37 He will say, “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge;
38 which ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you! Let them be your protection.
39 “See now that I myself am he. There is no god with me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand.
KJVKing James Version
37 And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,
38 Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.
39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
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JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
37 And it is said: Where are their gods, the rock in whom they trusted;
38 Who did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink-offering? let him rise up and help you, let him be your protection.
39 See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me; I kill, and I make alive; I have wounded, and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of My hand.
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
How many gods are there?Deuteronomy, Isaiah, and New Testament passages repeatedly assert strict monotheism, with YHWH alone and no other gods beside him.
1 Samuel 2:6(v39)“Yahweh kills and makes alive. He brings down to Sheol and brings up.
Hosea 6:1(v39)“Come! Let’s return to Yahweh; for he has torn us to pieces, and he will heal us; he has injured us, and he will bind up our wounds.
Job 5:18(v39)For he wounds and binds up. He injures and his hands make whole.
Isaiah 45:5(v39)I am Yahweh, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me,
Isaiah 45:22(v39)“Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
Show all 30 cross-references
Isaiah 43:13(v39)Yes, since the day was, I am he. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand. I will work, and who can hinder it?”
Isaiah 46:4(v39)Even to old age I am he, and even to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear. Yes, I will carry, and will deliver.
Psalms 68:20(v39)God is to us a God of deliverance. To Yahweh, the Lord, belongs escape from death.
Isaiah 45:18(v39)For Yahweh who created the heavens, the God who formed the earth and made it, who established it and didn’t create it a waste, who formed…
Isaiah 41:4(v39)Who has worked and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Yahweh, the first, and with the last, I am he.”
Revelation 1:17-18(v39)When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,…
Deuteronomy 4:35(v39)It was shown to you so that you might know that Yahweh is God. There is no one else besides him.
Psalms 50:22(v39)“Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you into pieces, and there be no one to deliver.
2 Kings 5:7(v39)When the king of Israel had read the letter, he tore his clothes, and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me…
Job 10:7(v39)Although you know that I am not wicked, there is no one who can deliver out of your hand.
Psalms 102:27(v39)But you are the same. Your years will have no end.
Micah 5:8(v39)The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, among many peoples, like a lion among the animals of the forest, like a young lion among…
Revelation 2:8(v39)“To the angel of the assembly in Smyrna write: “The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life says these things:
Isaiah 48:12(v39)“Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he. I am the first. I am also the last.
John 8:24(v39)I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”
Hebrews 1:12(v39)You will roll them up like a mantle, and they will be changed; but you are the same. Your years won’t fail.”
Jeremiah 2:28(v37)“But where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your trouble; for you have…
Judges 10:14(vv37–38)Go and cry to the gods which you have chosen. Let them save you in the time of your distress!”
Leviticus 21:21(v38)No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall come near to offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. Since he has a…
Psalms 50:13(v38)Will I eat the meat of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
Ezekiel 16:18-19(v38)You took your embroidered garments, covered them, and set my oil and my incense before them. My bread also which I gave you, fine flour,…
Revelation 1:11(v39)saying, “What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and…
Hosea 2:8(v38)For she didn’t know that I gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and multiplied to her silver and gold, which they used for Baal.
Zephaniah 2:11(v38)Yahweh will be awesome to them, for he will famish all the gods of the land. Men will worship him, everyone from his place, even all the…
2 Kings 3:13(v37)Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother.” The…
30 distinct cross-references across this passage (31 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv37–39Deu 32:37 And he shall say, Where [are] their…
Deu 32:37 And he shall say, Where [are] their gods, [their] rock in whom they trusted,
Ver. 37. And he shall say,] i.e., He shall upbraid them with the inability of their idols to do for them.
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 Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv37–39He shall say: the Lord, before he deliver his…
He shall say: the Lord, before he deliver his people, will first convince them of their former folly in forsaking him and following idols; he will find an occasion from that miserable and hopeless condition into which their idols have brought them, to upbraid them with it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry1710 · Public DomainOn v39This conclusion of the song speaks three things:
This conclusion of the song speaks three things:
I. Glory to God, Deu 32:39. "See now upon the whole matter, that I, even I, am he. Learn this from the destruction of idolaters, and the inability of their idols to help them." The great God here demands the glory, 1. Of a self-existence: I, even I, am he. Thus Moses concludes with that name of God by which he was first made to know him (Exo 3:14), "I am that I am. I am he that I have been, that I will be, that I have promised to be, that I have threatened to be; all shall find me true to my word." The Targum of Uzzielides paraphrases it thus: When the Word of the Lord shall reveal himself to redeem his people, he shall say to all people, See that I now am what I am, and have been, and I am what I will be, which we know very well how to apply to him who said to John, I am he who is, and was, and is to come, Rev 1:8. These words, I even I, am he, we meet with often in those chapters of Isaiah where God is encouraging his people to hope for their deliverance out of Babylon, Isa 41:4; Isa 43:11, Isa 43:13, Isa 43:25, Isa 46:4. 2. Of a sole supremacy. "There is no god with me. None to help with me, none to cope with me." See Isa 43:10, Isa 43:11. 3. Of an absolute sovereignty, a universal agency: I kill, and I make alive; that is, all evil and all good come from his hand to providence; he forms both the light of life and the darkness of death, Isa 45:7; Lam 3:37, Lam 3:38. Or, He kills and wounds his enemies, but heals and makes alive his own people, kills and wounds with his judgments those that revolt from him and rebel against him; but, when they return and repent, he heals them, and makes them alive with his mercy and grace. Or it denotes his incontestable authority to dispose of all his creatures, and the beings he has given them, so as to serve his own purposes by them: Whom he will he slays, and whom he will he keeps alive, when his judgments are abroad. Or thus, Though he kill, yet he makes alive again: though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion, Lam 3:32. Though he have torn, he will heal us, Hos 6:1, Hos 6:2. The Jerusalem Targum reads it, I kill those that are alive in this world, and make those alive in the other world that are dead. And some of the Jewish doctors themselves have observed that death, and a life after it, that is, eternal life, is intimated in these words. 4. Of an irresistible power, which cannot be controlled: Neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand those that I have marked for destruction. As no exception can be made against the sentence of God's justice, so no escape can be made from the executions of his power.
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II. Terror to his enemies, Deu 32:40-42. Terror indeed to those that hate him, as all those do that serve other gods, that persist in wilful disobedience to the divine law, and that malign and persecute his faithful servants. These are those to whom God will render vengeance, those his enemies that will not have him to reign over them. In order to alarm such in time to repent and return to their allegiance, the wrath of God is here revealed from heaven against them. 1. The divine sentence is ratified with an oath (Deu 32:40): He lifts up his hand to heaven, the habitation of his holiness; this was an ancient and very significant sign used in swearing, Gen 14:22. And, since he could swear by no greater, he swears by himself and his own life. Those are miserable without remedy that have the word and oath of God against them. The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, that the sin of sinners shall be their ruin if they go on in it. 2. Preparation is made for the execution: The glittering sword is whet. See Psa 7:12. It is a sword bathed in heaven, Isa 34:5. While the sword is in whetting, space is given to the sinner to repent and make his peace, which, if he neglects, will render the wound the deeper. And, as the sword is whet, so the hand that is to wield it takes hold on judgment with a resolution to go through with it. 3. The execution itself will be very terrible: The sword shall devour flesh in abundance, and the arrows be made drunk with blood, such vast quantities of it shall be shed, the blood of the slain in battle, and of the captives, to whom no quarter shall be given, but who shall be put under military execution. When he begins revenge he will make an end; for in this also his work is perfect. The critics are much perplexed with the last clause, From the beginning of revenges upon the enemy. The learned bishop Patrick (that great master) thinks it may admit this reading, From the king to the slave of the enemies, Jer 50:35-37. When the sword of God's wrath is drawn it will make bloody work, blood to the horse-bridles, Rev 14:20.
III. Comfort to his own people (Deu 32:43): Rejoice, O you nations, with his people. He concludes the song with words of joy; for in God's Israel there is a remnant whose end will be peace. God's people will rejoice at last, will rejoice everlastingly. Three things are here mentioned as the matter of joy: - 1. The enlarging of the church's bounds. The apostle applies the first words of this verse to the conversion of the Gentiles. Rom 15:10, Rejoice you Gentiles with his people. See what the grace of God does in the conversion of souls, it brings them to rejoice with the people of God; for true religion brings us acquainted with true joy, so great a mistake are those under that think it tends to make men melancholy. 2. The avenging of the church's controversies upon her adversaries. He will make inquisition for the blood of his servants, and it shall appear how precious it is to him; for those that spilt it shall have blood given them to drink. 3. The mercy God has in store for his church, and for all that belong to it: He will be merciful to his land, and to his people, that is, to all every where that fear and serve him. Whatever judgments are brought upon sinners, it shall go well with the people of God; in this let Jews and Gentiles rejoice together.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv37–39Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and…
Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings,.... Alluding to the fat of the sacrifices under the law, which was claimed by the Lord as his, and represented as his food, Lev 3:11; and to the drink offerings of wine, which were of a sweet savour to God, and with respect to which wine is said to cheer him, Num 15:7. Now New Testament worship and services are here expressed in Old Testament language, which is not unusual; see Isa 56:7; and signify the best of the sacrifices and services of true believers in Christ, presenting their souls and bodies unto him as a holy, living, acceptable sacrifice, which is but their reasonable service; offering their sacrifices of prayer and praise unto him through Christ; doing all good works in his name and strength, and all acts of beneficence in love to him and his people, with which sacrifices he is well pleased; yea, cheerfully laying down their lives as victims in his cause, when called unto it. Now these words are a taunt at the Protestant doctrine of the acceptance of the service and sacrifices of believers in Christ, through him, and for his sake, and not for any merit or worthiness in them:
let them rise up and help you; their God and their rock, Jehovah the Father, their covenant God, and his Son the rock of their salvation, in whom they trust; and so they will arise and help them in this time of extreme distress; though they may seem as asleep, and to take no notice of the sad estate of saints, they will arise in wrath and indignation at their enemies, and deliver them out of their hands; the Spirit of life from God shall be sent to bring to life the slain witnesses, and Christ will rise up in the exertion of his kingly power; he will take to himself his great power, and reign, and destroy them that destroyeth the earth, Rev 11:11,
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and be your protection; or "let him be your hiding place" (x); that is, the rock in whom they trusted, and so he is, and will be "an hiding place the wind, and a covert from the storm", Isa 32:2; not only from the wrath and justice of God, but from the rage and fury of men; Christ will protect and defend his people against all their enemies, and in his own time will deliver them from them; who, in answer to these taunts and derisions, rises up, and thus he says, as follows.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv37–39He shall say - The Lord, before he deliver…
He shall say - The Lord, before he deliver his people, will first convince them of their former folly in forsaking him and following idols.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv37, 39Verse 37. He shall say] He shall begin to…
Verse 37. He shall say] He shall begin to expostulate with them, to awaken them to a due sense of their ingratitude and rebellion. This may refer to the preaching of the Gospel to them in the latter days.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv37, 39Deu 32:37-38. He shall say — The Lord, before…
Deu 32:37-38. He shall say — The Lord, before he deliver his people, will first convince them of their former folly in forsaking him for idols. Which did eat — That is, to whom you offered sacrifices and oblations, after the manner of the Gentiles. Let them rise up and help you — If they can. Or, perhaps, instead of He shall say, (Deu 32:37,) it may be better rendered, One shall say; or, It shall be said. And then the meaning will be, Whoever beholds these judgments with due consideration will be convinced of the vanity and unprofitableness of these imaginary deities, to whom they offered their sacrifices, without receiving the least benefit from them.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn v38Wine. Hence the Jews abhor the wine of Christians,…
Wine. Hence the Jews abhor the wine of Christians, whom they consider as the greatest enemies of God. The pagans were accustomed to make libations to their idols, even in their ordinary repasts. (Calmet) --- The fat was always sacred to God, Leviticus iii. 17. (Menochius)
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. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv37–3937. Where are their gods — Here Jehovah is…
37. Where are their gods — Here Jehovah is represented as showing his people the folly of idol-worship, the helplessness of the false gods.
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 Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv37–3937. took refuge] As in R.V. marg., so often…
37. took refuge] As in R.V. marg., so often in the Pss., e.g. Psa_2:12, Psa_46:2.
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 Readers1878 · Public DomainOn v39(39) I, even I, am he, and there is…
(39) I, even I, am he, and there is no God with me.—There are many very similar passages in Isaiah 41-46; but none of them exactly reproduces this sentence.
I kill, and I make alive.—This was repeated by Hannah in her song, “The Lord killeth and maketh alive” (1Sa_2:6). Comp. also Isa_43:13, “Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv37, 39The Lord would show his people the utter worthlessness…
The Lord would show his people the utter worthlessness of idols, and bring them to acknowledge him as the only true God. Their gods; the idols to which Israel had turned, the strange gods which they had foolishly and sinfully preferred to Jehovah.
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 Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v39See now that I, even I, am He, and…
Deu_32:39-41
See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no God with Me.
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The royal prerogative
I. None but the Lord can would or heal.
1. The Lord alone can spiritually wound. It is the Holy Spirits work to convince of sin, and until He puts forth His power the preacher may preach himself dumb with weariness and blind with weeping, but no result can possibly follow.
2. None but the Lord can heal. Gospel truth is sufficient in itself to comfort all that mourn, but it will comfort nobody so long as the natural unbelief of the heart remains. Get a hold of a lacerated spirit, torn with unbelief, and try what you can do. Say, Trust in the Lord, my friend, and he replies, I cannot trust. Tell him Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; and he says he knows that, but he cannot get hold of it. Do your duty with him, for whether you can heal him or not you are bound to set the Gospel before him: but you shall find that you have worked in vain if you have gone in your own strength. God can use you to heal a broken heart, but you cannot do it yourself.
II. The Lord can wound and He can heal.
1. The Lord can wound. He can pierce the most unlikely heart. Therefore, despair of none. The wretch who is the nearest approach to an incarnate devil may yet become as an angel of God.
2. What a very sweet side of the truth is the second part of it--namely, that He can heal. There are some awful cases of bleeding wounds! I have known the heart bleed as though it would bleed to death beneath the sword of conviction. Some are driven to despair, and have been ready to lay violent hands upon themselves in the bitterness of their souls. Let it ring out like a trumpet, that these poor despairing ones may hear it,--the Lord can heal. There is no case so desperate but what Jehovah-Jesus can recover it. Despair! thou must let thy Captive go. Despondency! thou must open thy prison house when Jesus comes.
III. The Lord does wound and does heal.
1. I have a bundle of arrows which I have seen shot at different times from the bow of God so as to wound men.
(1) The arrow of continual gentleness. Augustine tells of one to whom God was so wonderfully kind, and the man was so wonderfully bad, that at last he grew astonished at Gods goodness, and since the Lord continued to load him with benefits, he turned round and cried, Most benignant God, I am ashamed of being Thine enemy any longer. I confess my sin and repent of it.
(2) God is angry with the wicked every day. Surely this should cut you to the quick.
(3) He that believeth not is condemned already.
(4) The wicked shall be turned into hell, etc.
(5) Thou hast destroyed thyself
(6) You are dead in sin. You have destroyed yourself, but you cannot save yourself.
2. Now, I will hold up before you the bottle of balm. When a soul is wounded, the Lord applies His sacred surgery to the heart. He has healed some of us.
(1) The particular bottle of balm which He used in healing me is one which I know well, and shall never forget. This was the label, Look unto Me and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth, for I am God, and beside Me there is none else. Why, do you know? I was afraid of God until I heard that God was in Christ, and that I was to look to God in Christ, and that the very God whom I dreaded would save me. That revelation came home with Divine power to my soul! The preacher said, Look. This is all that is wanted. There, he said, a fool can look; a little child can look; a half idiot can look; a dying man can look Look said he and it is done. Did I really understand him--that I was only to look to Christ dying on the Cross for me, and see God making an atonement for my sin in the person of His Son--that I was only to look, and I should live at once? It was even so, and I did look. My burden passed away.
(2) Here is another drop of balm,--When a man is wounded he feels that he cannot help himself; but then there comes in this precious truth--that the Spirit of God can do it. O you wounded ones, may the great Spirit show you at this time the person of the dear Son of God--God and man. (C H. Spurgeon.)
Neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand.
The undeliverableness of man from the hand of God
1. The continuance of every mans existence rests entirely upon the Divine will.
2. The preservation of every sinners existence must be ascribed to Divine forbearance.
3. The well-being of a moral intelligence is impossible apart from supreme sympathy with God. All moral hells and heavens are in the loathing or the loving. What then is our duty and interest? To cherish supreme love for the Absolute. (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn v37(See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
trusted
(See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv37, 39General Information:
General Information:
Moses speaks a poetic song to the people of Israel. (See: Parallelism)
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Where are their gods, the rock in whom they took refuge?
Yahweh scolds the people of Israel for seeking protection from other gods. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "Look, the gods that the Israelites thought would protect them have not come to help them." (See: Rhetorical Question and Metaphor)
The gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
Here Yahweh mocks the people of Israel for offering sacrifices to other gods. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "The gods to whom the Israelites offered meat and wine have not come to help them." (See: Rhetorical Question)
Let them rise up and help you; let them be your protection
Yahweh says this to mock the Israelites. He knows these gods cannot help them. AT: "These idols are not even able to get up and help or to protect you" (See: Irony)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv37–39 Deu 32:37 And he shall say, Where [are] their…
Deu 32:37 And he shall say, Where [are] their gods, [their] rock in whom they trusted,
Ver. 37. And he shall say,] i.e., He shall upbraid them with the inability of their idols to do for them.
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 vv37–39 He shall say: the Lord, before he deliver his…
He shall say: the Lord, before he deliver his people, will first convince them of their former folly in forsaking him and following idols; he will find an occasion from that miserable and hopeless condition into which their idols have brought them, to upbraid them with it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v39 This conclusion of the song speaks three things:
This conclusion of the song speaks three things:
I. Glory to God, Deu 32:39. "See now upon the whole matter, that I, even I, am he. Learn this from the destruction of idolaters, and the inability of their idols to help them." The great God here demands the glory, 1. Of a self-existence: I, even I, am he. Thus Moses concludes with that name of God by which he was first made to know him (Exo 3:14), "I am that I am. I am he that I have been, that I will be, that I have promised to be, that I have threatened to be; all shall find me true to my word." The Targum of Uzzielides paraphrases it thus: When the Word of the Lord shall reveal himself to redeem his people, he shall say to all people, See that I now am what I am, and have been, and I am what I will be, which we know very well how to apply to him who said to John, I am he who is, and was, and is to come, Rev 1:8. These words, I even I, am he, we meet with often in those chapters of Isaiah where God is encouraging his people to hope for their deliverance out of Babylon, Isa 41:4; Isa 43:11, Isa 43:13, Isa 43:25, Isa 46:4. 2. Of a sole supremacy. "There is no god with me. None to help with me, none to cope with me." See Isa 43:10, Isa 43:11. 3. Of an absolute sovereignty, a universal agency: I kill, and I make alive; that is, all evil and all good come from his hand to providence; he forms both the light of life and the darkness of death, Isa 45:7; Lam 3:37, Lam 3:38. Or, He kills and wounds his enemies, but heals and makes alive his own people, kills and wounds with his judgments those that revolt from him and rebel against him; but, when they return and repent, he heals them, and makes them alive with his mercy and grace. Or it denotes his incontestable authority to dispose of all his creatures, and the beings he has given them, so as to serve his own purposes by them: Whom he will he slays, and whom he will he keeps alive, when his judgments are abroad. Or thus, Though he kill, yet he makes alive again: though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion, Lam 3:32. Though he have torn, he will heal us, Hos 6:1, Hos 6:2. The Jerusalem Targum reads it, I kill those that are alive in this world, and make those alive in the other world that are dead. And some of the Jewish doctors themselves have observed that death, and a life after it, that is, eternal life, is intimated in these words. 4. Of an irresistible power, which cannot be controlled: Neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand those that I have marked for destruction. As no exception can be made against the sentence of God's justice, so no escape can be made from the executions of his power.
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II. Terror to his enemies, Deu 32:40-42. Terror indeed to those that hate him, as all those do that serve other gods, that persist in wilful disobedience to the divine law, and that malign and persecute his faithful servants. These are those to whom God will render vengeance, those his enemies that will not have him to reign over them. In order to alarm such in time to repent and return to their allegiance, the wrath of God is here revealed from heaven against them. 1. The divine sentence is ratified with an oath (Deu 32:40): He lifts up his hand to heaven, the habitation of his holiness; this was an ancient and very significant sign used in swearing, Gen 14:22. And, since he could swear by no greater, he swears by himself and his own life. Those are miserable without remedy that have the word and oath of God against them. The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, that the sin of sinners shall be their ruin if they go on in it. 2. Preparation is made for the execution: The glittering sword is whet. See Psa 7:12. It is a sword bathed in heaven, Isa 34:5. While the sword is in whetting, space is given to the sinner to repent and make his peace, which, if he neglects, will render the wound the deeper. And, as the sword is whet, so the hand that is to wield it takes hold on judgment with a resolution to go through with it. 3. The execution itself will be very terrible: The sword shall devour flesh in abundance, and the arrows be made drunk with blood, such vast quantities of it shall be shed, the blood of the slain in battle, and of the captives, to whom no quarter shall be given, but who shall be put under military execution. When he begins revenge he will make an end; for in this also his work is perfect. The critics are much perplexed with the last clause, From the beginning of revenges upon the enemy. The learned bishop Patrick (that great master) thinks it may admit this reading, From the king to the slave of the enemies, Jer 50:35-37. When the sword of God's wrath is drawn it will make bloody work, blood to the horse-bridles, Rev 14:20.
III. Comfort to his own people (Deu 32:43): Rejoice, O you nations, with his people. He concludes the song with words of joy; for in God's Israel there is a remnant whose end will be peace. God's people will rejoice at last, will rejoice everlastingly. Three things are here mentioned as the matter of joy: - 1. The enlarging of the church's bounds. The apostle applies the first words of this verse to the conversion of the Gentiles. Rom 15:10, Rejoice you Gentiles with his people. See what the grace of God does in the conversion of souls, it brings them to rejoice with the people of God; for true religion brings us acquainted with true joy, so great a mistake are those under that think it tends to make men melancholy. 2. The avenging of the church's controversies upon her adversaries. He will make inquisition for the blood of his servants, and it shall appear how precious it is to him; for those that spilt it shall have blood given them to drink. 3. The mercy God has in store for his church, and for all that belong to it: He will be merciful to his land, and to his people, that is, to all every where that fear and serve him. Whatever judgments are brought upon sinners, it shall go well with the people of God; in this let Jews and Gentiles rejoice together.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv37–39 Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and…
Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings,.... Alluding to the fat of the sacrifices under the law, which was claimed by the Lord as his, and represented as his food, Lev 3:11; and to the drink offerings of wine, which were of a sweet savour to God, and with respect to which wine is said to cheer him, Num 15:7. Now New Testament worship and services are here expressed in Old Testament language, which is not unusual; see Isa 56:7; and signify the best of the sacrifices and services of true believers in Christ, presenting their souls and bodies unto him as a holy, living, acceptable sacrifice, which is but their reasonable service; offering their sacrifices of prayer and praise unto him through Christ; doing all good works in his name and strength, and all acts of beneficence in love to him and his people, with which sacrifices he is well pleased; yea, cheerfully laying down their lives as victims in his cause, when called unto it. Now these words are a taunt at the Protestant doctrine of the acceptance of the service and sacrifices of believers in Christ, through him, and for his sake, and not for any merit or worthiness in them:
let them rise up and help you; their God and their rock, Jehovah the Father, their covenant God, and his Son the rock of their salvation, in whom they trust; and so they will arise and help them in this time of extreme distress; though they may seem as asleep, and to take no notice of the sad estate of saints, they will arise in wrath and indignation at their enemies, and deliver them out of their hands; the Spirit of life from God shall be sent to bring to life the slain witnesses, and Christ will rise up in the exertion of his kingly power; he will take to himself his great power, and reign, and destroy them that destroyeth the earth, Rev 11:11,
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and be your protection; or "let him be your hiding place" (x); that is, the rock in whom they trusted, and so he is, and will be "an hiding place the wind, and a covert from the storm", Isa 32:2; not only from the wrath and justice of God, but from the rage and fury of men; Christ will protect and defend his people against all their enemies, and in his own time will deliver them from them; who, in answer to these taunts and derisions, rises up, and thus he says, as follows.
