Deuteronomy 33:29
in Deuteronomy 33Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is the shield that protects you, the sword in which you boast. Your enemies will cower before you, and you shall trample their high places.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Happy art thou, O Israel: Who is like unto thee, a people saved by Jehovah, The shield of thy help, And the sword of thy excellency! And thine enemies shall submit themselves unto thee; And thou shalt tread upon their high places.
KJV
Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 33
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Be found liars unto thee - Perhaps rather, “cringe before thee.” The verb means to show a feigned or forced obedience: see the marginal references. Tread upon their high places - i. e., occupy the commanding positions in their land, and so have it in subjection.
This site's exposition
So Israel dwells securely
on Deuteronomy 33:28-29
The question “Who is like you” was asked of God at the sea in Exodus 15:11. Moses' last words in the Torah ask it of the people, “a people saved by the LORD”.
This site's exposition
Your enemies will cower before you
The verb rendered cower describes feigned submission, the bowing of an enemy who yields from fear. Barnes reads high places as the land's commanding heights. The same Hebrew word, bamot, later names the hill shrines where Canaanite gods were worshipped.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Those in whose hearts is the excellency of holiness, have God himself for their shield and sword. They are defended by the whole armour of God: His word is their sword, and faith their shield.
Happy art thou, O Israel,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun--The chapter concludes with a congratulatory address to Israel on their peculiar happiness and privilege in having Jehovah for their God and protector. who rideth upon the heaven in thy help--an evident allusion to the pillar of cloud and fire, which was both the guide and shelter of Israel.
THESE are the last recorded words of Moses and they are significant, for they show us that he found comfort, in his dying moments, in considering the happiness of the people for whom he had labored all his life. From the day when, by God's power, he led them up out of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness, they had never ceased to lie near his heart. They had been a very heavy burden to him at times, but with marvelous meekness and patience he had borne with their many rebellious provocations and only once spoken bitterly of them.
THESE are the last recorded words of Moses and they are significant, for they show us that he found comfort, in his dying moments, in considering the happiness of the people for whom he had labored all his life. From the day when, by God's power, he led them up out of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness, they had never ceased to lie near his heart. They had been a very heavy burden to him at times, but with marvelous meekness and patience he had borne with their many rebellious provocations and only once spoken bitterly of them. Oftentimes had he stood in the gap and made intercession for them, when otherwise they would have been destroyed. He had, for their sakes, given up the most glorious prospect that was ever proposed to the mind of man, for the Lord had said to him in secret, "Let Me alone, that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a greater nation." But no, even such a proposal could not divert him from his patriotic zeal for his people! He loved Israel, erring Israel, ungrateful Israel, as a mother loves her child, and family aggrandizement was relinquished for love of the nation. Still he continued to instruct, lead and guide the stiff-necked race, having no thought but God's Glory in the midst of Israel, and no ambition but to see the tribes brought, at length, into the promised land. When about to die, the ruling passion was strong upon him and from it he draws his consolation. He seems to say to himself, "I can no more go out and come in. The Lord has said unto me, You shall not go over this Jordan, but though I must leave the beloved nation, yet they are a happy people and are safe in Jehovah's hands." He looks with sparkling eyes at the privileges with which God had enriched them and he feels that he may quietly go up to the mountain and fall asleep, for they would be blessed when he was gone, and saved of the Lord.