Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 4:28
And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
28. ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, etc.] The acme of their punishment. They have chosen to serve idols; idols must they serve in a land where the worship of Jehovah is impossible. This scorn of senseless idols, also in Deu 27:15, Deu 28:36; Deu 28:64, Deu 29:17, Deu 31:29, is an essential temper of monotheism, appearing also in Hos 8:6; Hos 13:2; Isa 2:8; Isa 2:20, etc.; Jer 2:8; Jer 10:1-10, and most frequently in Isa 40:19 f., Isa 41:7, Isa 44:9-20, Isa 46:6 f.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 28. There ye shall serve gods – wood and stone] This was also true of the Israelites, not only in their captivities, but also in their own land. And it may now be literally the case with the ten tribes who were carried away captive by the Assyrians, and of whose residence no man at present knows any thing with certainty. That they still exist there can be no doubt; but they are now, most probably, so completely incorporated with the idolaters among whom they dwell, as to be no longer distinguish able: yet God can gather them.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
i.e. Idols. You shall be compelled by men, and given up by me to idolatry. So that very thing which was your choice shall be your punishment; it being just and usual for God to punish one sin by giving them up to another, as is manifest from Rom 1:24,25.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
28. there ye shall serve gods, thework of men’s handsThe compulsory measures of their tyrannicalconquerors would force them into idolatry, so that their choice wouldbecome their punishment.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone,…. Idols made by men, cut out of wood and stone; these they should be enticed into the service of, or compelled to serve; which was still more brutish and stupid than to worship the sun, moon, and stars, which were not the works of men’s hand, but the glorious works of the eternal God. But since in their captivities they were not subject to idolatry, but were cured of it thereby, another sense of the words is given by some, as by Onkelos and Jonathan, who paraphrase the words of serving the people, that serve idols; but what follows confirms the first sense:
which neither see, nor hear, nor taste, nor smell; senseless things, which have none of the senses of seeing, hearing, and smelling, nor the faculty of eating, which they need not to support life, of which they are destitute; and therefore it must be monstrous stupidity to worship such lifeless, senseless, objects; see Ps 115:4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(28) And there ye shall serve gods, the work of mens hands.That is, you shall be in bondage to them, being ruled by their worshippers. And so Rashi explains it. Captivity was the means of eradicating idolatry from Israel rather than encouraging it. But the cause of a people and its idols is so constantly identified in the Old Testament, that those who are in bondage to a nation may naturally be described as in bondage to its gods. The gods were even held to be sharers in the captivity of the nation. It is said of Bel and Nebo, in Isa. 46:2, They could not deliver . . . but themselves are gone into captivity
(29, 30, 31) Comp. Deu. 30:1-5 for a more explicit promise and prophecy of the same thing, and see Note on that passage.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Deu 4:28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
Ver. 28. And there ye shall serve gods. ] As ye have made a match with mischief, so ye shall have enough of it. Ephraim is joined to idols, &c. See Act 7:42 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
serve gods. Compare Dan 5:23. Rev 9:20.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
ye shall: Deu 28:36, Deu 28:64, 1Sa 26:19, Jer 16:13, Eze 20:32, Eze 20:39, Act 7:42
neither see: Psa 115:4-7, Psa 135:15, Psa 135:16, Isa 44:9, Isa 45:20, Isa 46:7, Jer 10:3, Jer 10:9
Reciprocal: Deu 30:2 – return unto 2Ki 17:40 – but they did 2Ch 32:19 – the work Isa 2:8 – worship Isa 26:15 – thou hadst Isa 44:13 – he marketh Eze 20:25 – I gave Hos 8:11 – altars
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Deu 4:28-29. Ye shall serve gods, the work of mens hands You shall be compelled by men, and given up by me, to idolatry. So that very thing which was your choice, shall be your punishment: it being just and usual for God to punish one sin by giving men up to another. If from thence thou seek the Lord Whatever place we are in, we may from thence seek him. There is no part of the earth which has a gulf fixed between it and heaven.