The covenant is solemnly confirmed between God and his people. Threats against those that shall break it.
A couenant and oath is made betwen God and his people (with commemoration of sundrie benefites by them receiued) that keping his law they shal be more blessed: and breaking the same shal susteine the threatned punishmentes.
1These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab: beside that covenant which he made with them in Horeb.Queste sono le condizioni dell'alleanza, che il Signore ordinò a Mosè di stabilir co' figliuoli d'Israele nella terra di Moab, oltre a quella ch'ei con essi fermò sull'Horeb.THESE are the wordes of the couenant which our Lord commanded Moyses to make with the children of Israel in the Land of Moab: beside that couenant which he made with them in Horeb.Hæc sunt verba fœderis quod præcepit Dominus Moysi ut feriret cum filiis Israël in terra Moab: præter illud fœdus, quod cum eis pepigit in Horeb. 2And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: You have seen all the things that the Lord did before you in the land of Egypt to Pharao, and to all his servants, and to his whole land.E Mosè convocò tutto Israele, e disse loro: Voi vedeste tutto quello che fece il Signore dinanzi a voi nella terra d'Egitto a Faraone, e a tutti i suoi servi, e a tutto il suo regno;And Moyses called al Israel, and said to them: you saw al thinges, that our Lord did before you in the Land of Aegypt to Pharao, and to al his seruantes, and to his whole land,Vocavitque Moyses omnem Israël, et dixit ad eos: Vos vidistis universa, quæ fecit Dominus coram vobis in terra Ægypti Pharaoni, et omnibus servis ejus, universæque terræ illius, 3The great temptations, which thy eyes have seen, those mighty signs and wonders,Quelle grandi tribolazioni, e que' segni e prodigii grandiosi, de' quali foste voi spettatori;the great tentations, which thine eies haue seene, those mightie signes, and wonders,tentationes magnas, quas viderunt oculi tui, signa illa, portentaque ingentia, 4And the Lord hath not given you a heart to understand, and eyes to see, and ears that may hear, unto this present day.E fino al dì d'oggi non ha dato a voi il Signore un cuore intelligente, né occhi veggenti, né orecchie capaci di udire.and our Lord hath not geuen you a hart to vnderstand, and eies to see, and eares that can heare, vnto this present day.et non dedit vobis Dominus cor intelligens, et oculos videntes, et aures quæ possunt audire, usque in præsentem diem. 5He hath brought you forty years through the desert: your garments are not worn out, neither are the shoes of your feet consumed with age.Egli fu vostra guida per quarant'anni nel deserto: non si logoraron le vostre vesti, e i calzari dei vostri piedi non si consumarono per vecchiezza.He hath brought you fourtie yeares by the desert: your garmentes are not worne out, neither are the shoes of your feete consumed with age.Adduxit vos quadraginta annis per desertum: non sunt attrita vestimenta vestra, nec calceamenta pedum vestrorum vetustate consumpta sunt.
6You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink: that you might know that I am the Lord your God.Non mangiaste pane, né beveste vino, o sicera, affinché conosceste, com'io Dio vostro sono il Signore.Breade you haue not eaten, wine and sicer you haue not drunke: that you might know that I am the Lord your God.Panem non comedistis, vinum et siceram non bibistis: ut sciretis quia ego sum Dominus Deus vester. 7And you came to this place: and Sehon king of Hesebon, and Og king of Basan, came out against us to fight. And we slew them.E giungeste a questo luogo: e si mossero Sehon re di Hesebon, e Og re di Basan per venire a combatterci. E noi li mettemmo in rotta:And you came to this place: and there came forth Sehon the King of Hesebon, and Og the King of Basan, meeting vs to fight. And we stroke them,Et venistis ad hunc locum: egressusque est Sehon rex Hesebon, et Og rex Basan, occurrentes nobis ad pugnam. Et percussimus eos, 8And took their land, and delivered it for a possession to Ruben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses.E occupammo il loro paese, e ne demmo il dominio a Ruben, e a Gad, e a mezza la tribù di Manasse.and tooke their land, and deliuered it in possession to Ruben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses.et tulimus terram eorum, ac tradidimus possidendam Ruben et Gad, et dimidiæ tribui Manasse. 9Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and fulfil them: that you may understand all that you do.Osservate adunque le condizioni di quest'alleanza, e adempitele affinché in tutto quello che fate, siate intelligenti.Keepe therfore the wordes of this couenant, and fulfil them: that you may vnderstand al thinges that you doe.Custodite ergo verba pacti hujus, et implete ea: ut intelligatis universa quæ facitis. 10You all stand this day before the Lord your God, your princes, and tribes, and ancients, and doctors, all the people of Israel,Voi state tutti quest'oggi dinanzi al Signore Dio vostro, i principi delle vostre tribù, e i seniori, e i dottori, e tutto il popolo d'Israele,You stand this day al before our Lord your God, your princes, and tribes, and ancientes, and doctors, al the people of Israel,Vos statis hodie cuncti coram Domino Deo vestro, principes vestri, et tribus, ac majores natu, atque doctores, omnis populus Israël, 11Your children and your wives, and the stranger that abideth with thee in the camp, besides the hewers of wood, and them that bring water:I vostri figliuoli, e le vostre mogli, e i forestieri, che dimorano tra di voi negli alloggiamenti, eccetto quelli che taglian le legna, e que' che portano l'acqua,your children and your wiues, and the strangers that abide with thee in the campe, besides the cutters of wood, and them, that carie water:liberi et uxores vestræ, et advena qui tecum moratur in castris, exceptis lignorum cæsoribus, et his qui comportant aquas:
12That thou mayst pass in the covenant of the Lord thy God, and in the oath which this day the Lord thy God maketh with thee.Per entrare nell'alleanza del Signore Dio tuo, alleanza giurata in quest'oggi dal Signore Dio tuo con te:that thou mayest passe in the couenant of our Lord thy God, and in the oath which in this day our Lord thy God maketh with thee:ut transeas in fœdere Domini Dei tui, et in jurejurando quod hodie Dominus Deus tuus percutit tecum: 13That he may raise thee up a people to himself, and he may be thy God as he hath spoken to thee, and as he swore to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.Ond'egli ti scelga in suo popolo, ed egli sia il tuo Dio, come promise a te, e come lo giurò a' padri tuoi Abramo, Isacco e Giacobbe.that he may rayse thee vp a people to him selfe, and he be thy God as he hath spoken to thee, and as he sware to thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Iacob.ut suscitet te sibi in populum, et ipse sit Deus tuus sicut locutus est tibi, et sicut juravit patribus tuis, Abraham, Isaac, et Jacob. 14Neither with you only do I make this covenant, and confirm these oaths,E non per voi soli io stringo oggi quest'alleanza, e la confermo con giuramento,Neither with you onlie doe I make this couenant, and confirme these oathes,Nec vobis solis ego hoc fœdus ferio, et hæc juramenta confirmo, 15But with all that are present and that are absent.Ma per tutti quelli che sono qui, e per quelli che qui non sono.but with al that be present and absent.sed cunctis præsentibus et absentibus. 16For you know how we dwelt in the land of Egypt, and how we have passed through the midst of nations, and passing through them,Imperocché voi sapete, come noi abitammo nella terra d'Egitto, e come passammo per mezzo alle nazioni, e in passandovi,For you know how we dwelt in the Land of Aegypt, and how we haue passed through the middes of nations, which passing throughVos enim nostis quomodo habitaverimus in terra Ægypti, et quomodo transierimus per medium nationum, quas transeuntes 17You have seen their abominations and filth, that is to say, their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which they worshipped.Voi vedeste le abbominazioni, e le sozzure, cioè a dire i loro idoli, il legno, la pietra, l'oro, l'argento, ch'elle adoravano.you haue seene their abominations and filth, that is to say, their Idols, wood and stone, siluer and gold, which they worshipped.vidistis abominationes et sordes, id est, idola eorum, lignum et lapidem, argentum et aurum, quæ colebant.
18Lest perhaps there should be among you a man or a woman, a family or a tribe, whose heart is turned away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of those nations: and there should be among you a root bringing forth gall and bitterness.Non siavi tra voi uomo, o donna, famiglia, o tribù, che abbia oggi il cuore alieno dal Signore Dio nostro; onde vada a servire agli dei di queste nazioni, e spunti tra voi questa radice che germini fiele e amaritudine.Lest perhaps there be among you man or woman, familie or tribe, whose hart is turned away this day from our Lord God, to goe and serue the goddes of those Nations: and there be among you a roote bringing forth gal and bitternes.Ne forte sit inter vos vir aut mulier, familia aut tribus, cujus cor aversum est hodie a Domino Deo nostro, ut vadat et serviat diis illarum gentium: et sit inter vos radix germinans fel et amaritudinem. 19And when he shall hear the words of this oath, he should bless himself in his heart saying: I shall have peace, and will walk on in the naughtiness of my heart: and the drunken may consume the thirsty,E costui avendo udite le parole della giurata alleanza si lusinghi in cuor suo, e dica: Io me ne starò in pace, e seguirò la pravità del mio cuore: e l'ebbro conduca in rovina colui che soffre la sete,And when he shal heare the wordes of this oath, he blesse him selfe in his hart, saying: I shal haue place, and walke in the prauitie of my hart: and the drunken take to her the thirstie,Cumque audierit verba juramenti hujus, benedicat sibi in corde suo, dicens: Pax erit mihi, et ambulabo in pravitate cordis mei: et absumat ebria sitientem, 20And the Lord should not forgive him: but his wrath and jealousy against that man should be exceedingly enkindled at that time, and all the curses that are written in this volume should light upon him: and the Lord should blot out his name from under heaven,Non gli perdonerà il Signore: ma allora massimamente fumerà il suo sdegno, e lo zelo di lui contro questo tale, e sopra di lui poseranno tutte le maledizioni, che sono scritte in questo volume: e il Signore farà che più non resti memoria di lui sotto del cielo,and our Lord forgeue him not: but then his furie most specially fume, and his zeale against that man, and al the curses sitte vpon him, that be written in this volume: and our Lord abolish his name vnder heauen,et Dominus non ignoscat ei: sed tunc quam maxime furor ejus fumet, et zelus contra hominem illum, et sedeant super eum omnia maledicta, quæ scripta sunt in hoc volumine: et deleat Dominus nomen ejus sub cælo, 21And utterly destroy him out of all the tribes of Israel, according to the curses that are contained in the book of this law and covenant:E lo sterminerà in perpetuo da tutte le tribù d'Israele secondo le maledizioni contenute in questo libro della legge, e della alleanza.and consume him vnto perdition out of al the tribes of Israel, according to the curses, that are conteyned in the Booke of this law and couenant.et consumat eum in perditionem ex omnibus tribubus Israël, juxta maledictiones, quæ in libro legis hujus ac fœderis continentur.
22And the following generation shall say, and the children that shall be born hereafter, and the strangers that shall come from afar, seeing the plagues of that land and the evils wherewith the Lord hath afflicted it,E la generazione che succederà, e i fanciulli nati in appresso, e i forestieri venuti da lungi, in veggendo le piaghe di questo paese, e i mali, onde lo affliggerà il Signore,And the generation folowing shal say, and the children that shal be borne from thence forth, and the strangers, that shal come from a farre, seeing the plagues of that Land, and the infirmities, wherwith our Lord hath afflicted it,Dicetque sequens generatio, et filii qui nascentur deinceps, et peregrini qui de longe venerint, videntes plagas terræ illius, et infirmitates, quibus eam afflixerit Dominus, 23Burning it with brimstone, and the heat of salt, so that it cannot be sown any more, nor any green thing grow therein, after the example of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha, Adama and Seboim, which the Lord destroyed in his wrath and indignation:(Il quale lo brucerà col zolfo, e col sale ardente, talmente che più non ci si faccia sementa, e nulla di verde ci pulluli, a similitudine della distruzione di Sodoma, e di Gomorra, di Adama, e di Seboim rovinate dal Signore nel furore dell'ira sua),burning it with brimstone, and heate of the salt, so that it can no more be sowen, nor any grene thing spring therof, after the example of the subuersion of Sodom and Gomorrha, Adama, and Seboim, which our Lord subuerted in his wrath and furie.sulphure, et salis ardore comburens, ita ut ultra non seratur, nec virens quippiam germinet, in exemplum subversionis Sodomæ et Gomorrhæ, Adamæ et Seboim, quas subvertit Dominus in ira et furore suo. 24And all the nations shall say: Why hath the Lord done thus to this land? what meaneth this exceeding great heat of his wrath?Diranno (e con essi tutte le genti): Per qual motivo ha egli il Signore trattato così questo paese? che ira, e furore immenso è mai questo?And al the Nations shal say: Why hath the Lord done thus to this Land? what is this exceding wrath of his furie?Et dicent omnes gentes: Quare sic fecit Dominus terræ huic ? quæ est hæc ira furoris ejus immensa ? 25And they shall answer: Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord, which he made with their fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt:E sarà loro risposto: perché hanno messo in non cale il patto fermato dal Signore co' padri loro, allorché dalla terra d'Egitto li trasse:And they shal answer: Because they forsooke the couenant of the Lord, which he made with their fathers, when he brought them out of the Land of Aegypt:Et respondebunt: Quia dereliquerunt pactum Domini, quod pepigit cum patribus eorum, quando eduxit eos de terra Ægypti:
26And they have served strange gods, and adored them, whom they knew not, and for whom they had not been assigned:Ed ei servirono alle straniere divinità, e queste adorarono, le quali eglino non conoscevano, ed alle quali non erano stati sottomessi:and they haue serued strange goddes, and adored them, whom they knew not, and to whom they had not beene designed:et servierunt diis alienis, et adoraverunt eos, quos nesciebant, et quibus non fuerant attributi: 27Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this volume:Per questo si è acceso il furor del Signore contro di questa terra sino a piovere sopra di lei tutte le maledizioni che in questo libro sono descritte:therfore the furie of the Lord was wrath against this Land, to bring vpon it al the curses, that are written in this volume:idcirco iratus est furor Domini contra terram istam, ut induceret super eam omnia maledicta, quæ in hoc volumine scripta sunt: 28And he hath cast them out of their land, in anger and in wrath, and in very great indignation, and hath thrown them into a strange land, as it is seen this day.E nel furore dell'ira sua, e nella somma sua indegnazione gli ha discacciati dalla loro terra: e gli ha gettati in una terra straniera, com'oggi si fa manifesto:and he hath cast them out of their land, in wrath and furie, and in verie great indignation, and hath throwen them into a strange land, as this day it is proued.et ejecit eos de terra sua in ira et in furore, et in indignatione maxima, projecitque in terram alienam, sicut hodie comprobatur. 29Secret things to the Lord our God: things that are manifest, to us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.Segreti del Signore Dio nostro, disvelati a noi, e a' nostri figliuoli in perpetuo, affinché mettiamo in esecuzione tutte quante le parole di questa legge.Thinges hidden, to our Lord God: which are manifest, to vs and to our children for euer, that we may doe al the words of this Law.Abscondita, Domino Deo nostro; quæ manifesta sunt, nobis et filiis nostris usque in sempiternum, ut faciamus universa verba legis hujus.
