3 Blessed H1288 shalt thou be in the city, H5892 and blessed H1288 shalt thou be in the field. H7704
And there he maketh the hungry H7457 to dwell, H3427 that they may prepare H3559 a city H5892 for habitation; H4186 And sow H2232 the fields, H7704 and plant H5193 vineyards, H3754 which may yield H6213 fruits H6529 of increase. H8393
That our sons H1121 may be as plants H5195 grown up H1431 in their youth; H5271 that our daughters H1323 may be as corner stones, H2106 polished H2404 after the similitude H8403 of a palace: H1964 That our garners H4200 may be full, H4392 affording H6329 all manner of store: H2177 H2177 that our sheep H6629 may bring forth thousands H503 and ten thousands H7231 in our streets: H2351 That our oxen H441 may be strong to labour; H5445 that there be no breaking in, H6556 nor going out; H3318 that there be no complaining H6682 in our streets. H7339 Happy H835 is that people, H5971 that is in such a case: H3602 yea, happy H835 is that people, H5971 whose God H430 is the LORD. H3068
And they shall build H1129 houses, H1004 and inhabit H3427 them; and they shall plant H5193 vineyards, H3754 and eat H398 the fruit H6529 of them. They shall not build, H1129 and another H312 inhabit; H3427 they shall not plant, H5193 and another H312 eat: H398 for as the days H3117 of a tree H6086 are the days H3117 of my people, H5971 and mine elect H972 shall long enjoy H1086 the work H4639 of their hands. H3027 They shall not labour H3021 in vain, H7385 nor bring forth H3205 for trouble; H928 for they are the seed H2233 of the blessed H1288 of the LORD, H3068 and their offspring H6631 with them.
Behold, the days H3117 come, H935 saith H5002 the LORD, H3068 that the plowman H2790 shall overtake H5066 the reaper, H7114 and the treader H1869 of grapes H6025 him that soweth H4900 seed; H2233 and the mountains H2022 shall drop H5197 sweet wine, H6071 and all the hills H1389 shall melt. H4127 And I will bring again H7725 the captivity H7622 of my people H5971 of Israel, H3478 and they shall build H1129 the waste H8074 cities, H5892 and inhabit H3427 them; and they shall plant H5193 vineyards, H3754 and drink H8354 the wine H3196 thereof; they shall also make H6213 gardens, H1593 and eat H398 the fruit H6529 of them.
Thus saith H559 the LORD; H3068 I am returned H7725 unto Zion, H6726 and will dwell H7931 in the midst H8432 of Jerusalem: H3389 and Jerusalem H3389 shall be called H7121 a city H5892 of truth; H571 and the mountain H2022 of the LORD H3068 of hosts H6635 the holy H6944 mountain. H2022 Thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts; H6635 There shall yet old men H2205 and old women H2205 dwell H3427 in the streets H7339 of Jerusalem, H3389 and every man H376 with his staff H4938 in his hand H3027 for very H7230 age. H3117 And the streets H7339 of the city H5892 shall be full H4390 of boys H3206 and girls H3207 playing H7832 in the streets H7339 thereof.
[[A Song H7892 of degrees.]] H4609 Blessed H835 is every one that feareth H3373 the LORD; H3068 that walketh H1980 in his ways. H1870 For thou shalt eat H398 the labour H3018 of thine hands: H3709 happy H835 shalt thou be, and it shall be well H2896 with thee. Thy wife H802 shall be as a fruitful H6509 vine H1612 by the sides H3411 of thine house: H1004 thy children H1121 like olive H2132 plants H8363 round about H5439 thy table. H7979 Behold, that thus shall the man H1397 be blessed H1288 that feareth H3373 the LORD. H3068 The LORD H3068 shall bless H1288 thee out of Zion: H6726 and thou shalt see H7200 the good H2898 of Jerusalem H3389 all the days H3117 of thy life. H2416
Bring H935 ye all the tithes H4643 into the storehouse, H214 that there may be meat H2964 in mine house, H1004 and prove H974 me now herewith, H2063 saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 if I will not open H6605 you the windows H699 of heaven, H8064 and pour you out H7324 a blessing, H1293 that there shall not be room enough H1767 to receive it. And I will rebuke H1605 the devourer H398 for your sakes, and he shall not destroy H7843 the fruits H6529 of your ground; H127 neither shall your vine H1612 cast her fruit H7921 before the time in the field, H7704 saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts. H6635
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].