1Against idolatry. 3A blessing is promised to them that keep the commandments. 14A curse is denounced against those that break them. 40God promiseth to remember those that repent.
1YE shalla make you 1no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a 2standing image, neither shall ye set up any 3image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.
a Exod. 20:4; Deut. 5:8; 16:22; Psalm 97:7.
1 See Lev. 19 on verse 4.
2 The Hebrew word signifies all manner of things reared up pillar-wise, or placed upon a pillar in honor of idols, Exod. 23:24; Deut. 16:22.
3 Hebr. stone of the image, or, representation.
2¶Ye shall keep my sabbaths, andb4reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.
b Lev. 19:30.
4 See Lev. 19 on verse 30.
3¶Ifc ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
c Deut. 28:1, etc.
4Then I will give you 5rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
5 Such as ye shall stand in need of, both the early and the latter rain. The Hebrew has rains.
5And your 6threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintaged shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread toe the 7full, and dwell in your land safely.
6 The meaning is that the harvest would be so plentiful that they would not be able to make an end with thrashing their grain before the vintage, and their vintage would likewise be so abundant that they would not have done gathering, pressing and storing their wine before the seed time; so that they would be surprised by the work.
d time of grape gathering*
e Lev. 25:19.
7 Also Lev. 25:19.
6And I will give peace in the land, andf ye shall 8lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will ridg evil beasts out of the land, neither 9shall the sword go through your land.
f Job 11:18, 19.
8 Or, that ye shall sleep, or, lie down to sleep. Also Gen. 19:4.
g clear away, remove*
9 That is, it shall not be troubled with wars. Thus the word sword is taken for war in Num. 14:3; 2 Sam. 12:10; Isa. 1:20; Ezek. 30:4. Compare the annotation at Gen. 27 on verse 40.
7And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you 10by the sword.
10 That is, perish in war. So in the next verse, and Num. 14:3; 2 Sam. 3:29; Psalm 78:64; Jer. 20:4.
8Andh11five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
h Joshua 23:10.
11 A certain number is set down for an uncertain, likewise verses 18, 26; Gen. 4:15, 24, etc.; Num. 14:22; 1 Sam. 18:7; Job 5:19. Here the meaning is, that a few Israelites shall be able to chase and defeat a great many of their enemies.
9For I will have 12respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
12 Or, have the face upon you, namely, to do you good.
10And ye shall eat 13old store, and bring forth 14the old 15because of the new.
13 Understand this of such fruits which one is able to keep long, remaining tasty and capable unto nourishment.
14 That is, I will bestow such plenty and abundance upon you that the old fruits shall not be voided nor spent yet out of your barns or storehouses before the new shall come to take their place, and for which you must make riddance of the old.
15 Hebr. from the face of the new.
11Andi I will set my 16tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not 17abhor you.
i Ezek. 37:26; 2 Cor. 6:16.
16 That is, I will cause My grace and favor, My Word and worship to abide continually amongst you that I may remain your God and ye My people. Compare the next verse.
17 The Hebrew word signifies to reject a thing with great abhorrence, so that it causes an utter aversion and turning away of one’s self from it. Also verses 15, 30, 43, 44.
12And I will 18walk among you, 19and will be your God, and ye shall be my 20people.
18 Namely, (this is) to instruct you in spiritual matters, to sanctify and to conduct you to your everlasting salvation; and to bless you outwardly with abundance of health, wealth, fruitfulness and peace.
19 See Gen. 17 on verse 7; Ezek. 11:20.
20 That is, which I, through the promised Messiah, shall by grace illuminate, justify and sanctify unto eternal salvation, 1 Cor. 1:30.
13I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the 21bands of your yoke, and made you go 22upright.
21 Hebr. mowtah, that is by implication, an ox-bow or a carriage pole, which is the middle-most beam on a wagon unto which the horses are fastened; or understand the cart ropes and tackling wherewith they are tied and fastened to the carriage pole. Hereby is compared the bondage of the Israelites who were, as a yoke, made to bear in Egypt. See of this and similar phrases Jer. 27:2, 8; 28:2, 13, 14. Likewise Nahum 1:13.
22 Hebr. with elevation, that is, so that you were able to lift up your heads again, and walk uprightly as being eased, revived, cheered and courageous.
14¶Butj if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
j Deut. 28:15; Lam. 2:17; Mal. 2:2.
15And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye 23break my covenant:
23 That is, to make it of no effect, that I cannot perform My promises by reason of your unbelief and disobedience. Also Isa. 24:5.
16I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint 24over you terror, consumption,k and the burning ague,l that shall consume 25the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
24 Namely, as rulers, who shall reign over you as severe judges, shall punish and afflict you in executing My righteous judgments against you. Compare this kind of expression with a similar one 2 Kings 8:1 and see the annotation there.
k a disease causing wasting away of the body*
l a fever, usually malarial
25 See 1 Sam. 2:33.
17And I will set my 26face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and yem shall flee when none pursueth you.
26 See Lev. 17 on verse 10.
m Prov. 28:1.
18And 27if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you 28seven times more for your sins.
27 That is, when I shall have gone thus far in punishing you and still you will not be moved to obey Me.
28 See on verse 8.
19And I will break 29the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven 30as iron, and your earth 31as brass:
29 That is, the strength about which you are proud.
30 That is, altogether dry, without giving you any rain.
31 That is, hard and barren.
2032And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
32 That is, you shall labor and toil with body and mind, and use all your means and industry to help you, but it shall be to no purpose, and prove mere labor in vain.
