Deuteronomy 28:13

13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. You will always be at the top, never at the bottom, if you faithfully obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving 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 The LORD will give you plenty of blessings: You will have many children. Your animals will have many offspring. Your soil will produce many crops in the land the LORD will give you, as he swore to your ancestors.

12 The LORD will open the heavens, his rich storehouse, for you. He will send rain on your land at the right time and bless everything you do. You will be able to make loans to many nations but won't need to borrow from any.

13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. You will always be at the top, never at the bottom, if you faithfully obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today.

14 Do everything I'm commanding you today. Never worship other gods or serve them.

15 Obey the LORD your God, and faithfully follow all his commands and laws that I am giving you today. If you don't, all these curses will come to you and stay close to you: