Deuteronomy 29:16

16 (for ye know how we dwelt in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which ye passed;

Deuteronomy 29:16 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 29:16

For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt
How long they and their fathers had dwelt there, the number of years they had been in the land, as the Targum of Jonathan, which was upwards of two hundred years; and being a country the inhabitants of which were much given to idolatry, they had seen many of their idols, and much of their idolatrous worship; and their hearts had been apt to be ensnared by it, and the minds of some tinctured with it, and the remembrance thereof might make ill impressions on them; to remove or prevent which this covenant was made:

and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;
as the Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites, and Midianites, as Aben Ezra observes, through whose borders they came, as they passed by their countries in their journeys in the wilderness.

Deuteronomy 29:16 In-Context

14 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath,

15 but with him that standeth here with us this day before Jehovah our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day

16 (for ye know how we dwelt in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which ye passed;

17 and ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them);

18 lest 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;