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Moses called to all Israel, and said to them: Your eyes have seen all that Yahweh did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land;
the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. But Yahweh has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day.
Deuteronomy 29:2-4 sits inside this longer paragraph.
These are the words of the covenant which Yahweh commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant which he made with them in Horeb. Moses called to all Israel, and said to them: Your eyes have seen all that Yahweh did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land;
the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. But Yahweh has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day. I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not grown old on you, and your sandals have not grown old on your feet. You have not eaten bread, neither have you drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am Yahweh your God. When you came to this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out against us to battle, and we struck them. We took their land, and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of the Manassites. Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do. All of you stand today in the presence of Yahweh your God: your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the foreigners who are in the middle of your camps, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water, that you may enter into the covenant of Yahweh your God, and into his oath, which Yahweh your God makes with you today, that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he spoke to you and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Neither do I make this covenant and this oath with you only, but with those who stand here with us today before Yahweh our God, and also with those who are not here with us today (for you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the middle of the nations through which you passed; and you have seen their abominations and their idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold, which were among them); lest there should be among you man, woman, family, or tribe whose heart turns away today from Yahweh our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there should be among you a root that produces bitter poison; and it happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, “I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart,” to destroy the moist with the dry. Yahweh will not pardon him, but then Yahweh’s anger and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book will fall on him, and Yahweh will blot out his name from under the sky. Yahweh will set him apart for evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the law.
Moses called to all Israel, and said to them: Your eyes have seen all that Yahweh did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land;
the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders.
But Yahweh has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day.
And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;
The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:
Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
(29-1) And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them: Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;
(29-2) the great trials which thine eyes saw, the signs and those great wonders;
(29-3) but the LORD hath not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv3–4 The proofs of my power.
The proofs of my power.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Deu 29:2 And Moses called unto all Israel, and…
Deu 29:2 And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;
Ver. 2. Moses called.] At several times it is like, these things were delivered, and not at once.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v4 This verse comes in by way of correction or…
This verse comes in by way of correction or exception to the foregoing clause in this manner, I said indeed, Ye have seen, &c., Deu 29:2, and thine eyes have seen, &c., but I must recall my words, for in truth you have not seen them; in seeing you have not seen, and perceiving you have not perceived them: you have perceived and seen them with the eyes of your body, but not with your minds and hearts; you have not seen them to any purpose; you have not yet learned rightly to understand the word and works of God, so as to know them for your good, and to make a right use of them, and to comply with them; which he expresseth thus,
the Lord hath not given you, & c., not to excuse their wickedness, but partly to direct them what course to take, and to whom they must have recourse for the amending of their former errors, and for a good understanding and improvement of God’s works; and partly to aggravate their sin, and to intimate that although the hearing ear, and the seeing eye, and the understanding heart, be the workmanship of God, Pro 20:12, and the effects of his special grace, Deu 30:6; Jer 31:33; 32:39, &c., yet their want of this grace was their own fault, and the just punishment of their former sins; their present case being like theirs in Isaiah’s time, who first shut their eyes and ears that they might not see and hear, and would not understand, and then by the tremendous, but righteous judgment of God, had their hearts made fat, and their eyes and ears closed, that they should not be able to see, and hear, and understand, as is manifest from the history of their carriage in the wilderness.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Moses called unto all Israel,.... He had been speaking…
Moses called unto all Israel,.... He had been speaking before to the heads of them, and delivered at different times what is before recorded; but now he summoned the whole body of the people together, a solemn covenant being to be made between God and them; or such things being to be made known unto them as were of universal concernment:
and said unto them; what is in this chapter; which is only a preparation or introduction to what he had to declare unto them in the following:
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ye have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt; the Targum of Jonathan is,"what the Word of the Lord did;''for all the wonderful things there done in Egypt were done by the essential Word of God, Christ, the Son of God; who appeared to Moses in the bush, and sent him to Egypt, and by him and Aaron wrought the miracles there; which many now present had seen, and were then old enough to take notice of, and could remember, though their fathers then in being were now dead:
unto Pharaoh and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; the plagues he inflicted on the person of Pharaoh, and on all his courtiers, and on all the people in Egypt, for they reached the whole land.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v4 Yet the Lord - That is, you have perceived…
Yet the Lord - That is, you have perceived and seen them with the eyes of your body, but not with your minds and hearts; you have not yet learned rightly to understand the word and works of God, so as to know them for your good, and to make a right use of them, and to comply with them: which he expresseth thus, the Lord hath not given you, &c. not to excuse their wickedness, but to direct them to whom they must have recourse for a good understanding of God's works; and to intimate that although the hearing ear, and the seeing eye, be the workmanship of God, yet their want of his grace was their own fault, and the just punishment of their former sins; their present case being like theirs in Isaiah's time, who first shut their own eyes and ears that they might not see and hear, and would not understand, and then by the righteous judgment of God, had their eyes and ears closed that they should not see and hear, and understand. God's readiness to do us good in other things, is a plain evidence, that if we have not grace, that best of gifts, 'tis our own fault and not his: he would have gathered us, and we would not.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v4 Verse 4. The Lord hath not given you a…
Verse 4. The Lord hath not given you a heart, c.] Some critics read this verse interrogatively: And hath not God given you a heart, c.? because they suppose that God could not reprehend them for the non-performance of a duty, when he had neither given them a mind to perceive the obligation of it, nor strength to perform it, had that obligation been known. Though this is strictly just, yet there is no need for the interrogation, as the words only imply that they had not such a heart, &c., not because God had not given them all the means of knowledge, and helps of his grace and Spirit, which were necessary but they had not made a faithful use of their advantages, and therefore they had not that wise, loving, and obedient heart which they otherwise might have had. If they had had such a heart, it would have been God's gift, for he is the author of all good and that they had not such a heart was a proof that they had grieved his Spirit, and abused the grace which he had afforded them to produce that gracious change, the want of which is here deplored. Hence God himself is represented as grieved because they were unchanged and disobedient: "O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children for ever!" See De 5:29, and the note there.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 Deu 29:2. Ye have seen all that the Lord…
Deu 29:2. Ye have seen all that the Lord did — Some of them had seen, when they were young, the plagues which God had brought upon Pharaoh and his people, in order to accomplish their deliverance; and others from them had understood these things, which is often termed seeing, both in the Scriptures and elsewhere.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v4 Ability to understand the things of God is the…
Ability to understand the things of God is the gift of God (compare 1Co 2:13-14); yet man is not guiltless if he lacks that ability. The people had it not because they had not felt their want of it, nor asked for it. Compare 2Co 3:14-15.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv3–4 Seen. Many who were present had seen the plagues…
Seen. Many who were present had seen the plagues of Egypt, and what the Israelites themselves had suffered in the wilderness. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v2 Moses called unto all Israel, . . . Ye…
Moses called unto all Israel, . . . Ye have seen all that the Lord did, &c.--This appeal to the experience of the people, though made generally, was applicable only to that portion of them who had been very young at the period of the Exodus, and who remembered the marvellous transactions that preceded and followed that era. Yet, alas! those wonderful events made no good impression upon them (Deu 29:4). They were strangers to that grace of wisdom which is liberally given to all who ask it; and their insensibility was all the more inexcusable that so many miracles had been performed which might have led to a certain conviction of the presence and the power of God with them. The preservation of their clothes and shoes, the supply of daily food and fresh water--these continued without interruption or diminution during so many years' sojourn in the desert. They were miracles which unmistakably proclaimed the immediate hand of God and were performed for the express purpose of training them to a practical knowledge of, and habitual confidence in, Him. Their experience of this extraordinary goodness and care, together with their remembrance of the brilliant successes by which, with little exertion or loss on their part, God enabled them to acquire the valuable territory on which they stood, is mentioned again to enforce a faithful adherence to the covenant, as the direct and sure means of obtaining its promised blessings.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv2–4 2. Ye have seen — As a people they…
2. Ye have seen — As a people they had seen the wonderful works of God.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–4 2. And Moses called … unto them] Son_5:1. For…
2. And Moses called … unto them] Son_5:1. For the rest cp. Deu_11:2. Ye is emphatic. Heb.: Ye, yourselves, have seen.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 (2) And Moses called all Israel and said unto…
(2) And Moses called all Israel and said unto them.—The address in this chapter may be compared with that of Joshua to the people (as distinct from their heads and officers) in Joshua 24. The topics brought before them are simple. In Deu_29:2-3, the miracles of the Exodus; in Deu_29:5; Deu_29:7, the wilderness journey; in Deu_29:7-8, the conquest of Sihon and Og. All are appealed to, from the captains of the tribes (Deu_29:10), to the little ones (Deu_29:11), and the lowest slaves (Deu_29:11). And the point set before them is one simple thing, to accept Jehovah as their God. All this is very closely reproduced in Joshua 24 (see Notes in that place).
