Deuteronomy 29:18

16 (for you know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt and that we came through the nations which you passed by,

17 and you saw their¹ abominations and their idols which were among them—wood and stone and silver and gold);

18 so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, ^awhose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, ^band that there may not be among you a root bearing ^cbitterness or wormwood;

19 and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I¹ follow the ^adictates of my heart’—^bas though the drunkard could be included with the sober.

20 ^a“The Lord would not spare him; for then ^bthe anger of the Lord and ^cHis jealousy would burn against that man, and every curse that is written in this book would settle on him, and the Lord ^dwould blot out his name from under heaven.

21 And the Lord ^awould separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the ^bLaw,

22 so that the coming generation of your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, would say, when they ^asee the plagues of that land and the sicknesses which the Lord has laid on it:

23 ‘The whole land is brimstone, ^asalt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, ^blike the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and His wrath.’

24 “All nations would say, ^a‘Why has the Lord done so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?’

Commentaries:

Barnes' Notes

<< Deuteronomy 29:17

Deuteronomy 29:19 >>

Deuteronomy 29:18

The word here and in Deuteronomy 32:32 rendered "gall," is in Hosea 10:4 translated "hemlock." It is the name of a plant of intense bitterness, and of quick growth; and is therefore repeatedly used in conjunction with "wormwood" (compare Jeremiah 9:15; Lamentations 3:19; Amos 6:12), to express figuratively the nature and effects of sin (compare the marginal references.). The herb is probably the poppy. Hence, the "water" (i. e. juice) "of gall" Jeremiah 8:14; Jeremiah 23:15 would be opium. This would explain its employment in the stupefying drink given to criminals at the time of execution (compare Psalms 69:21; Matthew 27:34), and the use of the word as synonymous with poison (compare Deuteronomy 32:33; Job 20:16).

Wormwood - is the plant "absinthium." It is used to denote metaphorically the distress and trouble which result from sin.

"The root that beareth gall and wormwood," means in this place any person lurking among them who is tainted with apostasy.

Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Deuteronomy 29:18:

Deuteronomy 32:1-42
Psalms 69:21
Psalms 69:21
Jeremiah 9:10-22
Amos 5:7
Acts 8:23
Hebrews 12:15

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Deuteronomy 29:19 >>

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