16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
17 And then the LORD's wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.
18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:
21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.
22 For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;
23 Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.
24 Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be.
25 There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you.
16 Take heed H8104 to yourselves, that your heart H3824 be not deceived, H6601 and ye turn aside, H5493 and serve H5647 other H312 gods, H430 and worship H7812 them;
17 And then the LORD'S H3068 wrath H639 be kindled H2734 against you, and he shut up H6113 the heaven, H8064 that there be no rain, H4306 and that the land H127 yield H5414 not her fruit; H2981 and lest ye perish H6 quickly H4120 from off the good H2896 land H776 which the LORD H3068 giveth H5414 you.
18 Therefore shall ye lay up H7760 these my words H1697 in your heart H3824 and in your soul, H5315 and bind H7194 them for a sign H226 upon your hand, H3027 that they may be as frontlets H2903 between your eyes. H5869
19 And ye shall teach H3925 them your children, H1121 speaking H1696 of them when thou sittest H3427 in thine house, H1004 and when thou walkest H3212 by the way, H1870 when thou liest H7901 down, and when thou risest up. H6965
20 And thou shalt write H3789 them upon the door posts H4201 of thine house, H1004 and upon thy gates: H8179
21 That your days H3117 may be multiplied, H7235 and the days H3117 of your children, H1121 in the land H127 which the LORD H3068 sware H7650 unto your fathers H1 to give H5414 them, as the days H3117 of heaven H8064 upon the earth. H776
22 For if ye shall diligently H8104 keep H8104 all these commandments H4687 which I command H6680 you, to do H6213 them, to love H157 the LORD H3068 your God, H430 to walk H3212 in all his ways, H1870 and to cleave H1692 unto him;
23 Then will the LORD H3068 drive out H3423 all these nations H1471 from before H6440 you, and ye shall possess H3423 greater H1419 nations H1471 and mightier H6099 than yourselves.
24 Every place H4725 whereon the soles H3709 of your feet H7272 shall tread H1869 shall be yours: from the wilderness H4057 and Lebanon, H3844 from the river, H5104 the river H5104 Euphrates, H6578 even unto the uttermost H314 sea H3220 shall your coast H1366 be.
25 There shall no man H376 be able to stand H3320 before H6440 you: for the LORD H3068 your God H430 shall lay H5414 the fear H6343 of you and the dread H4172 of you upon H6440 all the land H776 that ye shall tread H1869 upon, as he hath said H1696 unto you.
16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
17 and the anger of Jehovah be kindled against you, and he shut up the heavens, so that there shall be no rain, and the land shall not yield its fruit; and ye perish quickly from off the good land which Jehovah giveth you.
18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul; and ye shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.
19 And ye shall teach them your children, talking of them, when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
20 And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates;
21 that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which Jehovah sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens above the earth.
22 For if ye shall diligently keep all this commandment which I command you, to do it, to love Jehovah your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;
23 then will Jehovah drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves.
24 Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the hinder sea shall be your border.
25 There shall no man be able to stand before you: Jehovah your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath spoken unto you.
16 `Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be enticed, and ye have turned aside, and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them,
17 and the anger of Jehovah hath burned against you, and He hath restrained the heavens, and there is no rain, and the ground doth not give her increase, and ye have perished hastily from off the good land which Jehovah is giving to you.
18 `And ye have placed these my words on your heart, and on your soul, and have bound them for a sign on your hand, and they have been for frontlets between your eyes;
19 and ye have taught them to your sons, by speaking of them in thy sitting in thy house, and in thy going in the way, and in thy lying down, and in thy rising up,
20 and hast written them on the side-posts of thy house, and on thy gates,
21 so that your days are multiplied, and the days of your sons, on the ground which Jehovah hath sworn to your fathers to give to them, as the days of the heavens on the earth.
22 `For, if ye diligently keep all this command which I am commanding you -- to do it, to love Jehovah your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave to Him,
23 then hath Jehovah dispossessed all these nations from before you, and ye have possessed nations, greater and mightier than you;
24 every place on which the sole of your foot treadeth is yours; from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Phrat, even unto the farther sea is your border;
25 no man doth station himself in your presence; your dread and your fear doth Jehovah your God put on the face of all the land on which ye tread, as He hath spoken to you.
16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside and serve other gods, and bow down to them,
17 and Jehovah's wrath kindle against you, and he shut up the heavens, that there be no rain, and that the ground yield not its produce, and ye perish quickly from off the good land which Jehovah is giving you.
18 And ye shall lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.
19 And ye shall teach them unto your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou goest on the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up;
20 and write them upon the posts of thy house, and upon thy gates;
21 that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which Jehovah swore unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens [which are] above the earth.
22 For if ye diligently keep all this commandment which I command you [this day] to do it, to love Jehovah your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him,
23 then will Jehovah dispossess all these nations from before you, and ye shall take possession of nations greater and mightier than yourselves.
24 Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours; from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the hinder sea shall your border be.
25 No man shall be able to stand before you: the fear of you and the dread of you will Jehovah your God lay upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you.
16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
17 and the anger of Yahweh be kindled against you, and he shut up the sky, so that there shall be no rain, and the land shall not yield its fruit; and you perish quickly from off the good land which Yahweh gives you.
18 Therefore shall you lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul; and you shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for symbols between your eyes.
19 You shall teach them your children, talking of them, when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.
20 You shall write them on the door-posts of your house, and on your gates;
21 that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens above the earth.
22 For if you shall diligently keep all this commandment which I command you, to do it, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave to him;
23 then will Yahweh drive out all these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves.
24 Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even to the hinder sea shall be your border.
25 There shall no man be able to stand before you: Yahweh your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread on, as he has spoken to you.
