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Deuteronomy Chapter
Five
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 5
In
this chapter Moses, after a short preface, Deuteronomy 5:1,
repeats the law of the decalogue, or ten commands, with some little variation, Deuteronomy 5:6,
and then reminds the Israelites of the terrible manner in which it was
delivered to them, Deuteronomy 5:22
which put them upon making a request that Moses might be a mediator between God
and them, and hear what the Lord had to say, and report it to them; to which
they promised obedience, Deuteronomy 5:24
and which being agreeable to the Lord was granted, Deuteronomy 5:28,
and this laid them under a greater obligation to observe the commands of God,
and keep them, Deuteronomy 5:32.
Deuteronomy 5:1 And Moses called
all Israel, and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which
I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to
observe them.
YLT
1And Moses calleth unto all
Israel, and saith unto them, `Hear, Israel, the statutes and the judgments
which I am speaking in your ears to-day, and ye have learned them, and have
observed to do them.
And Moses called all Israel,.... The heads of the
various tribes, and elders of the people, as he had on occasion been used to
do; unless it can be thought that at different times he repeated the following
laws to separate parties and bodies of them, until they had all heard them:
and said unto them, hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments
which I speak in your ears this day; the laws, moral,
ceremonial, and judicial, which he was about to repeat, and afresh declare unto
them, being what they had all a concern in, and under obligation to regard.
Deuteronomy 5:2 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
YLT
2Jehovah our God made with
us a covenant in Horeb;
The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Which is
Sinai, as Aben Ezra observes; it being the same mountain, only it had two tops,
which bore these different names; for certain it is that the decalogue after
repeated was given at Sinai, and had the nature and form of a covenant; see Exodus 24:7.
Deuteronomy 5:3 3 The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who
are here today, all of us who are alive.
YLT
3not with our fathers hath
Jehovah made this covenant, but with us; we -- these -- here to-day -- all of
us alive.
The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers,.... That is,
not with them only, as Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Abendana remark; for certain it
is that this covenant was made, or law was given, to the immediate fathers of
this present generation of Israelites, whose carcasses had fallen in the
wilderness; unless this is to be understood of their more remote ancestors, Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, with whom the covenant of grace was made, or afresh made
manifest, especially with the former; when the law, the covenant here spoken
of, was not delivered until four hundred and thirty years after, Galatians 3:16,
but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day; many of them
were then present at the giving of the law, and though under twenty years of
age, could remember it, and the circumstances of it; and besides, they were the
same people to whom it was given, though not consisting wholly of the same
individuals.
Deuteronomy 5:4 4 The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the
fire.
YLT
4Face to face hath Jehovah
spoken with you, in the mount, out of the midst of the fire;
The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount,.... Meaning,
not in that free, friendly, and familiar manner, in which he sometimes talked
with Moses, of whom this phrase is used, Exodus 33:11, but
publicly, audibly, clearly, and distinctly, or without the interposition of
another; he did not speak to them by Moses, but to them themselves; he talked
to them without a middle person between them, as Aben Ezra expresses it:
without making use of one to relate to them what he said; but he talked to them
directly, personally:
out of the midst of the fire; in which he descended,
and with which the mountain was burning all the time he was speaking; which
made it very awful and terrible, and pointed at the terrors of the legal
dispensation.
Deuteronomy 5:5 5 I
stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare
to you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of
the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said:
YLT
5I am standing between
Jehovah and you, at that time, to declare to you the word of Jehovah, for ye
have been afraid from the presence of the fire, and ye have not gone up into
the mount; saying:
I stood between the Lord and you at that time,.... Between
the Word of the Lord and you, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; that is,
about that time, not at the exact precise time the ten commandments were
delivered, for these were spoken immediately to the people; but when the
ceremonial law was given, which was ordained by angels, in the hand of a
mediator, Galatians 3:19, and
which was at the request of the people as follows, terrified by the appearance
of the fire out of which the moral law was delivered:
to show you the word of the Lord; not the decalogue, that
they heard with their own ears, but the other laws which were afterwards given,
that were of the ceremonial and judicial kind:
for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the
mount; lest they should be consumed by it: and indeed bounds were set
about the mount, and they were charged not to break through:
saying; this word is in connection with the preceding verse, the Lord's
talking out of the midst of the fire, when he said what follows.