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Happy art thou, etc. - אשרי ashrey. O the happiness of Israel! it is ineffable, inconceivable, because they are a people saved by the Lord - have such a salvation as it becomes the infinite perfections of God to bestow; he is their help - their never-failing strength, and the shield of that help - he defends their defense, saves them and preserves them in the state of salvation. Sword of thy excellency - Or whose sword - his all-conquering Word, is thine excellency, in its promises, threatenings, precepts, etc., etc. St. Paul, in his exhortation to the Christians at Ephesus, uses the same metaphor, Take unto you the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Thine enemies shall be found liars - Who said thou shouldst never be able to gain the possession of this good land; for thou shalt tread on - subdue, their high places - even their best fortified cities. The blessings contained in this chapter belong also to the spiritual Israel of God, who, according to the Divine promise, shall have a complete victory over all their spiritual foes, shall have all their inward enemies, the whole of the carnal mind, destroyed, (for the blood of Jesus Christ, applied by the energy of the eternal Spirit, shall not only blot out all their sin, but purify their hearts from all unrighteousness); and thus, being delivered from their enemies, they shall love God with all their heart, and serve him in righteousness and true holiness, without fear before him all the days of their life. There are many circumstances and expressions in this ode similar to several in the prophetical blessing pronounced by Jacob on his twelve sons, Gen. 49, for the subject is the same in both chapters, the reader is therefore requested to compare the two places, and to consider the notes on each, as they have some tendency to cast light on each other. […]
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַשְׁרֶ֨יךָ | ʾashreikha | how blessed [are]! you | H835 → | |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל | yisrael | O Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מִ֣י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| כָמ֗וֹךָ | khamokha | [is] like you | H3644 → | 143 times |
| עַ֚ם | ʾam | a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| נוֹשַׁ֣ע | nosha' | [which] it has been saved | H3467 → | 206 times |
| בַּֽיהוָ֔ה | bayahweh | by Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מָגֵ֣ן | magen | [the] shield of | H4043 → | |
| עֶזְרֶ֔ךָ | ʾezrekha | help your | H5828 → | 21 times |
| וַאֲשֶׁר־ | vaasher- | and who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| חֶ֖רֶב | cherev | [is] [the] sword of | H2719 → | 413 times |
| גַּאֲוָתֶ֑ךָ | gaavatekha | eminence your | H1346 → | |
| וְיִכָּֽחֲשׁ֤וּ | veyikachashu | so they may cringe | H3584 → | |
| אֹיְבֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾoyeveikha | enemies your | H341 → | 282 times |
| לָ֔ךְ | lakh | to <the> you | ||
| וְאַתָּ֖ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בָּמוֹתֵ֥ימוֹ | bamoteimov | high places their | H1116 → | |
| תִדְרֹֽךְ׃ ס | tidrokh | you will tread | H1869 → | 62 times |
אַשְׁרֶ֨יךָhow blessed [are]! you
ʾashreikhaH835 →
יִשְׂרָאֵ֜לO Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מִ֣יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
כָמ֗וֹךָ[is] like you
khamokhaH3644 →143 times
עַ֚םa people
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
נוֹשַׁ֣ע[which] it has been saved
nosha'H3467 →206 times
בַּֽיהוָ֔הby Yahweh
bayahwehH3068 →6520 times
מָגֵ֣ן[the] shield of
magenH4043 →
עֶזְרֶ֔ךָhelp your
ʾezrekhaH5828 →21 times
וַאֲשֶׁר־and who
vaasher-H834 →5497 times
חֶ֖רֶב[is] [the] sword of
cherevH2719 →413 times
גַּאֲוָתֶ֑ךָeminence your
gaavatekhaH1346 →
וְיִכָּֽחֲשׁ֤וּso they may cringe
veyikachashuH3584 →
אֹיְבֶ֙יךָ֙enemies your
ʾoyeveikhaH341 →282 times
לָ֔ךְto <the> you
lakh
וְאַתָּ֖הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בָּמוֹתֵ֥ימוֹhigh places their
bamoteimovH1116 →
תִדְרֹֽךְ׃ סyou will tread
tidrokhH1869 →62 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Isaiah 45:17But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will not be put to shame or humiliated, to ages everlasting.
it leads to
- Romans 10:11
It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- Psalms 25:3
Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame; but those who are faithless without cause will be disgraced.
- Isaiah 54:4
Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; do not be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated. For you will forget the shame of your youth and will remember…
- 1 Peter 2:6
For it stands in Scripture: “See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- Joel 2:26–27
You will have plenty to eat, until you are satisfied. You will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you. My people will never again be put to…
- Romans 10:11
Through
Isaiah 12:2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
it leads to
- Exodus 15:2
The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
- Psalms 118:14
The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.
- Psalms 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— whom shall I dread?
- Exodus 15:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1359: “Happiness—the Privilege and Duty of Christians” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.