King James Version
Deuteronomy 9
29 verses with commentary
Not Because of Israel's Righteousness
Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven,
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The call 'Hear, O Israel' (<em>Shema Yisrael</em>) demands attention to crucial truth. 'Thou art to pass over Jordan this day' emphasizes immediacy and certainty. The nations are 'greater and mightier than thyself,' with fortified cities 'walled up to heaven' (hyperbolic language emphasizing impossibility from human perspective). This sets up the chapter's theme: victory comes from God's power, no...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
IX.
EXHORTATION TO REMEMBER THE SINS OF THE EXODUS.
(1) **Hear, O Israel.**—A fresh portion of the exhortation begins here. The cause of Israel’s conquest of Canaan is not to be sought in their own merit, but in the choice of Jehovah.
**Thou art to pass.**—Literally, *thou art passing: i.e., *just about to pass.
**Nations greater and mightier than thyself.**—If this is true (and there is no reason...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The Israelites not to think their success came by their own worthiness.(1-6)
Moses reminds the Israelites of their rebellions.(7-29)
**Verses 1-6**
Moses represents the strength of the enemies they were now to encounter. This was to drive them to God, and engage their hope in him. He assures them of victory, by the presence of God with them. He cautions ...
Read full commentary →A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak!
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KJV Study Commentary
The Anakim were legendary giants, creating fear throughout Israel (Numbers 13:33). The rhetorical question 'Who can stand before the children of Anak?' expresses human impossibility. This verse heightens the contrast with verse 3's answer: God goes before as consuming fire. Human obstacles that appear insurmountable are trivial to God. The emphasis on the Anakim's size and reputation ('whom thou k...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Whom thou knowest.**—The pronoun is emphatic. The twelve spies, two of whom were still living, had seen them (Numbers 13:33), and their fame was doubtless notorious. It seems to have been a common saying, possibly among the Anakim themselves, “Who will stand up to the children of Anak?” No one could be found to face them.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The Israelites not to think their success came by their own worthiness.(1-6)
Moses reminds the Israelites of their rebellions.(7-29)
**Verses 1-6**
Moses represents the strength of the enemies they were now to encounter. This was to drive them to God, and engage their hope in him. He assures them of victory, by the presence of God with them. He cautions ...
Read full commentary →Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
The command 'Understand therefore this day' requires mental grasp of theological truth before physical action. The LORD 'goeth over before thee' as 'consuming fire'—imagery combining God's presence (pillar of fire, Exodus 13:21) and judgment (Sodom/Gomorrah, Genesis 19:24). As fire consumes fuel, God will consume Israel's enemies. The promise 'he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down be...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Understand therefore.**—Literally, the connection seems to be this: “The children of Anakim thou knowest—*thou knowest also *(the same word) to-day, that it is Jehovah thy God Himself that passeth over before thee, a consuming fire. He will destroy them, and He will make them to bow down before thee. And thou shalt make a conquest of them, and speedily annihilate them, according as Jehovah h...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The Israelites not to think their success came by their own worthiness.(1-6)
Moses reminds the Israelites of their rebellions.(7-29)
**Verses 1-6**
Moses represents the strength of the enemies they were now to encounter. This was to drive them to God, and engage their hope in him. He assures them of victory, by the presence of God with them. He cautions ...
Read full commentary →Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
Moses warns against self-righteousness: 'Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land.' The temptation to attribute blessing to personal merit is addressed preemptively. Moses insists the conquest occurs 'because of the wickedness of these nations'—God's judgment on Cana...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **But for the wickedness.**—“Say not in thine heart, ‘in my righteousness,’ *when it is *in consequence of their wickedness that Jehovah is dispossessing them from before thee.”
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The Israelites not to think their success came by their own worthiness.(1-6)
Moses reminds the Israelites of their rebellions.(7-29)
**Verses 1-6**
Moses represents the strength of the enemies they were now to encounter. This was to drive them to God, and engage their hope in him. He assures them of victory, by the presence of God with them. He cautions ...
