Deuteronomy 29

Deuteronomy 29

The big picture

Deuteronomy 29 opens in verse 1 with “These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the…”, reaches its middle movement near verse 15 with “But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with…”, and closes in verse 29 with “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed…” Repeated or prominent terms include LORD, land, covenant, anger, heart. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.

Scripture beside the summary

Deuteronomy · King James Version · 29

Deuteronomy 29:1-8

1–8: These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to…

Deuteronomy 29:1–8 opens with “These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of…” and reaches “And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Deuteronomy 29 develops its own movement around LORD, land, covenant, anger, heart, with particular weight carried by land, LORD, eyes.

Context that brings the passage to life

“These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of…” The promise, blessing, or covenant language needs its named recipient and scope. Those details prevent a personal word in the story from becoming a promise detached from context.

“The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:” The line’s distinctive content terms include eyes, miracles, seen. Its relationship to verses 2 and 4 shows what work it does in this passage.

“And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen…” The number forty makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.

Deuteronomy 29:1-8

King James Version

1These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.

2And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;

3The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:

4Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

5And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.

6Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God.

7And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them:

8And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.

Deuteronomy 29:9-16

9–16: Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may…

Deuteronomy 29:9–16 opens with “Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.” and reaches “(For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Deuteronomy 29 develops its own movement around LORD, land, covenant, anger, heart, with particular weight carried by LORD, covenant, here.

Context that brings the passage to life

“Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.” The promise, blessing, or covenant language needs its named recipient and scope. Those details prevent a personal word in the story from becoming a promise detached from context.

“Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy…” Naming Your keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

Deuteronomy 29:9-16

King James Version

9Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.

10Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,

11Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water:

12That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day:

13That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

14Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath;

15But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:

16(For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;

Deuteronomy 29:17-24

17–24: Ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver…

Deuteronomy 29:17–24 opens with “And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which…” and reaches “Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Deuteronomy 29 develops its own movement around LORD, land, covenant, anger, heart, with particular weight carried by LORD, land, anger.

Context that brings the passage to life

This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.

“And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)” The line’s distinctive content terms include abominations, gold, idols. Its relationship to verses 18 shows what work it does in this passage.

“And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have…” The promise, blessing, or covenant language needs its named recipient and scope. Those details prevent a personal word in the story from becoming a promise detached from context.

“And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant…” The promise, blessing, or covenant language needs its named recipient and scope. Those details prevent a personal word in the story from becoming a promise detached from context.

“And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass…” Naming Admah and Gomorrah keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

Deuteronomy 29:17-24

King James Version

17And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)

18Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;

19And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:

20The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

21And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:

22So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it;

23And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

24Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?

Deuteronomy 29:25-29

25–29: Men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God…

Deuteronomy 29:25–29 opens with “Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers…” and reaches “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Deuteronomy 29 develops its own movement around LORD, land, covenant, anger, heart, with particular weight carried by land, LORD, anger.

Context that brings the passage to life

“Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them…” The promise, blessing, or covenant language needs its named recipient and scope. Those details prevent a personal word in the story from becoming a promise detached from context.

Deuteronomy 29:25-29

King James Version

25Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:

26For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:

27And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:

28And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.

29The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Details worth noticing

29verses in this reading
4major movements
2verses with speech
1questions in the KJV text

The opening image

Deuteronomy 29:1 begins with “These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he…”

Where the chapter turns

Deuteronomy 29:15 forms a natural hinge: “But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:”

The final note

Deuteronomy 29:29 leaves the reader with “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the…”

A word trail through the chapter

The words LORD, land, covenant, anger, heart, Israel help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.

How does Laban's deception echo Jacob's earlier conduct?

An older and younger sibling are exchanged through a disguised identity, with family custom used to justify the outcome.

What changes when the narrator follows Leah?

Readers hear the pain of the less-loved woman and God's attention to her.

KJV words made clear

unto
to
thee
you
thou
you
thy
your
hath
has

Text first

Where readers differ

The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.

The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.

Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.