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繁體中文
英文原文
Here is, I. A law to moderate the scourging of malefactors, De 25:1-3. II. A law in favour of the ox that treads out the corn, De 25:4. III. For the disgracing of him that refused to marry his brother's widow, De 25:5-10. IV. For the punishment of an immodest woman, De 25:11,12. V. For just weights and measures, De 25:13-16. VI. For the destroying of Amalek, De 25:17-19, etc.
1-4
Stripes Not to Exceed Forty (1451 BC)
繁體中文
鞭笞不得超過四十下（主前1451年）
¹ 人與人有爭訟，來見審判官，審判官就要審判他們；當判義人為義，定惡人有罪。 ² 惡人若該受責打，審判官就要叫他當面躺在地上，按他的罪過，照數責打。 ³ 只可打他四十下，不可過數；若過數多打，便是輕賤你的弟兄了。 ⁴ 牛在場上踹穀的時候，不可籠住牠的嘴。
此處記的是：一、關於審判官責打罪犯的指示（申 25:1–3）。1. 此處假定，若有人被控犯罪，控告者和被控者（原告與被告）當在審判官面前面對面，使爭訟得以斷定。2. 若有人被控犯罪，但證據不足，控告不能憑證據成立，他便當被宣判無罪：「你要判義人為義」，即「那在法庭看來顯為義的」。若控告被證實，那麼被控者被定罪便是控告者被算為義——在起訴上為義。3. 若被控者被判有罪，就當向他宣判：「你要定惡人有罪」；因為定惡人為義，與定義人有罪，在耶和華眼中同樣是可憎的（箴 17:15）。4. 若罪行按律法不至於死，罪犯便當受責打。我們所遇見的許多誡命並未附有特定的刑罰，按照猶太人的一貫實行，違犯其中大多數均以鞭笞懲罰；任何人的等級或身分都不能使他免刑——只要他犯了罪，但有一項附帶條件：他永不可因此被責罵，這也不可視為在他身上留下任何恥辱或可羞的記號。此處關於責打罪犯的指示是：（1）當鄭重地行，不可在街市上吵鬧混亂地行，卻要在法庭上公開、在審判官面前，並且如此審慎，使鞭打的次數可以被數算。猶太人說，當執行之時，法庭的庭長要大聲宣讀申 28:58–59、29:9，並以這話作結（詩 78:38）：但他有憐憫，赦免他們的罪孽。 這樣便使之成為一種宗教行為，因而更可能使罪犯自己悔改，也成為對別人的警戒。（2）當按罪行的比例，照他的罪過，使某些罪行看來如其所是——比別的更為嚴重，罪犯被多受責打；主耶穌所說的（路 12:47–48）或許正是暗指此。（3）無論罪行何等重大，鞭打的次數總不可超過四十（申 25:3）。四十少一乃是一般的實行，如林後 11:24 所顯明的。看來他們總是給保羅與給任何罪犯一樣多的鞭打。他們少打一下，是怕數錯（雖然有一位法官被指定來數鞭數），或是因為他們絕不肯走到最嚴厲的地步，或是因為執行通常用三股的鞭，所以十三鞭（每股算一鞭）合成三十九，但若再加一鞭，按這算法便成了四十二。這樣規定的理由是：免得你的弟兄在你眼中看為輕賤。他仍當被看作弟兄（帖後 3:15），而他作弟兄的名聲因這刑罰上仁慈的限制得以保存。當神自己藉律法如此顧念他之時，他便不至在弟兄眼中看為輕賤。人不可被當作狗來對待；凡在我們眼前看為輕賤的——我們卻不知道——神或者還要賜恩，使他們在他眼中成為寶貴。
二、囑咐農夫不可阻止牲畜在工作之時進食——只要食物就在牠們可及之處（申 25:4）。這踹穀之牲口的例子（先知何 10:11 也以此為喻）乃代表一切類似的情形。這條律法之所以比它的同伴們格外顯著（並支持對其他類似律法作同樣的應用），是因為它在新約中被兩次引用，用以表明百姓有責任供給他們的傳道人舒適的養生之需（林前 9:9–10，提前 5:17–18）。按字面，它教導我們當善待為我們服役的牲畜，不但允許牠們維持生命所需，更允許牠們享受自己勞力的果實；這樣我們便當學習不但以公義、更以恩慈，對待一切為我們的益處而受僱的人——不但供養，更當勉勵他們，尤其是那些在我們中間勞苦、傳道教導的人——他們乃是為我們那較好的一部分受僱。
英文原文
Stripes Not to Exceed Forty (1451 BC)
¹ If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.
