When you shall father children and children’s children, and you shall have been long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a carved image in the form of anything, and shall do that which is evil in Yahweh your God’s sight to provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from off the land which you go over the Jordan to possess it. You will not prolong your days on it, but will utterly be destroyed. Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where Yahweh will lead you away. There you shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God, and you shall find him when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in oppression, and all these things have come on you, in the latter days you shall return to Yahweh your God and listen to his voice. For Yahweh your God is a merciful God. He will not fail you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them.
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Deuteronomy 4:25-31 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Only be careful, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children’s children— the day that you stood before Yahweh your God in Horeb, when Yahweh said to me, “Assemble the people to me, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.” You came near and stood under the mountain. The mountain burned with fire to the heart of the sky, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. Yahweh spoke to you out of the middle of the fire: you heard the voice of words, but you saw no form; you only heard a voice. He declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments. He wrote them on two stone tablets. Yahweh commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that you might do them in the land where you go over to possess it. Be very careful, for you saw no kind of form on the day that Yahweh spoke to you in Horeb out of the middle of the fire, lest you corrupt yourselves, and make yourself a carved image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth; and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the army of the sky, you are drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Yahweh your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky. But Yahweh has taken you, and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as it is today. Furthermore Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in to that good land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance; but I must die in this land. I must not go over the Jordan, but you shall go over and possess that good land. Be careful, lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he made with you, and make yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which Yahweh your God has forbidden you. For Yahweh your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God. When you shall father children and children’s children, and you shall have been long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a carved image in the form of anything, and shall do that which is evil in Yahweh your God’s sight to provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from off the land which you go over the Jordan to possess it. You will not prolong your days on it, but will utterly be destroyed. Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where Yahweh will lead you away. There you shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God, and you shall find him when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in oppression, and all these things have come on you, in the latter days you shall return to Yahweh your God and listen to his voice. For Yahweh your God is a merciful God. He will not fail you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them. For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and from the one end of the sky to the other, whether there has been anything as great as this thing is, or has been heard like it? Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the middle of the fire, as you have heard, and live? Or has God tried to go and take a nation for himself from among another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Yahweh your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? It was shown to you so that you might know that Yahweh is God. There is no one else besides him. Out of heaven he made you to hear his voice, that he might instruct you. On earth he made you to see his great fire; and you heard his words out of the middle of the fire. Because he loved your fathers, therefore he chose their offspring after them, and brought you out with his presence, with his great power, out of Egypt; to drive out nations from before you greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today. Know therefore today, and take it to heart, that Yahweh himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. There is no one else. You shall keep his statutes and his commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which Yahweh your God gives you for all time.
Parallel Translations
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When you shall father children and children’s children, and you shall have been long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a carved image in the form of anything, and shall do that which is evil in Yahweh your God’s sight to provoke him to anger,
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from off the land which you go over the Jordan to possess it. You will not prolong your days on it, but will utterly be destroyed.
Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where Yahweh will lead you away.
There you shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God, and you shall find him when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
When you are in oppression, and all these things have come on you, in the latter days you shall return to Yahweh your God and listen to his voice.
For Yahweh your God is a merciful God. He will not fail you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them.
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When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger:
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.
And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
(For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
Show all 3 translations
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When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have been long in the land, and shall deal corruptly, and make a graven image, even the form of any thing, and shall do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke Him;
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
And the LORD shall scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left few in number among the nations, whither the LORD shall lead you away.
And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
But from thence ye will seek the LORD thy God; and thou shalt find Him, if thou search after Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
In thy distress, when all these things are come upon thee, in the end of days, thou wilt return to the LORD thy God, and hearken unto His voice;
for the LORD thy God is a merciful God; He will not fail thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which He swore unto them.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (2)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (114)
- Psalms 119:2 (v29) Blessed are those who keep his statutes, who seek him with their whole heart.
- Jeremiah 29:12-14 (v29) You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You shall seek me, and find me, when you search for me…
- 2 Chronicles 15:4 (v29) But when in their distress they turned to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.
- Isaiah 55:6-7 (v29) Seek Yahweh while he may be found. Call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let…
- Psalms 119:10 (v29) With my whole heart, I have sought you. Don’t let me wander from your commandments.
Show all 100 cross-references
- Deuteronomy 32:1 (v26) Give ear, you heavens, and I will speak. Let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
- Deuteronomy 30:10 (vv29–30) if you will obey Yahweh your God’s voice, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law; if you turn…
- Deuteronomy 28:62-64 (v27) You will be left few in number, even though you were as the stars of the sky for multitude, because you didn’t listen to Yahweh your God’s…
- Jeremiah 3:12-14 (v29) Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, ‘Return, you backsliding Israel,’ says Yahweh; ‘I will not look in anger on you;…
- Micah 6:2 (v26) Hear, you mountains, Yahweh’s controversy, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for Yahweh has a controversy with his people, and he…
- 1 Kings 8:47-48 (v29) yet if they repent in the land where they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication to you in the land of those who…
- Deuteronomy 31:8 (v31) Yahweh himself is who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged.”
- Jeremiah 22:29 (v26) O earth, earth, earth, hear Yahweh’s word!
- Deuteronomy 30:1-3 (v29) It shall happen, when all these things have come on you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them…
- Deuteronomy 30:18-19 (v26) I declare to you today that you will surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you pass over the Jordan to go in to…
- Psalms 116:5 (v31) Yahweh is Gracious and righteous. Yes, our God is merciful.
- Psalms 119:145 (v29) I have called with my whole heart. Answer me, Yahweh! I will keep your statutes.
- Isaiah 1:2 (v26) Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for Yahweh has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me.
- Jeremiah 2:12 (v26) “Be astonished, you heavens, at this and be horribly afraid. Be very desolate,” says Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 36:4 (v26) therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh: The Lord Yahweh says to the mountains and to the hills, to the…
- Leviticus 18:28 (v26) that the land not vomit you out also, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.
- Deuteronomy 28:64 (v28) Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. There you will serve other gods which…
- Joshua 23:16 (v26) when you disobey the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow down yourselves to them.…
- Nehemiah 9:31 (v31) “Nevertheless in your manifold mercies you didn’t make a full end of them, nor forsake them; for you are a gracious and merciful God.
- Jeremiah 44:22 (v26) Thus Yahweh could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which you have committed.…
- Joel 2:12 (v29) “Yet even now,” says Yahweh, “turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.”
- Leviticus 26:31-35 (v26) I will lay your cities waste, and will bring your sanctuaries to desolation. I will not take delight in the sweet fragrance of your…
- Deuteronomy 29:28 (v26) 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.”
- Deuteronomy 31:28 (v26) Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to…
- Psalms 119:58 (v29) I sought your favor with my whole heart. Be merciful to me according to your word.
- Isaiah 6:11 (v26) Then I said, “Lord, how long?” He answered, “Until cities are waste without inhabitant, houses without man, the land becomes utterly waste,
- Jeremiah 6:19 (v26) Hear, earth! Behold, I will bring evil on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not listened to my words; and as…
- Jonah 4:2 (v31) He prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Please, Yahweh, wasn’t this what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore I hurried to flee to…
- Luke 21:24 (v26) They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles,…
- Exodus 34:6-7 (v31) Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness…
- Leviticus 26:42 (v31) then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham; and I will remember the land.
- 2 Chronicles 30:9 (v31) For if you turn again to Yahweh, your brothers and your children will find compassion before those who led them captive, and will come…
- Isaiah 24:1-3 (v26) Behold, Yahweh makes the earth empty, makes it waste, turns it upside down, and scatters its inhabitants. It will be as with the people, so…
- Jeremiah 3:10 (v29) Yet for all this her treacherous sister, Judah, has not returned to me with her whole heart, but only in pretense,” says Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 33:28 (v26) I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment. The pride of her power will cease. The mountains of Israel will be desolate, so that…
- Joel 2:12-13 (v30) “Yet even now,” says Yahweh, “turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.” Tear your heart, and…
- 2 Chronicles 15:15 (v29) All Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found by them.…
- Nehemiah 1:9 (v29) but if you return to me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet I will…
- Jeremiah 16:13 (v28) Therefore I will cast you out of this land into the land that you have not known, neither you nor your fathers. There you will serve other…
- Jeremiah 23:20 (v30) Yahweh’s anger will not return until he has executed, and until he has performed the intents of his heart. In the latter days, you will…
- Hosea 3:5 (v30) Afterward the children of Israel shall return, and seek Yahweh their God, and David their king, and shall come with trembling to Yahweh and…
- Leviticus 26:33 (v27) I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you. Your land will be a desolation, and your cities shall be a…
- Leviticus 26:39-42 (v29) Those of you who are left will pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers they shall…
- Deuteronomy 31:6 (v31) Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them; for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor…
- 2 Kings 10:31 (v29) But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He didn’t depart from the sins of Jeroboam, with…
- 2 Kings 23:3 (v29) The king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and…
- 2 Chronicles 15:12 (v29) They entered into the covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul;
- 2 Chronicles 31:21 (v29) In every work that he began in the service of God’s house, in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his…
- Psalms 145:8-9 (v31) Yahweh is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness. Yahweh is good to all. His tender mercies are over all his works.
- Micah 1:2 (v26) Hear, you peoples, all of you. Listen, O earth, and all that is therein: and let the Lord Yahweh be witness against you, the Lord from his…
- Deuteronomy 31:29 (vv25, 30) For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn away from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will…
- Leviticus 26:45 (v31) But I will for their sake remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations,…
- Numbers 14:18 (v31) ‘Yahweh is slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, forgiving iniquity and disobedience; and he will by no means clear the guilty,…
- Deuteronomy 4:16 (v25) lest you corrupt yourselves, and make yourself a carved image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
- Deuteronomy 28:36 (v28) Yahweh will bring you, and your king whom you will set over yourselves, to a nation that you have not known, you nor your fathers. There…
- Joshua 1:5 (v31) No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor…
- Psalms 111:5 (v31) He has given food to those who fear him. He always remembers his covenant.
- Psalms 111:9 (v31) He has sent redemption to his people. He has ordained his covenant forever. His name is holy and awesome!
- Isaiah 46:7 (v28) They bear it on their shoulder. They carry it, and set it in its place, and it stands there. It cannot move from its place. Yes, one may…
- Jeremiah 14:21 (v31) Do not abhor us, for your name’s sake. Do not disgrace the throne of your glory. Remember, and don’t break your covenant with us.
- Luke 1:72 (v31) to show mercy toward our fathers, to remember his holy covenant,
- Genesis 49:1 (v30) Jacob called to his sons, and said: “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which will happen to you in the days to come.
- Nehemiah 1:5 (v31) and said, “I beg you, Yahweh, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him…
- Isaiah 1:19 (v30) If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land;
- Jeremiah 7:23 (v30) but this thing I commanded them, saying, ‘Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. Walk in all the way that…
- Ezekiel 20:39 (v28) “ ‘As for you, house of Israel, the Lord Yahweh says: “Go, everyone serve his idols, and hereafter also, if you will not listen to me; but…
- Numbers 24:20 (v30) He looked at Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, “Amalek was the first of the nations, But his latter end shall come to destruction.”
