King James Version
Deuteronomy 13
18 verses with commentary
Warnings Against False Prophets and Idolatry
If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,</strong><br><br>This chapter addresses false prophets who perform signs (<em>ot</em>, אוֹת) or wonders (<em>mophet</em>, מוֹפֵת). The Hebrew terms indicate miraculous phenomena—not necessarily tricks but possibly genuine supernatural events. The shocking reality: miracle-working doesn't authenti...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XIII.
(1) **If there arise.**—Three cases of instigation to idolatry are considered in this chapter:—
1. The false prophet (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).
2. A private individual (Deuteronomy 13:6-11).
3. A city (Deuteronomy 13:12-18).
In every case the penalty is the same—death without mercy.
Is this law the production of a later age? It may be said to have been more often broken than observed.
But there a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20-25. when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying--**The directions given for the instruction of their children form only an extension of the preceding counsels.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Enticers to idolatry to be put to death.(1-5)
Relations who entice to idolatry not to be spared.(6-11)
Idolatrous cities not to be spared.(12-18)
**Verses 1-5**
Moses had cautioned against the peril that might arise from the Canaanites. Here he cautions against the rise of idolatry among themselves. It is needful for us to be well acquainted with th...
Read full commentary →And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them.</strong> The Hebrew <em>ot</em> (sign) and <em>mofet</em> (wonder) refer to miraculous attestation—yet Deuteronomy 13:1-5 warns that fulfilled predictions and supernatural signs do not automatically validate a prophet's message. A prophe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20-25. when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying--**The directions given for the instruction of their children form only an extension of the preceding counsels.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Enticers to idolatry to be put to death.(1-5)
Relations who entice to idolatry not to be spared.(6-11)
Idolatrous cities not to be spared.(12-18)
**Verses 1-5**
Moses had cautioned against the peril that might arise from the Canaanites. Here he cautions against the rise of idolatry among themselves. It is needful for us to be well acquainted with th...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The command after false signs: 'Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.' Despite impressive signs, if the prophet teaches apostasy ('let us go after other gods,' v.2), reject him. The theological explanation: God permits this to test (<e...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20-25. when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying--**The directions given for the instruction of their children form only an extension of the preceding counsels.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Enticers to idolatry to be put to death.(1-5)
Relations who entice to idolatry not to be spared.(6-11)
Idolatrous cities not to be spared.(12-18)
**Verses 1-5**
Moses had cautioned against the peril that might arise from the Canaanites. Here he cautions against the rise of idolatry among themselves. It is needful for us to be well acquainted with th...
Read full commentary →Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The positive command: 'Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.' This fivefold description defines authentic faith: walk after God (follow His ways), fear Him (reverent awe), keep commandments (obey stipulations), obey His voice (responsive hearing), serve Him (devoted worship), cleave to Him (c...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20-25. when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying--**The directions given for the instruction of their children form only an extension of the preceding counsels.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Enticers to idolatry to be put to death.(1-5)
Relations who entice to idolatry not to be spared.(6-11)
Idolatrous cities not to be spared.(12-18)
**Verses 1-5**
Moses had cautioned against the peril that might arise from the Canaanites. Here he cautions against the rise of idolatry among themselves. It is needful for us to be well acquainted with th...
Read full commentary →And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee. to turn: Heb. revolt against the LORD
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The judgment on false prophets: 'And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God...to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in.' Capital punishment for doctrinal heresy seems extreme but reflects false prophecy's gravity. Leading people away from God (<em>sarah</em>, סָרָה, turn as...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20-25. when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying--**The directions given for the instruction of their children form only an extension of the preceding counsels.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Enticers to idolatry to be put to death.(1-5)
Relations who entice to idolatry not to be spared.(6-11)
Idolatrous cities not to be spared.(12-18)
**Verses 1-5**
Moses had cautioned against the peril that might arise from the Canaanites. Here he cautions against the rise of idolatry among themselves. It is needful for us to be well acquainted with th...