² And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number.
³ Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.
⁴ Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.
Here is, I. A direction to the judges in scourging malefactors, De 25:1-3. 1. It is here supposed that, if a man be charged with a crime, the accuser and the accused (Actor and Reus) should be brought face to face before the judges, that the controversy may be determined. 2. If a man were accused of a crime, and the proof fell short, so that the charge could not be made out against him by the evidence, then he was to be acquitted: "Thou shalt justify the righteous," that is, "him that appears to the court to be so." If the accusation be proved, then the conviction of the accused is a justification of the accuser, as righteous in the prosecution. 3. If the accused were found guilty, judgment must be given against him: "Thou shalt condemn the wicked;" for to justify the wicked is as much an abomination to the Lord as it is to condemn the righteous, Pr 17:15. 4. If the crime were not made capital by the law, then the criminal must be beaten. A great many precepts we have met with which have not any particular penalty annexed to them, the violation of most of which, according to the constant practice of the Jews, was punished by scourging, from which no person's rank or quality did exempt him if he were a delinquent, but with this proviso, that he should never be upbraided with it, nor should it be looked upon as leaving any mark of infamy or disgrace upon him. The directions here given for the scourging of criminals are, (1.) That it be done solemnly; not tumultuously through the streets, but in open court before the judge's face, and with so much deliberation as that the stripes might be numbered. The Jews say that while execution was in doing the chief justice of the court read with a loud voice De 28:58,59,29:9, and concluded with those words (Ps 78:38), But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity. Thus it was made a sort of religious act, and so much the more likely to reform the offender himself and to be a warning to others. (2.) That it be done in proportion to the crime, according to his fault, that some crimes might appear, as they are, more heinous than others, the criminal being beaten with many stripes, to which perhaps there is an allusion, Lu 12:47,48. (3.) That how great soever the crime were the number of stripes should never exceed forty, De 25:3. Forty save one was the common usage, as appears, 2Co 11:24. It seems, they always gave Paul as many stripes as ever they gave to any malefactor whatsoever. They abated one for fear of having miscounted (though one of the judges was appointed to number the stripes), or because they would never go to the utmost rigour, or because the execution was usually done with a whip of three lashes, so that thirteen stripes (each one being counted for three) made up thirty-nine, but one more by that reckoning would have been forty-two. The reason given for this is, lest thy brother should seem vile unto thee. He must still be looked upon as a brother (2Th 3:15), and his reputation as such was preserved by this merciful limitation of his punishment. It saves him from seeming vile to his brethren, when God himself by his law takes this care of him. Men must not be treated as dogs; nor must those seem vile in our sight to whom, for aught we know, God may yet give grace to make them precious in his sight.
II. A charge to husbandmen not to hinder their cattle from eating when they were working, if meat were within their reach, De 25:4. This instance of the beast that trod out the corn (to which there is an allusion in that of the prophet, Ho 10:11) is put for all similar instances. That which makes this law very remarkable above its fellows (and which countenances the like application of other such laws) is that it is twice quoted in the New Testament to show that it is the duty of the people to give their ministers a comfortable maintenance, 1Co 9:9,10, and 1Ti 5:17,18. It teaches us in the letter of it to make much of the brute-creatures that serve us, and to allow them not only the necessary supports for their life, but the advantages of their labour; and thus we must learn not only to be just, but kind, to all that are employed for our good, not only to maintain but to encourage them, especially those that labour among us in the word and doctrine, and so are employed for the good of our better part.
