The generation to come—your children who will rise up after you, and the foreigner who will come from a far land—will say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses with which Yahweh has made it sick, that all of its land is sulfur, salt, and burning, that it is not sown, doesn’t produce, nor does any grass grow in it, like the overthrow of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath. Even all the nations will say, “Why has Yahweh done this to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?”
Then men will say, “Because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they didn’t know and that he had not given to them. Therefore Yahweh’s anger burned against this land, to bring on it all the curses that are written in this book. Yahweh rooted them out of their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and thrust them into another land, as it is today.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv22, 26 God’s plagues upon them that rebel against him, shall…
God’s plagues upon them that rebel against him, shall be so strong, that all ages shall be astonished.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 26, 27, 28 Deu 29:22 So that the generation to come of…
Deu 29:22 So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it;
Ver. 22. When they see the plagues.] A presumptuous offender is a traitor to the state; "and one sinner destroyeth much good." {Ecc 9:18}
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 vv22, 23, 26 The words following, Deu 29:24,25, &c.
The words following, Deu 29:24,25, &c.
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 vv22–28 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone and…
And that the whole land thereof is brimstone and salt,
and burning,.... That is, is become exceeding barren, as all such land is where there are sulphureous mines, or salt pits, or burning mountains; not that this would be, or has been the case of the land of Judea in a strict literal sense; only these are expressions made use of to show the barrenness of it, which is its case at this day, not through the nature of its soil being changed, but through the slothfulness of the inhabitants of it; to which time it better agrees than to the time of its falling into the hands of the Chaldeans, who left men in it for husbandmen and vinedressers. Aben Ezra understands this as a prayer to God, that the land might be burnt up; that is, for the sins of the people:
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that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein; not being sown, it would bear and produce no corn for men; and not being manured, no grass would spring up for the cattle: and so would be
like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Admah and Zeboim; which indeed are, strictly speaking, become a sulphurous and bituminous lake, called the salt sea, and the lake Asphaltites, and where no green grass or corn, or any kind of fruit grow: which the Lord overthrew in his anger and in his wrath the Targum of Jonathan is,"which the Word of the Lord overthrew;''and it was Jehovah, the Word, or Son of God, who rained, from Jehovah the Father, out of heaven, fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, and the rest of the cities; See Gill on Gen 19:24, in which chapter is the history of this fatal overthrow.
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 vv23, 26 Salt and burning - Is burnt up and made…
Salt and burning - Is burnt up and made barren, as with brimstone and salt.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v26 Verse 26. Gods - whom he had not given…
Verse 26. Gods - whom he had not given unto them] This is an unhappy translation. Houbigant renders the original words ולו חלק להם velo chalak lahem, et quibuscum nulla eis societas, "And with whom they had no society;" and falls unmercifully on Le Clerc because he had translated it, From whom they had received no benefits. I must differ from both these great men, because I think they differ from the text. חלק chalak signifies a portion, lot, inheritance, and God is frequently represented in Scripture as the portion or inheritance of his people. Here, therefore, I think the original should be rendered, And there was no portion to them, that is, the gods they served could neither supply their wants nor save their souls - they were no portion.
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 vv22, 26 Deu 29:22-23. So that the generation — Hebrew And…
Deu 29:22-23. So that the generation — Hebrew And the generation: for it appears to be a new paragraph, the sense whereof is, Whenever your wickedness shall arrive at such a height as to bring upon your nation the terrible desolations before spoken of, all considerate people around you will be convinced that it is the effect of the just judgment of God upon your disobedience to his laws, and a perfect fulfilment of the very threats now left on record. The whole land is brimstone and salt — Is burned up and made barren for the sins of its inhabitants.
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 v23 The description is borrowed from the local features of…
The description is borrowed from the local features of the Dead Sea and its vicinity. The towns of the vale of Siddim were fertile and well watered (compare Gen 13:10) until devastated by the wrath of God Gen 19:24-25. The ruin of Israel and its land should be of the like sort (compare Lev 26:31-32; Psa 107:34; Zep 2:9). The desolate state of Palestine at present, and the traces of former fertility and prosperity, are attested by every traveler.
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 vv23, 26 Of salt. This salt was of a bituminous or…
Of salt. This salt was of a bituminous or sulphureous nature, which would burn like oil, and was sometimes used in lamps. (Herodotus, ii. 62; Pliny, [Natural History?] ii. 104.) It dried up the moisture of the earth, and rendered it barren. For which reason, it was scattered upon such places as were no longer to be cultivated, or inhabited. Abimelech sowed some on the ruins of Sichem, Judges ix. 45. It seems that Palestine now feels the effects of this curse; as, for the most part, it is uncultivated, and a desert, though once so flourishing. (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).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv23, 24, 28 23. The whole land thereof is brimstone, etc. —…
23. The whole land thereof is brimstone, etc. — The description is taken from the Dead Sea and the destruction of the Cities of the Plain.
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 vv22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28 22. plagues] Or strokes, see Deu_28:59; Deu_28:61.
22. plagues] Or strokes, see Deu_28:59; Deu_28:61.
the sicknesses] This word only here, Jer_14:18; Jer_16:4, Psa_103:3, 2Ch_21:19.
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 vv23, 24, 26, 28 (23) And that the whole land thereof is brimstone,…
(23) And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein.—Can this be a description of the same country of which it was written in Deu_8:7-9, “A good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness;” and (Deu_11:12) “a land which the Lord thy God careth for”? Yet every one knows which of these two descriptions has been nearer to the actual fact for many centuries.
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 vv22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28 Vers. 22-24. Future generations and foreign visitants, seeing the…
Vers. 22-24. Future generations and foreign visitants, seeing the calamities with which the rebels had been visited, nay, all nations, should ask, in astonishment and horror, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger? It is evident from this that Moses contemplates, and in fact here predicts, a defection, not of individuals or families merely, but of the nation as a whole from the Lord, and the punishment which came in consequence upon the nation. The words from "when they see" (ver. 22) to "wrath" (ver. 23) are a parenthesis, in which a reason for the main thought is given in a circumstantial clause; and the "say" of ver. 22 is resumed by the "say" of ver. 24.
Vers. 22-28. Historical witnesses to the wrath of God.
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The chapter preceding this is shaded, yea, dark indeed. Nevertheless, it is an exact forecast of the state of Israel at this very day. In fact, the comparison between the state of the land of Palestine and the words of the Book, suggests two lines of instructive thought.
I HOW MANIFESTLY, IN THE DESOLATION OF THE HOLY LAND, IS SEEN THE EFFECT OF THE WRATH OF GOD! To this even Volney bears witness. He asks, "From whence proceed such melancholy revolutions? For what cause is the fortune of these countries so strikingly changed? Why are so many cities destroyed? Why is not that ancient population reproduced and perpetuated? A mysterious God exercises his incomprehensible judgments. He has doubtless pronounced a secret curse against the land. He has struck with a curse the present race of men in revenge of past generations" (quoted by Jameson, in loc.).
II HOW IS THE ACCURACY OF THIS PART OF THE OLD BOOK THEREBY CONFIRMED! It is now a favorite canon of scientific men, that whatever cannot be verified must be relegated to the past and forgotten. To this there can be no objection, if those who insist on this negative will insist equally on the reciprocal positive, and say that whatever can be verified must be accepted. For it would be simply a proof, either of discreditable ignorance or of perversity, if men were to deny or to spurn the repeated verifications of the words of Moses in the subsequent course of history.
And it is of no use for men to declaim against the possibility of miracles, when there is the standing miracle before our eye, of some superhuman knowledge having forecast, three thousand years ago, precisely the line along which Hebrew history would move, down till the present day. While there is also this difference between miracle in mighty works, and miracle in prophetic words: The proof of the works is most clear to those who see them at the time; it may possibly diminish with the lapse of years. That of a prophetic word is nil at the time: it awaits confirmation from the lapse of years. And as long as our present historical records stand, so long will there remain the confirmation of the precision with which Israel"s lawgiver, speaking in the name of Jehovah, laid down beforehand the lines along which the Jewish nation should move for thousands of years. When we put together the land and the Book, the work and the word, and see the correspondence between them, we cannot but say, "This is the finger of God!
Vers. 22-28. The stranger"s wonder.
The state of the Holy Land
I AN EVIDENCE OF THE TRUTH OF REVELATION. The sterility of Palestine has been urged in disproof of Bible representations of its former fruitfulness and plenty. It should rather be remembered that, were the Holy Land in a less desolate state than it is, Bible predictions would not have been fulfilled revelation would have been discredited.
II A WONDER TO THE STRANGER. Great God!" exclaims Volney, the unbeliever, "from whence proceed such melancholy revolutions? For what cause is the fortune of these countries so strikingly changed? Why are so many cities destroyed? Why is not that ancient population reproduced and perpetuated?" ("Ruins," De 2)
III A JUST RETRIBUTION FOR SIN pointing a warning to ourselves. J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv22, 25, 27 The generation to come, your children who will rise…
The generation to come, your children who will rise up after you
The words "your children ... after you" tell who "the generation to come" is.
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the plagues on this land and the diseases with which Yahweh has made it sick
"how God cursed the land of Canaan with plagues and disease"
when they see that the whole land has become sulfur and burning salt
People put sulfur and salt on the soil to keep anything from growing. "when they see that Yahweh has burned the land with sulfur and salt"
where nothing is sown or bears fruit
This can be stated in active form. AT: "where no one can sow seed and the crops do not bear fruit" (See: Active or Passive)
like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah
The abstract noun "overthrow" can be translated as a clause. AT: "as when Yahweh completely destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah"
Admah and Zeboyim
These are names of cities that Yahweh destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah. (See: How to Translate Names)
in his anger and wrath
The abstract nouns "anger" and "wrath" mean basically the same thing and can be translated as an adjective phrase. AT: "when he was very angry" (See: Doublet)
they will say together with all the other nations ... mean?
This can be translated as an indirect quotation. AT: "they will ask with all the other nations why Yahweh has done this to the land, and what the heat of this great anger means." (See: Direct and Indirect Quotations)
they will say together with all the other nations
"your descendants and the people of all the other nations will say"
What does the heat of this great anger mean?
The writer is communicating one idea through two words. AT: "What does this terrible anger mean?" (See: Hendiadys)
translationWords
generation
children
raise
alien
plague
sulfur
plant
fruit
Sodom
Gomorrah
anger
wrath
nation
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 vv23, 25, 27 29:23 like . . . Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah…
29:23 like . . . Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim: In the days of Abraham and Lot, these cities were destroyed because of their gross immorality; their destruction was associated with sulfur and salt (Gen 19:23-28).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.