Cornelius a Lapide
Index
Synopsis Capitis
God promises many good things to the Hebrews if they keep His law. Then, from verse 15, He threatens them with very many evils if they violate it.
Textus Vulgatae: Deuteronomium 28:1-68
1. Si autem audieris vocem Domini Dei tui, ut facias atque custodias omnia mandata ejus, quae ego praecipio tibi hodie, faciet te Dominus Deus tuus excelsiorem cunctis gentibus, quae versantur in terra. 2. Venientque super te universae benedictiones istae, et apprehendent te: si tamen praecepta ejus audieris. 3. Benedictus tu in civitate, et benedictus in agro. 4. Benedictus fructus ventris tui, et fructus terrae tuae, fructusque jumentorum tuorum, greges armentorum tuorum, et caulae ovium tuarum. 5. Benedictum horreum tuum, et benedictae reliquiae tuae. 6. Benedictus eris tu ingrediens et egrediens. 7. Dabit Dominus inimicos tuos, qui consurgunt adversum te, corruentes in conspectu tuo: per unam viam venient contra te, et per septem fugient a facie tua. 8. Emittet Dominus benedictionem super cellaria tua, et super omnia opera manuum tuarum: benedicetque tibi in terra, quam acceperis. 9. Suscitabit te Dominus sibi in populum sanctum, sicut juravit tibi: si custodieris mandata Domini Dei tui, et ambulaveris in viis ejus. 10. Videbuntque omnes terrarum populi quod nomen Domini invocatum sit super te, et timebunt te. 11. Abundare te faciet Dominus omnibus bonis, fructu uteri tui, et fructu jumentorum tuorum, fructu terrae tuae, quam juravit Dominus patribus tuis ut daret tibi. 12. Aperiet Dominus thesaurum suum optimum, coelum, ut tribuat pluviam terrae tuae in tempore suo: benedicetque cunctis operibus manuum tuarum. Et foenerabis gentibus multis, et ipse a nullo foenus accipies. 13. Constituet te Dominus in caput, et non in caudam: et eris semper supra, et non subter: 14. si tamen audieris mandata Domini Dei tui, quae ego praecipio tibi hodie, et custodieris et feceris, ac non declinaveris ab eis nec ad dexteram nec ad sinistram, nec secutus fueris deos alienos, neque colueris eos. 15. Quod si audire nolueris vocem Domini Dei tui, ut custodias, et facias omnia mandata ejus et caeremonias, quas ego praecipio tibi hodie, venient super te omnes maledictiones istae, et apprehendent te. 16. Maledictus eris in civitate, maledictus in agro. 17. Maledictum horreum tuum, et maledictae reliquiae tuae. 18. Maledictus fructus ventris tui, et fructus terrae tuae, armenta boum tuorum, et greges ovium tuarum. 19. Maledictus eris ingrediens, et maledictus egrediens. 20. Mittet Dominus super te famem et esuriem, et increpationem in omnia opera tua, quae tu facies: donec conterat te, et perdat velociter, propter adinventiones tuas pessimas, in quibus reliquisti me. 21. Adjungat tibi Dominus pestilentiam, donec consumat te de terra, ad quam ingredieris possidendam. 22. Percutiat te Dominus egestate, febri et frigore, ardore et aestu, et aere corrupto ac rubigine, et persequatur donec pereas. 23. Sit coelum, quod supra te est, aeneum: et terra, quam calcas, ferrea. 24. Det Dominus imbrem terrae tuae pulverem, et de coelo descendat super te cinis, donec conteraris. 25. Tradat te Dominus corruentem ante hostes tuos: per unam viam egrediaris contra eos, et per septem fugias, et dispergaris per omnia regna terrae. 26. Sitque cadaver tuum in escam cunctis volatilibus coeli, et bestiis terrae, et non sit qui abigat. 27. Percutiat te Dominus ulcere Aegypti, et partem corporis, per quam stercora egeruntur, scabie quoque et prurigine: ita ut curari nequeas. 28. Percutiat te Dominus amentia et caecitate ac furore mentis, 29. et palpes in meridie sicut palpare solet caecus in tenebris, et non dirigas vias tuas. Omnique tempore calumniam sustineas, et opprimaris violentia, nec habeas qui liberet te. 30. Uxorem accipias, et alius dormiat cum ea. Domum aedifices, et non habites in ea. Plantes vineam, et non vindemies eam. 31. Bos tuus immoletur coram te, et non comedas ex eo. Asinus tuus rapiatur in conspectu tuo, et non reddatur tibi. Oves tuae dentur inimicis tuis, et non sit qui te adjuvet. 32. Filii tui et filiae tuae tradantur alteri populo, videntibus oculis tuis, et deficientibus ad conspectum eorum tota die, et non sit fortitudo in manu tua. 33. Fructus terrae tuae, et omnes labores tuos, comedat populus quem ignoras: et sis semper calumniam sustinens, et oppressus cunctis diebus, 34. et stupens ad terrorem eorum, quae videbunt oculi tui. 35. Percutiat te Dominus ulcere pessimo in genibus et in suris, sanarique non possis, a planta pedis usque ad verticem tuum. 36. Ducet te Dominus, et regem tuum, quem constitueris super te, in gentem quam ignoras tu et patres tui: et servies ibi diis alienis, ligno et lapidi. 37. Et eris perditus in proverbium ac fabulam omnibus populis, ad quos te introduxerit Dominus. 38. Sementem multam jacies in terram, et modicum congregabis: quia locustae devorabunt omnia. 39. Vineam plantabis et fodies, et vinum non bibes, nec colliges ex ea quippiam: quoniam vastabitur vermibus. 40. Olivas habebis in omnibus terminis tuis, et non ungeris oleo: quia defluent et peribunt. 41. Filios generabis et filias, et non frueris eis: quoniam ducentur in captivitatem. 42. Omnes arbores tuas et fruges terrae tuae rubigo consumet. 43. Advena, qui tecum versatur in terra, ascendet super te, eritque sublimior: tu autem descendes, et eris inferior. 44. Ipse foenerabit tibi, et tu non foenerabis ei. Ipse erit in caput, et tu eris in caudam. 45. Et venient super te omnes maledictiones istae, et persequentes apprehendent te, donec intereas: quia non audisti vocem Domini Dei tui, nec servasti mandata ejus et caeremonias, quas praecepit tibi. 46. Et erunt in te signa atque prodigia, et in semine tuo usque in sempiternum. 47. Eo quod non servieris Domino Deo tuo in gaudio, cordisque laetitia, propter rerum omnium abundantiam: 48. servies inimico tuo, quem immittet tibi Dominus, in fame, et siti, et nuditate, et omni penuria: et ponet jugum ferreum super cervicem tuam, donec te conterat. 49. Adducet Dominus super te gentem de longinquo, et de extremis terrae finibus, in similitudinem aquilae volantis cum impetu, cujus linguam intelligere non possis: 50. gentem procacissimam, quae non deferat seni, nec misereatur parvuli, 51. et devoret fructum jumentorum tuorum, ac fruges terrae tuae: donec intereas, et non relinquat tibi triticum, vinum, et oleum, armenta boum, et greges ovium: donec te disperdat. 52. Et obsideat te in cunctis urbibus tuis, donec destruantur muri tui firmi atque sublimes, in quibus habebas fiduciam, in omni terra tua. Obsideberis intra portas tuas in omni terra tua, quam dabit tibi Dominus Deus tuus. 53. Et comedes fructum uteri tui, et carnes filiorum tuorum et filiarum tuarum, quas dederit tibi Dominus Deus tuus, in angustia et vastitate, qua opprimet te hostis tuus. 54. Homo delicatus in te, et luxuriosus valde, invidebit fratri suo, et uxori quae cubat in sinu suo, 55. ne det eis de carnibus filiorum suorum, quas comedet: eo quod nihil aliud habeat in obsidione et penuria, qua vastaverint te inimici tui intra omnes portas tuas. 56. Tenera mulier et delicata, quae super terram ingredi non valebat, nec pedis vestigium figere propter mollitiem et teneritudinem nimiam, invidebit viro suo qui cubat in sinu ejus, super filii et filiae carnibus, 57. et illuvie secundarum, quae egrediuntur de medio feminum ejus, et super liberis qui eadem hora nati sunt. Comedent enim eos clam propter rerum omnium penuriam, in obsidione et vastitate, qua opprimet te inimicus tuus intra portas tuas. 58. Nisi custodieris et feceris omnia verba legis hujus, quae scripta sunt in hoc volumine, et timueris nomen ejus gloriosum et terribile, hoc est, Dominum Deum tuum: 59. augebit Dominus plagas tuas, et plagas seminis tui, plagas magnas et perseverantes, infirmitates pessimas et perpetuas. 