Deuteronomy 28:66

And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(66) Thy life shall hang in doubt before thee.—“Perhaps 1 shall die to-day by the sword that cometh upon me” (Rashi).

Benson Commentary

Deuteronomy 28:66. Thy life shall hang in doubt — Either because thou art in the hands of thy enemies that have power, and want not the will, to destroy thee; or because of the terrors of thy own mind, and the guilt of thy conscience making thee to fear, even where no fear is.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

28:45-68 If God inflicts vengeance, what miseries his curse can bring upon mankind, even in this present world! Yet these are but the beginning of sorrows to those under the curse of God. What then will be the misery of that world where their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched! Observe what is here said of the wrath of God, which should come and remain upon the Israelites for their sins. It is amazing to think that a people so long the favourites of Heaven, should be so cast off; and yet that a people so scattered in all nations should be kept distinct, and not mixed with others. If they would not serve God with cheerfulness, they should be compelled to serve their enemies. We may justly expect from God, that if we do not fear his fearful name, we shall feel his fearful plagues; for one way or other God will be feared. The destruction threatened is described. They have, indeed, been plucked from off the land, ver. 63. Not only by the Babylonish captivity, and when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans; but afterwards, when they were forbidden to set foot in Jerusalem. They should have no rest; no rest of body, ver. 65, but be continually on the remove, either in hope of gain, or fear of persecution. No rest of the mind, which is much worse. They have been banished from city to city, from country to country; recalled, and banished again. These events, compared with the favour shown to Israel in ancient times, and with the prophecies about them, should not only excite astonishment, but turn unto us for a testimony, assuring us of the truth of Scripture. And when the other prophecies of their conversion to Christ shall come to pass, the whole will be a sign and a wonder to all the nations of the earth, and the forerunner of a general spread of true christianity. The fulfilling of these prophecies upon the Jewish nation, delivered more than three thousand years ago, shows that Moses spake by the Spirit of God; who not only foresees the ruin of sinners, but warns of it, that they may prevent it by a true and timely repentance, or else be left without excuse. And let us be thankful that Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, by being made a curse for us, and bearing in his own person all that punishment which our sins merit, and which we must otherwise have endured for ever. To this Refuge and salvation let sinners flee; therein let believers rejoice, and serve their reconciled God with gladness of heart, for the abundance of his spiritual blessings.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thy life shall hang in doubt before thee - i. e. shall be hanging as it were on a thread, and that before thine own eyes. The fathers regard this passage as suggesting in a secondary or mystical sense Christ hanging on the cross, as the life of the Jews who would not believe in Him.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

64. the Lord shall scatter thee among all people—There is, perhaps, not a country in the world where Jews are not to be found. Who that looks on this condition of the Hebrews is not filled with awe, when he considers the fulfilment of this prophecy?

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Either because thou art in the hands of thy enemies, that have power, and want not will, to destroy thee; or because of the terrors of thy own mind, and the guilt of thy conscience, making thee to fear, even where no great cause to fear is.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee,.... Whether it shall be spared or not by the enemy:

and thou shalt fear day and night; being in continual dread of being killed:

and shalt have none assurance of thy life; of its being continued a moment scarcely, but live in constant fear and expectation of its being taken away.

Geneva Study Bible

And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

66. and thy life shall be hanging before thee] Shall be in suspense, as on a thread. As indicated later in the v., thou shalt have no assurance of thy life. The vb is the same as that whose part. is rendered of long continuance in Deuteronomy 28:59. Cp. Job 24:22, R.V. marg.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 66. - Thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; literally, Thy life shall be hung up before thee; i.e. shall be like an object suspended by a thread which hangs dangling before the view, ready to fall or to be cut down at any moment. Comp. -

"Omnia sunt hominum tenui pendentia filo
Et subito casu quae valuere ruunt."

(Ovid, 'Epp. ex Ponto,' 4:3, 35.) Deuteronomy 28:66

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"Thy life will be hung up before thee," i.e., will be like some valued object, hanging by a thin thread before thine eyes, which any moment might tear down (Knobel), that is to say, will be ever hanging in the greatest danger. "Thou wilt not believe in thy life," i.e., thou wilt despair of its preservation (cf. Job. Deu 24:22).

(Note: "I have never seen a passage which describes more clearly the misery of a guilty conscience, in words and thoughts so fitting and appropriate. For this is just the way in which a man is affected, who knows that God is offended, i.e., who is harassed with the consciousness of sin"' (Luther).)