5-12
Marriage of a Brother's Wife (1451 BC)
繁體中文
兄弟之妻的婚姻（主前1451年）
⁵ 「弟兄同居，若死了一個，沒有兒子，死人的妻不可出嫁外人，她丈夫的兄弟當盡弟兄的本分，娶她為妻，與她同房。
⁶ 婦人生的長子必歸死兄的名下，免得他的名在以色列中塗抹了。
⁷ 那人若不願意娶他哥哥的妻，他哥哥的妻就要到城門長老那裏，說：『我丈夫的兄弟不肯在以色列中興起他哥哥的名字，不願意盡弟兄的本分。』
⁸ 本城的長老就要召那人來問他；他若執意說：『我不願意娶她』，
⁹ 他哥哥的妻就要當著長老到那人的跟前，脫了他的鞋，吐唾沫在他臉上，說：『凡不為哥哥建立家室的都要這樣待他。』
¹⁰ 在以色列中，他的名必稱為『脫鞋之家』。
¹¹ 「若有二人爭鬥，這人的妻近前來，要救她丈夫脫離那打她丈夫之人的手，抓住那人的下體，
¹² 就要砍斷婦人的手，眼不可顧惜她。
此處有：一、關於娶兄弟遺孀的律法。從猶大家的故事可以看出（創38:8），這是一項古已有的慣例，為要維持各家族的延續。此處所設的情形是常見的—一個人在壯年時去世，可能剛結婚不久，而他的兄弟們還年輕未婚。在這種情況下，1. 那遺孀不可嫁入別家，除非亡夫的一切親屬都拒絕她，免得她所帶的妝奩產業外流。2. 亡夫的兄弟，或最近的親屬，當娶她為妻，部分是出於對她的尊重—她既忘記了自己的本族和父家，她所嫁入的家族就當盡力善待她；部分是出於對亡夫的尊重—他雖已離世，卻不可被遺忘，不可從他支派的家譜中失落；因為兄弟或最近親屬與這遺孀所生的長子，當歸在那死者的名下，並在他的家譜中列為他的兒子（申25:5-6）。在那個時代，我們有理由認為人們對自己越過死亡而存活的前景，不如我們今日那樣清楚確定—我們如今已藉著福音將生命和不能壞的生命彰顯出來；因此他們更加渴望在後裔中存續，這無辜的願望在某種程度上藉著這條律法得以滿足，於是找到了一個變通的辦法：雖然人與妻子沒有孩子，但他的名不至在以色列中塗抹，即不從家譜中除名，或同等地，不以無子之名留在其中。撒都該人曾根據這條律法向我們的救主提出一個案例，有意藉此使復活的教義陷入混亂（太22:24-33等），或許暗示既然律法已如此妥善地保障了人在世上名字和家族的延續，就無需維護靈魂的不朽和將來的狀態了。但是，3. 若那兄弟或最近親屬不肯向已故者的記念盡此善舉，那麼在這種情況下當怎樣行呢？（1）他不可被勉強如此行（申25:7）。他若不喜悅她，就可以自由地拒絕她；有人認為在此情形下，摩西律法之前是不允許這樣拒絕的。感情對於婚姻關係的安適乃是一切；這是不能勉強的事，因此若無感情，這關係也不當勉強成立。（2）然而他不如此行，必當眾受羞辱。那遺孀作為最關心亡夫之名與尊榮的人，當向長老控告他的拒絕；他若堅持拒絕，她當脫下他的鞋，吐唾沫在他臉上（公開在長老面前；或如猶太教師較溫和的解釋，吐在他面前），以此將恥辱的記號加在他身上，這記號還要留給他的家族（申25:8-10）。請注意：那些不肯盡本分去保全別人名譽的人，在自己的名譽上受損是理所當然的。那不肯建立哥哥家室的人，理當在自己的家室上蒙此瑕疵，被稱為脫鞋之家，表示他配得赤足而行。在路得的案例中，我們看到這條律法被執行（得4:7），但因最近的親屬拒絕之後，另有一位願意盡弟兄為夫的本分，所以脫鞋的是那另一位，而不是遺孀—是波阿斯，而不是路得。
二、關於懲治無恥婦人的律法（申25:11-12）。按前述律法當控告丈夫兄弟不娶自己、並在長老面前吐唾沫在他臉上的婦人，需要相當的膽量；但為免那律法所支持的膽量發展到不適合女性身份的過度程度，此處有一條嚴厲卻公義的律法，用以懲治放肆和無恥。1. 其事例顯然惡劣到極點。一個婦人除非完全喪失了一切德行與貞潔，否則不會如此行。2. 其場合在某種程度上還可作為藉口；那是為要幫助丈夫脫離一個力氣比他大之人的手。然而若在激情中、出於這樣的好意而行尚且當受如此重的刑罰，那麼在放蕩和情慾中而行就更當如此了。3. 刑罰是砍斷她的手；官長不可假裝比 神更仁慈：眼不可顧惜她。也許我們的救主命令我們砍掉那得罪我們、或使我們陷罪的右手，正是暗指這條律法。寧可將最大的艱難加於身體，也勝過永遠毀壞靈魂。端莊是貞潔的藩籬，因此當被男女兩性極謹慎地保守並持守。
英文原文
Marriage of a Brother's Wife (1451 BC)
⁵ If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her.
⁶ And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.
⁷ And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother.
⁸ Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her;
⁹ Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house.
¹⁰ And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.
¹¹ When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets:
¹² Then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall not pity her.
Here is, I. The law settled concerning the marrying of the brother's widow. It appears from the story of Judah's family that this had been an ancient usage (Ge 38:8), for the keeping up of distinct families. The case put is a case that often happens, of a man's dying without issue, it may be in the prime of his time, soon after his marriage, and while his brethren were yet so young as to be unmarried. Now in this case, 1. The widow was not to marry again into any other family, unless all the relations of her husband did refuse her, that the estate she was endowed with might not be alienated. 