29:1
Year of the World 2553.
Menochius
Covenant renewed, and confirmed with an oath, ver. 12. (Menochius)
Haydock
Horeb. Thus the speech of Moses is concluded, (Calmet) and consequently this verse should be at the end of the last chapter, as it is placed in the celebrated editions of Michaelis and Houbigant. The latter observes that, beside that covenant, etc., shews, that the curses there recorded, are not by way of explication of those mentioned in the preceding 27th chapter, "but of a quite different kind. The former are denounced against those who violate the law of the decalogue, which was given at Horeb; neither do they threaten that the chastisements shall be inflicted in this life: the latter maledictions threaten present punishments, and those of a public nature." See Deuteronomy 27:26. (Haydock)
Josue put in execution in a more solemn manner, what Moses here describes, (Josue 8:30,) to intimate that Jesus would give the last finishing to the outlines of the old covenant.
29:3
Calmet
Seen. Many who were present had seen the plagues of Egypt, and what the Israelites themselves had suffered in the wilderness. (Calmet)
29:4
Challoner
Hath not given you, etc. Through your own fault, and because you resisted his grace. (Challoner)
St. Augustine
If they had not been guilty, Moses would never have made them this reproach. "But he shews that they could not understand or obey, without God's assistance,....and yet if....it be wanting, si adjutorium Dei desit, the vice of man is not on that account, deserving of excuse, since the judgments of God are just, though they be hidden." (St. Augustine, q. 50.)
Calmet
Others explain it thus: Hitherto you have not been able to discern the designs of God in your regard: but now, being on the point of crossing the Jordan, to take possession of the land which God had promised to your fathers, you ought to place an unbounded confidence in him. Others read with an interrogation, which entirely removes the evil interpretation of the wicked, who pretend that God requires impossibilities. "Hath not the Lord?" etc. (Calmet)
Worthington
God sometimes delivers people over to a reprobate sense, and to their own will. (Theodoret, q. 37.) (Worthington)
29:6
Calmet
Bread, etc., as your ordinary food, (Menochius) though they might have both bread and wine on some occasions; as when they adored the calf, etc. (St. Augustine, q. 51.) See Deuteronomy 8:4. (Calmet)
Menochius
Your God, by providing a miraculous food for you. (Menochius)
29:9
Calmet
Understand. Hebrew, "succeed in all your undertakings." (Calmet)
29:10
Haydock
Doctors. Hebrew Shoterim. Septuagint Grammateisagogeis, (Calmet) "officers, heralds," etc. Deuteronomy 1:15., and 19:18., they are translated magistros, "masters or magistrates." (Haydock)
29:11
Calmet
Besides, (exceptis,) which may signify all were present; or rather that the strangers of Egypt, etc., who were employed in servile offices, were alone excluded, as having no part in the covenant made with the Israelites. (Calmet)
Menochius
St. Jerome seems to have rendered min, praeter, in the latter sense; but the Chaldean, Septuagint, etc., take it in the former, as if none at all were absent, from the highest to the lowest. (Menochius)
29:12
Pass; alluding to the custom of people who pass between the victims, when they engage in a solemn covenant, as Abraham did, Genesis 15:10.
Calmet
Oath. Septuagint, "imprecations," specified in the preceding chapters, ver. 14. (Calmet)
29:15
Haydock
Absent. Hebrew, "with him that standeth here this day before the Lord, and with him that is not here with us this day." If all were present, (ver. 11,) the absent must here denote the posterity of the Israelites yet unborn. (Haydock)
God made the covenant with Abraham and with his seed, before he had any children in the world.
29:17
Idols. Hebrew, "you have seen their abominations and their filth, (or idols,) wood," etc. Septuagint, "their abominations and their idols."
29:18
Haydock
Bitterness; an Israelite, who cherishes now in his heart any idol, (Haydock) and who may draw God's judgments upon the people, (Calmet) or induce them to follow his wicked example. (Haydock)
Calmet
Let all watch over their children, lest they fall off. Chaldean, "Let there be none among you now, whose heart may be filled with the sin of pride." See Acts 8:13., and Hebrew 12:15., where this text is cited. The Hebrew seems to allude to some very bitter herbs. Rass is mentioned as growing in the ground, and the juice of it is often alluded to, Osee 10:4., Jeremias 8:13., and Psalm 68:22. Lane is generally joined with the former term, and God threatens to make the faithless Israelites eat of it, Jeremias 9:15., and Proverbs 5:4. It may denote a poisonous bitter herb, as well as rass, which signifies "the head, gall, wormwood, aconite," etc. (Calmet)
Worthington
The root designates a mind secretly infected with idolatry, and the appetite, being once drunken with pleasures, thirsteth still more. (Worthington)
29:19
Challoner
The drunken, etc.: absumat ebria sitientem. It is a proverbial expression, which may either be understood as spoken by the sinner, blessing, that is, flattering himself in his sins with the imagination of peace, and so great an abundance as may satisfy, and as it were, consume all thirst and want; or it may be referred to the root of bitterness, spoken of before, which being drunken with sin may attract, and by that means consume such as thirst after the like evils. (Challoner)
Calmet
St. Jerome seems to have translated sephoth by assumat, as the manuscripts and interpreters read, before the correction of Sixtus V, who adopted the other signification of the Hebrew absumat. (Calmet)
Haydock
The sense however seems to be the same, as evil communications corrupt good manners, the wicked draw on those who before were dry, or thirsty, and superior to the allurements of pleasure, but not quite so sincere and constant as to shut out from their hearts the desire of tasting, what the man of the world so highly extols, and thus the just give way to the temptation, and become the companion of the libertine and of the idolater, and of course share in his destruction. The feasts of the idols were generally celebrated with the most dissolute mirth, which seemed more congenial to the depraved heart of man, than the sober feasts, which the Lord allowed his people. The drunken revellings in honour of Bacchus, who was worshipped in Arabia, etc., were a disgrace to human nature. Yet it is well known with what eagerness the deluded pagans joined in these religious sports. How prone to such excesses the Israelites also were, sacred history too plainly shews, so that they might well be described as thirsty, and willing to imitate those who were already drunk with dissolute pleasures; and this proverbial warning was not unnecessary to remind them what they had to expect from such conduct, at least if the people should become generally addicted to the service of idols. The most terrible chastisements mentioned below, (ver. 20, etc., and in the preceding chapters, and still greater, Deuteronomy 28:61,) hung over their guilty heads. But the man who should give occasion to such a defection from the Lord, and, like Jeroboam, cause Israel to sin, must remember that he will have to suffer for the sins of all those whom he has perverted. Hence this cutting remark almost always accompanies the mention of Jeroboam's name, He made Israel to sin. Such a one walked in the way, or imitated the sins of the house of Jeroboam, etc. A similar infamy and destruction attend arch-heretics and impostors. (Haydock)
Calmet
Chaldean translates, "Let him not say.....lest he should add sins of ignorance to sins of pride." (Calmet)
Menochius
Septuagint, "lest the innocent be involved in the destruction of the sinner." Cornelius a Lapide would leave out the negation, and translate, "that the innocent may be," etc. (Menochius)
Haydock
Bonfrere believes that the earth is to be understood; "and the earth drunken or deluged with rain, may take away its former dryness, yet so as to be rendered unfit for cultivation." The proverb affects those who wish for things which will prove destructive to them: so the man who expects to derive great pleasure and advantage from the practice of idolatry, will be miserably deceived, and will only bring on his own ruin; or, if his passions be gratified for a moment, he must, if he die in that state, endure eternal torments in destruction from the face of the Lord. Homer (Odyssey) says, "Crimes prosper not; the low outstrips the quick." Festina lente. Hasten slowly, is an old and useful admonition. Ebria, a drunken woman, is a very indifferent partner for one that is sober at a dance. (Haydock)
Du Hamel
The flesh being indulged, presently perverts the understanding. (Du Hamel)
29:20
Haydock
Enkindled, (fumet.) Literally, "smoke." (Haydock)
Hebrew, "the anger (literally, nose)....smoke." The Greeks and Romans adopt similar expressions, to denote the wrath and eagerness with which a person is actuated. "Fierce anger always sits upon his nose." (Theocrit.) So Persius says, Disce, sed ira cadat naso, rugosaque sanna.
29:23
Calmet
Of salt. This salt was of a bituminous or sulphureous nature, which would burn like oil, and was sometimes used in lamps. (Herodotus, 2:62; Pliny, [Natural History?] 2:104.) It dried up the moisture of the earth, and rendered it barren. For which reason, it was scattered upon such places as were no longer to be cultivated, or inhabited. Abimelech sowed some on the ruins of Sichem, Judges 9:45. It seems that Palestine now feels the effects of this curse; as, for the most part, it is uncultivated, and a desert, though once so flourishing. (Calmet)
29:26
Menochius
Knew not, as their gods. (Menochius)
Haydock
Indeed the gods of the heathens, were for the most part more recent than the days of Abraham, or of Moses, and only newly come up; (chap. 32:17,) which was a sufficient proof that they were not gods. (Haydock)
Calmet
Assigned. It seems, as if God had in a manner abandoned other nations to the dominion of idols, while he chose Israel for his peculiar people. Hence, if they followed another god, they were to be treated as rebels. Hebrew may have another sense, "and from whom they have received nothing," Chaldean and Syriac. (Calmet)
Haydock
Septuagint, "gods to whom they were not faithful, (or whom they did not believe) and whom I did not appoint for them." Even while the people pretended to follow the worship of idols, they could surely place no confidence in them, knowing that they were either mere creatures, or even the work of their own hands. (Haydock)
29:29
Challoner
Secret things, etc. As much as to say, secret things belong to, and are known to God alone: our business must be to observe what he has revealed and manifested to us, and to direct our lives accordingly. (Challoner)
Haydock
The nations full of surprise, at the miseries, which were inflicted upon the Jews, and upon their country, could not comprehend what might have brought on so severe a chastisement, as they little suspected that it was their worshipping those gods, which they themselves adored, ver. 2. But those who had been converted, and had been able to penetrate the secrets of God, by means of his gracious revelation, answered, (ver. 25, etc.,) that idolatry had been the chief cause of such inconceivable distress, and a crime of no less enormity, the refusing to acknowledge the true God, in the person of the Messias, and the putting him even to a disgraceful death, when he came unto his own, (John 1.,) had served to complete their misery. (Haydock)
Vatable
Moses resumes his discourse, and says that these chastisements had been reserved in the treasury of God's wrath, and he had not denounced them to their father; but now, since he had told them so plainly, what they had to expect, they would be inexcusable if they ran into the danger. Hebrew may signify, "The secrets of the Lord....are manifest to us." He has shewn us this favour, in preference to other nations, Psalm 146:20. (Vatable)
Worthington
Secret things are known to God, while those only which are manifest can be discerned by men. (Theodoret, q. 38.) (Worthington)
29:4
Hath not given you, etc.... Through your own fault and because you resisted his grace.
29:19
The drunken, etc., absumat ebria sitientem.... It is a proverbial expression, which may either be understood, as spoken by the sinner, blessing, that is, flattering himself in his sins with the imagination of peace, and so great an abundance as may satisfy, and as it were, consume all thirst and want: or it may be referred to the root of bitterness, spoken of before, which being drunken with sin may attract, and by that means consume, such as thirst after the like evils.
29:29
Secret things, etc.... As much as to say, secret things belong to, and are known to, God alone; our business must be to observe what he has revealed and manifested to us, and to direct our lives accordingly.
29:4
For sinnes past God letteth some runne into reprobate sense, permitting them to their owne freewil, who being voide of grace wilfully obdurate them selues. Theod. q. 37. in Deut.
29:18
A mind secretly infected with idolatric.
29:19
The appetite drunken with pleasures thirsteth stil more.
29:29
Secrete thinges are knowne to God, manifest thīges to men Theod. 9. 38. in Deut.
29:5
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.24
… He cut down their supplies when they could be replenished through the cities, just as He had accumulated them when exposed to the scantiness of the desert. Even shoes He forbade them to carry. For it was He under whose very protection the people wore not out a shoe,
Tertullian † AD 220 On the Resurrection of the Flesh 58
… What plague awaits the redeemed from death, after their eternal pardon? What wrath is there for the reconciled, after grace? What weakness, after their renewed strength? What risk and danger, after their salvation? That the raiment and shoes of the children of Israel remained unworn and fresh for the space of forty years;
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Philippians 9
… But wherefore did He not do it? They were much more admirable than the Israelites, whose shoes did not wax old, neither their garments, and that too whilst they were journeying through that desert where the glowing rays of the sun strike so hot, that they are capable of consuming even stones. (Ref. to
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 3.7
… Is justice, then, various and changeable? Nay, but the times over which she presides are not all alike, because they are times.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Good of Marriage 2
… Thus, therefore, even through sexual intercourse there might take place generations of such bodies, as up to a certain point should have increase, and yet should not pass into old age; or even into old age, and yet not into death; until the earth were filled with that multiplication of the blessing. For if to the garments of the Israelites
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 1.3
Nor was there any reason to fear that if he had happened to live on here longer in his natural body, he would have been oppressed with old age, and have gradually, by increasing age, arrived at death. For if God granted to the clothes and the shoes of the Israelites that “they waxed not old” during so many years,
29:18
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 31
“Looking diligently,” he saith, that is, searching carefully, considering, thoroughly ascertaining, as is done in the case of sick persons, and in all ways examining, thoroughly ascertaining. “Lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you.” (
29:23
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 21.5
… that they shall not be inhabited for ever; for the Lord also thus cursed the land against which He was wroth:— It shall not be sown, nor shall it produce, nor shall any herb spring up in it, but it shall be like Sodom and Gomorrha, against which the Lord was wroth and towards which He was not appeased .
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 46.7
… Therefore it is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt. Thus it is written, “Sodom shall return to her former estate,” that is to say, the world must be restored as it has been before. For we cannot believe that Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim
29:29
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 2.28.7
… But when we investigate points which are above us, and with respect to which we cannot reach satisfaction, [it is absurd ] that we should display such an extreme of presumption as to lay open God, and things which are not yet discovered,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 78.5
… remember that word of the apostle, “Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then shall every man have praise of God;” and this also, “The things which are revealed belong to you, but the secret things belong unto the Lord your God.”