Deuteronomy 5:6 6 ‘I am
the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house
of bondage.
YLT
6`I Jehovah [am] thy God,
who hath brought thee out from the land of Egypt, from a house of servants.
Verses 6-11
I am the Lord thy God,.... This is the preface
to the ten commandments, and is the same with that in Exodus 20:2; see
Gill on Exodus 20:2, and
those commands are here delivered in the same order, and pretty near in the
same words, with a little variation, and a few additions; which I shall only observe,
and refer to Exodus 20:1 for the
sense of the various laws.
Deuteronomy 5:7 7 ‘You
shall have no other gods before Me.
YLT
7`Thou hast no other gods in
My presence.
Deuteronomy 5:8 8 ‘You
shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that
is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is
in the water under the earth;
YLT
8`Thou dost not make to thee
a graven image, any similitude which [is] in the heavens above, and which [is]
in the earth beneath, and which [is] in the waters under the earth;
Deuteronomy 5:9 9 you
shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those
who hate Me,
YLT
9thou dost not bow thyself
to them nor serve them, for I Jehovah thy God [am] a zealous God, charging
iniquity of fathers on children, and on a third [generation], and on a fourth,
to those hating Me;
Deuteronomy 5:10 10 but
showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
YLT
10and doing kindness to
thousands, to those loving Me, and to those keeping My commands.
Deuteronomy 5:11 11 ‘You
shall not take the name of the Lord your God
in vain, for the Lord will not hold him
guiltless who takes His name in vain.
YLT
11`Thou dost not take up the
Name of Jehovah thy God for a vain thing, for Jehovah doth not acquit him who
taketh up His Name for a vain thing.
Deuteronomy 5:12 12 ‘Observe
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God
commanded you.
YLT
12`Observe the day of the
sabbath -- to sanctify it, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee;
Verse 12-13
Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it,.... Or observe it, by
setting it apart as a time of natural rest, and for the performance of holy and
religious exercises; see Exodus 20:8, where
the phrase is a little varied, "remember the sabbath day to keep it
holy"; it having been instituted before:
as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; not at Sinai
only, for the same might then have been observed of all the rest of the
commands, but before the giving of the law, at the first of the manna; see Exodus 16:23.
Deuteronomy 5:13 13 Six
days you shall labor and do all your work,
YLT
13six days thou dost labour,
and hast done all thy work,
Deuteronomy 5:14 14 but
the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In
it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male
servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your
cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male
servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
YLT
14and the seventh day [is] a
sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and
thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thine ox, and thine
ass, and all thy cattle, and thy sojourner who [is] within thy gates; so that
thy man-servant, and thy handmaid doth rest like thyself;
Nor thine ox, nor thine ass,.... In Exodus 20:10, it is
only in general said:
nor thy cattle: here by way of illustration and explanation
the ox and the ass are particularly mentioned; the one being used in ploughing
ground, and treading out the corn, and the other in carrying burdens; and it is
added:
nor any of thy cattle; as their camels, or
whatever else they were wont to use in any kind of service; they were none of
them to do any kind of work on the sabbath day. The following clause also is
not used before, which expresses the end of this institution:
that thy manservant and thy maidservant may have rest as well as
thee; which if the cattle had not rest, they could not have, being
obliged to attend them at the plough or elsewhere; and this respects not only
hired, but bond servants and maidens.
Deuteronomy 5:15 15 And
remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an
outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God
commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
YLT
15and thou hast remembered
that a servant thou hast been in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God is
bringing thee out thence by a strong hand, and by a stretched-out arm;
therefore hath Jehovah thy God commanded thee to keep the day of the sabbath.
And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt,.... Even a
bondservant; for Egypt was an house of bondage, and there the Israelites were
made to serve in hard bondage; of which they are reminded, that their hearts
might be touched with it, and inclined to show pity to persons in somewhat
similar circumstances; calling to mind how sweet a little rest would have been
unto them when in Egypt:
and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence, through a
mighty hand and by a stretched out arm; signifying that their
deliverance from their state of bondage was not owing to themselves, nor to any
creature, but to the mercy and kindness of God, and to his almighty power; and
therefore they were under the greatest obligations to observe any command and
institution of his he should think fit to make; and particularly this of the
sabbath, which was made on that account, as follows:
wherefore the Lord thy God commandeth thee to keep the sabbath day; in
commemoration of their rest from Egyptian bondage.
Deuteronomy 5:16 16 ‘Honor
your father and your mother, as the Lord your God
has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you
in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
YLT
16`Honour thy father and thy
mother, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee, so that thy days are prolonged,
and so that it is well with thee, on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving
to thee.
Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath
commanded thee,.... And is the first commandment with promise, as the apostle
observes, Ephesians 6:2 with
a promise of long life and happiness in the land of Canaan, as follows:
that thy days may be prolonged; see Exodus 20:12 here
it is added:
and that it may go well with thee; and which the apostle
also has in the place referred to:
in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee; the land of
Canaan; which the same apostle explains to a greater latitude:
that thou mayest live long on the earth; applying it
to Christians under the Gospel dispensation, whether Jews or Gentiles.
Deuteronomy 5:17 17 ‘You
shall not murder.
YLT
17`Thou dost not murder.
Verses 17-20
Thou shalt not kill,.... The following
commands begin with the copulative "and", different from the manner
in which they are expressed, Exodus 20:17 which
joins these together, and them with the preceding ones; hence the law is by
some said to be one copulative, and may serve to illustrate a passage in James 2:10.
Deuteronomy 5:18 18 ‘You
shall not commit adultery.
YLT
18`Thou dost not commit
adultery.
Deuteronomy 5:19 19 ‘You
shall not steal.
YLT
19`Thou dost not steal.
Deuteronomy 5:20 20 ‘You
shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
YLT
20`Thou dost not answer against
thy neighbour -- a false testimony.
Deuteronomy 5:21 21 ‘You
shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s
house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or
anything that is your neighbor’s.’
YLT
21`Thou dost not desire thy
neighbour's wife; nor dost thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, and his
man-servant, and his handmaid, his ox, and his ass, and anything which [is] thy
neighbour's.
Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife,.... Here a
neighbour's wife is put before his house, different from Exodus 20:17 and
"his field" is added, which with what follows take in everything that
is a man's property; and which is not to be desired or coveted in an unlawful
manner by another, and much less should any means be made use of to deprive him
of it; but "lust" is the thing intended and prohibited, be it after
what it may, which is another man's: see Matthew 5:28, of a man's
field, see Isaiah 5:8.
Deuteronomy 5:22 22 “These
words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the
fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no
more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
YLT
22`These words hath Jehovah
spoken unto all your assembly, in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of
the cloud, and of the thick darkness -- a great voice; and He hath not added,
and He writeth them on two tables of stone, and giveth them unto me.
These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount,.... The above
ten words or commands, which were spoken so audibly and loudly by the Lord
himself on Mount Sinai, that the whole congregation of the people of Israel
heard them:
out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick
darkness; in which the Lord was; see Deuteronomy 4:11,
with a great voice, and he added no more; ceased speaking;
after he had delivered the ten commands, he said no more at that time. The
Targum of Jonathan is,"with a great voice which ceased not.'It ceased not
until all were delivered, and then it did; it was a continued voice, yet clear
and distinct:
and he wrote them iwo tables of stone; marble stone,
as the Targum of Jonathan; which is much more likely than what the paraphrase
has on Deuteronomy 4:13,
this is an emblem of the duration of the law:
and delivered them unto me; to Moses, and by him to
be delivered to the people, who though they had heard them would be apt to
forget them; and therefore they were written, that they might read them, and
meditate on them, and be careful to keep them.
Deuteronomy 5:23 23 “So
it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the
mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your
tribes and your elders.
