Deuteronomy 28:27

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:15-44

Having viewed the bright side of the cloud, which is towards the obedient, we have now presented to us the dark side, which is towards the disobedient. If we do not keep God's commandments, we not only come short of the blessing promised, but we lay ourselves under the curse, which is as comprehensive of all misery as the blessing is of all happiness. Observe, I. The equity of this curse. It is not a curse causeless, nor for some light cause; God seeks not occasion against us, nor is he apt to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:27

The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt ,.... Which some understand of the leprosy, Of that sort of it called "elephantiasis", frequent among the Egyptians; See Gill on Leviticus 13:2 . Thevenot F9 Apud Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 3. p. 426, 427. relates, that when the time of the increase of the Nile expires, the Egyptians are attended with sharp prickings in their skin like needles. So Vansleb says F11 Relation of a Voyage to Egypt, p. 35, 36. ,"the waters of the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 28:27

The Lord will smite thee with the botch - שחין shechin , a violent inflammatory swelling. In Job ii., one of the Hexapla versions renders it ελεφας , the elephantiasis, a disease the most horrid that can possibly afflict human nature. In this disorder, the whole body is covered with a most loathsome scurf; the joints are all preternaturally enlarged, and the skin swells up and grows into folds like that of an elephant, whence the disease has its name. The skin, through its rigidity,... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 28:27

Verse 27 27.The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt. Whether you understand this passage of the extraordinary plagues which God inflicted on the Egyptians at the time of His people’s deliverance, or of the ordinary diseases which had before prevailed among them, though the latter is more probable, still Moses signifies, that whilst the Egyptians were smitten with these plagues, God’s people escaped them, in order that this distinction might more clearly represent His favor. For it... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:15-44

The Nemesis of disloyalty. It is instructive that Moses dilates with far greater fullness on the curses attached to disloyalty than on the rewards of disobedience. In the childhood of the world people were more under the influence of fear than of hope, more deterred by threatening than drawn by promise. The message of Moses was admirably adapted to the people's need. I. THE EQUITY OF THESE CURSES . 1. Disobedience under such circumstances of privilege was eminently base... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:15-48

The curse. Like the blessing, the curse is a reality. It cleaves to the sinner, pursues him, hunts him down, ruins and slays him ( Deuteronomy 28:45 ). Does some one say, "An exploded superstition"? If so, it is a superstition in the belief of which mankind has shown itself singularly unanimous. View its reality as attested: 1. By conscience . The criminal cannot divest himself of the belief that avenging powers are following on his track. 2. By experience . "Rarely,"... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:15-68

The curse . In case of disobedience and apostasy, not only would the blessing be withheld, but a curse would descend, blighting, destructive, and ruinous. As the blessing was set forth in six announcements ( Deuteronomy 28:3-6 ), the curse is proclaimed in form and number corresponding ( Deuteronomy 28:16-19 ). The curse thus appears as the exact counterpart of the blessing. The different forms in which the threatened curse should break forth are then detailed in five groups. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:15-68

Love veiled in frown. Probably many may think that this is one of the most awful chapters in the Word of God. Certainly we are not aware of any other in which there is such a long succession of warnings, increasing in terror as they advance. In fact, Matthew Henry tells us of a wicked man who was so enraged at reading this chapter that he tore the leaf out of his Bible! Impotent rage! Impotent as if, when a man dreaded an eclipse of the sun, he were to tear up the announcements thereof. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:15-68

A nation becoming a beacon. If Mount Gerizim had the weight cf. the people on the side of the blessing, Mount Ebal had certainly the weight of the deliverance. No wonder the Law was to be written on its rocky tablets, since the major part of the Law consists in such denunciation of possible disobedience as might serve to render it improbable. As Dr. Arnold has said, "As if, too, warning were far more required than encouragement, we find that the blessings promised for obedience bear a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:27

Botch of Egypt ; the form of leprosy peculiar to Egypt ( Exodus 9:9 , etc.), elephantiasis , " AE gypti peculiare malum" (Pliny, 'Nat. Hist.,' 26.1-5). Emerods; tumors, probably piles (cf. 1 Samuel 5:1-12 .). Scab; probably some kind of malignant scurvy. Itch; of this there are various kinds common in Egypt and Syria. read more

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