Ye have seen.—The pronoun is emphatic. Yourselves are witnesses. I need not repeat the story. (Comp. Deu_11:2-7.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Moses addresses the nation as such, and reminds them…
Moses addresses the nation as such, and reminds them of their dullness to apprehend the manifestations of God"s grace which had been so abundantly afforded in their past history, in order that he may arouse them to a better state of mind, and stimulate them to hearken to the voice of God in the future.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR. Vers. 2-9. Seeing, yet not seeing.
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The Israelites had seen God"s mighty works (ver. 9), yet God had not given them a heart to perceive, nor eyes to see (ver. 4).
I NATURAL SIGHT WITHOUT SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT. Moses accuses the people of blindness to the facts of their own history. These facts included:
1. God"s mighty works in Egypt; here, as in Deu_4:34 Deu_7:19, classified as temptations, signs, and wonders (vers. 2, 3).
2. God"s guidance of the people in the desert, which also was rife in signs and wonders (vers. 5, 6), and was a course of discipline (temptation, in sense of trial) throughout.
3. The victories over Sihon and Og (vers. 7, 8). No people ever saw so many miracles or passed through so extraordinary a curriculum as Israel did. Yet Moses says they had failed to apprehend the lessons of their history. Seeing, they saw not. (Mat_13:10-16) That generation may not have been so dull as the one which had preceded it, but even it had shown by recent rebellions (Num 20:, Num_20:21) how far it was from having laid earnestly to heart the lessons of God"s dealings with it. A like veil lies on every unspiritual mind. (2Co_3:13-18) The Bible is a book of riddles to it. (Luk_24:25-27, Luk_24:44-46) Christ is known only after the. (2Co_5:16) The lines of a Divine leading in the events of life are not recognized. Warnings are scorned; prosperity is misused; adversity hardens. There is outward experience of facts, but, as in Israel"s case, the Word preached does not profit, not being mixed with faith in them that hear it. (Heb_4:2)
II SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT IS FROM GOD. Yet not arbitrarily given or withheld. It is given to those who feel their need of it, who seek it, and who act in faithfulness to the light already possessed. (Psa_25:9, Psa_25:12, 14 119:18; Mat_13:10-16; Joh_7:17) From none such will God withhold the "heart to perceive, and eyes to see." On the other hand, Divine illumination is indispensable to the knowledge of spiritual truth. (cf. Joh_6:45; 1Co_2:12-16; 2Co_4:6; Eph_1:17) As the poet"s eye is needed for the discernment of the poetic suggestions and analogies of nature, so is the spiritual eye needed to penetrate "the secret of the Lord." The eye in this case, as in the other, "sees only what it brings with it the power of seeing." And to gain this seeing eye, there must, as before remarked, be prayer prayer and obedience. Without these two golden keys, no thought, no labor, no learning, no cleverness, will enable us to force the gates of the inner sanctuary of truth. God"s world, God"s Word, God"s providence, will be alike mysterious; if spiritual instruction is offered, the reply will be "Doth he not speak parables?". J.O. (Eze_20:49)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v4 The Lord hath not given you an heart to…
Deu_29:4
The Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive.
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Men without heart, sight, or hearing
Feeling, sight, hearing! What wonderful things these are! If we could exist without them, what a wretched condition ours would be! The outer world would be unknown to us if the gates of the senses were shut, and the soul would be famished, like Samaria when it was straitly shut up, and there was no going in nor coming out. When any one of the senses is gone it involves great deprivation, and subjects the person enduring it to the pity of his fellows, but if all were absent what wretchedness must ensue! Transfer your thoughts now from these external senses by which we become conscious of the external world to those spiritual senses by which we perceive the spiritual world, the kingdom of heaven, the Lord of that kingdom, and all the powers of the world to come. There is a heart which should be tender, by which we perceive the presence of God and feel His operations, and even behold the Lord Himself, as it is written, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. There is a spiritual eye by which the things invisible are discerned; blessed are they to whom the Lord has given to see the things of His kingdom, which to the unrenewed remain hidden in parables. There is a spiritual ear by which we hear the gentle whispers of the Spirit, which frequently come to us internally, without the medium of sounds that can affect the ear. Blessed are those who have the ear which the Lord has purged, and cleansed, and opened, so that it listens to the Divine call But there is no blessedness in the case of men devoid of spiritual feeling, sight, and hearing. Theirs is a miserable plight.
I. We shall think upon a mournful fact. Here was a whole nation, with but very few exceptions, of whom their leader, who knew and loved them best, was obliged to say, The Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive, unto this day.