29:1
29:2
2. And Moses called all Israel. — Perhaps therefore the Israelites had already returned home, with Moses' oration interrupted: for this discourse has been long enough up to this point; then here they were called back again, as it were to renew the covenant with God. Thus Abulensis. Yet it could also be explained more simply and plainly in a second way: he called, that is, compelled all Israel. 2 and 3. You have seen, etc., the great temptations, — namely the great plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians, by which God tried the minds of the Egyptians, impelled them, and forced them to let you go.
29:4
4. And the Lord has not given you a heart to understand, and eyes to see, and ears that can hear. — In Hebrew, ears to hear, or hearing, so that you might hear the wonders of God: not as if the Hebrews did not have eyes, or had not seen the wonders and benefits bestowed upon them by God, or had not heard of them; but because, seeing and hearing them, they were as if they did not see and did not hear, because they did not esteem them, nor did they rise from them to the love, obedience and praise of God their creator and benefactor. God therefore did not give them ears, a heart and eyes to see, because they themselves closed them to the illumination and grace of God, just as one who closes a window cannot be illuminated by the sun, as if to say: You have always been ungrateful for such great benefits of God toward you, and although seeing them in body, yet in heart and mind you did not see them, nor did you esteem them. Whence Rabanus: "For when he says that God did not give them eyes, nor ears, he would in no way say this reproaching and rebuking them, unless he wished it to be understood as pertaining to their fault (who were unworthy of the light and grace of God, and were rebellious to him)." Thus also Theodoret.
29:5
5. Your garments have not worn out. — Abulensis inquires here: Whence did so many thousands of little children, who were born in the desert, have their garments? Some answer that the Hebrews bought them from neighboring nations. But those were almost hostile: whence the Hebrews had scarcely any commerce with them. Secondly, Abulensis answers that the Hebrews brought them out with them from Egypt; and although those were larger and for men, yet supernaturally they were diminished and contracted, and accommodated to the bodies of little children, and they grew again with them as they grew. But this miracle is placed here without necessity. I say therefore first, that the Hebrews in their departure despoiled Egypt, and brought out various garments from there, as is evident from Exodus xii, 35, which they later unraveled and tore, and fitted and adapted them to the bodies of little children. Secondly, the garments of those who died in the desert fell to those who were born and grew up. And almost as many died in the desert as were born, as is evident to one comparing Exodus xii, 37 with Numbers xxvi, 51. Thirdly, the Hebrews, both men and women, were not idle in the desert for 40 years, but worked with wool and linen, and from these made cloth and garments for themselves. In the same way, from the skins of their animals they made leather, and from it shoes, as Abulensis concedes; and if this is so, why would they not in the same way have made cloth and garments from wool and linen? From this passage Tertullian, in his book On the Resurrection of the Flesh, chapter lviii, proves it thus: "These," he says, "were figures of ours, so that we might believe the Lord to be more powerful than every law of bodies, and indeed more a preserver of flesh, whose garments and shoes he also protected."
29:6
6. You did not eat bread. — Because in place of bread they ate manna: yet they could have eaten meat, eggs, fish, etc., and bought them from neighboring nations, as is said in Deuteronomy ii, 6; yet they seem scarcely to have bought and eaten them, because in manna they had every flavor. Thus Abulensis.
29:10
10. You stand this day all. — It was necessary that all should come together for the reception of the law and covenant, because what touches all ought to be approved by all, and in this way Roman laws were made: namely, with the whole people assembled, the magistrate asked in a loud voice whether such a law pleased them: and the approval or rejection of it depended on the response of the whole people, as is evident in the Institutes on natural law, § The law is. Thus Abulensis.
29:12
12. That you may enter into the covenant of the Lord your God (that is, that you may enter into a solemn covenant before and with your God, and bind yourself) by oath, — that is, by the curse of maledictions described in this chapter and the preceding one; for the Hebrew ala and the Greek ara signify these.
29:18
18. Lest perhaps, etc., there be among you a root springing up gall and bitterness, — or poison and wormwood, as recent translators render it; the Chaldean renders it, lest there be among you one thinking sins and pride. Sin therefore, and aversion from God is here called gall, bitterness, wormwood, poison, first, because it wounds the soul lethally; secondly, because it separates it from God through remorse of conscience, and pierces it; thirdly, because it renders it hateful and abominable to God: for sin is the sole object of the wrath, indignation and vengeance of God. A similar phrase is in Acts viii, 23; for Peter says to Simon Magus: "I see thee to be in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity."
29:19
19. And when he shall hear the words of the oath (that is, of this curse and execration, as I said verse 12, despising and mocking it), he shall bless himself in his heart, — shall flatter himself, promising himself namely impunity, and peace, that is prosperity, even if he violate these laws of mine; it is evident from what follows. And shall consume (thus it should be read with the Roman and Royal editions, not shall assume, as the Plantin editions have) the drunken the thirsty. — The Hebrew is, that it be added to the drunken the thirsty, namely in punishment, equally as in guilt. Whence the Septuagint clearly translates, that the sinner lose together the innocent. For the word not, which the Septuagint adds, saying, shall not lose, is not in the Hebrew, and is added by the Septuagint only prohibitively; whence it is better and more plainly omitted. To this also the Chaldean alludes, that there be added to him sins of ignorance to sins of pride, as if Rabanus says: Beware lest thou, who art drunken with malice and presumption, seduce him who has a vow to learn the truth. But it appears that at that time there was a proverb: "The drunken the thirsty, or the sober leads," that is, the impious and wicked man leads the simple and eager, not so much for truth and wisdom, as Rabanus wishes, but for novelty and pleasure (for drunkenness and thirst are of the same thing) leads, and seduces to his wicked pleasures, errors and idolatries. Hence symbolically, the drunken consumes the thirsty, when the lower part baited and inebriated with pleasures, draws and absorbs the whole mind to itself (which is thirsty, because it is by itself deprived of bodily pleasure): and then man becomes the slave of his body: for the body and appetite dominate over reason, and subject it to themselves.
29:20
20. His wrath shall smoke, — that is, God shall be most gravely angry and avenge. And shall sit, — so that as if fixed and immovably these curses adhere to the sinner, as one sitting adheres to his seat.
29:23
23. Burning with sulphur and the burning of salt, — namely your land. For salt sprinkled upon the earth dries it, burns it, consumes it and makes it barren; hence Achimelech scattered salt in the field of Sichem, when he wished to make it entirely barren, Judges ix, 45. In (that is, to) the example of the subversion of Sodom, — as if to say, In the manner of the subversion of Sodom, as God subverted Sodom, it is evident from the Hebrew.
29:26
26. And served strange gods, etc., which were not assigned to them (in Hebrew, whom he divided not to them, namely someone, that is, who are not divided and assigned to them. For the Hebrews often use the active for the passive, as if to say, The Hebrews are not given to strange gods in custody and service, but to the true God, and have been his inheritance from of old: wherefore they sacrilegiously stole themselves from him, and subjected themselves to strange gods), as is proved today, — namely when these things, which are here foretold, shall have been done in later times; for Moses speaks of future time: for these are the words of the Gentiles, admiring the desolation of the Jews made by them.
29:29
29. Hidden from the Lord our God; which are manifest to us and to our children. — The Chaldean, Aben-Ezra and the Rabbis explain it thus, as if to say, "What things are hidden before the Lord," that is, it is the Lord's to punish hidden sins; "but what things are manifest, to us," namely it is fitting for us to punish them. But we shall rather refer these to the law of God, or rather to the curses and scourges of God, which are here leveled by him against transgressions, as if to say, These future scourges, foreseen and decreed by God, are hidden, and are among the hidden judgments of God, which nevertheless he has made manifest to us, that through fear of them we may do his law. Thus Cajetan. For what Abulensis explains thus: The scourges of God are manifest to us, because they have already been sent upon us, because we feel and experience them, does not agree with what follows, for it follows: "For ever, that we may do all the words of this law."
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
29:7
… Since the king had refused passage to the Hebrews, they decided to open the way by arms: in a few actions S. was overwhelmed, was killed, and his territories remained an Israelite conquest (Num. 21:21 ff.; 32:33; Deut. 1:4; 2:24 ff.; 3:2-6; 4:46; 29:7; 31:4; cf. Josh. 2:10 etc.).
29:8
… Reuben and Gad in asking Moses to be allowed to settle in the territory of the defeated kings and obtained the concession, undertaking to take part with all the tribes in the conquest of Canaan (ibid. 32:33-42; cf. 1:32; 34:14-15; Deut. 3:12-13; 29:8; Josh. 1:12-8; 12:4-6; 18:7). The territory assigned by Moses in Transjordan extended from the south from Mahanaim (v.) on the Jabbok, as far as the slopes of Mount Hermon in the …
29:22
The four cities became the type of perversity and of the ruin that follows it (Deut. 29:22; Sodom, Ex. 16:79; Sodom and Gomorrah Is. 1:9; 13:19; Jer. 23:14; 48:18; 50:40; Am. 2:9; Admah and Zeboiim Hos. 11:8). "A witness to so much wickedness remains a smoking wasteland …
The catastrophe, already presented by Moses (Deut. 29:22) as an image of the punishments that would strike the enemies of God, is often evoked in biblical tradition either with the name of S. alone (Ezek. 16:49; Matt. 11:23-24; Luke …
29:23
… defeated in the valley of Siddim by Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, aided by three other kings (Gen. 14:1-9). A. was destroyed, along with the other guilty cities, by the cataclysm that struck Sodom and Gomorrah, within whose "circle" it lay (Gen. 19:24; cf. Deut. 29:23; Hos. 11:8).
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.