Deuteronomy 28:53-57 WEB

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:45-68

One would have thought that enough had been said to possess them with a dread of that wrath of God which is revealed from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. But to show how deep the treasures of that wrath are, and that still there is more and worse behind, Moses, when one would have thought that he had concluded this dismal subject, begins again, and adds to this roll of curses many similar words: as Jeremiah did to his, Jer. 36:32. It should seem that in the former... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:53

And thou shall eat the fruit of thine body ,.... Than which nothing can be more shocking and unnatural, which is explained as follows: the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee ; which is an aggravation of the cruel and inhuman fact: in the siege, and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee ; this shows the cause of it, a famine by reason of the closeness of the siege, so that no provisions could be brought in for their... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:54

So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate ,.... Not only the rustic that has been brought up meanly, and used to hard living; but one that has been bred very tenderly, and lived in a delicate manner, like the rich man in Luke 16:19 ; that fared sumptuously every day: his eye shall be evil towards his brother, and towards the wife of his bosom, and towards the remnant of his children which he shall leave ; that is, he shall begrudge his brother, who is so nearly... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:55

So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat ,.... Neither give to a brother, nor to a wife, nor to any of his remaining children, the least bit of the flesh of a child he has killed and dressed for his own food; which adds to the barbarity of his action: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates ; every creature being eaten up, dogs, cats, &c.; and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:56

And the tender and delicate woman amongst you ,.... Who is instanced in because of her sex, which is more pitiful and compassionate, and especially one that has been brought up genteelly, and has always lived deliciously, on the most delicate fare, and nicest dainties, and used to all the delights of nature: which would not venture to set her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness ; for fear of taking cold, or defiling her feet: her eye shall be evil towards the husband... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:57

And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet ,.... Or her secundine, "her afterbirth", as in the margin of our Bibles; so the Targum of Jonathan and Aben Ezra interpret it. The latter describes it,"the place of the fetus, while it abides in the womb of its mother;'the membrane in which the child is wrapped; and it is suggested that, as nauseous as that is, the delicate woman should eat it, and then the newborn child that was wrapped in it; so Jarchi interprets it, little... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 28:56

The tender and delicate woman - This was literally fulfilled when Jerusalem was besieged by the Romans; a woman named Mary, of a noble family, driven to distraction by famine, boiled and ate her own child! See a similar case 2 Kings 6:29 ; (note); and Leviticus 26:29 ; (note). read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 28:57

Toward her young one - and toward her children which she shall bear - There seems to be a species of tautology in the two clauses of this verse, which may be prevented by translating the last word, שליתה shilyathah , literally, her secondines, which is the meaning of the Arabic sala , not badly understood by the Septuagint, χοριον αυτης , the chorion or exterior membrane, which invests the fetus in the womb; and still better translated by Luther, the after-birth; which saying of... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 28:53

Verse 53 53.And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body. This is one of those portents which was mentioned a little while ago; for it is an act of ferocity detestable and more than tragical, that fathers and mothers should eat their own offspring, so great love of which is naturally implanted in every heart, that parents often forget themselves in their anxiety for their children; and many have not hesitated to die to insure their safety. Nay, when the brute animals so carefully cherish... 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

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:45-68

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:53

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:54

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:55

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:56

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:57

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 28:56

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 28:57

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 28:53

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:15-68

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