About Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy contains Moses' final addresses to Israel, restating the Law and calling the new generation to covenant faithfulness.

Author: MosesWritten: c. 1406 BCReading time: ~4 minVerses: 29
Covenant RenewalObedienceLove for GodBlessing and CurseRememberChoose

King James Version

Deuteronomy 29

29 verses with commentary

Renewing the Covenant

These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.</strong> This verse introduces covenant renewal - a second covenant <em>beside the covenant...in Horeb</em> (Sinai). This is not replacement but reaffirmation and expansion of the original covenant for the generat...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

XXIX., XXX. THE SECOND COVENANT. (1) **These are the words of the covenant.**—The Hebrew Bibles add this verse to the previous chapter, and begin Deuteronomy 29 at the second verse. But they cannot be right in so doing. For though the pronoun “these” in Hebrew has nothing to determine whether it belongs to what precedes or to what follows, yet the context shows that the covenant is described in De...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**13-30. If a man take a wife, &amp;c.--**The regulations that follow might be imperatively needful in the then situation of the Israelites; and yet, it is not necessary that we should curiously and impertinently inquire into them. So far was it from being unworthy of God to leave such things upon record, that the enactments must heighten our admiration of His wisdom and goodness in the management...
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And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land.</strong> Moses appeals to eyewitness testimony - <em>ye have seen</em> - reminding Israel of God's mighty acts in Egypt. This generation personally witnessed the plagues, the passover, and the exodus, ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(2) **And Moses called all Israel and said unto them.**—The address in this chapter may be compared with that of Joshua to the *people *(as distinct from their heads and officers) in Joshua 24. The topics brought before them are simple. In Deuteronomy 29:2-3, the miracles of the Exodus; in Deuteronomy 29:5; Deuteronomy 29:7, the wilderness journey; in Deuteronomy 29:7-8, the conquest of Sihon and ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**13-30. If a man take a wife, &amp;c.--**The regulations that follow might be imperatively needful in the then situation of the Israelites; and yet, it is not necessary that we should curiously and impertinently inquire into them. So far was it from being unworthy of God to leave such things upon record, that the enactments must heighten our admiration of His wisdom and goodness in the management...
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The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles.</strong> The <em>great temptations</em> (or trials/testings) refer to the plagues - called temptations because they tested both Egypt (forcing recognition of God's power) and Israel (testing their faith and trust). These divine acts functioned as both judgment and demonstration.<br><br>The <em>signs</em>...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**13-30. If a man take a wife, &amp;c.--**The regulations that follow might be imperatively needful in the then situation of the Israelites; and yet, it is not necessary that we should curiously and impertinently inquire into them. So far was it from being unworthy of God to leave such things upon record, that the enactments must heighten our admiration of His wisdom and goodness in the management...
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Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.</strong> Despite witnessing unprecedented miracles, Israel lacked spiritual understanding - they saw physically but not spiritually. This reveals that external evidence alone cannot produce genuine faith; internal illumination is required.<br><br>The threefold description - <em>heart to ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(4) **Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive.**—“To mark the mercies of the Holy One, blessed be He! and to cleave unto Him” (Rashi). And so in Psalm 106:7, “Our fathers understood not Thy wonders in Egypt; *they remembered not the multitude of Thy mercies.” *(See also on Deuteronomy 31:16, &c.)

And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.</strong> God's supernatural preservation during wilderness wandering demonstrated His continual care. Clothes and shoes that did not wear out despite forty years of use showed obvious divine provision transcending natural processes.<br><br>The phrase <em>I...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(5) See on Deuteronomy 8:4.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 23 De 23:1-25. Who May and Who May Not Enter into the Congregation. **1-3. He that is wounded ..., shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord--**"To enter into the congregation of the Lord" means either admission to public honors and offices in the Church and State of Israel, or, in the case of foreigners, incorporation with that nation by marriage. The rule was that strangers and ...
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Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God.</strong> Absence of normal food and drink (bread, wine) emphasized dependence on God's supernatural provision (manna, water from rock). Unusual provision methods taught Israel that God, not agriculture, sustains life.<br><br>The purpose clause <em>that ye might know that I a...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(6) **Ye have not eaten bread**—but manna (Deuteronomy 8:3). **Neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink.**—A fact stated here only, and evidently coming from the lips of one who “knew their walking through the wilderness.” “They drank of that spiritual rock that followed them; and that Rock was Christ.” God cared for their physical health and strength by the natural food which He gave them, and ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 23 De 23:1-25. Who May and Who May Not Enter into the Congregation. **1-3. He that is wounded ..., shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord--**"To enter into the congregation of the Lord" means either admission to public honors and offices in the Church and State of Israel, or, in the case of foreigners, incorporation with that nation by marriage. The rule was that strangers and ...
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And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them.</strong> Victory over Sihon and Og demonstrated God's power in military conquest, preparing Israel psychologically for Canaan conquest. These Transjordan victories proved God could defeat formidable enemies on Israel's behalf.<br><br>The phrase <em>cam...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 23 De 23:1-25. Who May and Who May Not Enter into the Congregation. **1-3. He that is wounded ..., shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord--**"To enter into the congregation of the Lord" means either admission to public honors and offices in the Church and State of Israel, or, in the case of foreigners, incorporation with that nation by marriage. The rule was that strangers and ...
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And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.</strong> The Transjordan conquest resulted in territorial allocation to two and a half tribes. This demonstrated God's faithfulness in beginning to fulfill land promises to Abraham's descendants.<br><br>The phrase <em>we took their land</em> indicates Israel's ...
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Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.</strong> The exhortation <em>keep...the words of this covenant</em> demands careful attention to covenant obligations. Prosperity depends on covenant faithfulness - obedience and blessing are inseparably linked in the Mosaic economy.<br><br>The dual command <em>keep...and do</em> connects knowing...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(9) **Keep therefore the words of this covenant . . . that ye may prosper.**—Comp. Joshua 1:8 (Note); Psalm 1:3.

Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel.</strong> The gathering of <em>all of you before the LORD</em> creates corporate assembly for covenant renewal. Every segment of society from leaders to common people participates, emphasizing comprehensive national commitment.<br><br>The listing o...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(10) **Ye stand this day all of you.**—There is no limit to the blessing of following Jehovah and keeping His word. It is open to all, from the highest to the lowest, to take hold of His covenant.

Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water.</strong> The inclusiveness extends beyond adult males to <em>little ones</em> (children), <em>wives</em>, and even <em>strangers</em> (resident aliens). This demonstrates that covenant community encompasses all who dwell among God's people, not just free adult males....
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(11) **Your little ones.**—Compare St. Peter’s words on the day of Pentecost: “The promise is unto you and to your children” (Acts 2:39). The covenant with Abraham was that the Almighty would be a God to him and *to his seed *(Genesis 17:7), including the child of eight days old (Deuteronomy 29:12), and the slave (Deuteronomy 29:13), who were to receive the sign of His covenant in their flesh for ...
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That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day: enter: Heb. pass

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day.</strong> The purpose <em>that thou shouldest enter into covenant</em> explains why the entire nation assembles. Covenant making requires conscious, willing participation - not forced compliance but voluntary commitment.<br><br>The phrase <em>and into his oath<...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(12) **Enter **(literally “pass “) **into covenant with the Lord.**—Comp. Ezekiel 20:37 : “I will *cause you to pass *under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of *the covenant” *Rashi illustrates by Jeremiah 34:18, the *passing between *the parts of the divided victim, in order to enter into the covenant. (Comp. Genesis 15:17-18.) But no such ceremony is mentioned here, and therefore we c...
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That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.</strong> God's purpose in covenant making is to <em>establish thee...for a people unto himself</em>. The covenant creates special relationship where Israel belongs uniquely to God as His treasu...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(13) **That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself.**—It must be carefully observed that this is the aspect of the covenant which makes Jehovah responsible for the fulfilment of the whole. “He takes all this trouble for the sake of establishing thee in His presence for a people” (Rashi). The people’s part, as described in this verse, is only to accept the position. And thus the cov...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**9-14. When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing--**from the excesses incident to camp life, as well as from habits of personal neglect and impurity.

Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath;

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath.</strong> The covenant extends beyond those physically present - <em>neither with you only</em> indicates additional parties to the covenant. This anticipates verse 15's inclusion of future generations not yet born.<br><br>This demonstrates that covenant relationship involves not just individual decision but corporate identity spa...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(14, 15) **Neither with you only . . . but . . . also with him that is not here with us this day**—*i.e., *“also with generations yet to be” (Rashi).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**9-14. When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing--**from the excesses incident to camp life, as well as from habits of personal neglect and impurity.

But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day.</strong> The covenant binds both present generation (<em>standeth here with us</em>) and future generations (<em>not here with us this day</em>). This creates perpetual covenant obligation across time.<br><br>Future generations who were not present at the covenant ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**9-14. When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing--**from the excesses incident to camp life, as well as from habits of personal neglect and impurity.

(For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>(For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;</strong> Moses reminds Israel of their experience in <em>Egypt</em> and journey <em>through the nations</em>. This historical review grounds covenant commitment in remembrance of God's faithfulness and the pagan alternatives they've witnessed.<br><br>The phrase <em>ye know</em> appe...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(16, 17) These verses seem rightly placed in a parenthesis. (Comp. Ezekiel 20:7-8; Ezekiel 20:18.)