Read full commentary →If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Family enticement: 'If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods.' The intensely personal relationships—brother, son, daughter, beloved wife, close friend—make this test most difficult. The Hebrew <em>sut</em> (סוּת, entice/incite) indicates activ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **If thy brother.**—The substance of this law is that individual idolaters might be executed in Israel. It justifies Jehu and Jehoiada in destroying Baal out of Israel and Judah (2Kings 10:19-27; 2Kings 11:18). It also accounts for the covenant made in the time of Asa (2Chronicles 15:13), that whosoever would not serve the Lord God of Israel should be *put to death *whether man or woman.
The l...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11**
It is the policy of Satan to try to lead us to evil by those whom we love, whom we least suspect of any ill design, and whom we are desirous to please, and apt to conform to. The enticement here is supposed to come from a brother or child, who are near by nature; from a wife or friend, who are near by choice, and are to us as our souls. But it is our duty to prefer God and reli...
Read full commentary →Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The gods mentioned are 'which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers...of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end.' These are foreign deities—Egyptian, Canaanite, Mesopotamian, or distant. The phrase 'thou hast not known' contrasts with knowing Yahweh through covenant experience. These gods have no saving...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 7 De 7:1-26. All Communion with the Nations Forbidden.
**1. the Hittites--**This people were descended from Heth, the second son of Canaan (Ge 10:15), and occupied the mountainous region about Hebron, in the south of Palestine.
**the Girgashites--**supposed by some to be the same as the Gergesenes (Mt 8:28), who lay to the east of Lake Gennesareth; but they are placed on the west of Jor...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11**
It is the policy of Satan to try to lead us to evil by those whom we love, whom we least suspect of any ill design, and whom we are desirous to please, and apt to conform to. The enticement here is supposed to come from a brother or child, who are near by nature; from a wife or friend, who are near by choice, and are to us as our souls. But it is our duty to prefer God and reli...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The command: 'Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him.' This forbids complicity at every level: don't consent (agree), don't listen (entertain), don't pity (feel sympathy), don't spare (protect from consequences), don't conceal (hide the crime). The comprehensive prohibition prevents emotional...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-6. thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them--**This relentless doom of extermination which God denounced against those tribes of Canaan cannot be reconciled with the attributes of the divine character, except on the assumption that their gross idolatry and enormous wickedness left no reasonable hope of their repentance and amendment. If they were t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11**
It is the policy of Satan to try to lead us to evil by those whom we love, whom we least suspect of any ill design, and whom we are desirous to please, and apt to conform to. The enticement here is supposed to come from a brother or child, who are near by nature; from a wife or friend, who are near by choice, and are to us as our souls. But it is our duty to prefer God and reli...
Read full commentary →But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The judgment: 'But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.' The Hebrew doubling <em>harog taharog</em> (הָרֹג תַּהֲרֹגֶנּוּ, 'kill, you shall kill') emphasizes certainty. Shockingly, the family member discovering apostasy must initiate execution—'thine hand shall be first.' This prevents false accusations (you w...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death.**—A law tending to prevent false accusation. Where the witness is obliged to carry out himself, or to aid in carrying out, the sentence he demands, secret accusation is impossible; and it is far less easy to pervert the law in order to prosecute a private quarrel.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-6. thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them--**This relentless doom of extermination which God denounced against those tribes of Canaan cannot be reconciled with the attributes of the divine character, except on the assumption that their gross idolatry and enormous wickedness left no reasonable hope of their repentance and amendment. If they were t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11**
It is the policy of Satan to try to lead us to evil by those whom we love, whom we least suspect of any ill design, and whom we are desirous to please, and apt to conform to. The enticement here is supposed to come from a brother or child, who are near by nature; from a wife or friend, who are near by choice, and are to us as our souls. But it is our duty to prefer God and reli...
Read full commentary →And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. bondage: Heb. bondmen
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The execution method: 'And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.' Stoning was community execution, requiring multiple participants. The crime: 'sought to thrust thee away' (<em>nadach</em>, נָדַח, drive away, seduce) from Yahweh. This active seduction, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-6. thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them--**This relentless doom of extermination which God denounced against those tribes of Canaan cannot be reconciled with the attributes of the divine character, except on the assumption that their gross idolatry and enormous wickedness left no reasonable hope of their repentance and amendment. If they were t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11**
It is the policy of Satan to try to lead us to evil by those whom we love, whom we least suspect of any ill design, and whom we are desirous to please, and apt to conform to. The enticement here is supposed to come from a brother or child, who are near by nature; from a wife or friend, who are near by choice, and are to us as our souls. But it is our duty to prefer God and reli...
Read full commentary →And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The purpose: 'And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.' Public execution serves deterrent function—'all Israel shall hear' disseminates warning; 'fear' (<em>yare</em>, יָרֵא, reverence/dread) creates healthy dread of covenant violation; 'shall do no more any such wickedness' prevents repetition. Capital punishment isn't merely retributive ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-6. thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them--**This relentless doom of extermination which God denounced against those tribes of Canaan cannot be reconciled with the attributes of the divine character, except on the assumption that their gross idolatry and enormous wickedness left no reasonable hope of their repentance and amendment. If they were t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11**
It is the policy of Satan to try to lead us to evil by those whom we love, whom we least suspect of any ill design, and whom we are desirous to please, and apt to conform to. The enticement here is supposed to come from a brother or child, who are near by nature; from a wife or friend, who are near by choice, and are to us as our souls. But it is our duty to prefer God and reli...
Read full commentary →If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
City-wide apostasy: 'If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying.' This introduces worst-case scenario—not individual apostasy but civic rebellion. The phrase 'one of thy cities' indicates Israelite city, part of covenant community, now corrupted. The rumor ('thou shalt hear say') requires investigation before action (v.14). This secti...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities.**—The only case of this kind is the case of Gibeah. We may fairly assume the abominations done there to have been connected with idolatry, from the allusions in Hosea 9:9; Hosea 10:9. But the outrage rather than the idolatry seems to have excited the indignation of Israel (see Judges 20, 21). It is noticeable that in the remonstrance with the Ben...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-6. thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them--**This relentless doom of extermination which God denounced against those tribes of Canaan cannot be reconciled with the attributes of the divine character, except on the assumption that their gross idolatry and enormous wickedness left no reasonable hope of their repentance and amendment. If they were t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-18**
Here is the case of a city revolting from the God of Israel, and serving other gods. The crime is supposed to be committed by one of the cities of Israel. Even when they were ordered to preserve their religion by force, yet they were not allowed to bring others to it by fire and sword. Spiritual judgments under the Christian dispensation are more terrible than the execution of...
Read full commentary →Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; the children: or, naughty men
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The corruptors: 'Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known.' The phrase 'children of Belial' (בְּנֵי בְלִיַּעַל, <em>bene beliya'al</em>) means 'worthless, wicked people'—later personified as Satan (2 Corinthians 6:15, 'Belial'). These are insiders ('gone out fr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Children of Belial.**—The very same expression is used in Judges 20:13 : “Deliver us the men, the children of Belial, that are among you.” This is the first place where the expression “sons of Belial” occurs, and Judges 19:22 is the second. It is generally explained by modern scholars as “worthlessness.” Rashi curiously makes it “destroyers of the yoke” (of Jehovah).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-6. thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them--**This relentless doom of extermination which God denounced against those tribes of Canaan cannot be reconciled with the attributes of the divine character, except on the assumption that their gross idolatry and enormous wickedness left no reasonable hope of their repentance and amendment. If they were t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-18**
Here is the case of a city revolting from the God of Israel, and serving other gods. The crime is supposed to be committed by one of the cities of Israel. Even when they were ordered to preserve their religion by force, yet they were not allowed to bring others to it by fire and sword. Spiritual judgments under the Christian dispensation are more terrible than the execution of...
Read full commentary →Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you;
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The investigation: 'Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you.' The threefold command—'enquire' (<em>darash</em>, דָּרַשׁ, investigate), 'make search' (<em>chaqar</em>, חָקַר, examine), 'ask diligently' (<em>sha'al heytev</em>, שָׁאַל הֵיטֵב, inquire carefully)—demands thorough invest...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-6. thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them--**This relentless doom of extermination which God denounced against those tribes of Canaan cannot be reconciled with the attributes of the divine character, except on the assumption that their gross idolatry and enormous wickedness left no reasonable hope of their repentance and amendment. If they were t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-18**
Here is the case of a city revolting from the God of Israel, and serving other gods. The crime is supposed to be committed by one of the cities of Israel. Even when they were ordered to preserve their religion by force, yet they were not allowed to bring others to it by fire and sword. Spiritual judgments under the Christian dispensation are more terrible than the execution of...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The judgment: 'Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.' This is <em>cherem</em> (חֵרֶם, devoted to destruction)—complete annihilation reserved for Canaanite cities. The phrase 'destroying it utterly' (הַחֲרֵם תַּחֲרִים, <em>hacharem tacharim</em>, intensive a...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **And the cattle thereof.**—So in Judges 20:48 : “The men of every city, the *beast, *and all that were found.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-6. thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them--**This relentless doom of extermination which God denounced against those tribes of Canaan cannot be reconciled with the attributes of the divine character, except on the assumption that their gross idolatry and enormous wickedness left no reasonable hope of their repentance and amendment. If they were t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-18**
Here is the case of a city revolting from the God of Israel, and serving other gods. The crime is supposed to be committed by one of the cities of Israel. Even when they were ordered to preserve their religion by force, yet they were not allowed to bring others to it by fire and sword. Spiritual judgments under the Christian dispensation are more terrible than the execution of...
Read full commentary →And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The disposal: 'And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.' Everything must be burned—no plunder retained. The phrase 'every whit' (כָּלִיל, <em>kalil</em>, completely, totally) emphasizes totality. This is...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **And shalt burn with fire the city.**—So Gibeah was treated (Judges xx 40).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-6. thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them--**This relentless doom of extermination which God denounced against those tribes of Canaan cannot be reconciled with the attributes of the divine character, except on the assumption that their gross idolatry and enormous wickedness left no reasonable hope of their repentance and amendment. If they were t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-18**
Here is the case of a city revolting from the God of Israel, and serving other gods. The crime is supposed to be committed by one of the cities of Israel. Even when they were ordered to preserve their religion by force, yet they were not allowed to bring others to it by fire and sword. Spiritual judgments under the Christian dispensation are more terrible than the execution of...
Read full commentary →And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers; cursed: or, devoted
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The prohibition: 'And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers.' The 'cursed thing' (<em>cherem</em>, חֵרֶם, devoted to destruction) must not 'cleave' (<em>dabaq</em>, דָּבַק, cling) to anyone—complete separation requi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) We seem to hear an echo of this verse in the close of the story of Achan (Joshua 7:26): “And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones, and they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So *the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger”*
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Use...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11-26. Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day--**In the covenant into which God entered with Israel, He promised to bestow upon them a variety of blessings so long as they continued obedient to Him as their heavenly King. He pledged His veracity that His infinite perfections would be exerted for this purpose, as well as for ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-18**
Here is the case of a city revolting from the God of Israel, and serving other gods. The crime is supposed to be committed by one of the cities of Israel. Even when they were ordered to preserve their religion by force, yet they were not allowed to bring others to it by fire and sword. Spiritual judgments under the Christian dispensation are more terrible than the execution of...
Read full commentary →When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The condition: 'When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.' Covenant blessing depends on covenant obedience—'hearken' (<em>shama</em>, שָׁמַע, hear/obey) and 'keep' (<em>shamar</em>, שָׁמַר, guard/observe) all commands. The standard: 'right in the eyes of the LORD'—...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11-26. Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day--**In the covenant into which God entered with Israel, He promised to bestow upon them a variety of blessings so long as they continued obedient to Him as their heavenly King. He pledged His veracity that His infinite perfections would be exerted for this purpose, as well as for ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-18**
Here is the case of a city revolting from the God of Israel, and serving other gods. The crime is supposed to be committed by one of the cities of Israel. Even when they were ordered to preserve their religion by force, yet they were not allowed to bring others to it by fire and sword. Spiritual judgments under the Christian dispensation are more terrible than the execution of...
Read full commentary →