Deuteronomy 32:22

22 Fire is kindled in my strong vengeance, and it shall burn unto the last things of hell; and it shall devour the land with his fruit, and it shall burn the foundaments of hills (and it shall devour the land with its fruit, and it shall burn the very roots, or the foundations, of the mountains).

Deuteronomy 32:22 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 32:22

For a fire is kindled in mine anger
Here begins the account of temporal and corporeal judgments inflicted on the Jews for their disbelief and rejection of the Messiah, their contempt of his Gospel, and ill treatment of his followers; and this here respects the destruction of the land of Judea in general, and the burning of the city and temple of Jerusalem in particular, as the effect of the wrath and anger of God like fire kindled against them:

and shall burn unto the lowest hell;
which denotes an entire destruction, like that of the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone from heaven; which issued in a sulphurous lake, and which sulphureous matter sunk to the bottom of the Dead Sea; and to that destruction is this of the land of Judea compared, ( Deuteronomy 29:23 ) ;

and shall consume the earth with her increase:
the land of Judea, with the cities and towns in it, and buildings on it, and the fruits of the earth; which were either gathered into their barns and storehouses, or were growing in their fields, and vineyards, and oliveyards; all were destroyed and consumed at or before the destruction of Jerusalem, or quickly after it:

and set on fire the foundations of the mountains;
the city of Jerusalem, as Jarchi himself interprets it, whose foundations were by the mountains, according to ( Psalms 125:2 ) ; and the temple of Jerusalem particularly was built on Mount Moriah, and that as well as the city was utterly consumed by fire: and it is remarkable that when Julian the apostate attempted to rebuild it, as is related even by an Heathen historian F1, that flames of fire burst out from the foundations, and burnt the workmen; so that he was obliged to desist from his rash undertaking.


FOOTNOTES:

F1 Ammian. Marcellin. l. 23. in initio.

Deuteronomy 32:22 In-Context

20 And the Lord said, I shall hide my face from them, and I shall behold their last things; for this is a wayward generation, and unfaithful sons they be. (And the Lord said, I shall hide my face from them, and then I shall see what will happen to them; for this is a wayward generation, they be unfaithful children.)
21 They have stirred me to wrath in worshipping him that was not God, and they have moved me to vengeance in their vain idols; and I shall stir them (to wrath) in him, that is not a people, and I shall stir them to ire in a fond folk. (They have stirred me to jealousy by worshipping what was not God, and they have moved me to vengeance with their vain idols; and so I shall stir them to jealousy, with those who be not a people, and I shall stir them to anger, with a nation of fools.)
22 Fire is kindled in my strong vengeance, and it shall burn unto the last things of hell; and it shall devour the land with his fruit, and it shall burn the foundaments of hills (and it shall devour the land with its fruit, and it shall burn the very roots, or the foundations, of the mountains).
23 I shall gather evils on them, and I shall [ful]fill mine arrows in them. (I shall gather one evil after another upon them, and I shall send all my arrows against them/and I shall spend all my arrows against them.)
24 They shall be wasted with hunger, and birds shall devour them with most bitter biting; I shall send into them the teeth of beasts, with the strong vengeance of (those) drawing upon (the) earth, and of serpents. (They shall be wasted with hunger, and fever, and terrible sicknesses; I shall send into them the teeth of beasts, and the poisonous bites of serpents which draw themselves upon the ground/through the dust.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.