Read full commentary →Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Moses continues: 'Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land.' The doubled negation—'not for thy righteousness... not for uprightness'—emphatically refutes any merit-based claim. Instead, two reasons are given: God's judgment on Canaanite wickedness and God's faithfulness to patriarchal promises. The phrase 'perform the word which the LORD ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Not for thy righteousness . . . dost thou go.**—The pronoun is emphatic. There is no reason why *thou *of all others shouldest be thus honoured.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The Israelites not to think their success came by their own worthiness.(1-6)
Moses reminds the Israelites of their rebellions.(7-29)
**Verses 1-6**
Moses represents the strength of the enemies they were now to encounter. This was to drive them to God, and engage their hope in him. He assures them of victory, by the presence of God with them. He cautions ...
Read full commentary →Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.
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KJV Study Commentary
Moses declares bluntly: 'Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.' The term 'stiffnecked' (Hebrew qesheh-oref, literally 'hard of neck') describes stubborn resistance to guidance, like an ox refusing the yoke. Moses doesn't soften the indictment—Israel is rebellious, stubborn, and undeserving....
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Understand therefore.**—Literally, *and thou knowest. *Three times the formula occurs in these verses. “The children of Anak thou knowest; and thou knowest the Lord thy God; and (thirdly) thou knowest thyself too.”
**A stiffnecked people.**—The metaphor seems to be taken from a camel or other beast of burden, who hardens his neck, and will not bend it for the driver.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon--**The natural and very earnest wish of Moses to be allowed to cross the Jordan was founded on the idea that the divine threatening might be conditional and revertible. "That goodly mountain" is supposed by Jewish writers to have pointed to the hill on which the temple was to be built ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
The Israelites not to think their success came by their own worthiness.(1-6)
Moses reminds the Israelites of their rebellions.(7-29)
**Verses 1-6**
Moses represents the strength of the enemies they were now to encounter. This was to drive them to God, and engage their hope in him. He assures them of victory, by the presence of God with them. He cautions ...
Read full commentary →The Golden Calf Recalled
Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
The double command 'Remember, and forget not' uses emphatic repetition. What must be remembered? 'How thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness.' This is painful memory—recalling sin and rebellion. Why remember it? To prevent pride (v. 4-6) and maintain humility. The phrase 'from the day that thou didst depart out of Egypt' until present shows persistent rebellion throughout the ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Remember, and forget not.**—More abruptly in the original, “Remember—do not forget—how thou hast stirred the indignation of Jehovah.”
**Rebellious.**—Not simply rebels, as Moses called them (in Numbers 20:10) at Meribah, but *provoking rebels—*rebels who rouse the opposition of Him against whom they rebel.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26. speak no more unto me of this matter--**that is, My decree is unalterable.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you.
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KJV Study Commentary
The golden calf incident at Horeb (Sinai) was Israel's paradigmatic rebellion—creating idols while receiving covenant law. The phrase 'ye provoked the LORD to wrath' uses strong language: <em>hikhtastem</em> (provoked to anger). The severity is shown: 'the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you'—complete annihilation was justified. Only Moses' intercession prevented it (vv. 18-20, 25-29). T...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Also.**—*Even in Horeb. *In the very sight of the mountain of the Law, the Law was flagrantly violated.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:
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KJV Study Commentary
Moses' ascent to receive covenant law establishes his mediatorial role. The 'tables of stone... tables of the covenant' emphasize written, permanent revelation. God initiated covenant; Moses mediated it. The forty-day/night fast ('neither did eat bread nor drink water') demonstrates total devotion and supernatural sustenance. This wasn't human endurance but divine enabling. Moses' fast prefigures ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **I neither did eat bread nor drink water.**—This fact is not related in Exodus concerning the *first *forty days which Moses spent in Mount Sinai *“*with his minister Joshua.” It might be supposed or implied, but it is not recorded.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.