60. Et convertet in te omnes afflictiones Aegypti, quas timuisti, et adhaerebunt tibi. 61. Insuper et universos languores, et plagas, quae non sunt scriptae in volumine legis hujus, inducet Dominus super te, donec te conterat. 62. Et remanebitis pauci numero, qui prius eratis sicut astra coeli prae multitudine, quoniam non audisti vocem Domini Dei tui. 63. Et sicut ante laetatus est Dominus super vos, bene vobis faciens, vosque multiplicans: sic laetabitur disperdens vos atque subvertens, ut auferamini de terra, ad quam ingredieris possidendam. 64. Disperget te Dominus in omnes populos, a summitate terrae usque ad terminos ejus: et servies ibi diis alienis, quos et tu ignoras et patres tui, ligno et lapidi. 65. In gentibus quoque illis non quiesces, neque erit requies vestigio pedis tui. Dabit enim tibi Dominus ibi cor pavidum, et deficientes oculos, et animam consumptam moerore. 66. Et erit vita tua quasi pendens ante te. Timebis nocte et die, et non credes vitae tuae. 67. Mane dices: Quis mihi det vesperum? et vespere: Quis mihi det mane? propter cordis tui formidinem, qua terreberis, et propter ea, quae tuis videbis oculis. 68. Reducet te Dominus classibus in Aegyptum, per viam de qua dixit tibi ut eam amplius non videres. Ibi venderis inimicis tuis in servos et ancillas, et non erit qui emat.
Versus 1: Higher Than All Nations
1. "THE LORD WILL MAKE YOU HIGHER THAN ALL NATIONS" — so that you surpass all others in happiness, in wealth, in honor, in strength, and in dominion.
Versus 3-4: Blessed in City and Field
3. "BLESSED SHALL YOU BE IN THE CITY, AND BLESSED IN THE FIELD" — as if to say: You will abound in all necessary things, both in urban and rural affairs; for "to bless" here means to do good. For God's blessing is real, not merely verbal or courtly; and it signifies every kind of prosperity, in body, in soul, and in fortune.
4. "BLESSED SHALL BE THE FRUIT OF YOUR WOMB, AND THE FRUIT OF YOUR LAND" — that is, you will abound in children and in the fruits of your land, and likewise in cattle.
Versus 5: Blessed Barns and Stores
5. "BLESSED SHALL BE YOUR BARNS." — The Hebrew word tene signifies a repository, whether it be a basket, a storehouse, or a barn. The meaning therefore is: You will abound in grain and bread, so that there will be many leftovers, which you may distribute to the poor; for this is what he adds, saying: "And blessed shall be your stores"; for blessing signifies plenty and abundance, as I said on 2 Corinthians 9:6.
Versus 6: Blessed Coming In and Going Out
6. "BLESSED SHALL YOU BE COMING IN AND GOING OUT." — Your entering any place, as well as your leaving, will be happy and fortunate, because God will direct you in all things. So we see holy men directed by God in all things, and all their actions have happy outcomes, in which that verse of Psalm 1 is fulfilled: "And all things whatsoever he does shall prosper."
Versus 9-10: A Holy People
9. "THE LORD WILL RAISE YOU UP AS A HOLY PEOPLE TO HIMSELF" — as if to say: God will cause you to be and be called a holy people, God's people, and one specially devoted to Him, who in turn will defend you as His people, advance you, and make you glorious.
