Deuteronomy 28:13

And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
LORD	יְהוָ֤ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
make	וּנְתָֽנְךָ֨ u.ne.ta.ne.Kha	H5414	to give · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
head	לְרֹאשׁ֙ le.roSh	H7218	the head (as most easily shaken) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
tail	לְזָנָ֔ב le.za.Nav	H2180	the tail (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
only	לְמַ֔עְלָה le.Ma'.lah	H4605	properly · preposition + cardinal number, both genders singular absolute + directional suffix
beneath	לְמָ֑טָּה le.Ma.tah	H4295	downward · preposition + cardinal number, masculine singular absolute
hearken	תִשְׁמַ֞ע tish.Ma'	H8085	to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
commandments	מִצְוֹ֣ת mitz.Vot	H4687	a command · noun, common feminine plural construct
LORD	יְהוָ֣ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God	אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ 'e.lo.Hei.kha	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
command	מְצַוְּךָ֛ me.tza.ve.Kha	H6680	(intensively) to constitute · verb, piel active participle, masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
day	הַיּ֖וֹם hai.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
observe	לִשְׁמֹ֥ר lish.Mor	H8104	properly · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
do	וְלַעֲשֽׂוֹת ve.la.'a.Sot	H6213	to do or make · conjunction + preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments wh…
Deuteronomy 4:6-9 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes,…
Philippians 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your af…
Numbers 24:18-19 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
Isaiah 9:14-15 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 28:1-14

The blessings are here put before the curses, to intimate, 1. That God is slow to anger, but swift to show mercy: he has said it, and sworn, that he would much rather we would obey and live than sin and die. It is his delight to bless. 2. That though both the promises and the threatenings are designed to bring and hold us to our duty, yet it is better that we be allured to that which is good by a filial hope of God's favour than that we be frightened to it by a servile fear of his wrath. That obedience pleases best which comes from a principle of delight in God's goodness. Now, I. We have here the conditions upon which the blessing is promised. 1. It is upon condition that they diligently he…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 28:13

the head, and not the tail--an Oriental form of expression, indicating the possession of independent power and great dignity and acknowledged excellence (Isa 9:14; Isa 19:15).

John Gill on Deuteronomy 28:13

And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail,.... Give them dominion over others, and not make them subject to them; the head signifies rulers and governors, and the tail the common people that are subjects; or the one such that are honourable and in high esteem, and the other such that are mean and base; see Isaiah 9:14; the Targum of Jonathan is,"the Word of the Lord shall make thee, &c." and thou shalt be above only, and thou shall not be beneath; which explains what is meant by head and tail, being uppermost and lowermost, as the head is the upper part, and the tail the lower part of a creature; the one is more honourable, the other vile: the sense is, that they should be sup…

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John Calvin on Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 1. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 1. Et erit, si audiendo audieris vocem Jehovae Dei tui, ut custodias ad faciendum omnia praecepta ejus quae ego paecipio tibi hodie: tunc constituet to Jehova Deus tuus superiorem onmibus gentibus terrae. 2. And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. 2. Et venient super to omnes benedictiones istae, apprehendentque te, si modo obedieris voci Jehov…

Dictionary and topics

Heathen — (Heb. plural goyum). At first the word goyim denoted generally all the nations of the world (Gen. 18:18; comp. Gal. 3:8). The Jews afterwards became a people distinguished in a marked manner from the…
Jerusalem — Called also Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the “city of God,” the “holy city;” by the modern Arabs el-Khuds, meaning “the holy;” once “the city of Judah” (2 Chr. 25:28). This name is in the original in the…
Blessing · RESPONSIVE BLESSINGS OF THE LAW — RESPONSIVE BLESSINGS OF THE LAW
Obedience · ENJOINED — ENJOINED
Obedience To God · Blessedness of — Blessedness of
Rebellion Against God · Promises to those who avoid — Promises to those who avoid

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Deuteronomy 28:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 28:13

John Gill on Deuteronomy 28:13

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Dictionary and topics

Deuteronomy 28:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 28:13

John Gill on Deuteronomy 28:13

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Deuteronomy 28:13

Rashi on Deuteronomy 28:7