Deuteronomy 29:19

19 and when he hath heard the words of this oath, he bless himself in his heart, and say, Peace shall be to me, and I shall go in the depravity of mine heart; and lest the drunken take the thirsty, (and so when he hath heard the words of this oath, he bless himself in his heart, and say, There shall still be peace for me, yea, even though I go in the depravity of my heart; but such thinking shall destroy everything;)

Deuteronomy 29:19 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 29:19

And it cometh to pass, when he heareth the words of this
curse
That is, the man before compared to a root bearing bitter herbs, when he should hear the curses pronounced by the law against such persons as himself:

that he bless himself in his heart;
inwardly pronounce himself blessed, thinking himself secure from the curse of the law, and flattering himself it will never reach him nor come upon him:

saying, I shall have peace;
all happiness and prosperity, in soul, body, and estate; inward peace of mind now, and eternal peace hereafter:

though I walk in the imagination of my heart;
in worshipping idols which he vainly and wickedly imagined to be gods; to the worship of which his wicked heart prompted him, and he was resolutely and stubbornly bent upon, and in which he continued:

to add drunkenness to thirst;
as a thirsty man to quench his thirst drinks, and adds to that, or drinks yet more and more until he is drunken; so a man inclined to idolatry, that has a secret desire after it, thirsts after such stolen or forbidden waters, and drinks of them, adds thereunto, drinks again and again until he is drunk with the wine of fornication, or idolatry, as it is called ( Revelation 17:2 ) ; so the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan understand the words of adding sin to sin, particularly of adding sins of ignorance to pride, or to presumptuous ones. Wicked men, deceivers and deceived, always grow worse and worse, increasing to more ungodliness, and yet promise themselves peace and impunity, ( 1 Thessalonians 5:3 ) .

Deuteronomy 29:19 In-Context

17 and saw abominations and filths, that is, their idols, (of) wood and stone, silver and gold, which they worshipped. (we saw their abominations and filths, that is, their idols, and false gods, made out of wood and stone, and silver and gold, which they worshipped.)
18 Lest peradventure among you be man either woman, family either lineage, whose heart is turned away today from your Lord God, that he go, and serve the gods of those folks; and a root burgeoning gall and bitterness be among you; (Lest there be among you a man or a woman, a family or a tribe, whose heart today is turned away from the Lord your God, so that they go, and serve the gods of those nations; and there be a root burgeoning gall and bitterness among you;)
19 and when he hath heard the words of this oath, he bless himself in his heart, and say, Peace shall be to me, and I shall go in the depravity of mine heart; and lest the drunken take the thirsty, (and so when he hath heard the words of this oath, he bless himself in his heart, and say, There shall still be peace for me, yea, even though I go in the depravity of my heart; but such thinking shall destroy everything;)
20 and the Lord forgive not to him, but then full greatly his strong vengeance be fierce, and his fervour burst out against that man, and all the curses that be written in this book rest upon him; and the Lord do away his name from under heaven, (for the Lord shall not forgive him, but his strong vengeance shall be greatly fierce, and his fervour shall burst out against that person, and all the curses that be written in this book shall rest upon him; and the Lord shall do away his name from under heaven,)
21 and waste him into perdition from all the lineages of Israel, by the curses that be contained in the book of this law, and of the bond of peace. (yea, he shall bring him out of all the tribes of Israel, and shall bring him down into perdition, according to all the curses of the covenant, that be contained in this Book of the Law.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.