YLT
23`And it cometh to pass as
ye hear the voice out of the midst of the darkness, and of the mountain burning
with fire, that ye come near unto me, all the heads of your tribes, and your
elders,
And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of
the darkness,.... The thick darkness, where God was, and with which the
mountain was covered, Exodus 20:21.
for the mountain did burn with fire; which is a reason both
why the Lord spoke out of the midst of the fire, the mountain on which he
descended burning with it and also for his speaking out of the midst of
darkness, because not only a thick cloud covered the mountain, but it was
altogether on a smoke, which ascended as the smoke of a furnace, Exodus 19:16.
that ye come near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes and
your elders; or wise men, as the Targum of Jonathan; by which it appears,
that not only the common people were frightened at what they heard and saw on
Mount Sinai, but those of the first rank and eminence among them, who were the
most famous for their authority and wisdom.
Deuteronomy 5:24 24 And
you said: ‘Surely the Lord our God has shown us His glory
and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We
have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives.
YLT
24and say, Lo, Jehovah our
God hath shewed us His honour, and His greatness; and His voice we have heard
out of the midst of the fire; this day we have seen that God doth speak with
man -- and he hath lived.
And ye said, behold, the Lord our God hath showed us his glory and
his greatness,.... In descending on Mount Sinai in the manner he did, and
giving the law from thence with such solemnity; for there was a glory in the
ministration of it, as the apostle argues 2 Corinthians 3:7,
it being delivered with so much majesty, and such a glorious apparatus
attending it; see Deuteronomy 33:2.
Aben Ezra interprets this of the appearance of fire in which the Lord was,
"and his greatness", of the thunders and lightnings, and the voice of
the trumpet:
and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire; the ten
words, as the same interpreter rightly notes, which were vocally and audibly
expressed out of the fire:
we have seen this day, that God doth talk with man, and he liveth; they had
proof of it in themselves; God had been talking with them out of the fire, and
yet it did not reach and consume them, but they were still alive.
Deuteronomy 5:25 25 Now
therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear
the voice of the Lord our God anymore, then we shall
die.
YLT
25`And, now, why do we die?
for consume us doth this great fire -- if we add to hear the voice of Jehovah
our God any more -- then we have died.
Now therefore why should we die?.... Since we are now
alive, and have so wonderfully escaped the danger we were exposed unto, let us
be careful that we are not liable to it again:
for this great fire will consume us: if it continues, and we
are exposed to it; perhaps some of them might remember the fire that burnt in
the uttermost parts of the camp at Taberah, and the destruction of Korah and
the two hundred and fifty men with him by fire, Numbers 11:1,
if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall
die; for it was such a voice of words they could not endure as to the
matter of them, and therefore entreated the word might not be spoken to them
any more; it being the killing letter, and the ministration of condemnation and
death; and the manner in which it was delivered was so terrible, that they
concluded they could not live, but must die if they heard it again; and
imagined that if the fire continued, the flames of it would spread and reach
them, and they would not be able to escape them.
Deuteronomy 5:26 26 For
who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God
speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
YLT
26For who of all flesh [is]
he who hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the
fire like us -- and doth live?
For who is there of all flesh,.... What man
was there in any age, that was ever heard of or can be named:
that hath heard the voice of the living God; who lives in
and of himself, and is the author and giver of life to all his creatures,
whereby he is distinguished from and is opposed unto the lifeless deities of
the Gentiles; and which makes him and his voice heard the more awful and
tremendous, and especially as
speaking out of the midst of the fire: which was the
present case:
as we have, and lived? of this there never was
the like instance; for though some had seen God and lived, as Jacob did, and
therefore called the name of the place where he saw him Penuel, Genesis 32:30, and
Moses had heard the voice of the angel of the Lord out of a bush, which seemed
to be burning, and was not consumed, Exodus 3:2, yet
none ever heard the voice of the Lord out of real fire, and particularly
expressing such words as he did, but the Israelites. Zoroastres, the founder of
the Magi among the Persians, and of their religion, seems to have had respect
to this, and to have applied falsely this to himself, which belonged to Moses
and the people of Israel; for it is saidF11Hyde Hist. Relig. Vet.
Pers. c. 8. p. 160. ,"one reason the Persians have fire in so much
veneration is, because they say that Zoroastres, being caught up to heaven, did
not see God, but heard him speaking with him out of the midst of fire.'
Deuteronomy 5:27 27 You
go near and hear all that the Lord our God
may say, and tell us all that the Lord our God
says to you, and we will hear and do it.’
YLT
27Draw near thou, and hear
all that which Jehovah our God saith, and thou, thou dost speak unto us all
that which Jehovah our God speaketh unto thee, and we have hearkened, and done
it.
Go thou near,.... To the mount, and to God on it:
and hear all that the Lord our God shall say; for they
supposed, by the continuance of the Lord on the mount, and the fire burning on
it, that he had more to say, which they were not averse to hear; but desired it
might be not immediately delivered to them, but by the means of Moses; the
sound of the words, and the sight of the fire, being so terrible to them:
and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto
thee: they did not doubt, knowing the faithfulness of Moses, his
declaring all unto them that should be told him by the Lord; and they were
desirous that he should, they did not want to have anything withheld from them,
only they could not bear to see and hear things immediately from the Lord:
and we will hear it and do it; hearken to it, and
receive it, as the word of God, and not man, and yield a ready and cheerful
obedience, even to everything that should be required; see Exodus 20:19.
Deuteronomy 5:28 28 “Then
the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people
which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have
spoken.
YLT
28`And Jehovah heareth the
voice of your words, in your speaking unto me, and Jehovah saith unto me, I
have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken unto
thee; they have done well [in] all that they have spoken.
And the Lord heard the voice of your word, when ye spake unto me,.... Not only
in a general way, as he hears and knows all that is spoken by men; for there is
not a word on the tongue, formed upon it, and uttered by it, but what is
altogether known to him; but in a special and particular manner observed, took
notice of, approved, and was well pleased with what these people said:
and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of
this people which they have spoken unto thee; not only heard the sound
of them, but took notice of the sense and meaning of them, and listened to them
with pleasure and delight:
they have well said all that they have spoken; expressing
such an awe and reverence of the divine Majesty, desiring to have a mediator
between God and them, and purposing and promising to hearken to and obey
whatsoever he should command by him.
Deuteronomy 5:29 29 Oh,
that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all
My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children
forever!
YLT
29O that their heart had been
thus to them, to fear Me, and to keep My commands all the days, that it may be
well with them, and with their sons -- to the age!
O that there were such an heart in them,.... Not that
there is properly speaking such volitions and wishes in God; but, as Aben Ezra
observes, the Scripture speaks after the language of the children of men; and
may be considered as upbraiding them with want of such an heart, and with
weakness to do what they had promised; and, at most, as approving of those
things they spoke of as grateful to him, and profitable to them: the words may
be rendered, "who will giveF12מי יתן "quis det", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus,
Vatablus, Drusius; "quis dabit", Piscator. that they had such an
heart"; not to me, but to them, as Aben Ezra notes; they cannot give it to
themselves, nor can any creature give it to them; none but God can, and
therefore they ought to have prayed to him to give them an heart to hearken and
do; agreeably to which is the Arabic version,"it is to be wished by them,
that such an heart would continue with them;'which they by their language
signified was in them: that they would fear me; which is not naturally in the
heart of man, is a gift of God, a part of the covenant of grace, is implanted
in regeneration, and is no inconsiderable branch of it; it is opposed to pride,
and is consistent with faith and joy, and is increased by views of the grace
and goodness of God, and is a distinguishing character of a good man:
and keep all my commandments always; not only one, but all,
and not only at some certain times, but continually; and which are to be kept
in faith from a principle of love, with a view to the glory of God, and in the
strength of Christ; and to this the fear of God is necessary, for where there
is no fear of God, there is no regard to his commandments; but where there is a
reverential fear of God, there are faith, hope, love, and every other grace;
yea, the Spirit, the author of all, who is in the saints, to enable them to
walk in the statutes of the Lord, and to keep his judgments and do them; and
such keep the commandments of God, not from a slavish fear, but from a sense of
divine goodness:
that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever; for the fear
of God, and the keeping of his commandments, issue in the good of men, in their
own good, their inward peace, and spiritual welfare; in the good of others,
their neighbours, servants, and children, by way of example and instruction;
and even in the public peace and prosperity of a nation in which they dwell:
not that these things are meritorious of eternal life, but are what are
approved of by the Lord, and are grateful to him; which is the chief view in
the expression of the text.
Deuteronomy 5:30 30 Go
and say to them, “Return to your tents.”
YLT
30`Go, say to them, Turn back
for yourselves, to your tents;
Go say to them, get you into your tents again. Which they had
left, being brought by Moses, at the direction of God, to the foot of Mount
Sinai, to receive the law from his mouth; this being done, they are ordered to
return to their tents again, to their families, wives, and children.
Deuteronomy 5:31 31 But
as for you, stand here by Me, and I will speak to you all the commandments, the
statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them
in the land which I am giving them to possess.’
YLT
31and thou here stand thou
with Me, and let Me speak unto thee all the command, and the statutes, and the
judgments which thou dost teach them, and they have done in the land which I am
giving to them to possess it.
But as for thee, stand thou here by me,.... On the
mount by him whither he was called up; Moses was not permitted to go to his
tent when the children of Israel were, but was ordered to wait upon the Lord to
receive instructions from him, which he was to communicate to the people, being
a kind of a mediator between God and them, as they requested, and which was
granted them:
and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes,
and the judgments: all laws, moral, ceremonial, and judicial, which belong to them
as men, as in a church state, and members of a body politic:
which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them; for all
doctrine is in order to practice, without which all instructions, and
theoretical notions, signify little: and these they were more especially to do,
and some of them peculiarly:
in the land which I give them to possess it: the land of
Canaan, and which laid on them no small obligation to do the commandments of
God; since of his free favour and good will, and as a pure gift of his, he had
bestowed upon them a land flowing with milk and honey, into which he was just
now about to bring them; as nothing can more strongly engage souls to a
cheerful obedience to the service of God, whether in private or in public, than
the consideration of the great and good things which God of his rich grace
bestows upon them, and has promised to them, and prepared for them, and will
quickly put them into the possession of; and upon such an account Moses presses
the observance of the commands of God in the following verses.
Deuteronomy 5:32 32 “Therefore
you shall be careful to do as the Lord your God
has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
YLT
32`And ye have observed to do
as Jehovah your God hath commanded you, ye turn not aside -- right or left;
Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God doth command
you,.... Observe every precept, as to matter and manner, which the
Lord has commanded, and that under a sense of the great obligations laid on
them by him, in giving them freely so good a land to possess:
you shall not turn to the right hand or to the left; but walk in
the way of the commandments of God, and not depart from them at all, but follow
the Lord in his own ways fully. The phrase is expressive of a strict and close
attention to the word of God, without deviating from it in the least; for every
sin, which is a transgression of some command of God or another, is a going out
of the way that directs unto; see Isaiah 30:21.
Deuteronomy 5:33 33 You
shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God
has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you,
and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall
possess.
YLT
33in all the way which
Jehovah your God hath commanded you ye walk, so that ye live, and [it is] well
with you, and ye have prolonged days in the land which ye possess.
Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath
commanded you,.... None are to be avoided or departed from on any consideration
whatever; see Psalm 119:6 an
instance of this we have in Zacharias and Elizabeth, Luke 1:6 that ye
may live; corporeally, comfortably, in all the outward enjoyments of life
needful for them, particularly in the possession of the land of Canaan, and the
benefits of it; for these promises of life upon obedience seem to reach no
further, unless as types and emblems of what is enjoyed through the obedience
and righteousness of Christ, as the following phrases show:
and that it may be well with you, and that ye
may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess; the land of
Canaan; though the Jewish writersF13Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 27.
p. 418. carry it further, even to heaven and eternal happiness; and so may we
in the sense before given.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》