2. The husband's brother, or next of kin, must marry her, partly out of respect to her, who, having forgotten her own people and her father's house, should have all possible kindness shown her by the family into which she was married; and partly out of respect to the deceased husband, that though he was dead and gone he might not be forgotten, nor lost out of the genealogies of his tribe; for the first-born child, which the brother or next kinsman should have by the widow, should be denominated from him that was dead, and entered in the genealogy as his child, De 25:5,6. Under that dispensation we have reason to think men had not so clear and certain a prospect of living themselves on the other side death as we have now, to whom life and immortality are brought to light by the gospel; and therefore they could not but be the more desirous to live in their posterity, which innocent desire was in some measure gratified by this law, an expedient being found out that, though a man had no child by his wife, yet his name should not be put out of Israel, that is, out of the pedigree, or, which is equivalent, remain there under the brand of childlessness. The Sadducees put a case to our Saviour upon this law, with a design to perplex the doctrine of the resurrection by it (Mt 22:24-33, etc.), perhaps insinuating that there was no need of maintaining the immortality of the soul and a future state, since the law had so well provided for the perpetuating of men's names and families in the world. But, 3. If the brother, or next of kin, declined to do this good office to the memory of him that was gone, what must be done in that case? Why, (1.) He shall not be compelled to do it, De 25:7. If he like her not, he is at liberty to refuse her, which, some think, was not permitted in this case before this law of Moses. Affection is all in all to the comfort of the conjugal relation; this is a thing which cannot be forced, and therefore the relation should not be forced without it. (2.) Yet he shall be publicly disgraced for not doing it. The widow, as the person most concerned for the name and honour of the deceased, was to complain to the elders of his refusal; if he persist in it, she must pluck off his shoe, and spit in his face, in open court (or, as the Jewish doctors moderate it, spit before his face), thus to fasten a mark of infamy upon him, which was to remain with his family after him, De 25:8-10. Note, Those justly suffer in their own reputation who do not do what they ought to preserve the name and honour of others. He that would not build up his brother's house deserved to have this blemish put upon his own, that it should be called the house of him that had his shoe loosed, in token that he deserved to go barefoot. In the case of Ruth we find this law executed (Ru 4:7), but because, upon the refusal of the next kinsman, there was another ready to perform the duty of a husband's brother, it was that other that plucked off the shoe, and not the widow—Boaz, and not Ruth.
II. A law for the punishing of an immodest woman, De 25:11,12. The woman that by the foregoing law was to complain against her husband's brother for not marrying her, and to spit in his face before the elders, needed a good measure of assurance; but, lest the confidence which that law supported should grow to an excess unbecoming the sex, here is a very severe but just law to punish impudence and immodesty. 1. The instance of it is confessedly scandalous to the highest degree. A woman could not do it unless she were perfectly lost to all virtue and honour. 2. The occasion is such as might in part excuse it; it was to help her husband out of the hands of one that was too hard for him. Now if the doing of it in a passion, and with such a good intention, was to be so severely punished, much more when it was done wantonly and in lust. 3. The punishment was that her hand should be cut off; and the magistrates must not pretend to be more merciful than God: Thy eye shall not pity her. Perhaps our Saviour alludes to this law when he commands us to cut off the right hand that offends us, or is an occasion of sin to us. Better put the greatest hardships that can be upon the body than ruin the soul for ever. Modesty is the hedge of chastity, and therefore ought to be very carefully preserved and kept up by both sexes.
13-19
Amalek to Be Destroyed (1451 BC)
繁體中文
亞瑪力人必被滅絕（主前1451年）
¹³ 你囊中不可有一大一小兩樣的法碼。
¹⁴ 你家中不可有一大一小兩樣的升斗。
¹⁵ 當用對準公平的法碼，公平的升斗；這樣，在耶和華你神所賜你的地上，你的日子就可以長久。
¹⁶ 因為行非義之事的人，都是耶和華你神所憎惡的。
¹⁷ 你要記念你們出埃及的時候，亞瑪力人在路上怎樣待你。
¹⁸ 他們在路上遇見你，趁你疲乏困倦的時候，擊殺你後邊軟弱的人，並不敬畏神。
**¹⁹ 所以耶和華你神使你不被四圍一切的仇敵擾亂，在耶和華你神賜你為業的地上得享平安。那時你要將亞瑪力的名號從天下塗抹了，不可忘記。
此處，I. 關於詭詐的法碼和升斗的律法：他們不可使用它們，甚至不可擁有它們——不可放在囊中，也不可放在家中（De 25:13,14）；因為他們若擁有它們，就會大受試探去使用。他們不可有一個大的法碼和升斗用來買入，又有一個小的用來賣出，因為這是兩頭欺騙——無論哪一頭都夠壞了；正如我們讀到那些人所行的：使所賣糧食的伊法小，所收銀錢的舍客勒大（Am 8:5）。但你當用對準公平的法碼（De 25:15）。作為公正之準則的，本身必須公正；否則它就是一個持續不斷的欺騙。這一點此前已在 Le 19:35,36 中加以留意。這條律法以兩個極好的理由加以強調：第一，公義和公平必使我們得著神的賜福。要使我們的日子長久並亨通，途徑就是在一切交易上公正和誠實——誠實是最好的策略。第二，欺詐和不義必使我們落在神的咒詛之下（De 25:16）。不僅不義本身，連一切行不義之事的人，都是耶和華所憎惡的。被造物主所憎惡的人，是何等可悲。所羅門多次指出，一切的欺騙手段在神看來何等可憎（Pr 11:1,20:10,23）；使徒也告訴我們：主是這一切——就是一切欺壓和在甚麼事上詐騙人的人——的報應者（1Th 4:6）。
II. 關於根除亞瑪力人的律法。此處有一個公正的法碼和公正的升斗——亞瑪力人怎樣量給以色列，也必照樣量給亞瑪力人。
1. 亞瑪力人對以色列所行的惡事必須在此被記念（De 25:17,18）。這事初發生時，就下令要記錄下來（Ex 17:14-16），此處又下令要保存對這事的記念——不是出於個人的報復（因為遭受亞瑪力人害的那一代已經過去了，如今活著的人及其後裔不可能對那傷害有個人的怨恨），而是出於為神的榮耀所發的熱心（亞瑪力人侮辱了神的榮耀），為那主的寶座——亞瑪力人的手向其伸出——發熱心。亞瑪力人對待以色列人的態度在此被描述為：（1）極其卑鄙和不義。他們根本沒有理由與以色列爭執，也沒有以任何宣言或宣戰書通知他們，只是趁他們毫無防備時下手——他們剛從為奴之家出來，在他們看來不過是要在曠野向神獻祭。（2）極其野蠻和殘忍；因為他們擊殺了那些較軟弱的人——那些他們本該幫助的人。最大的懦夫通常也是最殘忍的人；而具有男子漢勇氣的人也必具有男子漢的同情心。（3）極其不敬和不虔：他們不敬畏神。他們若對以色列神的威嚴有任何敬畏——他們曾在雲柱中看見其記號——或對他的烈怒有任何畏懼——他們近日聽聞他向法老所施展的大能——就斷不敢如此攻擊以色列。這就是爭執的根源。這表明神將向他的百姓所作的視為向他自己的攻擊，並且他要特別向那些阻攔和妨礙信仰初學者的人——就是（作為撒但的差役）攻擊軟弱和疲乏之人，要使他們偏離或使他們不安、並絆倒他小子中一個的人——追討。
2. 這惡事必在適當的時候受到報復（De 25:19）。當他們完成了用以安定國位、擴展疆界的戰爭之後，就要向亞瑪力人開戰（De 25:19）——不僅是追趕他們，而是要消滅他們，將亞瑪力的名號塗抹。神延遲報復如此之久，是他忍耐的一個例子，本當引導亞瑪力人悔改；然而在如此久之後，亞瑪力的後裔竟因他們的祖先向神的以色列人所行的惡事而被消滅，這是可怕報應的一個例子，要使全世界都看見並說：摸他們的，就是摸他眼中的瞳人。此事之後約四百年，掃羅受命執行這判決（1Sa 15:1-35），卻因沒有徹底執行而被神棄絕——他寬免了那當滅之民的一部分，這不僅藐視了他從撒母耳所受的特別命令，更藐視了摩西在此所賜的這條一般性的命令——他不可能不知道這命令。此後大衛對他們作了一些毀滅；在希西家的時候，西緬人擊殺了其餘剩下的人（1Ch 4:43）；因為當神審判時，他必得勝。
英文原文
Amalek to Be Destroyed (1451 BC)
¹³ Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small.
¹⁴ Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small.
¹⁵ But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
¹⁶ For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
¹⁷ Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt;
¹⁸ How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.
¹⁹ Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.
Here is, I. A law against deceitful weights and measures: they must not only not use them, but they must not have them, not have them in the bag, not have them in the house (De 25:13,14); for, if they had them, they would be strongly tempted to use them. They must not have a great weight and measure to buy by and a small one to sell by, for that was to cheat both ways, when either was bad enough; as we read of those that made the ephah small, in which they measured the corn they sold, and the shekel great, by which they weighed the money they received for it, Am 8:5. But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, De 25:15. That which is the rule of justice must itself be just; if that be otherwise, it is a constant cheat. This had been taken care of before, Le 19:35,36. This law is enforced with two very good reasons:—1. That justice and equity will bring down upon us the blessing of God. The way to have our days lengthened, and to prosper, is to be just and fair in all our dealings Honesty is the best policy. 2. That fraud and injustice will expose us to the curse of God, De 25:16. Not only unrighteousness itself, but all that do unrighteously, are an abomination to the Lord. And miserable is that man who is abhorred by his Maker. How hateful, particularly, all the arts of deceit are to God, Solomon several times observes, Pr 11:1,20:10,23; and the apostle tells us that the Lord is the avenger of all such as overreach and defraud in any matter, 1Th 4:6.
II. A law for the rooting out of Amalek. Here is a just weight and a just measure, that, as Amalek had measured to Israel, so it should be measure to Amalek again.
1. The mischief Amalek did to Israel must be here remembered, De 25:17,18. When it was first done it was ordered to be recorded (Ex 17:14-16), and here the remembrance of it is ordered to be preserved, not in personal revenge (for that generation which suffered by the Amalekites was gone, so that those who now lived, and their posterity, could not have any personal resentment of the injury), but in a zeal for the glory of God (which was insulted by the Amalekites), that throne of the Lord against which the hand of Amalek was stretched out. The carriage of the Amalekites towards Israel is here represented, (1.) As very base and disingenuous. They had no occasion at all to quarrel with Israel, nor did they give them any notice, by a manifesto or declaration of war; but took them at an advantage, when they had just come out of the house of bondage, and, for aught that appeared to them, were only going to sacrifice to God in the wilderness. (2.) As very barbarous and cruel; for they smote those that were more feeble, whom they should have succoured. The greatest cowards are commonly the most cruel; while those that have the courage of a man will have the compassion of a man. (3.) As very impious and profane: they feared not God. If they had had any reverence for the majesty of the God of Israel, which they saw a token of in the cloud, or any dread of his wrath, which they lately heard of the power of over Pharaoh, they durst not have made this assault upon Israel. Well, here was the ground of the quarrel: and it shows how God takes what is done against his people as done against himself, and that he will particularly reckon with those that discourage and hinder young beginners in religion, that (as Satan's agents) set upon the weak and feeble, either to divert them or to disquiet them, and offend his little ones.
2. This mischief must in due time be revenged, De 25:19. When their wars were finished, by which they were to settle their kingdom and enlarge their coast, then they must make war upon Amalek (De 25:19), not merely to chase them, but to consume them, to blot out the remembrance of Amalek. It was an instance of God's patience that he deferred the vengeance so long, which should have led the Amalekites to repentance; yet an instance of fearful retribution that the posterity of Amalek, so long after, were destroyed for the mischief done by their ancestors to the Israel of God, that all the world might see, and say, that he who toucheth them toucheth the apple of his eye. It was nearly 400 years after this that Saul was ordered to put this sentence in execution (1Sa 15:1-35), and was rejected of God because he did not do it effectually, but spared some of that devoted nation, in contempt, not only of the particular orders he received from Samuel, but of this general command here given by Moses, which he could not be ignorant of. David afterwards made some destruction of them; and the Simeonites, in Hezekiah's time, smote the rest that remained (1Ch 4:43); for when God judges he will overcome.
本章包含：一、減輕罪犯鞭刑的律法（申二十五1–3）。二、厚待踹穀之牛的律法（申二十五4）。三、關於羞辱那拒娶兄弟遺孀之人的律法（申二十五5–10）。四、關於懲治不端之婦人的律法（申二十五11–12）。五、關於公平的法碼和升斗的律法（申二十五13–16）。六、關於滅絕亞瑪力人的律法（申二十五17–19等）。