- 1 Samuel 26:19 (v28) Now therefore, please let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is so that Yahweh has stirred you up against me, let him…
- 1 Chronicles 28:20 (v31) David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed; for Yahweh God, even my God, is with…
- Nehemiah 1:3 (v27) They said to me, “The remnant who are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach. The wall of…
- Nehemiah 1:8-9 (v27) “Remember, I beg you, the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you trespass, I will scatter you among the peoples; but…
- Psalms 86:5 (v31) For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on you.
- Psalms 86:15 (v31) But you, Lord, are a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
- Psalms 105:8 (v31) He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
- Psalms 115:4-8 (v28) Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they don’t speak. They have eyes, but they don’t see. They…
- Psalms 135:15-18 (v28) The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they can’t speak. They have eyes, but they…
- Isaiah 44:9 (v28) Everyone who makes a carved image is vain. The things that they delight in will not profit. Their own witnesses don’t see, nor know, that…
- Isaiah 45:20 (v28) “Assemble yourselves and come. Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. Those have no knowledge who carry the wood of…
- Ezekiel 12:15 (v27) “ ‘They will know that I am Yahweh when I disperse them among the nations, and scatter them through the countries.
- Ezekiel 32:26 (v27) “There is Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude. Their graves are around them, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they…
- Hosea 9:9 (v25) They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity. He will punish them for their sins.
- 1 Corinthians 10:22 (v25) Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
- Exodus 18:8 (v30) Moses told his father-in-law all that Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships that had come on…
- Exodus 32:7 (v25) Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go, get down; for your people, who you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves!
- Deuteronomy 31:16-18 (v25) Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers. This people will rise up and play the prostitute after the strange gods…
- Deuteronomy 31:17 (v30) Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be…
- Judges 2:8-15 (v25) Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being one hundred ten years old. They buried him in the border of his inheritance in…
- 1 Kings 8:46-53 (v30) If they sin against you (for there is no man who doesn’t sin), and you are angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they…
- 2 Kings 17:17-19 (v25) They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which…
- 2 Kings 21:2 (v25) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
- 2 Kings 21:14-16 (v25) I will cast off the remnant of my inheritance, and deliver them into the hands of their enemies. They will become a prey and a plunder to…
- 2 Chronicles 6:36-39 (v30) “If they sin against you (for there is no man who doesn’t sin), and you are angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they…
- 2 Chronicles 36:12-16 (v25) He did that which was evil in Yahweh his God’s sight. He didn’t humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from Yahweh’s mouth. He…
- Jeremiah 10:3 (v28) For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the ax.
- Jeremiah 10:9 (v28) There is silver beaten into plates, which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the engraver and of the hands of the…
100 distinct cross-references across this passage (114 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31 Meaning hereby all superstition and corruption of the true…
Meaning hereby all superstition and corruption of the true service of God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv25, 28, 29, 30 Deu 4:25 When thou shalt beget children, and children’s…
Deu 4:25 When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt [yourselves], and make a graven image, [or] the likeness of any [thing], and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger:
Ver. 25. And shalt have remained long.] So that thou thinkest there is no removing thee, thou art so rooted and riveted. Nicephorus Phocas having built a mighty wall, heard from heaven, Though thou built as high as heaven, ενδον το κακον, ευαλωτος η πολις, Sin is within, all will be lost.
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 vv25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31 In the sight of the Lord: these words are…
In the sight of the Lord: these words are here added, either,
1. As a caution. Your idolatry, though possibly secretly and cunningly managed, will not be hid from him; he sees it, and he will punish it. Or,
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2. To aggravate their spiritual whoredom, as being committed in the sight and presence of their Lord and Husband, whose eye is alone peculiarly upon them in all their ways, than it is upon other people. Or,
3. By way of opposition unto men’s judgment. Idolatry ofttimes seems good, and reasonable, and religious in the eyes of men, but, saith he, it is evil in the eyes of the Lord, whose judgment is most considerable.
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 vv25–31 When thou shall beget children, and children's children,.... Children…
When thou shall beget children, and children's children,.... Children and grandchildren, and several ages and generations have passed:
and shalt have remained long in the land; many years and even ages, or have grown old (h) in it: now they were in their infancy, and as such they were about to enter into it; during the times of the judges, they were in their childhood, or youth; in the times of David and Solomon, they were in their manhood; after that, in their decline; and in the times of Jeconiah and his brethren in their old age, when for their sins they were carried captive:
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and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of anything; See Gill on Deu 25:16.
and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger; that sin of idolatry, that God provoking sin, is chiefly intended.
(h) "inveteraveritis", Montanus: "veteres facti fueritis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "senueritis", Vatablus.
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 vv28–30 Ye shall serve Gods - You shall be compelled…
Ye shall serve Gods - You shall be compelled by men, and given up by me to idolatry. So that very thing which was your choice, shall be your punishment: it being just and usual for God to punish one sin by giving men up to another.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv26–30 Verse 26. I call heaven and earth to witness…
Verse 26. I call heaven and earth to witness against you] A most solemn method of adjuration, in use among all nations in the world. So Virgil, AEn., lib. xii., ver. 176, c.
Tum pius AEneas stricto sic ense precatur:
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Esto nunc Sol testis et haec mihi terra vocanti -
Fontesque fluviosque voco, quaeque aetheris alti
Relllgio, et quae caeruleo sunt numina ponto, &c.
"Then the great Trojan prince unsheathed his sword,
And thus, with lifted hands, the gods adored:
Thou land for which I wage this war, and thou
Great source of day, be witness to my vow! -
Almighty king of heaven and queen of air,
Propitious now and reconciled by prayer, -
Ye springs, ye floods, ye various powers who lie
Beneath the deep, or tread the golden sky, -
HEAR and ATTEST!" PITT.
God and man being called upon to bear testimony to the truth of what was spoken, that if there was any flaw or insincerity, it might be detected and if any crime, it might not go unpunished. Such appeals to God, for such purposes, show at once both the origin and use of oaths. See Clarke on De 6:13.
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 vv25, 28, 30 Deu 4:25. And shall corrupt yourselves — This seems…
Deu 4:25. And shall corrupt yourselves — This seems to be evidently a prediction of what Moses foresaw would take place; which that he did is still more manifest in Deu 4:30.
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 vv25, 29 Compare with these verses Lev 26:33-40, and Deu 28:64…
Compare with these verses Lev 26:33-40, and Deu 28:64 ff.
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 vv26, 27, 29, 30 And earth, or all their rational inhabitants. (St. Jerome…
And earth, or all their rational inhabitants. (St. Jerome and St. Basil in Isa. i. 2.) Moses conjures the Israelites, by all that is most sacred, to continue faithful. He speaks with the greatest earnestness, as he does again, chap. xxxii. 1. (Calmet) --- He makes use of a sort of oath, by the creatures, in which God shines forth. (Menochius) --- Destroy you. He will take from you that delightful country, though he will save a remnant of you out of the captivity at Babylon, and in the latter days, ver. 31. The Jews, in the promised land, were almost always prone to idolatry; till God severely chastised them by the hands of the Babylonians. Since that time, few of them have willingly yielded to the worship of idols, though some have fallen by compulsion, as we read, Daniel iii., and 1 Machabees i. 53., and ii. 16. Jeremias (v. 19) foretold that this would be the case. As you have forsaken me and served a strange god in your own land, so shall you serve strangers in a land that is not your own. (Haydock)
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 vv26, 28, 30 I call heaven and earth to witness against you--This…
I call heaven and earth to witness against you--This solemn form of adjuration has been common in special circumstances among all people. It is used here figuratively, or as in other parts of Scripture where inanimate objects are called up as witnesses (Deu 32:1; Isa 1:2).
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 vv25, 26, 27, 29 DISPERSION AMONG THE HEATHEN THREATENED, Deu_4:25-28.
DISPERSION AMONG THE HEATHEN THREATENED, Deu_4:25-28.
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 vv25–31 25. When thou shalt beget … and ye shall…
25. When thou shalt beget … and ye shall have been] Read, ye shall beget. The sentence illustrates the difficulties raised by the variant forms of address. So quick a change from Sg. to Pl., confirmed by LXX (though Sam. has Pl. for both verbs), is logically possible (thou = the mother nation; ye = the nation and its children). Yet the Sg. is more probably due to the attraction of the previous Sg., a copyist naturally continuing the latter till the changed form arrested him. For thy God both Sam. and LXX read your God. Thus the Pl. is complete throughout 25–28. The word for beget only here, Deu_27:1 and in P.
ye shall have been long] Or grown old or stale, used of old corn, Lev_26:10, and inveterate leprosy, Deu_13:11, Here not merely living long in the land, but growing aged in spirit, losing spiritual freshness. Similarly the prophets judged the wilderness days to have been the ideal period of Israel’s history, the subsequent ages decadent.
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corrupt yourselves] See on Deu_4:16; graven image, etc., ibid.
do evil in the eyes of the Lord] Deu_9:18, Deu_17:2, Deu_31:29, and P, Num_32:13; or good, Deu_6:18, Deu_12:28.
to provoke him] Deu_9:18, Deu_31:29, Deu_32:16; Deu_32:21, also in deuteronomic passages in Kings and in Jeremiah.
25–31. Threat of Exile with Promise of Grace on Repentance
If, with the slackness of increasing years, Israel give way to idolatry (Deu_4:25) Moses testifies that they shall perish from the land (Deu_4:26), and be scattered among the peoples (Deu_4:27) where indeed they must worship senseless idols (Deu_4:28). So far the Pl. address. But if—change to the Sg.—in these latter days of tribulation the nation seeks and returns to Jehovah it shall find Him (Deu_4:29 f.). He will not fail nor forget His covenant (Deu_4:31).—As we shall see from the notes the threat of exile is no sufficient ground for judging Deu_4:25-28 to be an exilic addition, but there are several phrases which only D and P have. Others are found only in xxviii. The exilic origin of 29–31 is more probable. Dillm. denies a connection between Deu_4:25 and the preceding; it seems to the present writer that Deu_4:25-28 is a natural continuation of Deu_4:23. This, however, by itself does not prove identity of authorship.
