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Deuteronomy 29:20

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Deuteronomy 29:20 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Jehovah will not pardon him, but then the anger of Jehovah and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book shall lie upon him, and Jehovah will blot out his name from under heaven.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Jehovah will not pardon him, but then the anger of Jehovah and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book shall lie upon him, and Jehovah will blot out his name from under heaven.
Deuteronomy 29:20 — American Standard Version

Context — Deuteronomy 29

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
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 Jehovah our God, to go to serve the gods of those 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 stubbornness of my heart, to destroy the moist with the dry.
20Jehovah will not pardon him, but then the anger of Jehovah and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book shall lie upon him, and Jehovah will blot out his name from under heaven.
21And Jehovah will set him apart unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that is written in this book of the law.
22And the generation to come, your children that shall rise up after you, and the foreigner that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses wherewith Jehovah hath made it sick;
23[and that] the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, [and] a burning, [that] it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which Jehovah overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:
← Deuteronomy 29:19Deuteronomy 29:21 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Then the Lord will not spare him, etc.] Have no mercy upon him, nor forgive him, being an hardhearted, impenitent, stubborn, and obstinate sinner, as well as guilty of the grossest and most provoking sin, as idolatry is: but then the anger of the Lord, and his jealousy, shall smoke against that man; or, “the nose of the Lord shall smoke” f543; alluding to an angry, wrathful, furious man, whose brain being heated, and his passions inflamed, his breath steams through his nostrils like smoke; it denotes the vehement anger, the greatness of God’s wrath and indignation against such a person, and his burning zeal or jealousy for his own honour and glory injured by the idolater: and all the curses…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Shall smoke - Shall burn and break forth with flame and smoke as it were from a furnace. Deuteronomy 29:21”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“29:20 erase their names: To forget the name of a people resulted in eventually forgetting their very existence. The most unspeakable tragedy would be for God to treat the people of Israel as though they had never existed (see 7:24; Exod 32:32-33; 2 Kgs 14:27).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“will not spare: Psa 78:50; Pro 6:34; Isa 27:11; Jer 13:14; Eze 5:11, Eze 7:4, Eze 7:9, Eze 8:18, Eze 9:10; Eze 14:7, Eze 14:8, Eze 24:14; Rom 8:32, Rom 11:21; Pe2 2:4, Pe2 2:5 the anger: Psa 74:1 his jealousy: Exo 20:5, Exo 34:14; Psa 78:58, Psa 79:5; Sol 8:6; Eze 8:3, Eze 8:5, Eze 23:25, Eze 36:5; Nah 1:2; Zep 1:18; Co1 10:22 smoke: Psa 18:8, Psa 74:1; Heb 12:29 all the curses: Deu 27:15-26, 28:15-68 blot out: Deu 9:14, Deu 25:19; Exo 32:32, Exo 32:33; Psa 69:28; Eze 14:7, Eze 14:8; Rev 3:5 Deuteronomy 29:21”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“"For the Lord will not forgive him (who thinks or speaks in this way); but then will His anger smoke (break forth in fire; vid., ( Psa 74:1), and His jealousy against that man, and the whole curse of the law will lie upon him, that his name may be blotted out under heaven (vid., Deu 25:19; Exo 17:14). "The Lord will separate him unto evil from all the tribes, - so that he will be shut out from the covenant nation, and from its salvation, and be exposed to destruction - according to all the curses of the covenant." Although the pronominal suffix refers primarily to the man, it also applies, according to Deu 29:18, to the woman, the family, and the tribe. "That is written," etc., as in Deu…”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification