Deuteronomy29
New American Standard
1These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He had made with them at Horeb.
2And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants, and to all his land;
3the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders.
4Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.
5And I have led you in the wilderness for forty years; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot.
6You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or other strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the Lord your God.
7When you reached this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out to meet us for battle, but we defeated them;
8and we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites.
9So you will keep the words of this covenant and do them, in order that you may be successful in everything that you do.
10“You stand today, all of you, before the Lord your God: your heads, your tribes, your elders and your officers, that is, all the men of Israel,
11your little ones, your wives, and the stranger who is within your camps, from the one who gathers your firewood to the one who draws your water,
12so that you may enter into the covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath which the Lord your God is making with you today,
13in order that He may establish you today as His people, and that He may be your God, just as He spoke to you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
14“Now it is not with you alone that I am making this covenant and this oath,
15but both with those who stand here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God, and with those who are not with us here today
16(for you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we passed through the midst of the nations through which you passed;
17moreover, you have seen their abominations and their idols made of wood and stone, silver and gold, which they had with them);
18so that there will not be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; that there will not be among you a root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood.
19And it shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will consider himself fortunate in his heart, saying, ‘I will do well though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order to destroy the watered land along with the dry.’
20The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and His wrath will burn against that person, and every curse that is written in this book will lie upon him, and the Lord will wipe out his name from under heaven.
21Then the Lord will single him out for disaster from all the tribes of Israel, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant which is written in this Book of the Law.
22“Now the future generation, your sons who rise up after you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of that land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it, will say,
23‘All its land is brimstone and salt, burned debris, unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows on it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.’
24All the nations will say, ‘Why has the Lord done all this to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’
25Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.
26And they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they have not known and whom He had not assigned to them.
27Therefore, the anger of the Lord burned against that land, to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book;
28and the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, fury, and in great wrath, and hurled them into another land, as it is this day.’
29“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, so that we may follow all the words of this Law.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Deuteronomy 29.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Moses calls Israel's mercies to remembrance. (1–9). The Divine wrath on those who flatter themselves in their wickedness. (10–21). The ruin of the Jewish nation. (22–28). Secret things belong unto God. (29).
vv1-9
Both former mercies, and fresh mercies, should be thought on by us as motives to obedience. The hearing ear, and seeing eye, and the understanding heart, are the gift of God. All that have them, have them from him. God gives not only food and raiment, but wealth and large possessions, to many to whom he does not give grace. Many enjoy the gifts, who have not hearts to perceive the Giver, nor the true design and use of the gifts. We are bound, in gratitude and interest, as well as in duty and faithfulness, to keep the words of the covenant.
vv10-21
The national covenant made with Israel, not only typified the covenant of grace made with true believers, but also represented the outward dispensation of the gospel. Those who have been enabled to consent to the Lord's new covenant of mercy and grace in Jesus Christ, and to give up themselves to be his people, should embrace every opportunity of renewing their open profession of relation to him, and their obligation to him, as the God of salvation, walking according thereto. The sinner is described as one whose heart turns away from his God; there the mischief begins, in the evil heart of unbelief, which inclines men to depart from the living God to dead idols. Even to this sin men are now tempted, when drawn aside by their own lusts and fancies. Such men are roots that bear gall and wormwood. They are weeds which, if let alone, overspread the whole field. Satan may for a time disguise this bitter morsel, so that thou shalt not have the natural taste of it, but at the last day, if not before, the true taste shall be discerned. Notice the sinner's security in sin. Though he hears the words of the curse, yet even then he thinks himself safe from the wrath of God. There is scarcely a threatening in all the book of God more dreadful than this. Oh that presumptuous sinners would read it, and tremble! for it is a real declaration of the wrath of God, against ungodliness and unrighteousness of man.
vv22-28
Idolatry would be the ruin of their nation. It is no new thing for God to bring desolating judgments on a people near to him in profession. He never does this without good reason. It concerns us to seek for the reason, that we may give glory to God, and take warning to ourselves. Thus the law of Moses leaves sinners under the curse, and rooted out of the Lord's land; but the grace of Christ toward penitent, believing sinners, plants them again in their land; and they shall no more be pulled up, being kept by the power of God.
Key Words
אֵלֶּה: these or those
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
בְּרִית: a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh)
אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
צָוָה: (intensively) to constitute, enjoin
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
כָּרַת: to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication, to destroy or consume; specifically, to covenant (i.e. make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces)
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
Cross References
Deuteronomy 29Paul cites this lack of eyes to see/ears to hear regarding Israel's judicial blindness.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Alludes directly to this verse's warning against a 'root of bitterness' (gall and wormwood) springing up.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Parallel account of the miracle of clothes and shoes not wearing out during the wilderness wanderings.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
St. Paul's doxology on the unsearchable judgments of God mirrors the 'secret things' boundary.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Affirms that the hearing ear and seeing eye are the special workmanship and gift of God.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The historical destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah with brimstone and burning, used as a covenant pattern.
Supported by JFB
Nations asking why the Lord did this to this land, directly echoing the language of verses 23-24.
Supported by JFB
Contrasts the old covenant made at Sinai/Moab with the promised New Covenant.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
The promised remedy where God circumcises the heart to love Him, contrasting with the uncircumcised heart.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The New Covenant promise where God will put His law in their inward parts, giving understanding.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Explains that man does not live by bread alone, but by God's supernatural wilderness provisions.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Describes the wilderness manna as 'corn of heaven' and angels' food, replacing common bread.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The historical account of defeating Sihon and Og and possessing their lands before crossing Jordan.
Supported by JFB
Highlights that the covenant is made with the living generation, not just the deceased ancestors.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Detailed division of the conquered Transjordanian territory to Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh.
Supported by JFB