Deuteronomy 28

AND it shall come to pass, If thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe, and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high (i. e.) Advance and honour thee with divers priviledges and blessings, as it here follows., above all nations of the earth.

And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee Those blessings which others greedily follow after and ofttimes never overtake, they shall follow after thee and shall be th... own into thy lap by my special kindness., if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.

Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattel, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

Blessed shall be thy basket, and thy store (i. e.) It shall always be well replenished, and the provision thou hast there shall be preserved for and in due time brought forth to thy use and service. See Deut. 26. 2, 10..

Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in (i. e.) In all thy affairs and administrations, which are oft expressed by this phrase, as Numb. 27. 17. Deut. 31. 2. 2 Sam. 3. 25. 2 Chron. 1. 10. Act. 1. 21. and 9. 28., and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out (i. e.) In all thy affairs and administrations, which are oft expressed by this phrase, as Numb. 27. 17. Deut. 31. 2. 2 Sam. 3. 25. 2 Chron. 1. 10. Act. 1. 21. and 9. 28..

The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee, to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven wayes (i. e.) Many ways, as is usual when an army is totally overthrown and dissipated..

The LORD shall command (i. e.) Shall by his soveraign and powerful providence give it, even when it seems furthest from thee and not likely to come to thee without a word of command from God himself.. the blessing upon thee in thy store-houses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto, and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself (i. e.) Shall confirm and establish his covenant with thee by which he separated thee to himself as an holy, and peculiar people, and shall publickly own thee for such, as it follows, ver. 10., as he has sworn unto thee: if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his wayes.

And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the Name of the LORD (i. e.) That you are in deed and truth his people and children: See Deut. 14. 1. and 26. 18. For to be called oft-times signifies to be, as Isa. 47. 1, 5. and 56. 7. Mat. 5. 9, 19. and 21. 13., and they shall be afraid of thee.

And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattel, and in the fruit of thy ground The same things which were said before are repeated to show that God would repeat and multiply his blessings upon them., in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to give thee.

The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure To wit, the heaven or the air, as it here follows, which is Gods storehouse, where he treasures up rain or wind or other things for mans use. See Iob 38. 22. Psal. 33. 7., the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.

And the LORD shall make thee the head The chief of all people in power, or at least in dignity and priviledges, so that even they that are not under thine authority shall reverence thy greatness and excellency. So it was in Davids and Solomons time, and so it should have been much oftner and much more, if they had performed the conditions here required. For the phrase see Isa. 9. 13, 14. and 19. 15., and not the tail, and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath: if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee So as thou shalt not be able to escape them, as thou shalt vainly hope and endeavour to do..

Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.

Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.

Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke To wit, from God not so much in words as by his actions, by cross providences, by sharp and sore afflictions, which are oft called rebukes, as 2 King. 19. 3. Psal. 18. 15. and 39. 11. and 80. 17. Isa. 51. 20. and 66. 15. Ezek. 5. 15. and 25. 17., in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, untill thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly, because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. n Or, disturbance. This seems chiefly to concern the mind, and its torment arising from the disappointment of hopes and the presages of its approaching miseries.

The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.

The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extream burning and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew Two plagues or evil affections of corn. See 1 King. 8. 37. 2 Chron. 6. 28. Amos 4. 9. Hag. 2. 17.: and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

And the heaven that is over thy head shall be brass (i. e.) Like brass, hard and dry and shut up from giving rain. See Levit. 26. 19., and the earth that is under thee shall be iron Hard and chapt and barren..

The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust Either 1. thy rain shall be as unprofitable to thy ground and seed as if it were only so much dust. Or 2. Instead of rain shall come nothing but dust from heaven, which being raised and carried up by the wind in great abundance does return and fall upon the earth as it were in clouds or showres.: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed To wit, by famine following these great droughts..

The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven wayes before them, and shalt be removed Heb. for a removing, to be tossed like a footbal from place to place and from people to people. into all the kingdoms of the earth.

And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.