Further Note on 25–31. The two parts of this Deu_4:25-28 and Deu_4:29-31 are probably separate; note the change of address. Berth. says that the whole ‘bears clearly the stamp of exilic authorship.’ This is not true of Deu_4:25-28, the threat of exile. After the exile of N. Israel in 721 and the precedents in prophecy for a threat of exile (cp. Amos, Isaiah and Jeremiah), and the notorious policy of Assyria towards subject races, it would on the contrary have been strange not to have found in the pre-exilic deuteronomists, with their prophetic temper, some foreboding of exile. Dillm. rightly says, ‘the threat of exile has nothing surprising in it,’ if we compare ch. 28. But the case is different with the promise contingent on the conversion of the people in exile. In itself it is as conceivable in D as in the prophets (whom it is impossible to regard, as a powerful school of criticism does, as predicters only of judgement), but as Dillm. points out it lies here too far away from the purpose of the exhortation1[115]. Add to this reasons of form, (1) that the for introducing Deu_4:32 ff. has no relevancy to Deu_4:29-31, but continues Deu_4:25-28 (see Driver), and (2) the change from the Pl. to the Sg. address—and there is a strong case for taking Deu_4:29-31 as a later exilic insertion like Deu_30:1-10. Berth.’s argument that Deu_4:32 naturally follows Deu_4:24 is met by the fact that it more naturally follows Deu_4:28, and we have already seen that Deu_4:25-28 are the natural continuation of Deu_4:23. We may, therefore, take Deu_4:25-28 as integral, and only Deu_4:29-31 as a later exilic intrusion.
[115] There is an analogy, however, in 29 f.
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 vv25, 27, 28 (25) Shall have remained long.—Literally, shall slumber—a very suggestive…
(25) Shall have remained long.—Literally, shall slumber—a very suggestive expression. Prosperity often sends true religion to sleep, and brings conventional, or fashionable, religion in its stead.
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 vv25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31 CHAPTER Deu_6:10, etc.; Deu_8:7, etc.; Deu_31:20, Deu_31:21; Deu_32:15, etc.;…
CHAPTER Deu_6:10, etc.; Deu_8:7, etc.; Deu_31:20, Deu_31:21; Deu_32:15, etc.; Hos_13:6) then should they utterly perish from off the land of which they were now about to take possession.
Have remained long in the land; literally, have become old, an ancient nation, etc. To provoke him to anger; i.e. so as that he should be displeased and grieved, and roused to punish.
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Vers. 25-28. Penalties of disobedience and apostasy.
(See Homiletics, De 28)
HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR Vers. 25-31. Judgment leading to mercy.
After stating the fact of God"s jealousy in the matter of graven images, Moses goes on as a prophet to declare that, if they corrupt themselves in this way in Canaan, the result will be their destruction and dispersion. But in dispersion, if they turn with all their hearts to God (ver. 29), they shall find him and be restored. God is merciful as well as jealous (ver. 31). The following thoughts are hereby suggested:
I JUDGMENT IS WITH A VIEW TO AMENDMENT. Of course, the incorrigible stage may eventually be reached. But until this spirit is manifested, judgment is remedial. The dealings of God with Israel, as we know from the history, were in hope of national amendment. Defeat at the hand of their enemies, exile in Babylon, and all the severe dispensations were to bring them to their senses and lead them to return to God. Judgment, in fact, is first the servant of mercy.
II TRIBULATION SHOULD AT ONCE LEAD US TO HEARTSEARCHING. It is not an infallible sign of special sin, as the case of Job proves. But the probabilities are in favor of supposing that some special sin has called for special sorrow. Let self-examination, then, be the rule in the midst of all our tribulations. God is calling us in trumpet-tones to return to his embrace.
III MERCY FINDS IN TROUBLE A SPLENDID SPHERE. The riches of God"s grace and mercy can be displayed only in the permitted extremities of human experience. Tribulation, exile, the bitterness which no earthly intermeddling can relieve, are so many worlds into which mercy enters to assert its power and to reign. The permission of evil has here the only explanation which the present life allows. We shall learn more afterwards, but meanwhile this is all we can learn here.
IV THE MERCIFUL ONE COUNSELS SOULS TO RETURN AT ONCE TO COVENANT RELATIONS. A loving God is jealous of the defections of his people hence the judgment and the tribulation. But in mercy he counsels return, and promises to receive them into covenant relationship again. Here alone can we have peace and satisfaction of a permanent character. Outside the covenant there can be no real comfort or joy. In covenant relations with God, there is a charmed circle, and peace passing all understanding. As Israel returned after the exile, may we return from our backslidings to the consolations of the covenant again! R.M.E.
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 v29 If from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy…
Deu_4:29-31
If from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God.
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Conversions encouraged
I. First, then, there is a time mentioned. If from thence thou shalt seek the Lord . . . When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee even in the latter days.
1. The time in which the Lord bids you seek Him, O you unforgiven ones, is, first of all, from thence--that is, from the condition into which you have fallen, or the position which you now occupy. Today, even today, He bids you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
2. With regard to the time of turning, it is well worthy of our notice that we are specially encouraged to turn unto the Lord if we are in a painful plight. Our text says, When thou art in tribulation. Are you sick? Does your weakness increase upon you? Are you apprehensive that this sickness may even be unto death? When thou art in such tribulation, then thou mayest return to Him. A sick body should lead us the more earnestly to seek healing for our sick soul. Are you poor, have you come down from a comfortable position to one of hard labour and of scant provision? When thou art in this tribulation, then turn to the Lord, for He has sent thee this need to make thee see thy yet greater necessity, even thy need of Himself.
3. Notice further, when you feel that the judgments of God have begun to overtake you, then you may come to Him: When thou art in tribulation and all these things - these threatened things - are come upon thee.
4. There is yet one more word which appears to me to contain great comfort in it, and it is this, even in the latter days. It is a beautiful sight, though it is mingled with much sadness, to see a very old man become a babe in Christ--to see him, after he has been so many years the proud, wayward, self-confident master of himself, at last learning wisdom and sitting at Jesus feet. They hang up in the cathedrals and public halls old banners which have long been carried by the enemy into the thick of the fight. If they have been torn by shot and shell, so much the more do the captors value them: the older the standard the more honour is it, it seems, to seize it as a trophy.
II. But now look at the way appointed. To find mercy, what are we bidden to do? If from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God.
