Deuteronomy 28:44
in Deuteronomy 28He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
KJV
He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 28
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee
on Deuteronomy 28:43-44
The stranger is the man this book keeps under protection, at 10:18-19, 14:29 and 24:19-21, and here he rises above the household that sheltered him. Verse 44 undoes verses 12 and 13 clause by clause, lending becomes borrowing and the head becomes the tail. The reversal itself is the curse at this point, with no fresh affliction named.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He shall lend to thee, and thou shall not lend to him,.... The stranger, or one of another nation, shall be in a capacity of lending to the Jew, when the Jew would not be able to lend to the Gentile, his circumstances being so low and mean; to show which is the design of the expression, and not the kindness or unkindness of either; see Deu 28:12, he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail; he shall be ruler and governor, and thou shalt be subject to him; see Deu 28:13.
What is here said in general of the wrath of God, which should light and lie upon them for their sins. That, if they would not be ruled by the commands of God, they should certainly be ruined by his curse,
So the ten tribes were by the colonies which the king of Assyria sent to take possession of their land, 2 Kings xvii. Or this may be meant of the gradual encroachments which the strangers within their gates should make upon them, so as insensibly to worm them out of their estates. We read of the fulfilling of this, Hos. vii.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ה֣וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יַלְוְךָ֔ | yalvekha | he will lend to you | H3867 → | 26 times |
| וְאַתָּ֖ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַלְוֶ֑נּוּ | talvenu | you will lend to him | H3867 → | 26 times |
| ה֚וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יִהְיֶ֣ה | yihyeh | he will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְרֹ֔אשׁ | lerosh | <into> [the] head | H7218 → | 599 times |
| וְאַתָּ֖ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| תִּֽהְיֶ֥ה | tihyeh | you will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְזָנָֽב׃ | lezanav | into [the] tail | H2180 → |
ה֣וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
יַלְוְךָ֔he will lend to you
yalvekhaH3867 →26 times
וְאַתָּ֖הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תַלְוֶ֑נּוּyou will lend to him
talvenuH3867 →26 times
ה֚וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
יִהְיֶ֣הhe will become
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לְרֹ֔אשׁ<into> [the] head
leroshH7218 →599 times
וְאַתָּ֖הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
תִּֽהְיֶ֥הyou will become
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
לְזָנָֽב׃into [the] tail
lezanavH2180 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Lamentations 1:5Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. For the LORD has brought her grief because of her many transgressions. Her children have gone away as captives before the enemy.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 30:14–15
All your lovers have forgotten you; they no longer seek you, for I have struck you as an enemy would, with the discipline of someone cruel, because of your great iniquity and your numerous…
- Ezekiel 9:9
He replied, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of perversity. For they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken…
- Ezekiel 8:17–18
“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are practicing here, that they must also fill the…
- Jeremiah 39:9
Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried away to Babylon the remnant of the people who had remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to him.
- Deuteronomy 32:15–27
But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
- Jeremiah 30:14–15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
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About Deuteronomy
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.