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KJV Study Commentary
The tablets 'written with the finger of God' emphasizes divine authorship and authority. This wasn't human wisdom or religious philosophy but direct divine revelation. The phrase 'finger of God' appears only three times in Scripture: here, Exodus 31:18, and Luke 11:20 (Jesus casting out demons 'by the finger of God'). It signifies immediate divine action. The law's content—'according to all the wo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Two tables of stone.**—Of these tables it is said in Exodus 32:16, “the *tables *were the *work *of God, and *the writing was the writing *of God, graven upon the tables.”
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.</strong> The stone tablets represent God's permanent, authoritative revelation of His moral law inscribed by His own finger.<br><br>The number forty signifies testing, preparation, and divine completion throughout Scripture. Moses' forty-day fast on...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves.</strong> God's words reveal both His holiness that cannot tolerate sin and His covenantal grace that distinguishes between the faithful mediator and the unfaithful people.<br><br>The command <em>arise, get thee down quickly</em> indicates ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Arise, get thee down.**—The words recorded here and in Deuteronomy 9:13-14, are given at length in Exodus 32:7, &c. Moses’ intercession at *that time *is recorded also.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 4 De 4:1-13. An Exhortation to Obedience.
1. hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I **teach you--**By statutes were meant all ordinances respecting religion and the rites of divine worship; and by judgments, all enactments relative to civil matters. The two embraced the whole law of God.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →Furthermore the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Furthermore the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people.</strong> God's omniscience penetrates the people's external compliance to reveal their internal rebellion - a stiff neck metaphorically represents stubborn unwillingness to submit to authority.<br><br>The agricultural metaphor derives from ox training - a stiff-necked ox refuses th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you--**by the introduction of any heathen superstition or forms of worship different from those which I have appointed (De 12:32; Nu 15:39; Mt 15:9).
**neither shall ye diminish aught from it--**by the neglect or omission of any of the observances, however trivial or irksome, which I have prescribed. The character and provisions of the ancient ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they.</strong> This shocking statement tests Moses' faith and reveals both God's righteous justice and His providential plan to preserve a remnant through a faithful mediator.<br><br>The phrase <em>Let me alone</em> is remarkable - the sovereign God w...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3-4. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal-peor ... the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you--**It appears that the pestilence and the sword of justice overtook only the guilty in that affair (Nu 25:1-9) while the rest of the people were spared. The allusion to that recent and appalling judgment was seasonably made as a powerful dissuasive against idolatry, and the fac...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.</strong> Moses descends from divine glory into human tragedy, carrying God's perfect law to a people already in violation of it. The burning mountain represents God's consuming holiness pursuing the guilty people.<br><br>The visual contrast is striking - above,...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **So I turned . . .**—This verse nearly repeats Exodus 32:15.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3-4. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal-peor ... the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you--**It appears that the pestilence and the sword of justice overtook only the guilty in that affair (Nu 25:1-9) while the rest of the people were spared. The allusion to that recent and appalling judgment was seasonably made as a powerful dissuasive against idolatry, and the fac...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.</strong> Moses' firsthand witness to Israel's idolatry emphasizes the shocking speed and severity of their apostasy - <em>quickly</em> indicates their impatience could not even wait for Moses' return.<br><br>The phr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Ye had turned aside quickly.**—The words of Jehovah in Deuteronomy 9:16, repeated here, and also recorded in Exodus 32:8. There is nothing so sad in human experience as the rapidity with which good resolutions and impressions fade from the natural heart of man.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-6. this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes--**Moses predicted that the faithful observance of the laws given them would raise their national character for intelligence and wisdom. In point of fact it did do so; for although the heathen world generally ridiculed the Hebrews for what they considered a foolish and absurd exclusiv...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes.</strong> Moses' dramatic shattering of the stone tablets provides prophetic symbolism - Israel has broken the covenant in reality, and Moses demonstrates this physically through breaking the covenant document.<br><br>The act was not emotional rage but prophetic demonstration. The tablets represen...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **I . . . brake them before your eyes.**—This shows that the act was deliberate on Moses’ part. He did not simply drop the tables in his passion before they reached the camp; he deliberately broke the material covenant in the face of the people, who had broken the covenant itself. When we remember the effect of hastily touching *not the tables of the Law themselves, but the mere chest that co...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-6. this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes--**Moses predicted that the faithful observance of the laws given them would raise their national character for intelligence and wisdom. In point of fact it did do so; for although the heathen world generally ridiculed the Hebrews for what they considered a foolish and absurd exclusiv...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.</strong> Moses' extended intercession demonstrates the costly nature of mediation - he fasts forty days and nights, placing his own body between God's wrath and...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **And I fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and forty nights.**—Moses had already interceded for them in Sinai before he came down on the fortieth day (Exodus 32:11-14). He now spent forty days and nights in the work of intercession. We are not to understand that the first forty were so spent. At that time he received the pattern of the tabernacle and the directions for the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7-9. what nation is there so great--**Here he represents their privileges and their duty in such significant and comprehensive terms, as were peculiarly calculated to arrest their attention and engage their interest. The former, their national advantages, are described (De 4:7, 8), and they were twofold: 1. God's readiness to hear and aid them at all times; and 2. the excellence of that religion...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.</strong> Moses' fear was not cowardice but proper recognition of God's holy wrath against sin. The Hebrew words for <em>anger</em> (aph) and <em>hot displeasure</em> (chemah) emphasize the intensity of divine judgment Israel deserved....
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **For I was afraid.**—In Hebrews 12:21, the words “I exceedingly fear” are (in the Greek) identical with these.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7-9. what nation is there so great--**Here he represents their privileges and their duty in such significant and comprehensive terms, as were peculiarly calculated to arrest their attention and engage their interest. The former, their national advantages, are described (De 4:7, 8), and they were twofold: 1. God's readiness to hear and aid them at all times; and 2. the excellence of that religion...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.</strong> Aaron's guilt in the golden calf incident is explicitly acknowledged - despite his priestly calling, he led the people into idolatry by constructing the idol. God's anger against him was justified.<br><br>The phrase <em>very angry...to have destroyed him</em> indicates Aaron st...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **I prayed for Aaron also.**—Jewish commentators ascribe the loss of Aaron’s two sons (Leviticus 10:1-2) partly to God’s anger at this time.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7-9. what nation is there so great--**Here he represents their privileges and their duty in such significant and comprehensive terms, as were peculiarly calculated to arrest their attention and engage their interest. The former, their national advantages, are described (De 4:7, 8), and they were twofold: 1. God's readiness to hear and aid them at all times; and 2. the excellence of that religion...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.</strong> Moses' thorough destruction of the golden calf demonstrates the complete eradication required for idolatry - burning, crushing, grinding to dust, and disper...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **I took your sin . . . and I cast the dust thereof into the brook.**—The stream from the rock in Horeb not only gave Israel drink, but bore away their “sin” upon its waters. “And that Rock was Christ.” This identification of the sin with the material object is in harmony with the Law in Leviticus, where “sin” and “sin-offering”—“trespass” and “trespass offering”—are respectively denoted by a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. the day that thou stoodest before the Lord ... in Horeb--**The delivery of the law from Sinai was an era never to be forgotten in the history of Israel. Some of those whom Moses was addressing had been present, though very young; while the rest were federally represented by their parents, who in their name and for their interest entered into the national covenant.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath.</strong> Moses catalogs Israel's repeated rebellions, demonstrating a pattern of provocation throughout the wilderness journey. Each location name testified to Israel's sin and God's response.<br><br><em>Taberah</em> means 'burning' - there God's fire consumed the outskirts of the camp when people compla...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **At Taberah.**—The first place mentioned after they left Sinai.
**At Massah.**—The last scene described before they reached it. Sinai is made the centre of provocation.
**At Kibroth-hattaavah.**—The first *encampment *named after Sinai. It is not certain that they halted at Taberah. (See Numbers 11)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened unto his voice.</strong> The rebellion at Kadesh-Barnea represents Israel's decisive failure - when commanded to enter the Promised Land, they refused in unbelief. This sin cost an...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Ye rebelled against the commandment.**—Literally, *the mouth of Jehovah.*
**Ye believed him not**—when He encouraged you to go up.
**Nor hearkened to his voice**—when He forbad you. (See on Deuteronomy 1:32; Deuteronomy 1:43.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude--**Although articulate sounds were heard emanating from the mount, no form or representation of the Divine Being who spoke was seen to indicate His nature or properties according to the notions of the heathen.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.</strong> Moses' sweeping indictment summarizes Israel's entire history - continuous rebellion characterized their relationship with God from the beginning. This statement exposes human sinfulness and divine patience.<br><br>The phrase <em>from the day that I knew you</em> covers the period from the exodus through the wi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.**—This is one side of the truth. The other may be found in the words of Balaam, which Jehovah Himself put into his mouth: “He hath not *beheld *iniquity in Jacob, nor *seen *perverseness in Israel” (Numbers 23:21). (See also Deuteronomy 31:16.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →Moses Intercedes for Israel
Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you.</strong> Moses reiterates his extended intercession, emphasizing both its duration and its necessity. The repetition of forty days and nights stresses the costly nature of effective advocacy.<br><br>The phrase <em>as I fell down at the first</em> indica...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Thus I fell down . . .**—Literally, *And I fell down before Jehovah forty days and forty nights, as 1 had fallen down *(originally on the fortieth day) *when the Lord said He would destroy you: i.e., *when He told Moses of the calf.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →I prayed therefore unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I prayed therefore unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.</strong> Moses' prayer appeals to God's character, His past acts, and His covenant promises - employing arguments that demonstrate theological sophistication in intercession.<br><...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **I prayed therefore . . . and said.**—The words that follow are very similar to those which are recorded in Exodus 32:11-13. Moses appears to be alluding to his *first intercession *here, before he descended from Sinai for the first time.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
De 4:14-40. A Particular Dissuasive against Idolatry.
**15. Take ... good heed ... for ye saw no manner of similitude--**The extreme proneness of the Israelites to idolatry, from their position in the midst of surrounding nations already abandoned to its seductions, accounts for their attention being repeatedly drawn to the fact that God did not appear on Sinai in any visible form; and an earnest...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin.</strong> Moses appeals to the patriarchal promises as basis for Israel's preservation. This demonstrates covenant theology - God's promises to the fathers obligate Him to the children regardless of the children's merit.<br><br>The command <em>Remember ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.**—This is found exactly in Exodus 32:13*. *Very few of the words used by Moses in the *second forty days *are found in Exodus. (See Exodus 34:9.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-19. Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image--**The things are here specified of which God prohibited any image or representation to be made for the purposes of worship; and, from the variety of details entered into, an idea may be formed of the extensive prevalence of idolatry in that age. In whatever way idolatry originated, whether from an intention to worship the true God t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.</strong> Moses appeals to God's reputation among the nations - Israel's destruction would cause pagans to blaspheme God's name and question His power and character.<br><br>The a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-19. Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image--**The things are here specified of which God prohibited any image or representation to be made for the purposes of worship; and, from the variety of details entered into, an idea may be formed of the extensive prevalence of idolatry in that age. In whatever way idolatry originated, whether from an intention to worship the true God t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance</strong> (נַחֲלָתְךָ, nachalatekha)—Moses concludes his intercessory prayer by appealing to God's covenant ownership of Israel. The term <em>nachalah</em> (inheritance) emphasizes that Israel belongs to Yahweh by election, not merit—they are His treasured possession (Exodus 19:5). <strong>Thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm</strong> r...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **Thy people . . . which thou broughtest out.**—So Exodus 32:11. It is noticeable that God said to Moses, “*Thy *people which *thou *broughtest out . . . have corrupted themselves” (Exodus 32:7). Moses said, “Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against *thy people which thou hast brought forth?*”
**Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-19. Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image--**The things are here specified of which God prohibited any image or representation to be made for the purposes of worship; and, from the variety of details entered into, an idea may be formed of the extensive prevalence of idolatry in that age. In whatever way idolatry originated, whether from an intention to worship the true God t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-29**
That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that ...
Read full commentary →