1. We have not, then, to bring anything to God, but to seek Him. We have not to seek a righteousness to bring to Him, nor seek a state of heart which will fit us for Him, but to seek Him at once. Salvation is not by doing, nor by being, nor by feeling, but simply by believing. We are not to be content with self, but to seek the Lord. Being ourselves unworthy, we are to find worthiness in Jesus.
2. We are also to grasp the Lord as ours, for the text says, Thou shalt seek the Lord thy God. Sinners, that is a part of saving faith, to take God to be your God; if He is only another mans God, He cannot save you; He must be yours to trust and love and serve all your days, or you will be lost.
3. Now, mark Gods directions--If thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. There must be no pretence about this seeking. If you desire to be saved, there must be no playing and trifling and feigning. The search must be real, sincere, and earnest, intense, thorough going, or it will be a failure.
4. The text further adds that we are to turn to Him. Did you notice the 30th verse--If thou turn to the Lord thy God? It must be a thorough turn. You are looking now towards the world--you must turn in the opposite direction, and look Godward. It must not be an apparent turn, but a real change of the nature, a turning of the entire soul; a turning with repentance for the past, with confidence in Christ for the present, and with holy desires for the future. Heart, soul, life, speech, action, all must be changed.
5. Then it is added, and be obedient to His voice, for we cannot be saved in disobedience; Christ is not come to save His people in their sins, but from their sins.
III. Thirdly, the text contains very rich encouragements. How does it run?
1. For the Lord thy God is a merciful God; He will not forsake thee. Catch at that, sinner,--He will not forsake thee. If He were to say, Let him alone, Ephraim is given unto idols, it would be all over with you; but if you seek Him, He will not say, Let him alone, nor take His Holy Spirit from you. You are not yet given up, I hope, or you would not have been here.
2. And then it is added, Neither destroy thee. You have been afraid He would; you have often thought the earth would open and swallow you: you have been afraid to fall asleep lest you should never wake again; but the Lord will not destroy you; nay, rather He will reveal His saving power in you.
3. There is a sweeter word still in the 29th verse, Thou shalt find Him if thou seek Him. What more, poor sinner, what more dost thou want?
4. Then there are two reasons given: For the Lord thy God is a merciful God. Oh guilty soul, the Lord does not want to destroy you. Judgment is His strange work. Oh soul, God has such a care for man. He waits to be gracious, and His Spirit goes forth towards sinners; therefore return to Him.
5. Now dwell upon that last argument - He will not forget the covenant of thy fathers. The covenant always keeps open the path between God and man. The Lord has made a covenant concerning poor sinners with His Son Jesus Christ. He has laid help upon One that is mighty, and given Him for a covenant to the people. He evermore remembers Jesus, and how He kept that covenant; He calls to mind His sighs and death throes, and He fulfils His promise for the great Sufferers sake. Gods grace has kept His covenant on the behalf of men; God is even eager, to forgive, that He may reward Christ, and give Him to see of the travail of His soul. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Seeking God
I. What is involved in seeking God?
1. A sense of dissatisfaction with distance from Him. When men have all they want they do not set out upon a quest. Only the heart that feels the destitution and misery of being without God will address itself to this quest.
2. A conviction that God is to be found. Men do not seek for fruits and grain upon the ocean, but they seek them with assurance from the soil they till. Doubtless many, searching in the wrong direction, have exclaimed, Who can, by searching, find out God? But those who look for the Eternal in His Word, and especially in the person of His Son, cannot look in vain.
3. The seeking for God to be successful must be sincere, earnest, diligent--i.e. with all thy heart and with all thy soul--more eagerly and resolutely than men in the East sought for hidden treasure, than men seek for health, knowledge, wealth or fame. Those who thus seek for Christ--the pearl of great price--are not far from Him.
III. What is promised to those who thus seek God?
1. They shall find the Object of their desire: They that seek Me early shall find Me. Not like the search for the philosophers stone, which men foolishly wasted life in endeavouring to find.
2. They shall find God in Christ.
3. In Christ they shall find rest to their souls, joy, life eternal. They who find Christ find Him never to lose Him, or aught that He bestows. (Family Churchman.)
Great sinners encouraged to return to God
I. A few cases to which this language applies.
1. I have gone great lengths in sin. I was a drunkard and blasphemer. God has now brought me into trouble; I cannot live long, and yet fear to die. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord, etc.
2. I was born of religious parents, I was long weary of religion, and wished to be free. At length my father died, and I gave myself up to evil, and now no one cares for my soul. But if from thence, etc.
3. My conduct has been correct and orderly; but I have prided myself upon it; I have lived a Pharisee. Now I feel the need of something with which to appear before God. Well, If from thence, etc.
4. I have made a profession of religion and thought well of my state, but indulged in secret sins, and afterwards in outward transgressions, and now I am all outcast; everyone shuns me. But if from thence, etc.
5. Though I have not lost my character, yet I have lost my peace of mind; I am a backslider. But if from thence, etc.
II. The grounds on which this encouragement rests. (A. Fuller.)
The penitent certain of acceptance
I. Now, the first thing that strikes us in this address is, that it is based upon the anticipation that the Jews would abuse their Makers blessings; that comfort would breed luxury, and luxury would wean the heart from God; that His place would be usurped by idols, till He should be provoked to withdraw His favour and protection. All this is foreseen as the natural propensity of the human heart. And yet, though evil is spoken of as the inevitable consequence of sin, the case was not desperate; however disgraced they might be by the tyranny of men, or degraded by the bondage of Satan, they might still find mercy from the Being they had incensed. But there is another feeling which is met by the gracious assurance of our text, which is very apt to prove a stumbling block to those whose eyes are newly opened to their sins.