(x) "absconsio", Pagninus, Montanus; "latibulum", Tigurine version; "latebra", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
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 vv37–39 He shall say - The Lord, before he deliver…
He shall say - The Lord, before he deliver his people, will first convince them of their former folly in forsaking him and following idols.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv37, 39 Verse 37. He shall say] He shall begin to…
Verse 37. He shall say] He shall begin to expostulate with them, to awaken them to a due sense of their ingratitude and rebellion. This may refer to the preaching of the Gospel to them in the latter days.
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 vv37, 39 Deu 32:37-38. He shall say — The Lord, before…
Deu 32:37-38. He shall say — The Lord, before he deliver his people, will first convince them of their former folly in forsaking him for idols. Which did eat — That is, to whom you offered sacrifices and oblations, after the manner of the Gentiles. Let them rise up and help you — If they can. Or, perhaps, instead of He shall say, (Deu 32:37,) it may be better rendered, One shall say; or, It shall be said. And then the meaning will be, Whoever beholds these judgments with due consideration will be convinced of the vanity and unprofitableness of these imaginary deities, to whom they offered their sacrifices, without receiving the least benefit from them.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v38 Wine. Hence the Jews abhor the wine of Christians,…
Wine. Hence the Jews abhor the wine of Christians, whom they consider as the greatest enemies of God. The pagans were accustomed to make libations to their idols, even in their ordinary repasts. (Calmet) --- The fat was always sacred to God, Leviticus iii. 17. (Menochius)
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 vv37–39 37. Where are their gods — Here Jehovah is…
37. Where are their gods — Here Jehovah is represented as showing his people the folly of idol-worship, the helplessness of the false gods.
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 vv37–39 37. took refuge] As in R.V. marg., so often…
37. took refuge] As in R.V. marg., so often in the Pss., e.g. Psa_2:12, Psa_46:2.
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 v39 (39) I, even I, am he, and there is…
(39) I, even I, am he, and there is no God with me.—There are many very similar passages in Isaiah 41-46; but none of them exactly reproduces this sentence.
I kill, and I make alive.—This was repeated by Hannah in her song, “The Lord killeth and maketh alive” (1Sa_2:6). Comp. also Isa_43:13, “Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.”
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 vv37, 39 The Lord would show his people the utter worthlessness…
The Lord would show his people the utter worthlessness of idols, and bring them to acknowledge him as the only true God. Their gods; the idols to which Israel had turned, the strange gods which they had foolishly and sinfully preferred to Jehovah.
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 v39 See now that I, even I, am He, and…
Deu_32:39-41
See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no God with Me.
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The royal prerogative
I. None but the Lord can would or heal.
1. The Lord alone can spiritually wound. It is the Holy Spirits work to convince of sin, and until He puts forth His power the preacher may preach himself dumb with weariness and blind with weeping, but no result can possibly follow.
2. None but the Lord can heal. Gospel truth is sufficient in itself to comfort all that mourn, but it will comfort nobody so long as the natural unbelief of the heart remains. Get a hold of a lacerated spirit, torn with unbelief, and try what you can do. Say, Trust in the Lord, my friend, and he replies, I cannot trust. Tell him Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; and he says he knows that, but he cannot get hold of it. Do your duty with him, for whether you can heal him or not you are bound to set the Gospel before him: but you shall find that you have worked in vain if you have gone in your own strength. God can use you to heal a broken heart, but you cannot do it yourself.
II. The Lord can wound and He can heal.
1. The Lord can wound. He can pierce the most unlikely heart. Therefore, despair of none. The wretch who is the nearest approach to an incarnate devil may yet become as an angel of God.
2. What a very sweet side of the truth is the second part of it--namely, that He can heal. There are some awful cases of bleeding wounds! I have known the heart bleed as though it would bleed to death beneath the sword of conviction. Some are driven to despair, and have been ready to lay violent hands upon themselves in the bitterness of their souls. Let it ring out like a trumpet, that these poor despairing ones may hear it,--the Lord can heal. There is no case so desperate but what Jehovah-Jesus can recover it. Despair! thou must let thy Captive go. Despondency! thou must open thy prison house when Jesus comes.
III. The Lord does wound and does heal.
1. I have a bundle of arrows which I have seen shot at different times from the bow of God so as to wound men.
(1) The arrow of continual gentleness. Augustine tells of one to whom God was so wonderfully kind, and the man was so wonderfully bad, that at last he grew astonished at Gods goodness, and since the Lord continued to load him with benefits, he turned round and cried, Most benignant God, I am ashamed of being Thine enemy any longer. I confess my sin and repent of it.
(2) God is angry with the wicked every day. Surely this should cut you to the quick.
(3) He that believeth not is condemned already.
(4) The wicked shall be turned into hell, etc.
(5) Thou hast destroyed thyself
(6) You are dead in sin. You have destroyed yourself, but you cannot save yourself.
2. Now, I will hold up before you the bottle of balm. When a soul is wounded, the Lord applies His sacred surgery to the heart. He has healed some of us.
(1) The particular bottle of balm which He used in healing me is one which I know well, and shall never forget. This was the label, Look unto Me and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth, for I am God, and beside Me there is none else. Why, do you know? I was afraid of God until I heard that God was in Christ, and that I was to look to God in Christ, and that the very God whom I dreaded would save me. That revelation came home with Divine power to my soul! The preacher said, Look. This is all that is wanted. There, he said, a fool can look; a little child can look; a half idiot can look; a dying man can look Look said he and it is done. Did I really understand him--that I was only to look to Christ dying on the Cross for me, and see God making an atonement for my sin in the person of His Son--that I was only to look, and I should live at once? It was even so, and I did look. My burden passed away.
(2) Here is another drop of balm,--When a man is wounded he feels that he cannot help himself; but then there comes in this precious truth--that the Spirit of God can do it. O you wounded ones, may the great Spirit show you at this time the person of the dear Son of God--God and man. (C H. Spurgeon.)
Neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand.
The undeliverableness of man from the hand of God
1. The continuance of every mans existence rests entirely upon the Divine will.
2. The preservation of every sinners existence must be ascribed to Divine forbearance.
3. The well-being of a moral intelligence is impossible apart from supreme sympathy with God. All moral hells and heavens are in the loathing or the loving. What then is our duty and interest? To cherish supreme love for the Absolute. (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v37 (See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
trusted
(See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv37, 39 General Information:
General Information:
Moses speaks a poetic song to the people of Israel. (See: Parallelism)
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Where are their gods, the rock in whom they took refuge?
Yahweh scolds the people of Israel for seeking protection from other gods. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "Look, the gods that the Israelites thought would protect them have not come to help them." (See: Rhetorical Question and Metaphor)
The gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
Here Yahweh mocks the people of Israel for offering sacrifices to other gods. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "The gods to whom the Israelites offered meat and wine have not come to help them." (See: Rhetorical Question)
Let them rise up and help you; let them be your protection
Yahweh says this to mock the Israelites. He knows these gods cannot help them. AT: "These idols are not even able to get up and help or to protect you" (See: Irony)
translationWords
false god
refuge
sacrifice
wine
drink offering
raise
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 vv37–38 32:37 the rocks: This sarcastic metaphor concerns the impotence…
32:37 the rocks: This sarcastic metaphor concerns the impotence of pagan gods (see 32:31).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.