The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the Emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.

The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness To wit, of mind, so that they shall not know what to do; see Iob 5. 13, 14. so as they shall commonly choose and follow the worst counsels and courses to their own ruine., and astonishment of heart They shall be filled with wonder and horrour because of the strangeness and soreness of their calamities.:

And thou shalt grope at noon days (i. e.) In the most clear and evident matters thou shalt grosly mistake and miss thy way., as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy wayes Thy counsels and enterprizes shall be frustrated and turn to thy destruction., and thou shalt be only oppressed, and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.

Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her Before thou canst consummate thy marriage, and enjoy her as thy wife. And so in the following branches.: thou shalt build an house, and another shall dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.

Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.

Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people By those who have conquered them and taken them captives, who shall give or sell them to other persons, as the manner was., and thine eyes shall look, and fail Or, be consumed, partly with grief and plentiful tears shed for them; and partly with earnest desire and vain and long expectation of their return. See Psal. 119. 82. with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might (i. e.) No power to rescue them nor money to ransom them. in thine hand.

The fruit of thy land and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not Which shall come from a far country, which thou didst not at all expect or fear, and therefore will be the more dreadful when they come, a nation whose language thou understandest not, and therefore canst not plead with them for mercy, nor expect any savour from them., eat up: and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway Not sometimes conquered, and sometimes conquering, as the course of war commonly is, but in all times and in all thy actions and attempts foiled and worsted..

So that thou shalt be mad, for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.

The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king Either being corrupted by their examples and counsels, or compelled to it by their tyranny. So what formerly was their choice and delight now becomes their plague and misery. And this doubtless was the condition of many Ifraelites under the Assyrian and Babylonish captivities, as we may gather from Ier. 44. 17, 18, 19. and other places, though many of them kept themselves free from that infection. which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, and there shalt thou serve other gods h, wood and stone. f The calamity shall be both universal, which even thy King shall not be able to avoid, much less the subjects who have far less advantage and opportunity for escape; and irrecoverable, because he who should protect or rescue them is lost with them. See Lam. 4. 20.

And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word, among all nations All other nations shall wonder to see such calamities befall such a people, and when they would express any dreadful affliction in a proverbial way, they shall make use of thy example, they shall also sport themselves in thy miseries and say, these are the people of the Lord, the only Saints upon earth, &c. whither the LORD shall lead thee.

Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in: for the locust shall consume it.

Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes: for the worms shall eat them.

Thou shalt have olive-trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thy self with the oil: for thine olive shall cast his fruit.

Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them: for they shall go into captivity.

All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locusts consume.

The stranger that is within thee (i. e.) Within thy gates, who formerly honoured and served thee, and were some of them glad of the crums which fell from thy table., shall get up above thee very high, and thou shalt come down very low.

He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.

Moreover, all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed, because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments, and his statutes which he commanded thee.

And they (i. e.) These curses now mentioned. shall be upon thee for a sign, and for a wonder (i. e.) Signal and wonderful to all that hear of them., and upon thy seed for ever:

Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things Or, in the abundance of all things, for this is opposed to in hunger, in thirst, &c. v. 48. And the Hebrew Mem oft signifies in, as Exod. 25. 18. and Iob 19. 26. Psal. 72. 16.:

Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies, which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things, and he shall put a yoke of iron Which thou canst neither well bear nor break. See Ier. 28. 13, 14. upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.

The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth Heb. as the Eagle flies, (i. e.) not only swiftly, as is expressed in our translation, for which the Babylonian is noted and compared to an Eagle, Ier. 4. 13. Ezek. 17. 3, Dan. 7. 4. but also fiercely and greedily, as the Eagle to its prey, also strongly and irresistibly. Possibly this may be understood of the Romans who did come from far, from the end of the earth, more truely and literally than the Chaldeans, whose Countrey was not far from Iudea, and this may allude to the Eagle, which was in their ensignes., a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand:

A nation of fierce countenance Heb. strong of face or countenance, i. e. bold and impudent, hardy and undaunted, cruel and uncompassionate and inflexible, sparing no Age nor Sex, &c., which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the young:

And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattel, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed, which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.