10. "AND ALL THE PEOPLES OF THE EARTH SHALL SEE THAT THE NAME OF THE LORD IS INVOKED UPON YOU" — as if to say: All shall see that you are called by God's name, or that you are called, and truly are, God's people, and that God shows Himself to be your God by protecting you and increasing your goods — whence all "SHALL FEAR YOU"; for this is what is signified in Scripture by "the name of someone being invoked upon another," as is clear from Sirach 36:14; Jeremiah 7:11; Baruch 2:15; Daniel 9:18, and elsewhere.
Versus 12: Heaven as God's Treasury
12. "THE LORD WILL OPEN HIS BEST TREASURY, HEAVEN, TO GIVE RAIN." — "Heaven," that is, the air, is here called the treasury of God: because in it, as in a storehouse inscrutable to us, God has stored rain, through which all the goods of the earth come forth. So the air is called the treasury of winds, Psalm 134:8: "Who brings forth winds from His treasuries."
"YOU WILL LEND TO MANY NATIONS, AND YOU YOURSELF WILL BORROW FROM NO ONE" — because you will be pressed by no necessity, since you will abound in all things at home. God does not therefore here permit or command usury, as the Jews understand. For the Hebrew word lava signifies not usury, but a loan.
Versus 13: Caput, et Non Caudam
13. "THE LORD WILL MAKE YOU THE HEAD, AND NOT THE TAIL, AND YOU WILL ALWAYS BE ABOVE, AND NOT BENEATH" — as if to say: God will make you everywhere and always the first, not the last; ruling others, not subject to them. So Theodoret, Question 34.
Versus 15-16: Curses for Disobedience
15 and 16. "IF YOU WILL NOT HEAR THE VOICE OF THE LORD YOUR GOD, etc., CURSED SHALL YOU BE IN THE CITY, CURSED IN THE FIELD" — as if to say: You will be wretched and unhappy, and your resources, both urban and rural, will fail you. So far Moses has enumerated the good things to be given to those who keep God's law: here by antithesis he enumerates the very many evils that will befall those who violate God's law. Let preachers impress these upon sinners: for these evils bear the type and forerunner of the evils and punishments of hell.
Versus 20: Famine and Rebuke
20. "THE LORD WILL SEND UPON YOU FAMINE AND HUNGER." — In Hebrew: "He will send upon you a curse and confusion, or a terrible tumult, in which all things are full of turmoil." But by these words both our Translator and the Septuagint understood famine and hunger: for to carnal men, such as the Jews were, this seems the supreme curse and turmoil.
"AND REBUKE" — that is, destruction, and, as the Septuagint translates, consumption, which is the effect of God's rebuke: namely that all your works be destroyed, ruined, and consumed; it is a metonymy.
Versus 22-24: Drought, Blight, and Bronze Skies
22. "MAY THE LORD STRIKE YOU, etc., WITH COLD" — so also the Septuagint; therefore the Hebrew word dalac is of contrary signification, for it commonly signifies elsewhere burning and persecution. "AND WITH SCORCHING HEAT" — the Chaldean and more recent translators translate "and with the sword." "AND WITH BLIGHT" — Blight is a disease of crops, which arises from the east wind entering the stalks, so that they cannot ripen, but are consumed, weakened, and wither.
23. "LET THE SKY ABOVE YOU BE BRONZE" (so that it does not rain down showers to water the crops, but is hard and dry, like bronze), "AND THE EARTH YOU TREAD UPON, IRON" — so that it cannot be plowed, and consequently bears no fruit, as if it were iron.
24. "MAY THE LORD GIVE YOU DUST FOR RAIN UPON YOUR LAND" — that is, instead of rain let dust fall, or sulfurous ash: Let the heat be so great that instead of rain, burning dust descends from the sky, stirred up and lifted high by the force of the winds.
Versus 27-29: Plagues and Blindness
27. "MAY THE LORD STRIKE YOU WITH THE ULCER OF EGYPT" (such as He inflicted on the Egyptians through Moses, Exodus 9:10). In Hebrew: "may He strike you with diseases of the anus, that is, hemorrhoids and similar diseases."
29. "SO THAT YOU GROPE AT MIDDAY" — so that you are blind in a matter as clear as the light of noon; he speaks of blindness of mind, as is clear from what follows. For blindness of mind is the punishment of sin, and an enormous one, as St. Augustine teaches on Psalm 57: "Is it a small punishment," he says, "the darkening of the heart and the blinding of the mind?" The Jews and the impious grope at midday, both formerly and now. Is not the law of Christ the noonday light, and the doctrine illuminating the Christian world? In this light the blind grope, they do not see eternal things, and they cling to fleeting and perishable things. "Even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil is placed upon their hearts," says St. Paul, 2 Corinthians 3.
"YOU SHALL NOT DIRECT YOUR WAYS." — In Hebrew: "you shall not succeed in your ways," as if to say: Your actions will be unfortunate; everything will turn out badly for you.
Versus 49: The Nation Like an Eagle
49. "THE LORD WILL BRING UPON YOU A NATION FROM AFAR, etc., LIKE AN EAGLE" — which, like an eagle, will fly most swiftly, most quickly, and most violently to plunder you. Here is signified the domination of the Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar, who in Ezekiel 17:3 is compared to a great eagle; for he overthrew the Jews.
Note: Kings and tyrants, and especially Nebuchadnezzar, are called "eagle," by Jeremiah 48:40, by Ezekiel 17:3, by Daniel 7:4, and by Hosea 8:1. For the eagle is a symbol, first, of kingship and empire, for it is itself the king of birds; second, of strong, swift, and impetuous invasion and battle; third, of rapacity and ferocity; fourth, of victory, for it conquers and prostrates all birds, and even serpents and deer, by throwing dust collected with its wings into their eyes. Hence the Romans and Gentiles often received the omen of victory from eagles, and observed them with superstitious attention.
Versus 50: Gentem Procacissimam
50. "A MOST INSOLENT NATION." — In Hebrew: "a nation strong of face," that is, of brazen front, barbarous, bold, and inhuman.
Versus 53: Eating the Fruit of Their Womb
53. "AND YOU SHALL EAT THE FRUIT OF YOUR WOMB" — this came to pass in the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus. The remaining disasters and calamities which God here threatens upon the Jews were sent upon them by Him, partly in the same destruction by Titus, partly in the siege by the Assyrians — namely Shalmaneser, Tiglath-Pileser, Sennacherib, etc.; partly through Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, partly through Alexander and the Macedonians. So Theodoret, Question 34.
Versus 65-66: A Trembling Heart and Life Hanging in Doubt
65. "THE LORD WILL GIVE YOU THERE A TREMBLING HEART." — This curse the Jews now have, says Abulensis, both because God inflicted it on them as punishment, and because from a tender age they learn to fear Christians, since Christians begin to persecute them while still young, to plunder and beat them.
"AND FAILING EYES" — that is, so that your eyes may grow dim and fail from tears.
66. "AND YOUR LIFE SHALL BE AS IT WERE HANGING BEFORE YOU" (that is, your life shall be placed in danger, and as it were suspended in doubt, indeed) "YOU SHALL NOT BELIEVE IN YOUR LIFE" — that is, you shall not trust your life, or that you can live, but shall despair of life. St. Augustine, in book 16 Against Faustus, chapter 22, Procopius, and St. Leo, sermon 8 On the Passion, understand these words differently, as though he says: Christ is your life, O Jew, whom you have seen hanging on the cross, and yet you did not believe in Him. But this is a symbolic meaning. So also Tertullian, who reads: "Your life shall be hanging on the wood, before your eyes, and you shall not believe in your life."
Versus 68: Return to Egypt by Ships
68. "THE LORD WILL BRING YOU BACK BY SHIPS TO EGYPT." — That this happened under Titus, Josephus teaches, book 7 of the War, chapter 16, where he teaches that Jews captured by the Romans, who were younger than seventeen years, were led to Egypt and sold there for burdens and labor, and in such great numbers that buyers could hardly be found.
Note the word "ships": for hence it is clear that in the time of Moses there were fleets and ships. For Moses here proposes and names these to the Hebrews as things familiar; whence it is clear how much more ancient the history of Moses is than the history of the Gentiles and Poets: for these consider the first ships to have been those of Jason and the Argonauts, who lived shortly before the Trojan War, in the time of Jephthah, judge of the Hebrews.