16 But take care that your hearts are not turned to false ways so that you become servants and worshippers of other gods;
17 For if you do so, the wrath of the Lord will be burning against you, and the heaven will be shut up so that there is no rain and the land will give no fruit; and in a very little time you will be cut off from the good land which the Lord is giving you.
18 So keep these words deep in your heart and in your soul, and have them fixed on your hand for a sign and marked on your brow;
19 Teaching them to your children, and talking of them when you are at rest in your house or walking by the way, when you go to sleep and when you get up:
20 Writing them on the pillars of your houses and over the doors of your towns:
21 So that your days, and the days of your children, may be long in the land which the Lord by his oath to your fathers said he would give them, like the days of the eternal heavens.
22 For if you take care to keep all the orders which I give you, and to do them; loving the Lord your God and walking in all his ways and being true to him:
23 Then the Lord will send these nations in flight before you, and you will take the lands of nations greater and stronger than yourselves.
24 Every place where you put your foot will be yours: from the waste land and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates as far as the Great Sea, will be the limits of your land.
25 All people will give way before you: for the Lord your God will put the fear of you on all the land through which you go, as he has said.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Deuteronomy 11
Commentary on Deuteronomy 11 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 11
De 11:1-32. An Exhortation to Obedience.
1. Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge—The reason for the frequent repetition of the same or similar counsels is to be traced to the infantine character and state of the church, which required line upon line and precept upon precept. Besides, the Israelites were a headstrong and perverse people, impatient of control, prone to rebellion, and, from their long stay in Egypt, so violently addicted to idolatry, that they ran imminent risk of being seduced by the religion of the country to which they were going, which, in its characteristic features, bore a strong resemblance to that of the country they had left.
2-9. I speak not with your children which have not known … But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the Lord which he did—Moses is here giving a brief summary of the marvels and miracles of awful judgment which God had wrought in effecting their release from the tyranny of Pharaoh, as well as those which had taken place in the wilderness. He knew that he might dwell upon these, for he was addressing many who had been witnesses of those appalling incidents. For it will be remembered that the divine threatening that they should die in the wilderness, and its execution, extended only to males from twenty years and upward, who were able to go forth to war. No males under twenty years of age, no females, and none of the tribe of Levi, were objects of the denunciation (see Nu 14:28-30; 16:49). There might, therefore, have been many thousands of the Israelites at that time of whom Moses could say, "Your eyes have seen all the great acts which He did"; and with regard to those the historic review of Moses was well calculated to stir up their minds to the duty and advantages of obedience.
10-12. For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out—The physical features of Palestine present a striking contrast to those of the land of bondage. A widely extending plain forms the cultivated portion of Egypt, and on the greater part of this low and level country rain never falls. This natural want is supplied by the annual overflow of the Nile, and by artificial means from the same source when the river has receded within its customary channel. Close by the bank the process of irrigation is very simple. The cultivator opens a small sluice on the edge of the square bed in which seed has been sown, making drill after drill; and when a sufficient quantity of water has poured in, he shuts it up with his foot. Where the bank is high, the water is drawn up by hydraulic engines, of which there are three kinds used, of different power, according to the subsidence of the stream. The water is distributed in small channels or earthen conduits, simple in construction, worked by the foot, and formed with a mattock by the gardener who directs their course, and which are banked up or opened, as occasion may require, by pressing in the soil with the foot. Thus was the land watered in which the Israelites had dwelt so long. Such vigilance and laborious industry would not be needed in the promised land. Instead of being visited with moisture only at one brief season and left during the rest of the year under a withering blight, every season it would enjoy the benign influences of a genial climate. The hills would attract the frequent clouds, and in the refreshing showers the blessing of God would especially rest upon the land.
12. A land which the Lord thy God careth for—that is, watering it, as it were, with His own hands, without human aid or mechanical means.
14. the first rain and the latter rain—The early rain commenced in autumn, that is, chiefly during the months of September and October, while the latter rain fell in the spring of the year, that is, during the months of March and April. It is true that occasional showers fell all the winter; but, at the autumnal and vernal seasons, they were more frequent, copious, and important; for the early rain was necessary, after a hot and protracted summer, to prepare the soil for receiving the seed; and the latter rain, which shortly preceded the harvest, was of the greatest use in invigorating the languishing powers of vegetation (Jer 5:24; Joe 2:23; Am 4:7; Jas 5:7).
15-17. I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle—Undoubtedly the special blessing of the former and the latter rain [De 11:14] was one principal cause of the extraordinary fertility of Canaan in ancient times. That blessing was promised to the Israelites as a temporal reward for their fidelity to the national covenant [De 11:13]. It was threatened to be withdrawn on their disobedience or apostasy; and most signally is the execution of that threatening seen in the present sterility of Palestine. MR. LowthIAN, an English farmer, who was struck during his journey from Joppa to Jerusalem by not seeing a blade of grass, where even in the poorest localities of Britain some wild vegetation is found, directed his attention particularly to the subject, and pursued the inquiry during a month's residence in Jerusalem, where he learned that a miserably small quantity of milk is daily sold to the inhabitants at a dear rate, and that chiefly asses' milk. "Most clearly," says he, "did I perceive that the barrenness of large portions of the country was owing to the cessation of the early and latter rain, and that the absence of grass and flowers made it no longer the land (De 11:9) flowing with milk and honey."
18-25. lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them—(See on De 6:1).
24. Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours—not as if the Jews should be lords of the world, but of every place within the promised land. It should be granted to them and possessed by them, on conditions of obedience:
from the wilderness—the Arabah on the south;
Lebanon—the northern limit;
Euphrates—their boundary on the east. Their grant of dominion extended so far, and the right was fulfilled to Solomon.
even unto the uttermost sea—the Mediterranean.
26-32. Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse—(See on De 27:11).