Deuteronomy2

English Standard Version

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¹Then we and into the in the of the , as the Lord me. And for we .

²Then the Lord to me,

³You have been long .

⁴and the , You are about to the of your , the of , who in ; and they will be of you. So be .

⁵Do with them, I will you any their , no, not so much for the of the to , I have to as a .

⁶You shall from them with , that you may , and you shall from them with , that you may .

⁷ the Lord your has you in the of your . He your through . the Lord your has been with you. You have .

⁸So we , away our , the of , who in , away the . And we and in the of the of .

⁹And the Lord to me, Do with them in , I will you any their for a , I have to the of for a .

¹⁰( The there, a and , and as the .

¹¹Like the are as , but the them .

¹²The also in , but the of them and them from them and in their , to the of their , the Lord to them.)

¹³Now rise and the . So we went the .

¹⁴And the from our we the was , the , that is, the of , had the , as the Lord had to them.

¹⁵For the of the Lord was against them, to them the , they had .

¹⁶So as soon the of had and were from the ,

¹⁷the Lord to me,

¹⁸ you are to the of at .

¹⁹And when you the of the of , do them with them, I will you any the of the of as a , I have it to the of for a .

²⁰(It is also a of . there—but the them —

²¹a and , and as the ; but the Lord them the Ammonites, and they them and in their ,

²² he for the of , who in , he the them and they them and in their even to .

²³As for the , who in as , the , who , them and in their .)

²⁴Rise , set out on your and the of the . , I have into your the , of , and his . to , and with him in .

²⁵ I will to the and of you the who are the , shall the of you and shall and be in because .

²⁶So I the of to the of , with of , ,

²⁷Let me your . I will by the ; I will to the nor to the .

²⁸You shall me for , that I may , and me for , that I may . let me on ,

²⁹ the of who in and the who in for me, I the into the the Lord our is to us.

³⁰But the of let us him, the Lord your his and his , he might him into your , as he is .

³¹And the Lord to me, , I have to and his to you. to , that you may his .

³²Then us, he and his , to at .

³³And the Lord our him over us, and we him and his and his .

³⁴And we his at that and devoted to , , , and . We .

³⁵ the we took as for ourselves, with the of the we .

³⁶ , is the of the of the , and from the is in the , as , there was a too for us. The Lord our into our .

³⁷ to the of the of you did draw , that is, to the of the and the of the , the Lord our had .

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Deuteronomy 2.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: The Edomites to be spared. (1–7). The Moabites and Ammonites to be spared. (8–23). The Amorites to be destroyed. (24–37).

vv1-7

Only a short account of the long stay of Israel in the wilderness is given. God not only chastised them for their murmuring and unbelief, but prepared them for Canaan; by humbling them for sin, teaching them to mortify their lusts, to follow God, and to comfort themselves in him. Though Israel may be long kept waiting for deliverance and enlargement, it will come at last. Before God brought Israel to destroy their enemies in Canaan, he taught them to forgive their enemies in Edom. They must not, under pretence of God's covenant and conduct, think to seize all they could lay hands on. Dominion is not founded in grace. God's Israel shall be well placed, but must not expect to be placed alone in the midst of the earth. Religion must never be made a cloak for injustice. Scorn to be beholden to Edomites, when thou hast an all-sufficient God to depend upon. Use what thou hast, use it cheerfully. Thou hast experienced the care of the Divine providence, never use any crooked methods for thy supply. All this is equally to be applied to the experience of the believer.

vv8-23

We have the origin of the Moabites, Edomites, and Ammonites. Moses also gives an instance older than any of these; the Caphtorims drove the Avims out of their country. These revolutions show what uncertain things wordly possessions are. It was so of old, and ever will be so. Families decline, and from them estates are transferred to families that increase; so little continuance is there in these things. This is recorded to encourage the children of Israel. If the providence of God has done this for Moabites and Ammonites, much more would his promise do it for Israel, his peculiar people. Cautions are given not to meddle with Moabites and Ammonites. Even wicked men must not be wronged. God gives and preserves outward blessings to wicked men; these are not the best things, he has better in store for his own children.

vv24-37

God tried his people, by forbidding them to meddle with the rich countries of Moab and Ammon. He gives them possession of the country of the Amorites. If we keep from what God forbids, we shall not lose by our obedience. The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof; and he gives it to whom he pleases; but when there is no express direction, none can plead his grant for such proceedings. Though God assured the Israelites that the land should be their own, yet they must contend with the enemy. What God gives we must endeavour to get. What a new world did Israel now come into! Much more joyful will the change be, which holy souls will experience, when they remove out of the wilderness of this world to the better country, that is, the heavenly, to the city that has foundations. Let us, by reflecting upon God's dealings with his people Israel, be led to meditate upon our years spent in vanity, through our transgressions. But happy are those whom Jesus has delivered from the wrath to come. To whom he hath given the earnest of his Spirit in their hearts. Their inheritance cannot be affected by revolutions of kingdoms, or changes in earthly possessions.

Key Words

turnedH6437Hebrew

פָּנָה: to turn; by implication, to face, i.e. appear, look, etc.

journeyedH5265Hebrew

נָסַע: properly, to pull up, especially the tent-pins, i.e. start on ajourney

wildernessH4057Hebrew

מִדְבָּר: a pasture (i.e. open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication, a desert; also speech (including its organs)

directionH1870Hebrew

דֶּרֶךְ: a road (as trodden); figuratively, a course of life or mode of action, often adverb

RedH5488Hebrew

סוּף: a reed, especially the papyrus

SeaH3220Hebrew

יָם: a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of water; specifically (with the article), the Mediterranean Sea; sometimes a large river, or an artifical basin; locally, the west, or (rarely) the south

toldH1696Hebrew

דָבַר: perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue

manyH7227Hebrew

רַב: abundant (in quantity, size, age, number, rank, quality)

daysH3117Hebrew

יוֹם: a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)

traveled aroundH5437Hebrew

סָבַב: to revolve, surround, or border; used in various applications, literally and figuratively

Cross References

Deuteronomy 2

v4Numbers 20:14-21thematic

Details the background embassy of Israel requesting passage through Edom and their initial refusal.

Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB

v9Genesis 19:37thematic

Explains the origin of the Moabites from Lot, whom God protected for Lot's sake.