1. The mournful part of it was, that this was the nation that had been specially favoured of God above all others.
2. Note again, that not only were they a highly favoured people, but they had seen very wonderful acts performed by the Lord Himself.
3. In addition to this, these people had passed through a very remarkable experience.
4. In addition to all this sight and experience, the Israelites had received remarkable instruction.
5. One thing else is worth notice, that these people had been associated with remarkable characters. They were not all blinded, there were a few among them who were gracious, and so were made to perceive. Caleb and Joshua were there, and Aaron and Miriam; but chiefly there was Moses, grandest of men, true father of the nation
II. Let us note the mournful reasons for all this.
1. The reasons for their incapacity to see and perceive lay, first, in the tact that these people never believed in their own blindness. They had no heart to perceive, and they did not perceive their absence of perception; they had no eyes wherewith to detect their own dimness of vision. They were such fools as to dote on their own wisdom, so poor as to think themselves rich, so hypocritical as to profess to be sincere. Pride is the great creator of darkness; like Nahash, the Ammonite, it puts out the right eye. Men seek not the light, because they boast that they are the children of the day and need no light from above.
2. More than this, these men never asked for a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear. No man hath ever asked for these things and been refused; no soul has cried in its blindness and darkness, Open Thou mine eyes, but what a gracious answer has always come. It is the prerogative of the Lord Jesus to open the blind eyes; but this He is ever ready to do whenever men call upon His name. Then, moreover, what little light they did have they resisted. When they were forced to see, it was only for a moment that they would be instructed, and then they shut their eyes again.
III. What was the mournful result of these people being so highly favoured, and yet not seeing their God?
1. The result was, first, that they missed a happy portion, I can hardly imagine how happy the children of Israel might have been. They left Egypt with a high hand and an outstretched arm, their ears were hung with jewels, and their purses were filled with riches, while around them manna dropped from heaven, and cool streams flowed at their side. They might have made a quick march to the promised land, and at once entered their rest, for their God who had sent the hornet before them would soon have driven out their adversaries. They would have known no invading enemy, and felt neither blast, nor blight, nor mildew; in fact, they would have been the happiest nation under heaven: He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee. They flung all this on one side: they would not have God, and so they could not have prosperity. They walked contrary to Him, and He walked contrary to them; they would not obey Him, and therefore His anger smoked against them.
2. Think, moreover, what a glorious destiny they threw aside. Had they been equal to the occasion, by Gods grace they might have been a nation of kings and priests, they might have been the Lords missionaries to all lands, the light-bearers to all peoples.
3. Another result was that while they missed so high a position, they went on sinning. As they did not learn the lesson God was teaching them, namely, that He was God, and that to serve Him was their joy and their prosperity, they went from one evil to another, provoking the Lord to jealousy.
4. Hence they frequently suffered. A plague broke out at one time, and a burning at another; at one time they were visited with fever, and anon the earth opened beneath them; one day the Amalekites smote them, another day fiery serpents leaped up from the sand, and they died by thousands, being poisoned by their bites. They suffered much and often, and in all their trials they did but reap what they had sown.
5. At last this evil ended terribly. The Lord lifted His hand to heaven, and swore that the rebellious generation should not enter into His rest, and they began to die by wholesale till Moses cried, We are consumed by Thine anger, and by Thy wrath are we troubled. Not one of the men that came out of Egypt, save only Joshua and Caleb, reached the promised land. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
A perceiving heart the gift of God
To complete the sense of the words, we must have recourse to the two precedent verses; which, being compared to the text, present us with a description of such a brutish temper as is not to be found in any people mentioned throughout the whole Book of God, or any history whatsoever.
I. What is meant by Gods giving to the soul a perceiving heart? We have grace here set out by such acts as are properly acts of knowledge; as understanding, seeing, hearing; not because, as some imagine, grace is placed only in the understanding, which, being informed with such a principle, is able to govern, and practically to determine the will, without the help of any new principle infused into that. For grace is a habit equally placed in both these faculties, but it is expressed by the acts of the understanding:--
1. Because the understanding has the precedency and first stroke in holy actions, as well as in others; it is the head and fountain from whence they derive their goodness, the leading faculty: and therefore the works of all the rest may, by way of eminence, be ascribed to this, as the conquest of an army is ascribed to the leader only, or general.