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**9-14. When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing--**from the excesses incident to camp life, as well as from habits of personal neglect and impurity.

And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:) idols: Heb. dungy gods

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them</strong> (וַתִּרְאוּ אֶת־שִׁקּוּצֵיהֶם)—The Hebrew <em>shiqqûṣ</em> ("abominations") denotes detestable things, particularly idols that provoke divine disgust. The term's root suggests filth or dung, expressing God's contempt for false worship.<br><br>Moses catalogs idol materials i...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(17) **Their abominations.**—This word occurs here for the first time, but the verb appears in Deuteronomy 7:26 (“utterly detest “), and in Leviticus 11:11; Leviticus 11:13; Leviticus 11:43; Leviticus 20:25. In the later scriptures of the Old Testament this word “abomination” is frequently used to denote an idol. **Their idols.**—Either “great blocks,” or as in the margin, a term of extreme contem...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**9-14. When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing--**from the excesses incident to camp life, as well as from habits of personal neglect and impurity.

Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; gall: or, a poisonous herb: Heb. rosh

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God</strong> (פֶּן־יֵשׁ בָּכֶם אִישׁ אוֹ־אִשָּׁה)—The comprehensive list—individual (<em>ish</em>, <em>ishah</em>), nuclear family (<em>mishpachah</em>), tribal unit (<em>shevet</em>)—covers every social level. Apostasy can infiltrate anywhere.<br><br><strong>Lest there sh...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(18) **Lest there should be.**—The connection with Deuteronomy 29:15 seems to be this. “I make this covenant binding with all your generations, in case there should even now be any root of idolatry among you which may grow up and bring forth fruit in later times, and bring a curse upon your whole country.” That there were such roots of idolatry is only too plain from Deuteronomy 31:16, and from wh...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**9-14. When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing--**from the excesses incident to camp life, as well as from habits of personal neglect and impurity.

And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: imagination: or, stubbornness drunkenness: Heb. the drunken to the thirsty

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>When he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart</strong> (וְהִתְבָּרֵךְ בִּלְבָבוֹ)—The reflexive verb <em>hitbarekh</em> ("bless himself") describes self-deception, pronouncing personal absolution despite covenant violation. The presumptuous apostate hears the <em>'alah</em> ("curse," o...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(19) **The imagination.**—Rather the “stubbornness” or “obstinacy.” The word is only found here and in Psalm 81:12 outside the writings of Jeremiah, who uses it eight times. **To add drunkenness to thirst**—i.e., the indulgence of the desire to the desire itself; to add sin to temptation. The LXX. have a strange paraphrase, “So that the sinner shall not involve the righteous with him in destructio...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**15-16. Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which has escaped from his master unto thee--**evidently a servant of the Canaanites or some of the neighboring people, who was driven by tyrannical oppression, or induced, with a view of embracing the true religion, to take refuge in Israel.

The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man</strong> (לֹא־יֹאבֶה יְהוָה סְלֹחַ לוֹ)—The emphatic negation <em>lo yoveh YHWH seloach lo</em> ("the LORD will not be willing to forgive him") contradicts the apostate's self-absolution. God's <em>qin'ah</em> ("jealousy," covenant zeal) and <em>af</em> ("anger") will <em>'ashan</em> (...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(20) **Shall smoke.**—Comp. Psalm 80:4; Psalm 74:1. Mount Sinai was altogether “on a smoke” because the Lord descended on it in fire. **Shall lie upon him.**—As the beasts lie down in their lairs. The only other place which we can at all compare with this is the difficult expression in Genesis 4:7, “Sin *lieth *at the door.”

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**15-16. Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which has escaped from his master unto thee--**evidently a servant of the Canaanites or some of the neighboring people, who was driven by tyrannical oppression, or induced, with a view of embracing the true religion, to take refuge in Israel.

And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law: are: Heb. is

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant</strong> (וְהִבְדִּילוֹ יְהוָה לְרָעָה)—The verb <em>hivdil</em> ("separate") typically describes holy separation unto God (Leviticus 20:26, "I have separated you from the peoples"). Here it's perverted—separation <em>le-ra'ah</em> ("unto evil/calamity") rather than unto b...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(21, 22) **And the Lord shall separate him unto evil . . . so that the generation to come . . . shall say . . . of that land.**—It is not a little remarkable that the sin of one man is here represented as growing and spreading devastation over the whole land of Israel—the very thing which the man apparently regards as impossible in his inward reasonings, described in Deuteronomy 29:19. Yet is not ...
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So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it; which: Heb. wherewith the LORD hath made it sick

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land</strong> (וְאָמַר הַדּוֹר הָאַחֲרוֹן)—Moses shifts from individual apostate (vv. 19-21) to corporate national consequences visible to <em>dor acharon</em> ("latter generation") and <em>nokhri</em> ("foreigner" from...
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And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein</strong> (גָּפְרִית וָמֶלַח שְׂרֵפָה כָל־אַרְצָהּ)—The triad <em>gofrit</em> ("brimstone/sulfur"), <em>melach</em> ("salt"), and <em>serefah</em> ("burning") describes complete ecological collapse. Salt symbolizes permanent desolation—Abimelech sowed Shechem ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(23) **And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein.**—Can this be a description of the same country of which it was written in Deuteronomy 8:7-9, “A good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pom...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**19-20. Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother ... Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury--**The Israelites lived in a simple state of society, and hence they were encouraged to lend to each other in a friendly way without any hope of gain. But the case was different with foreigners, who, engaged in trade and commerce, borrowed to enlarge their capital, and might reasonably be expecte...
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Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?</strong> (עַל־מֶה עָשָׂה יְהוָה כָּכָה לָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת)—The rhetorical questions <em>al meh</em> ("on account of what?") and <em>meh chori ha-af ha-gadol ha-zeh</em> ("what is the heat of this great anger?") frame international astonishment. Pagan nations expect gods to ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(24) **All nations shall say, Wherefore . . .?**—The people of Israel are represented as asking a similar question in Jeremiah 5:19, “And it shall come to pass, when *ye shall say, Wherefore *doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? Then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land; so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.” Compa...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**19-20. Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother ... Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury--**The Israelites lived in a simple state of society, and hence they were encouraged to lend to each other in a friendly way without any hope of gain. But the case was different with foreigners, who, engaged in trade and commerce, borrowed to enlarge their capital, and might reasonably be expecte...
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Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt</strong> (עַל אֲשֶׁר עָזְבוּ אֶת־בְּרִית יְהוָה)—The answer to v. 24's question begins with <em>al asher azvu</em> ("because they forsook"). The verb <em>azav</em> means to abandon, leave, forsake—covenant desertion, not m...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**21-22. When thou shalt vow a vow--**(See on Nu 30:2).

For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them: whom he: or, who had not given to them any portion given: Heb. divided

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them</strong> (וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים)—The sequence <em>va-yelkhu va-ya'avdu</em> ("they went and served") indicates deliberate pursuit. <em>Avad</em> ("serve") denotes cultic worship and practical devotion—the verb Israel should reserve for Yahweh alone (Deu...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(26) **Whom he had not given.**—The latter clause *may *be a change from plural to singular. “They went and served other gods, gods whom they knew not, and *none of whom gave *them any portion.”

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**21-22. When thou shalt vow a vow--**(See on Nu 30:2).

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book</strong>—the Hebrew <em>charah 'af YHWH</em> ("the anger of the LORD burned") uses visceral language for God's judicial response to covenant violation. <em>Qelalah</em> ("curses") refers back to the covenant sanctions in Deuteronomy 28:15-68, not arbitrary divine wrath but...
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And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.</strong> This sobering verse warns of covenant judgment—specifically the threat of exile that would befall Israel for persistent disobedience. The Hebrew verb <em>natash</em> (נָתַשׁ, "rooted out") conveys violent uprooting, like a plant torn from...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(28) **And the Lord rooted them out.**—Comp. 1Kings 14:15, “He shall *root up *Israel out of this good land.” The word is not uncommon in Jeremiah.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**24-25. When thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure--**Vineyards, like cornfields mentioned in the next verse [De 23:25], were often unenclosed. In vine-growing countries grapes are amazingly cheap; and we need not wonder, therefore, that all within reach of a person's arm, was free; the quantity plucked was a loss never felt by the p...
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The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

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KJV Study Commentary

Moses declares: 'The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.' This verse establishes epistemological boundaries—some things remain in God's sovereign counsel, unknown to humans. Believers aren't responsible for secret things (God's hidden purposes) but for revealed things ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(29) **The secret things belong unto the Lord our God.**—The immediate connection of these words with the context is not clear. Rashi connects the “secret things” with the “imagination of the evil heart of the secret idolater” of Deuteronomy 29:19. (The “secret faults” of Psalm 19:12 is the same expression.) His note runs thus: “And if thou say, What can we do? wilt Thou punish the many for the de...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**24-25. When thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure--**Vineyards, like cornfields mentioned in the next verse [De 23:25], were often unenclosed. In vine-growing countries grapes are amazingly cheap; and we need not wonder, therefore, that all within reach of a person's arm, was free; the quantity plucked was a loss never felt by the p...
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