Deuteronomy 28:30

Deu 28:30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.

Ver. 30. Thou shalt built a house, &c.] A great aggravation of a man’s misery it is, to fall from high hopes, to fail of large expectations, as Haman did, and Absalom, and Alexander the Great, and Tamerlane, who preparing to perfect his conquest of the Greek Empire, and having given a good beginning thereunto, in the midst of his high hopes and greatest power, died of an ague, Jan. 27, 1462. {a} Many men spend their strength and waste their wits in getting these outward things, and in learning how to put them to their delightfullest use: and then, when to possess them might seem a happiness, either they die or are otherwise deprived of all the sweet they have laboured for.

{a} Turk. Hist.

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.

Hebrew, make it common.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 30. Thou shalt betroth a wife, c.] Can any heart imagine any thing more grievous than the evils threatened in this and the following verses? To be on the brink of all social and domestic happiness, and then to be suddenly deprived of all, and see an enemy possess and enjoy every thing that was dear to them, must excite them to the utmost pitch of distraction and madness. They have, it is true, grievously sinned but, O ye Christians, have they not grievously suffered for it? Is not the stroke of God heavy enough upon them? Do not then, by unkind treatment or cruel Oppression, increase their miseries. They are, above all others, the men who have seen affliction by the stroke of his rod; La 3:1.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

30. Cp. Deu_20:5-7. The Heb. text employs a more violent term.

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.

The fruit of thy land, and all thy labour, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up,.... The same was prophesied of by Jeremiah, concerning the Babylonish captivity, and was fulfilled in it, Jer 5:17; and has been also verified in the frequent pillage and spoil of this people, in their present state; for though they have no land to till, from whence to gather fruit, yet they are employed in manufactures and merchandise, the fruit and benefit of which they have been frequently stripped of:

and thou shall be only oppressed and crushed always; this seems best to agree with their present case; for in their former captivities they were not always oppressed and crushed, but had respite and deliverance; See Gill on Deu 28:29.

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

Her. Job makes use of the same imprecation, Job xxxi. 10. Let my wife be the harlot of another. But he immediately subjoins, For this is a heinous crime, &c., which may be applied, both to him who seeks to commit an impure action, (ver. 9,) and to those who attempt to punish it by a similar abomination. No person is allowed to wish that a sin may be committed. The Hebrew and Septuagint very properly render all these imprecations in the future tense. "Thou shalt marry (or betroth) a wife, and another man shall," which, no doubt, would be an intolerable provocation. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Another man shall lie with her before thou canst consummate thy marriage, and enjoy her as thy wife. And so in the following branches.

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

30. Betroth a wife — Though all the preparations for domestic life may be made, disobedience will bring dire dis-appointment. The wife, the home, the vineyard, shall be another’s.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 30-34. The spoliation of them should be utter. All most dear and precious to them should be the prey of their enemies. Wife, house, vineyard, herd, and flock should be ruthlessly taken from them; sons and daughters should be carried into captivity, and their eyes should look for them in rain, with constant and wasting longing (cf. Jer_8:20; Amo_5:11; Mic_6:15; Zep_1:13; 2Ch_29:9; Neh_11:36; Jer_5:15)

And shalt not gather the grapes thereof; margin, "Hebrew, profane." This is the literal rendering of the verb; the meaning is that given in the text. A vineyard was, for the first three years after it was planted, held sacred; (Lev_19:23) after that, its consecration ceased, and the fruit might be gathered for common use, (cf. Deu_20:6) and it was said to be profaned.

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

General Information:

Moses speaks to the Israelites as if they were one man, so the words "you" and "your" here are singular. (See: Forms of You)

Your ox will be slain before your eyes

This can be stated in active form. AT: "You will watch as someone kills your ox" (See: Active or Passive)

your donkey will be forcibly taken away from before you and will not be restored to you

This can be stated in active form. AT: "someone will take your donkey by force and will not give it back" (See: Active or Passive)

Your sheep will be given to your enemies

This can be stated in active form. AT: "I will give your sheep to your enemies" or "I will allow your enemies to take your sheep" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

had relations with

life

vineyard

fruit

cow

donkey

ewe

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ישגלנה is connected in meaning with the noun שגל, a concubine; Scripture, however, paraphrases it by using a more decent, expression, viz., ישכבנה (i.e. the קרי is ישכבנה). This is a variation such as writers make to avoid an indecent expression (Megillah 25b; cf. Rashi on Genesis 18:22 and Note p. 266).

תחללנו THOU SHALT NOT MAKE IT חולין in the fourth year so as to be able to eat its fruits (cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 20:6).

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.