Deuteronomy 28:13

13 God will make you the head, not the tail; you'll always be the top dog, never the bottom dog, as you obediently listen to and diligently keep the commands of God, your God, that I am commanding you today.

Deuteronomy 28:13 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 28:13

And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail
Give them dominion over others, and not make them subject to them; the head signifies rulers and governors, and the tail the common people that are subjects; or the one such that are honourable and in high esteem, and the other such that are mean and base; see ( Isaiah 9:14 Isaiah 9:15 ) ; the Targum of Jonathan is,

``the Word of the Lord shall make thee''

and thou shalt be above only, and thou shall not be beneath;
which explains what is meant by head and tail, being uppermost and lowermost, as the head is the upper part, and the tail the lower part of a creature; the one is more honourable, the other vile: the sense is, that they should be superior to other people in honour and dignity, and not below them, or vassals to them: if that thou hearken to the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I
command thee this day to observe and to do [them];
which is the condition on which all this happiness depended.

Deuteronomy 28:13 In-Context

11 God will lavish you with good things: children from your womb, offspring from your animals, and crops from your land, the land that God promised your ancestors that he would give you.

12 God will throw open the doors of his sky vaults and pour rain on your land on schedule and bless the work you take in hand. You will lend to many nations but you yourself won't have to take out a loan.

13 God will make you the head, not the tail; you'll always be the top dog, never the bottom dog, as you obediently listen to and diligently keep the commands of God, your God, that I am commanding you today.

14 Don't swerve an inch to the right or left from the words that I command you today by going off following and worshiping other gods.

15 Here's what will happen if you don't obediently listen to the Voice of God, your God, and diligently keep all the commandments and guidelines that I'm commanding you today. All these curses will come down hard on you: