Deuteronomy 28:13

13 constituet te Dominus in caput et non in caudam et eris semper supra et non subter si audieris mandata Domini Dei tui quae ego praecipio tibi hodie et custodieris et feceris

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 abundare te faciet Dominus omnibus bonis fructu uteri tui et fructu iumentorum tuorum fructu terrae tuae quam iuravit Dominus patribus tuis ut daret tibi

12 aperiet Dominus thesaurum suum optimum caelum ut tribuat pluviam terrae tuae in tempore suo benedicet cunctis operibus manuum tuarum et fenerabis gentibus multis et ipse a nullo fenus accipies

13 constituet te Dominus in caput et non in caudam et eris semper supra et non subter si audieris mandata Domini Dei tui quae ego praecipio tibi hodie et custodieris et feceris

14 ac non declinaveris ab eis nec ad dextram nec ad sinistram nec secutus fueris deos alienos neque colueris eos

15 quod si audire nolueris vocem Domini Dei tui ut custodias et facias omnia mandata eius et caerimonias quas ego praecipio tibi hodie venient super te omnes maledictiones istae et adprehendent te