Deuteronomy 28:54

 Deuteronomy 28:54

So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:

a. ASV: The man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children whom he hath remaining;  [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: 'The man who is tender in thee, and who is very delicate -- his eye is evil against his brother, and against the wife of his bosom, and against the remnant of his sons whom he leaveth,  [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified:   The man who is most tender among you and extremely particular and well-bred, his eye shall be cruel and grudging of food toward his brother and toward the wife of his bosom and toward those of his children still remaining,  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Stone Edition THE CHUMASH, Rabbinic Commentary: The man among you who is tender and very delicate will turn selfish against his brother and the wife of his bosom, and against the remaining children that his has let survive.  [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE CHUMASH Copyright 1998, 2000 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ldt.]

e. NLT:  The most tenderhearted man among you will have no compassion for his own brother, his beloved wife, and his surviving children. [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

1. “So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother…”

a. [So that the] man [that is] [Strong: 376 ʼîysh, eesh; contracted for H582 (or perhaps rather from an unused root meaning to be extant); a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation):—also, another, any (man), a certain, champion, consent, each, every (one), fellow, (foot-, husband-) man, (good-, great, mighty) man, he, high (degree), him (that is), husband, man(-kind), none, one, people, person, steward, what (man) soever, whoso(-ever), worthy.]

b. tender [among you] [Strong: 7390 rak, rak; from H7401; tender (literally or figuratively); by implication, weak:—faint(-hearted), soft, tender ((-hearted), one), weak.]

c. [and] very [Strong: 3966 mᵉʼôd, meh-ode'; from the same as H181; properly, vehemence, i.e. (with or without preposition) vehemently; by implication, wholly, speedily, etc. (often with other words as an intensive or superlative; especially when repeated):—diligently, especially, exceeding(-ly), far, fast, good, great(-ly), × louder and louder, might(-ily, -y), (so) much, quickly, (so) sore, utterly, very ( much, sore), well.]

d. delicate [Strong: 6028 ʻânôg, aw-nogue'; from H6026; luxurious:—delicate.]

e. [his] eye [Strong: 5869 ʻayin, ah'-yin; probably a primitive word; an eye (literally or figuratively); by analogy, a fountain (as the eye of the landscape):—affliction, outward appearance, before, think best, colour, conceit, be content, countenance, displease, eye((-brow), (-d), -sight), face, favour, fountain, furrow (from the margin), × him, humble, knowledge, look, (+ well), × me, open(-ly), + (not) please, presence, regard, resemblance, sight, × thee, × them, + think, × us, well, × you(-rselves).]

f. [shall be] evil [Strong: 7489 râʻaʻ, raw-ah'; a primitive root; properly, to spoil (literally, by breaking to pieces); figuratively, to make (or be) good for nothing, i.e. bad (physically, socially or morally):—afflict, associate selves (by mistake for 7462), break (down, in pieces), displease, (be, bring, do) evil (doer, entreat, man), show self friendly (by mistake for 7462), do harm, (do) hurt, (behave self, deal) ill, × indeed, do mischief, punish, still, vex, (do) wicked (doer, -ly), be (deal, do) worse.]

g. [toward his] brother [Strong: 251 ʼâch, awkh; a primitive word; a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaphorical affinity or resemblance [like H1]):—another, brother(-ly); kindred, like, other.]

2. “...and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:”

a. [and toward the] wife [Strong: 802 ʼishshâh, ish-shaw'; feminine of H376 or H582; irregular plural, נָשִׁים nâshîym;(used in the same wide sense as H582) a woman:—(adulter) ess, each, every, female, × many, none, one, together, wife, woman. Often unexpressed in English.]

b. [of his] bosom [Strong: 2436 chêyq, khake; or חֵק chêq; and חוֹק chôwq; from an unused root, apparently meaning to inclose; the bosom (literally or figuratively):—bosom, bottom, lap, midst, within.]

c. [and toward the] remnant [Strong: 3499 yether, yeh'-ther; from H3498; properly, an overhanging, i.e. (by implication) an excess, superiority, remainder; also a small rope (as hanging free):— abundant, cord, exceeding, excellancy(-ent), what they leave, that hath left, plentifully, remnant, residue, rest, string, with.]

