Deuteronomy 28:63,  “And it shall come to pass, [that] as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to naught; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.”

David McCullough in his biography of Harry Truman told how during World War I while serving as an officer in the US Army Truman he and his men came upon an enemy stronghold.  After a fierce fight they watched the enemy soldiers die.  Harry Truman’s men began to cheer and Truman immediately rebuked his men and told them that these were brave men dying and they were not to cheer over their deaths.   This is the same man who ordered the dropping of the Atomic bomb on Japan in order to end World War II. It brought about the death of thousands of people.  Truman said it was the most painful decision of his life, but he was caught between saving the lives of thousands of American soldiers verses the death of thousands of enemy civilians.

Harry Truman was an amazing man, but he was still, after all human.  Yet if a human with human weaknesses could not rejoice over the death of his enemies, how then can God rejoice over the destruction of His people.  Not only that but from the English text it appears that God actually destroys them Himself and then sits back with glee over watching them get their just desserts.

Deuteronomy 28:63 does not sound like the God I love and I found this passage very disturbing. I checked out 23 other modern English versions of the Bible and they clearly say that the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to naught. That is just the KJV, the NIV says: it will please Him to ruin and destroy you.  The Living Bible the Lord will find pleasure in destroying you. ESV the Lord will delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you.  The ISV the Lord will delight to destroy, exterminate and banish you (ouch).  NET he will delight in destroying and decimating you (boy do we have a lot of English words to describe rubbing it in). God’s Word Translation the Lord will be more than glad to destroy you and wipe you out (God’s Word? eeeek!). Young’s Literal so doth Jehovah rejoice over you to destroy you, and to lay you waste (Gulp!!!). NASB so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; (Is this my beloved God Jehovah?  Surely this is not my God Jehovah).

I could not find one English translation that would not translation this passage any other way than to say that God is getting His jollies over being able to destroy us if we cross Him up.  With fear and trembling I opened my Hebrew Bible and read this and indeed it says the Lord will rejoice over you to cause you to perish. Whooh, hold it, wait a minute, wait just one doggone minute that word for perish is leha’avid, it is in a Hiphal infinitive construct form. The word for rejoice is yasis which is also a Hiphal. Hoo boy is that a relief, as a Hiphal and Hiphal infinitive construct form it should be rendered as the Lord will cause rejoicing over you. In other words God will cause others to rejoice over our destruction, it does not say that He will rejoice.

Well, that’s a relief, except for one problem, I cannot find one modern English translation that translates it this way. Oh my gosh! After forty years of studying Hebrew and Hebrew grammar, have I been wrong?  Can it be that I really do not understand what a Hiphal infinitive construct really means?  I mean I looked at 23 different Modern English translations of the Bible and all agree it is God doing the rejoicing. If 23 translations disagree with me, then I must be wrong.  I feel sick.  Maybe it is time for this old professor to hang up his Hebrew Bible and admit the Old Testament speaks of nothing but a vengeful angry God who somehow softens up by New Testament times.   God is only human after all, can’t blame Him for getting angry with us. Truman was indeed a better man than God. Turns out his creation one ups Him after all. What a hypocrite God is to say he loves us then he will rejoice over our destruction. After years of searching for the heart of God I find his heart to be darker than that of President Truman.  God seems to be full of self-delusion in thinking that he is this all loving, perfect in love God and then when I find myself face down in the mud God calls the angels over and says, “Hey angels come on, want a good laugh, watch this Chaim fellow get what he deserves.”

I decide on one more desperate attempt, if that fails then I guess I will just close up shop at Chaim Bentorah Ministries and put in my application to be a greeter at Walmart. I will go to the Jewish Talmud, the works of the people of the Old Testament, the ones who are the target of God’s rejoicing over their destruction.  Not much hope there as I am sure the Jews may still be holding a grudge against God for His unloving attitude.

I go to the works of antiquity, the guardians and masters of the Hebrew language. Just before I am ready to give it up and head to Walmart in suit and tie and resume in hand I discover vindication in the Sanhedrin 39b.  An old sage agrees with me, or I should say I agree with an old sage Rabbi Joseph B. Hanina, a linguist and master of Hebrew grammar who says and I quote: “He Himself does not rejoice, yet He causes others to rejoice.  Scripture supports this too, for it is written and it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do good…do yasis will the Lord (cause rejoicing) over your destruction, and not yasus so will the Lord rejoice, etc. That proves it.” Right on Rabbi, give me the ammunition and I’ll load the cannon.

The Babylonian Talmud in Sanhedrin 39b goes on to explain that God does not rejoice even when the wicked perish.  Rabbi Jonathan points out that in II Chronicles 20:21 where it talks of when Jehoshaphat king of Judah went out to engage in war against the Ammonites and Moabites that they were to say, “Give thanks unto the Lord for His mercy endureth forever.”  Rabbi Jonathan asks why the words for He is good are omitted from this expression of thanks?  I mean they do belong there but in the context of the destruction of Israel’s enemies it is omitted.  Rabbi Jonathan says it is because “God does not rejoice in the down fall of the wicked.”  Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 39b.  Go ahead, check it out.  You can purchase this section of the Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin in English off of Kindle for .99 under Soncino Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin in Amazon.  Go to Sanhedrin 39b read it for yourself, don’t take my word for it.

Ok, with these Jewish Hebrew grammatical powerhouses behind me I say, “Come on NIV, KJV and all of you, put up your dukes I’m ready for ya.”  I mean if the Jewish people, the ones who have more reason than we Christians to believe that the God of the Old Testament is an angry vengeful God who loves to watch us squirm and suffer believes that He does not rejoice even over the destruction of His enemies and those who curse him then maybe it is time we in Christianity take a closer look at our perception of God.

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