II. We might persuade ourselves that God will not utterly cast off those who seek Him in sincerity and truth; but how can we tell whether our feelings are earnest enough, and pure enough, and abiding enough to prevail with Him to listen to our prayer? As long as we thought we might trifle with safety we put off religion to a more convenient season; and it was not till our fears became intolerable that we besought Him heartily that He would save us; but terror is not conversion, and who will ensure that the present feelings will be lasting if the danger be withdrawn? or who can tell whether, indeed, they are anything but a foretaste of eternal torment? Again, would not the world continue to be dear to us if its gifts were not embittered by Providence? We turn to God in our trouble; but it is the mere selfishness of those who find that they have no other comforter. Will He be satisfied with such a worthless offering as this? Oh! well may Scripture say that His ways are not as our ways, when it declares at the same time that such applications are welcome to Him. We bring to Him little but disappointed hopes and blighted feelings and enfeebled health; we have tried every broken cistern before we would apply to the fountain; and even when we come at last, we come rather to escape impending punishment than from any regret for having violated our duty towards Him; and yet He scorns us not. The aged sinner, who is tottering towards the tomb, he may bring the poor remains of an ill-spent life, and find himself received at the eleventh hour. The widowed mourner, who placed all her happiness below till death snatched it from her, she may turn to the God of all consolation, and find Him a husband to herself, and a father to the fatherless around her. The convert, in all his newborn indignation, though he is sensible that he is more anxious to escape the wrath to come than the evil which provokes it, shall be accepted according to that he hath, and more shall be imparted for his improvement. I do not say that such motives are the purest or the strongest by which we can be actuated; but I say the question is whether our hearts are really changed or no, and not in what motive the change may have originated. Do you ask, then, whether your feelings are such as will prevail upon God to listen to your prayers? Prove them by acting immediately and perseveringly upon them. The tree is known by the fruit which it produces; and those, be sure, are proper feelings which bring you in a state of humiliation to the Cross of Christ. (J. Stainforth, M. A.)
God to be found by seeking
I. Notice a few cases to which this language applies.
1. The openly profane and immoral.
2. Those who were religiously educated.
3. The formal professor.
4. The backslider. The dying sinner.
II. Observe the grounds on which the encouragement rests.
1. The character of God.
2. The work of Christ.
3. The promises of the Gospel.
4. Scriptural examples of pardoned and accepted sinners.
III. Improve the subject.
1. It takes away all ground of excuse from the impenitent.
2. It takes away all ground of despair from the contrite. (G. Brooks.)
Those that seek God shall find Him
At one place to which I went I saw a dear soul to whom I put the question, Are you converted? I was once--given with, oh, such a disconsolate aspect!--I was once, but that is all gone. I was a worker for Him once, he said, with a sob, but it is all different now. My heart went out to that one. Why? There is a fire in a room, and you are crouching in a cold comer, far away from the fire. You do not say that the fire has forsaken you. Oh no, you have left the fire; conscious of that fact, you go back to it, and are soon again basking in its warmth. Ah, those who seek Him find Him, and He is so loving and so forgiving, in spite of all the hard thoughts which you had of Him. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (W. Haslam.)
Earnest seeking successful
Success in this world comes only to those who exhibit determination. Can we hope for salvation unless our mind is truly set upon it? Grace makes a man be as resolved to be saved as the beggar was to get to Jesus and gain his sight. I must see him, said an applicant at the door of a public person. You cannot see him, said the servant; but the man waited at the door. A friend went out to him and said, You cannot see the master, but I can give you an answer; No, said the importunate pleader, I will stay all night on the doorstep, but I will see the man himself. He alone will serve my turn. You do not wonder that, after many rebuffs, he ultimately gained his point. It would be an infinitely greater wonder if an importunate sinner did not obtain an audience from the Lord Jesus. If you must have grace, you shall have it. If you will not be put off you shall not be put off. Whether things look favourable or unfavourable, press on till you find Jesus, and you shall find Him. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Trouble often drives people to God
There is a story told that in the olden time Artaxerxes and another great king were engaged in a furious fight. In the middle of the battle an eclipse happened, and such was the horror of the warriors that they made peace then and there. Happy will you be if your trouble will cause you to fly to the arms of God. If you tell your troubles to Him you put them into the grave; if you roll your burden anywhere else, it will roll back again like the stone of Sisyphus. The springs at the base of the Alpine mountains are fullest when the summer sun has dried and parched the verdure in the valleys below. The heat that has burned the arid plains has melted mountain glacier and snow, and increased the volume of the mountain streams. Thus when adversity has dried the springs of earthly comfort, the saint has the fulness of the springs of salvation.