d. [of his] children [Strong: bên, bane; from H1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.):—afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-) ite, (anoint-) ed one, appointed to, (+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-) ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, × came up in, child, colt, × common, × corn, daughter, × of first, firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, × in, + kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+) people, rebel, + robber, × servant born, × soldier, son, + spark, steward, + stranger, × surely, them of, + tumultuous one, valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.]

e. which [Strong: 834 ʼăsher, ash-er'; a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number); who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.:—× after, × alike, as (soon as), because, × every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how(-soever), × if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), × though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither(-soever), who(-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.]

f. [he shall] leave [Strong: 3498 yâthar, yaw-thar'; a primitive root; to jut over or exceed; by implication, to excel; (intransitively) to remain or be left; causatively to leave, cause to abound, preserve:—excel, leave (a remnant), left behind, too much, make plenteous, preserve, (be, let) remain(-der, -ing, -nant), reserve, residue, rest.]

1). This passage (Deuteronomy 28:52-57), concerning the canaballism that happened while Israel was being besieged by the Syrians. Was fulfilled in 2 Kings.

a). 2 Kings 6:24-29 And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.

6:25 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.

6:26 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.

6:27 And he said, If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?

6:28 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.

6:29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.

6:30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.

2). Troy Edwards, The Permissive Sense: Most people have read this list (Deuteronomy 28:16-68) with the erroneous idea that God will use His divine creative power to bring about these curses. Nevertheless, when we use the principle of interpreting the Bible with the Bible, we learn that these curses will come because God is  forsaking His people and withdrawing His protection. 

a). Deuteronomy 31:16-18 And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.

31:17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?

31:18 And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.

3). Edward Williams, Predestination and Election Considered: explaining to his listeners how the Hebrew idiom of permission will keep us away from an erroneous interpretation of Scripture that would otherwise cast aspersions on God’s character. After all, it may be objected, that the Scriptures ascribe to God the causation of moral evil; as hardening the heart of Pharaoh, hardening whom he will, making the wicked for the day of evil, appointing to destruction, determining the death of Christ, delivering him by determinate counsel, doing all evil in a city, making, making vessels to dishonor, fitting them for destruction, &c. In reply to this objection it must be considered, that whatever the import of such representations may be, no interpretation which is unworthy of God can be the true meaning, at the idioms of the sacred languages ascribing cause or operation to God must be understood according to the nature of the subject, and, what is particularly to our purpose, that active verbs which denote making, bring, causing, and the like, often denote a declaration of the thing done, or that shall take place; or a permission of it. (Taken from Troy J. Edwards, The Hebrew Idiom of Permission.)

4). Thomas Jackson: “It is then so common in Holy Scripture to speak of God as actually doing that which He simply permits, and does not absolutely hinder man from doing, that this may be justly regarded as an idiom of eastern speech.” (The Hebrew Idiom of Permission.]

5). Robert Balmer, Academical Lectures: But does not the Scripture, it may be said, go much farther than this, when it declares that God hardens the hearts of men? Thus ascribing to him a direct and positive agency in the production of sinful actions. To this it may be replied, that to interpret such expressions in the literal and unqualified sense, as importing that God infuses moral depravity into the human heart, is not only to contradict other declarations of scripture, but to subvert entirely the foundations of religion, by divesting the Almighty of moral perfections without which it would be impossible for his intelligent creatures to regard him with sentiments of veneration, confidence and love. It would be to ascribe to him attributes which would transform him into a legitimate object of suspicion and terror, and hatred. It may be remarked next, that according to the idiom of scripture language, God is often said to do those things which he permits, and which he is determined to render conductive to his own holy and benevolent purposes. Lastly, it is evidently fair and reasonable to interpret those expressions of scripture, as of other writings, which are dubious or dark, by those which are clear and unequivocal. Now, “times almost without number,” and in terms the most explicit and unambiguous, the scripture guards us against the ascription of any thing evil to God, and teaches us to ascribe to him whatever is good, or excellent, or holy. “I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. Far be it from Go, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.  Troy Edwards