2. Because the means of grace are chiefly and most frequently expressed by the word truth; 1Ti_1:15, This is a faithful (or a true) saying, that Christ came into the world to save sinners. And in Joh_3:33, He that believeth hath set to his seal that God is true. And in Joh_17:17, Thy Word is truth. From hence, therefore, I collect--
(1) That to understand and receive the Word, according to the letter and notion, by a bare assent to the truth of it, is not to have a heart to perceive nor an ear to hear: because it is evident, both from Scripture and ordinary observation, that such a reception of the means of grace is not always attended with these spiritual effects: as, for instance, the Jews heard Christ and admired Him, but afterwards they rejected His doctrine and crucified His person. To hear the Word of God, and to hear God speaking in His Word, are things vastly different.
(2) Therefore, in the second place, to have a perceiving heart and a hearing ear is to have a spiritual light begot in the mind by an immediate overpowering work of the Spirit, whereby alone the soul is enabled to apprehend the things of God spiritually, and to practise them effectually: and without this we may see and see, and never perceive, and hear again and again and never understand.
II. Whence it is that, without this gift of a perceiving heart, the soul cannot make any improvement of the means of grace. It arises from these two reasons--
1. From its exceeding impotence and inability to apprehend these things.
2. From its contrariety to them. And there are two things in the soul in which this contrariety chiefly consists.
(1) Carnal corruptions.
(2) Carnal wisdom.
III. Although upon Gods denial of a perceiving heart the soul does inevitably remain unprofitable under the means of grace, so as not to hear nor perceive; yet this hardness, or unprofitableness, cannot at all be ascribed to God as the author of it. In order to the clearing of this we know that Gods not giving a heart to perceive may admit of a double acceptation.
1. As it implies only a bare denial of grace.
2. As it does also include a positive act of induration.
IV. How God can justly reprehend men for not hearing nor perceiving, when, upon His denial of a heart, there is a necessity lying upon them to do neither. Now, there can be no just reprehension but for sin, and nothing can be sin but that which is voluntary and free, and how can that be flee for a man to do or not to do which from necessity he cannot do? Application--
1. This doctrine speaks refutation to that opinion that states a sufficiency of grace in the bare proposal of things to be believed and practised, without a new powerful work of the Spirit upon the heart, that may determine and enable it to believe and accept of these things.
2. Is of exhortation; that in the enjoyment of the means of grace we should not terminate in the means, but look up to God, who alone is able to give a heart to improve them. (R. South, D. D.)
Mens blindness in spiritual things
Consider this complaint--
I. As uttered by Moses against the people of his charge. They had seen with their bodily eyes all the wonders that had been wrought for them. They understood not.
1. The true character of that dispensation.
2. The obligations which it entailed upon them.
II. As applicable to ourselves at this day.
1. By the great mass of nominal Christians the nature of the Gospel is very indistinctly seen.
2. The effects of it are very partially experienced. Address--
(1) Those who are altogether blind.
(2) Those who think they see.
(3) Those whose eyes God has opened. (C. Simeon, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v2 You have seen everything that Yahweh did before your…
You have seen everything that Yahweh did before your eyes
Yahweh expected them to remember what Yahweh had done and they had seen it. Here the "eyes" represent the whole person and emphasize what the person has seen. AT: "You have seen all that Yahweh did so that you would see and remember what he did" (See: Synecdoche)
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the great sufferings that your eyes saw
Here "eyes" emphasizes that Yahweh expected them to remember that they had seen it. AT: "you saw for yourselves that the people suffered terribly" (See: Synecdoche)
your eyes
Moses speaks to the Israelites as if they were one man, so the word "your" here is singular. (See: Forms of You)
the signs, and those great wonders
The words "signs" and "wonders" both refer to the plagues that Yahweh had sent upon Egypt. AT: "and all of the powerful things that Yahweh did" (See: Doublet)
Yahweh has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, or ears to hear
The people do have hearts, eyes, and ears. This metonym says that Yahweh has not enabled them to understand from what they saw and heard who Yahweh is, and how and why they should obey him. (See: Metonymy)
given you a heart to know
This is an idiom. AT: "enabled you to understand" (See: Idiom)
translationWords
Moses
call
Israel
Egypt
Pharaoh
servant
suffer
miracle
heart
know
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v2 29:2–30:20 Anticipating his death, Moses composed a farewell address,…
29:2–30:20 Anticipating his death, Moses composed a farewell address, briefly reviewing Israel’s history since the Exodus. He charged the nation to pledge their fidelity to the Lord. This section of Deuteronomy makes it clear that grace is not just a New Testament doctrine: It undergirds every aspect of the Lord’s relationship with Israel.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.