Deuteronomy 11:12

Deu 11:12 A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God [are] always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.

Ver. 12. Which the Lord thy God careth for.] Deus sic curat universa, quasi singula; sic singula, quasi sola. {a}

From the beginning of the year.] How easy were it for God to starve us all, by denying us a harvest or two!

{a} August.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Deu 11:12. Which the Lord careth for — In a special manner, watering it immediately, as it were, by his own hand, without man’s help, and giving peculiar blessings to it, which Egypt enjoyed not. To the end of the year — To give it the rain, and other blessings proper to the several seasons. But all these mercies, and the fruitfulness of the land consequent upon them, were suspended upon their disobedience. And therefore it is not at all strange that some later writers describe the land of Canaan as a barren soil; which is so far from affording ground to question the authority of the Scriptures, that it much more confirms it, this being an effect of that threatening, that God would turn a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of those that dwelt in it, Psa 107:34.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11:12 a land . . . your God cares for: God’s care included blessing the land with all the resources his people would need to survive and prosper there.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

A land which the Lord thy God careth for--that is, watering it, as it were, with His own hands, without human aid or mechanical means.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(12) A land which the Lord thy God careth for.—Literally, seeketh, as in the margin of our Bibles. Comp. Eze_20:6 : “A land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.” “To search out a resting-place for them” (Num_10:33). It is difficult not to think of the better land in this description, and of our Saviour’s promise, “I go to prepare a place for you.” There “the poor and needy” shall not “seek water,” for “He shall lead them to living fountains of water.” They shall “hunger no more, neither thirst any more.”

That something unusual is indicated here seems to have occurred to the old Jewish writer, who says—“And does He not seek out all lands? as it is said, ‘To cause it to rain on the earth where no man is’” (Job_38:26).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12. a land which the Lord thy God careth for] lit. seeketh after. The verb is used both in the sense of resort to or frequent (Deu_12:5, with another construction, Amo_5:5), or investigate (Deu_13:14 (15), Deu_17:4, Deu_19:18), or to visit so as to care for (Jer_30:14; Jer_30:17; Job_3:4; Isa_62:12). The last is of course the meaning here: a land which is under the personal supervision and providence of God: constantly are the eyes of Jehovah thy God upon it from the beginning of the year and even to the end of the year. Such is the emphatic Heb. order.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle,.... By giving plentiful showers of rain at proper times, to cause it to spring up and grow, that so there might be food for the cattle of every sort, greater or lesser; see Psa 104:13,

that thou mayest eat and be full; which refers to the preceding verse as well as to this; and the sense is, that the Israelites might eat of and enjoy the fruits of the earth to satiety; namely, their corn, wine, and oil; and that their cattle might have grass enough to supply them with.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Land which the Lord careth for, to wit, in a special manner, watering it immediately as it were by his own hand, without man’s help, and giving peculiar blessings to it, which Egypt enjoys not.

The eyes of the Lord are always upon us, to give it the rain and other blessings proper to the several seasons. But all these mercies, and the fruitfulness of the land consequent; upon them, were suspended upon their disobedience, as it here follows. And therefore it is not at all strange that some later writers decry the land of Canaan as in great part a barren soil, which is so far from affording any ground to question the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures, in which its fruitfulness is declared, that it doth much more confirm it, this being but an effect of that threatening that God would turn a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of those that dwell in it, Psa 107:34, and elsewhere; and the wickedness of the Israelites in succeeding ages being notorious, it is but just and fit that the barrenness of their land should be as evident and infamous.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Careth for; literally, searcheth or inquireth after, i.e. thinks about and cares for. (LXX, ejpiskopeitai, oversees; cf. Job_3:4; Psa_142:4; Jer_30:17; Eze_34:8; Isa_62:12) The eyes of the Lord thy God; i.e. his special watchful providence (cf. Psa_33:18 Psa_34:15; Eze_4:5) It was a land on which Jehovah"s regard was continually fixed, over which he watched with unceasing care, and which was sustained by his bounty; a land, therefore, wholly dependent on him, and so a fitting place for a people also wholly dependent on him, who owed to his grace all that they were and had.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Careth for - In a special manner watering it immediately as it were by his own hand, without man's help, and giving peculiar blessings to it, which Egypt enjoys not. To the end of the year - To give it the rain, and other blessings proper to the several seasons. But all these mercies, and the fruitfulness of the land consequent upon them, were suspended upon their disobedience. And therefore it is not at all strange that some later writers, describe the land of Canaan as a barren soil, which is, so far from affording ground to question the authority of the scriptures, that it doth much more confirm it, this, being an effect of that threatning that God would turn a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of these that dwell in it, Psalm cvii, 34.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

It was a land which Jehovah inquired after, i.e., for which He cared (דּרשׁ, as in Pro 31:13; Job 3:4); His eyes were always directed towards it from the beginning of the year to the end; a land, therefore, which was dependent upon God, and in this dependence upon God peculiarly adapted to Israel, which was to live entirely to its God, and upon His grace alone.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

אשר ה' אלהיך דרש אתה [A LAND] WHICH THE LORD THY GOD CARETH FOR — But does He not care for all lands, as it said, (Job 38:26) “[Who hath cleft a way for the lightning of the thunder …] to cause rain even on a land where no man is"? But, if one can say so of God, He cares for that land alone, but through the care which He bestows on it, He cares also for all other lands with it (Sifrei Devarim 40:1).

תמיד עיני ה' אלהיך בה THE EYES OF THE LORD THY GOD ARE ALWAYS UPON IT, to see what it requires, and to make new dispensations for it, sometimes for good and sometimes for bad, as is stated in Treatise Rosh Hashanah 17b.

מרשית השנה FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR [TO THE END OF THE YEAR] — At the beginning of the year it is decided by God what will be right up to the end of it (Rosh Hashanah 8a).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.