21¶And if ye walk 33contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
33 That is, set yourselves purposely in opposition against Me, or treat Me as adversaries, as resolved to oppose Me; despising My commandments, willfully trampling them under your feet by your trespassing against Me. Other, carelessly, recklessly, without care or being suspicious, as persuading themselves in their fond deceits that their well and woe do not come from Me, but by chance, and shall therefore refuse and deny Me all due reverence and obedience.
22I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall 34rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high 35ways shall be desolate.
34 Or, which shall bereave you, namely, of your children, see Ezek. 5:17.
35 Namely, those in your own land, which none dare to use them for fear of those wild, devouring beasts.
23And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk 36contrary unto me;
36 See on verse 21.
24Then will I also walk 37contrary unto you,n and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
37 That is, come against you with My righteous punishments and judgments. Other, by casualty (as it falls out), namely, as One Who takes no further care for you to do you good, but I shall so deal with you that all manner of vexations shall seem to overtake you as by accident. Compare Psalm 18:26.
n 2 Sam. 22:27; Psalm 18:26.
25And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the 38quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
38 That is, the punishment which you shall have deserved, for having made My covenant of no effect through your apostasy and disobedience. See verse 15.
26And when I have broken the 39staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread 40in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again 41by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
39 That is, the nourishing virtue of all manner of food and meat, especially of bread, upon which man’s life is supported by the blessing of the Lord, as a staff is to a weak and feeble person. See of this kind of speaking Ezek. 4:16.
40 That is, there shall be such a scarcity of bread that one ordinary oven shall suffice for many women to bake bread there for many families; whereas otherwise one family had provision enough to fill one oven alone.
41 That is, the bread shall have its weight indeed, but not its strength and efficacy according to the weight.
27And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
28Then I will walk contrary unto you also 42in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
42 Hebr. in hot, or, fervent indignation of contrariety or meeting.
29Ando ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
o Deut. 28:53; 2 Kings 6:28; Lam. 4:10.
30And I will destroy your 43high places, and cut down yourp44images, and cast your carcases upon the 45carcases of your 46idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
43 Understand high places, as mountains and hills, whereon sacrifices were offered to the idols; or, the high structures of the altars. See of these likewise Num. 33:52; Ezek. 6:3.
p 2 Chron. 34:7.
44 The Hebrew word signifies certain images which had their name from heat and warmth, or (as some hold) that they stood for view in the sun. Others do here understand houses and altars which were set up in honor of the sun; or, on which the fire was honored as a god. See of these images also 2 Chron. 14:5; Ezek. 6:4, etc.
45 As such He calls the broken pieces and the stumps of the idols, which the bodies of the servants of the idols, as they would be cast thereat, would in the same manner be despised and also not be reckoned worthy of an honorable burial.
46 Hebr. dungs, that is, which are accounted of God to be nothing else than man’s dung; and which everyone ought therefore to abhor as the most noisome filth. And the images of the idols are often termed thus to make us to abhor and detest the more all idolatry as a most heinous abomination. See Deut. 29:17; 1 Kings 15:12; 2 Kings 17:12; 21:11; Jer. 50:2; Ezek. 6:6; 14:3; 20:7, etc.
31And I will make your cities waste, and bring your 47sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your 48sweet odours.
47 Understand, the temple, which is likewise called thus in the plural Ezek. 21:2. The reason is that the same had several parts, namely, the most holy place, the holy place and the courts.
48 Namely, which comes from your sacrifice; that is, your offerings shall not be acceptable unto Me. Compare Gen. 8:21; Isa. 1:11, 12, 13, etc.
32And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell 49therein shall be astonished at it.
49 Namely, when you have been ousted thence. See the next verse.
33And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
34Then shall the land 50enjoy her sabbaths,q as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.
50 That is, the land shall enjoy its rest, which ye shall have refused to give unto it, disobeying my law, Lev. 25:4. See the next verse.
q Lev. 25:2.
35As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.
36And upon them that are left alive of you 51I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, 52as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
51 That is, I shall deprive them of all courage and vigorousness, and haunt them with continual fears and frights, so that they shall be frightened without distress.
52 Hebr. the flight of a sword.
37And they shall fall 53one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have 54no power to stand before your enemies.
53 Hebr. the man upon his brother.
54 Hebr. unto you shall not be, or, ye shall not have the steadfastness, or, standing up, or, rising up.
38And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
39And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also 55in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
55 Namely, having followed their steps. See God’s threat Exod. 20:5.
40If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
41And 56that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their 57uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then 58accept of the 59punishment of their iniquity:
56 Other, Yea, I shall walk with them in contrariety and bring them into the land of their enemies. Surely then their uncircumcised heart shall be, etc. And I shall, etc.
57 That is, impenitent, stubborn, and most unwilling to cast sin out, but rather entertaining and fomenting it. So Jer. 9:26; Ezek. 44:7; Acts 7:51.
58 That is, if they truly confess that they have deserved the punishment according to their sins and consequently repent themselves sincerely from the heart.
59 Hebr. iniquity. See Lev. 5 on verse 1.
42Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
43The land also shall be left 60of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate 61without them: and they shall accept of the 62punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.
60 Or, for their sakes.
61 Or, from them.
62 Hebr. iniquity, as verse 41.
44And 63yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, Ir will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.
63 That is, besides that I shall remember them, when they shall convert themselves unto Me, I shall likewise be mindful of them whiles yet they remain in captivity among their enemies and in their very impenitence.
r Deut. 4:31; Rom. 11:1, 26, etc.
45But I will 64for their sakes remember the covenant 65of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.
64 Hebr. for them. Compare Psalm 79:8.
65 Or, predecessors, that is, that which I made with the elderly, namely their forefathers, whom I led forth out of Egypt.
46These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.