Deuteronomy 30ASV
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Deuteronomy30

American Standard Version · Public Domain

1And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither Jehovah thy God hath driven thee,

2and shalt return unto Jehovah thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul;

3that then Jehovah thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the peoples, whither Jehovah thy God hath scattered thee.

4If any of thine outcasts be in the uttermost parts of heaven, from thence will Jehovah thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:

5and Jehovah thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

6And Jehovah thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

7And Jehovah thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, that persecuted thee.

8And thou shalt return and obey the voice of Jehovah, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.

9And Jehovah thy God will make thee plenteous in all the work of thy hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, for good: for Jehovah will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers;

10if thou shalt obey the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law; if thou turn unto Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.

11For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not too hard for thee, neither is it far off.

12It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it?

13Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it?

14But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

15See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

16in that I command thee this day to love Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, that thou mayest live and multiply, and that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in the land whither thou goest in to possess it.

17But if thy heart turn away, and thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

18I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish; ye shall not prolong your days in the land, whither thou passest over the Jordan to go in to possess it.

19I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed;

20to love Jehovah thy God, to obey his voice, and to cleave unto him; for he is thy life, and the length of thy days; that thou mayest dwell in the land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Deuteronomy 30.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: Mercies promised to the repentant. (1–10). The commandment manifest. (11–14). Death and life set before them. (15–20).

vv1-10

In this chapter is a plain intimation of the mercy God has in store for Israel in the latter days. This passage refers to the prophetic warnings of the last two chapters, which have been mainly fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and in their dispersion to the present day; and there can be no doubt that the prophetic promise contained in these verses yet remain to come to pass. The Jewish nation shall in some future period, perhaps not very distant, be converted to the faith of Christ; and, many think, again settled in the land of Canaan. The language here used is in a great measure absolute promises; not merely a conditional engagement, but declaring an event assuredly to take place. For the Lord himself here engages to “circumcise their hearts;” and when regenerating grace has removed corrupt nature, and Divine love has supplanted the love of sin, they certainly will reflect, repent, return to God, and obey him; and he will rejoice in doing them good. The change that will be wrought upon them will not be only outward, or consisting in mere opinions; it will reach to their souls. It will produce in them an utter hatred of all sin, and a fervent love to God, as their reconciled God in Christ Jesus; they will love him with all their hearts, and with all their soul. They are very far from this state of mind at present, but so were the murderers of the Lord Jesus, on the day of Pentecost; who yet in one hour were converted unto God. So shall it be in the day of God's power; a nation shall be born in a day; the Lord will hasten it in his time. As a conditional promise this passage belongs to all persons and all people, not to Israel only; it assures us that the greatest sinners, if they repent and are converted, shall have their sins pardoned, and be restored to God's favour.

vv11-14

The law is not too high for thee. It is not only known afar off; it is not confined to men of learning. It is written in thy books, made plain, so that he who runs may read it. It is in thy mouth, in the tongue commonly used by thee, in which thou mayest hear it read, and talk of it among thy children. It is delivered so that it is level to the understanding of the meanest. This is especially true of the gospel of Christ, to which the apostle applies it. But the word is nigh us, and Christ in that word; so that if we believe with the heart, that the promises of the Messiah are fulfilled in our Lord Jesus, and confess them with our mouth, we then have Christ with us.

vv15-20

What could be said more moving, and more likely to make deep and lasting impressions? Every man wishes to obtain life and good, and to escape death and evil; he desires happiness, and dreads misery. So great is the compassion of the Lord, that he has favoured men, by his word, with such a knowledge of good and evil as will make them for ever happy, if it be not their own fault. Let us hear the sum of the whole matter. If they and theirs would love God, and serve him, they should live and be happy. If they or theirs should turn from God, desert his service, and worship other gods, that would certainly be their ruin. There never was, since the fall of man, more than one way to heaven; which is marked out in both Testaments, though not with equal clearness. Moses meant that same way of acceptance, which Paul more plainly described; and Paul's words mean the same obedience, on which Moses more fully treated. In both Testaments the good and right way is brought near, and plainly revealed to us.

Cross References

Deuteronomy 30
v11Romans 10:6allusion

Paul explicitly applies the 'not in heaven' and 'very nigh' language to the Gospel of Christ.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB

v14Romans 10:8-10allusion

Paul quotes this verse directly to describe the word of faith which is in the mouth and heart.

Supported by Matthew Henry, John Calvin, JFB

v3Romans 11:26fulfillment

Connected to the promised future gathering and spiritual restoration of all Israel through the Deliverer.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

The earlier command to circumcise one's own heart is here promised as a sovereign work of God.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v4Nehemiah 1:9allusion

Nehemiah explicitly quotes this promise of gathering those scattered to the uttermost parts of heaven.

Supported by JFB

v6Colossians 2:11typology

Identifies the circumcision of the heart as the spiritual circumcision made without hands by Christ.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v11Isaiah 45:19thematic

Echoes that God has not spoken in secret or obscure enigmas, but clearly and understandably.

Supported by John Calvin

v3John 11:51-52thematic

Christ's work gathers together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v6Jeremiah 31:33thematic

Parallel promise of the New Covenant where God writes His law directly onto human hearts.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v6Ezekiel 36:26thematic

Parallel prophetic promise of spiritual regeneration, replacing a stony heart with a heart of flesh.

Supported by Matthew Henry

Contrasts God's rejoicing over them to destroy them with His renewed rejoicing over them for good.

Supported by Matthew Poole

The foundational presentation of the blessing and the curse that Moses set before the people.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v11 Kings 8:47thematic

Solomon's temple prayer directly anticipates this sequence: sin, exile, calling to mind, and repentance.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v12Romans 10:7allusion

Paul adapts the 'who shall go up' concept to 'who shall descend into the deep'.

Supported by Matthew Henry

Earlier promise that they would find God in exile if they searched with all their heart.

v19Joshua 24:15-22thematic

Joshua practically applies Moses' charge, demanding the people actively choose whom they will serve.