The heart reached by adversity
The four seasons once determined to try which could quickest roach the heart of a stone. Spring coaxed the stone with its gentle breezes, and made flowers encircle it, and trees to shoot out their branches and embower it, but all to no purpose, The stone remained indifferent to the beauties of the spring, nor would it yield its heart to its gentle caresses. Summer came next, and caused the sun to shine on the stone, hoping to melt its obdurate heart; but though the surface of the stone grew warm, it quickly became cold again when not under the influence of the summer suns rays. Summer thus being unable by any degree of warmth to penetrate the flinty nature of the stone, gave place to autumn. Believing that the stone had been treated with too much kindness, the autumn withered the flowers and stripped the trees of their leaves, and threatened and blustered, but still the stone remained impassive. Winter came next. First it sent strong winds, which laid the stone bare, then it sent a cold rain, and next a hard frost, which cleaved the stone and laid bare its heart. So many a heart, which neither gentleness, warmth, nor threats can touch, is reached by adversity. (A. Freeman.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v25 The Appeal Supported by a Reference to God’s Kindness
The Appeal Supported by a Reference to God’s Kindness
v. 25. When thou shalt beget children and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, literally, become old in the land, which would include the forgetting of the former acts of God’s mercy, and shall corrupt yourselves, the first zealous love for Jehovah having grown cold, and make a graven image, or the likeness of anything, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord, thy God, to provoke Him to anger,
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v. 26. I call heaven and earth, as living, sensible creatures, to witness against you this day that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. The witness summoned by Moses would be able to testify to the fact that the Lord had given His people the choice of life and death, Deu 30:19, and therefore was fully justified in punishing unfaithfulness.
v. 27. And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you, Lev 26:33. All the judgments of the Lord upon His disobedient people are here included, down to the time of the Romans and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A. D.
v. 28. And there, in the captivity and in the final dispersal among the nations, ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell, Psa 115:4-5; Psa 135:15-16; Isa 44:9; Isa 46:7. Having rejected Jehovah, they would find themselves condemned by Him in being given up to the foolishness of their idolatrous hearts.
v. 29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord, thy God, turning back to Him in true repentance, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. Cf Luk 15:17. The promise that the children of Israel should find Jehovah is a wonderful and comforting Gospel-message: for it assures them that His kindness, grace, and mercy will be poured out upon the truly repentant sinners once more.
v. 30. When thou art in tribulation, misery, oppression, and all these things are come upon thee, find thee, strike thee, even in the latter days, in the far-distant future, if thou turn to the Lord, thy God, and shalt be obedient unto His voice,
v. 31. (for the Lord, thy God, is a merciful God,) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. The covenant of God’s faithfulness and mercy would not be broken on His side.
v. 32. For ask now of the days that are past, search the records of the world’s history from the beginning, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, as far as the world extends, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it.
v. 33. Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? All of which goes to show that the Lord had singled out Israel for unusual manifestations of His kindness.
v. 34. Or hath God assayed (essayed) to go and take Him a nation from the midst of another nation, as He did in leading Israel out of the midst of the Egyptians, by temptations, by which the position of Pharaoh over against the Lord was tried out, by signs and by wonders, the great plagues of Egypt, and by war, when the Egyptians were about to attack the children of Israel at the Red Sea, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched-out arm, Exo 13:3; Exo 6:6, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord, your God, did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
v. 35. Unto thee, before every other nation on the earth, it was showed that thou mightest know that the Lord, He is God; there is none else beside Him. He is the one exclusive, the one true God.
v. 36. Out of heaven he made thee to hear His voice, Exo 19:9-19, that He might instruct thee; and upon earth He showed thee His great fire, in the burning of Mount Sinai; and thou heardest His words out of the midst of the fire. The purpose of this instruction was to impart a wholesome fear of the sanctity of Jehovah to the hearts of the people.
v. 37. And because He loved thy fathers, from Abraham down, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in His sight with His mighty power out of Egypt, Exo 13:3-14;
v. 38. to drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an in heritance, as it is this day, for the conquest of the country east of the Jordan was a guarantee of the conquest of the entire country.
v. 39. Know, therefore, this day, and consider it in thine heart, contemplate the lessons of all these happenings most carefully, that the Lord, he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else, there is only one true God; He is unity.
v. 40. Thou shalt keep, therefore, His statutes and His commandments which I command thee this day, both those pertaining to them, concerning them, as men, and those having reference to them as the covenant people, that it may go well with thee, since they would have Jehovah on their side, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee, forever; for a long and happy life, accompanied by the goodness of the Lord, is a blessing. We Christians also know the precepts of the Lord’s holy will and should live in accordance with them. If we are always mindful of the fact that God has redeemed us from the kingdom of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son, we shall also be ready to serve Him in true obedience, to do according to His commandments.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv25, 27, 29, 30 General Information:
General Information:
Moses continues to speak to the people of Israel.
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you beget ... Yahweh your God
The words "you" and "your" are singular here.
beget
become the father of, or become the ancestor of
if you corrupt yourselves
"if you do what is wrong." See how you translated these words in Deuteronomy 4:16.
do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh your God, to provoke him to anger
This is an idiom. AT: "you make Yahweh your God angry by doing what he says is evil" (See: Idiom)
I call heaven and earth to witness
Possible meanings are 1) Moses is calling on all those who live in heaven and earth to be witnesses to what he says or 2) Moses is speaking to heaven and earth as if they are people, and he is calling them to be witnesses to what he says. (See: Metonymy and Personification)
you will not prolong your days
Long days are a metaphor for a long life. AT: "you will not be able to live a long time" (See: Metaphor)
but you will be completely destroyed
As indicated in Deu 4:27, not every Israelite will be killed. Here "completely destroy" is a generalization and emphasizes that many of the Israelites will die. This can be stated in active form. AT: "but Yahweh will destroy many of you" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization and Active or Passive)
translationWords
corrupt
image
evil
anger
heaven
earth
testimony
perish
Jordan River
possess
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 vv26, 27, 30 4:26 Heaven and earth would be witnesses against Israel…
4:26 Heaven and earth would be witnesses against Israel if the people were disloyal to the Lord. In a covenant partnership, the parties to the agreement were held accountable to the oaths of loyalty and commitment they made to each other in the presence of witnesses (Isa 1:2-7; Mic 6:1-8). In Deuteronomy, the natural creation plays that role of witness (see Deut also 30:19).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.