H6440 them: for the LORD H3068 thy God H430 is among H7130 you, a mighty H1419 God H410 and terrible. H3372 And the LORD H3068 thy God H430 will put out H5394 those H411 nations H1471 before H6440 thee by little H4592 and little: H4592 thou mayest H3201 not consume H3615 them at once, H4118 lest the beasts H2416 of the field H7704 increase H7235 upon thee. But the LORD H3068 thy God H430 shall deliver H5414 them unto thee, H6440 and shall destroy H1949 them with a mighty H1419 destruction, H4103 until they be destroyed. H8045 And he shall deliver H5414 their kings H4428 into thine hand, H3027 and thou shalt destroy H6 their name H8034 from under heaven: H8064 there shall no man H376 be able to stand H3320 before H6440 thee, until thou have destroyed H8045 them. The graven images H6456 of their gods H430 shall ye burn H8313 with fire: H784 thou shalt not desire H2530 the silver H3701 or gold H2091 that is on them, nor take H3947 it unto thee, lest thou be snared H3369 therein: for it is an abomination H8441 to the LORD H3068 thy God. H430 Neither shalt thou bring H935 an abomination H8441 into thine house, H1004 lest thou be a cursed thing H2764 like it: but thou shalt utterly H8262 detest H8262 it, and thou shalt utterly H8581 abhor H8581 it; for it is a cursed thing. H2764
Wherefore do ye spend H8254 money H3701 for that which is not bread? H3899 and your labour H3018 for that which satisfieth H7654 not? H3808 hearken H8085 diligently H8085 unto me, and eat H398 ye that which is good, H2896 and let your soul H5315 delight H6026 itself in fatness. H1880 Incline H5186 your ear, H241 and come H3212 unto me: hear, H8085 and your soul H5315 shall live; H2421 and I will make H3772 an everlasting H5769 covenant H1285 with you, even the sure H539 mercies H2617 of David. H1732
For G1063 whosoever G3748 shall keep G5083 the whole G3650 law, G3551 and yet G1161 offend G4417 in G1722 one G1520 point, he is G1096 guilty G1777 of all. G3956 For G1063 he that said, G2036 Do G3431 not G3361 commit adultery, G3431 said G2036 also, G2532 Do G5407 not G3361 kill. G5407 Now G1161 if G1487 thou commit G3431 no G3756 adultery, G3431 yet if G1161 thou kill, G5407 thou art become G1096 a transgressor G3848 of the law. G3551
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Deuteronomy 28
Commentary on Deuteronomy 28 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 28
De 28:1-68. The Blessings for Obedience.
1. if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God—In this chapter the blessings and curses are enumerated at length, and in various minute details, so that on the first entrance of the Israelites into the land of promise, their whole destiny was laid before them, as it was to result from their obedience or the contrary.
2. all these blessings shall come on thee—Their national obedience was to be rewarded by extraordinary and universal prosperity.
7. flee before thee seven ways—that is, in various directions, as always happens in a rout.
10. called by the name of the Lord—That they are really and actually His people (De 14:1; 26:18).
11. the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods—Beside the natural capabilities of Canaan, its extraordinary fruitfulness was traceable to the special blessing of Heaven.
12. The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure—The seasonable supply of the early and latter rain was one of the principal means by which their land was so uncommonly fruitful.
thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow—that is, thou shalt be in such affluent circumstances, as to be capable, out of thy superfluous wealth, to give aid to thy poorer neighbors.
13, 14. the head, and not the tail—an Oriental form of expression, indicating the possession of independent power and great dignity and acknowledged excellence (Isa 9:14; 19:15).
15-20. But … if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord—Curses that were to follow them in the event of disobedience are now enumerated, and they are almost exact counterparts of the blessings which were described in the preceding context as the reward of a faithful adherence to the covenant.
21. pestilence—some fatal epidemic. There is no reason, however, to think that the plague, which is the great modern scourge of the East, is referred to.
22. a consumption—a wasting disorder; but the modern tuberculosis is almost unknown in Asia.
fever … inflammation … extreme burning—Fever is rendered "burning ague" (Le 26:16), and the others mentioned along with it evidently point to those febrile affections which are of malignant character and great frequency in the East.
the sword—rather, "dryness"—the effect on the human body of such violent disorders.
blasting, and with mildew—two atmospheric influences fatal to grain.
23. heaven … brass … earth … iron—strong Oriental figures used to describe the effects of long-continued drought. This want of regular and seasonable rain is allowed by the most intelligent observers to be one great cause of the present sterility of Palestine.
24. the rain of thy land powder and dust—an allusion probably to the dreadful effects of tornadoes in the East, which, raising the sands in immense twisted pillars, drive them along with the fury of a tempest. These shifting sands are most destructive to cultivated lands; and in consequence of their encroachments, many once fertile regions of the East are now barren deserts.
27. the botch of Egypt—a troublesome eruption, marked by red pimples, to which, at the rising of the Nile, the Egyptians are subject.
emerods—fistulæ or piles.
scab—scurvy.
itch—the disease commonly known by that name; but it is far more malignant in the East than is ever witnessed in our part of the world.
28. madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart—They would be bewildered and paralyzed with terror at the extent of their calamities.
29-33. thou shalt grope at noonday—a general description of the painful uncertainty in which they would live. During the Middle Ages the Jews were driven from society into hiding-places which they were afraid to leave, not knowing from what quarter they might be assailed and their children dragged into captivity, from which no friend could rescue, and no money ransom them.
35. the Lord shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs—This is an exact description of elephantiasis, a horrible disease, something like leprosy, which attacks particularly the lower extremities.
36. The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king, &c.—This shows how widespread would be the national calamity; and at the same time how hopeless, when he who should have been their defender shared the captive fate of his subjects.
there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone—The Hebrew exiles, with some honorable exceptions, were seduced or compelled into idolatry in the Assyrian and Babylonish captivities (Jer 44:17-19). Thus, the sin to which they had too often betrayed a perverse fondness, a deep-rooted propensity, became their punishment and their misery.
37. And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee, &c.—The annals of almost every nation, for eighteen hundred years, afford abundant proofs that this has been, as it still is, the case—the very name of Jew being a universally recognized term for extreme degradation and wretchedness.
49. The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far—the invasion of the Romans—"they came from far." The soldiers of the invading army were taken from France, Spain, and Britain—then considered "the end of the earth." Julius Severus, the commander, afterwards Vespasian and Hadrian, left Britain for the scene of contest. Moreover, the ensign on the standards of the Roman army was "an eagle"; and the dialects spoken by the soldiers of the different nations that composed that army were altogether unintelligible to the Jews.
50. A nation of fierce countenance—a just description of the Romans, who were not only bold and unyielding, but ruthless and implacable.
51. he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, &c.—According to the Jewish historian, every district of the country through which they passed was strewn with the wrecks of their devastation.
52. he shall besiege thee … until thy high and fenced walls come down—All the fortified places to which the people betook themselves for safety were burnt or demolished, and the walls of Jerusalem itself razed to the ground.
53-57. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body—(See 2Ki 6:29; La 4:10). Such were the dreadful extremities to which the inhabitants during the siege were reduced that many women sustained a wretched existence by eating the flesh of their own children. Parental affection was extinguished, and the nearest relatives were jealously, avoided, lest they should discover and demand a share of the revolting viands.
62. ye shall be left few in number—There has been, ever since the destruction of Jerusalem, only an inconsiderable remnant of Jews existing in that land—aliens in the land of their fathers; and of all classes of the inhabitants they are the most degraded and miserable beings, dependent for their support on contributions from other lands.
63. ye shall be plucked from off the land—Hadrian issued a proclamation, forbidding any Jews to reside in Judea, or even to approach its confines.
64. the Lord shall scatter thee among all people—There is, perhaps, not a country in the world where Jews are not to be found. Who that looks on this condition of the Hebrews is not filled with awe, when he considers the fulfilment of this prophecy?
68. The Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships—The accomplishment of this prediction took place under Titus, when, according to Josephus, multitudes of Jews were transported in ships to the land of the Nile, and sold as slaves. "Here, then, are instances of prophecies delivered above three thousand years ago; and yet, as we see, being fulfilled in the world at this very time; and what stronger proofs can we desire of the divine legation of Moses? How these instances may affect others I know not; but for myself, I must acknowledge, they not only convince but amaze and astonish me beyond expression; they are truly, as Moses foretold (De 28:45, 46) they would be, 'a sign and a wonder for ever'" [Bishop Newton].