And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land, and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, throughout all thy land which the LORD thy God has given thee.

And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons, and of thy daughters (which the LORD thy God has given thee) in the siege, and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee.

So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil (i. e.) Unkind, envious, covetous to monopolize these dainty bits to themselves, and grudging that their dearest relations should have any part of them. toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children, which he shall leave:

So that he will not give to any of them, of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he has nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.

The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground, for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evill (i. e.) Unmerciful: she will desire or design their destruction for her food. towards the husband of her bosom, and towards her son, and towards her daughter,

And towards her young one Heb. after-birth: that which was loathsome to behold, will now be pleasant to eat; and together with it she shall eat the child which was wrapt up in it, and may be included in this expression., that commeth out from between her feet, and towards her children which she shall bear Or, which she shall have born, i. e. her more grown children.: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege, and straitness wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.

If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law, that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful Name (i. e.) Thing or Person, to wit, this glorious God. Names are oft put for things, as 1 King. 5. 3. Psal. 20. 1. and 115. 1. Act. 4. 12. Eph. 1. 21. and for persons, as Act 1. 15. Revel. 3. 4., THE LORD THY GOD:

Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.

Moreover, he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of: and they shall cleave unto thee.

Also every sickness, and every plague which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD † bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude: because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.

And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoyced over you to do you good, and to multiply you: so the LORD will rejoyce over you to destroy you His just indignation against you will be so great, that it will be a pleasure to him to take vengeance on you. For though he does not delight in the death of a sinner, in it self, yet he does doubtless delight in the glorifying of his justice upon incorrigible sinners, seeing the exercise of all his attributes must needs please him, else he were not perfectly happy., and to bring you to nought, and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it Which was no ordinary land, but a most pleasant land, a land of promise, a token of Gods favour, and a pledge of their eternal inheritance, which was a great aggravation of their loss of it..

And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth, even to the other end of the earth; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood, and stone.

And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest Ye shall have no settlement in the land whither you are banished, but there you shall be tossed about from place to place, and sold from person to person, or Cain-like, wander about like a Vagabond., but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind.

And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee Either because thou art in the hands of thy enemies that have power, and want not will, to destroy thee or because of the terrors of thy own mind, and the guilt of thy conscience making thee to fear, even where no great cause to fear is., and thou shalt fear day and night: and shalt have none assurance of thy life,

In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even: and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning: for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again Whence he has now so gloriously delivered thee, as repenting of all his kindness to thee, and resolved to undo what he has done for thee. And the remembrance of what they endured in Egypt could not but make the thoughts of returning thither again very terrible to them. with ships Which was literally fulfilled under Titus, when multitudes of them were carryed thither in Ships, and sold there for Slaves, as Iosephus relates. And this expression seems to mind them of that time when they went over the Sea without ships, God miraculously drying up the Sea before them, &c. which now they would have occasion sadly to remember. by the way Or, to the way: the Hebrew B... th here signifying to, as it does Gen. 11. 4. Levit. 16. 22. Psal. 19. 5. and 91. 12. Isa. 9. 8. And the way seems hot to be meant here of the usual road-way from Canaan to Egypt, which was wholly by land, but to be put for the end of the way or journey, even the land of Egypt, for to this, and not to the road-way between Canaan and Egypt, agree the words here following, whereof I spake unto thee, thou shalt see it, (i. e. Egypt) no more again. And so that way is put for to that land in a place parallel to this, where the very same words are used, Deut. 17. 16. to which this place palpably alludes. whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bond-men, and bond-women, and no man shall buy you Either because the number of you captives shall be so great, that the market shall be glutted with you; or because you shall be so loathsome and contemptible that men shall not be willing to have you for slaves. And this was the condition of the Iews after the destruction of Ierusalem, as Iosephus the Iew has left upon record..