Kommentar zu Dewarim 29:24

על אשר עזבו, because, contrary to previous occasions, G’d’s anger could not be tempered by the consideration that the gentiles would consider G’d’s killing His people as proof that He was unable to keep His promise to the. I already explained on Deut. 9,28 that after the people had crossed the river Jordan such excuses could not longer be cited in their defense.

ואמרו, “then they will say, etc.” even the gentiles will come to the conclusion that the G–d of the Jews had done to them was justified; they had entered into a covenant with their G–d voluntarily, and had abandoned their part of the bargain without reason. It is therefore no more than just that they had to pay the price for their treachery. The prophet Ezekiel has spelled this out clearly in Ezekiel 20, 32-37: “that which entered your thoughts- it shall not be! What you say: “let us be like the other nations, like the families of the lands, to serve wood and stone. As I live-the words of my Lord Hashem/Elohim,-with a strong had and an outstretched arm and with outpoured fury will I rule over you. And I shall take you out from among the nations, and gather you from the lands into which you were scattered, with a strong hand, and an outstretched arm and with outpoured fury. And I will bring you to the “Wilderness of the Nations” and I will wrangle with you face to face. As I wrangled with your fathers in the Wilderness of the Land of Egypt, so I will wrangle with you- the words of my Lord Hashem/Elohim- and I will make you pass under the rod, and bring you into the bond of the covenant, and separate those among you those who rebel and transgress against Me, from the land of their sojourning I will take them out, but to the soil of Israel none shall come.” The Talmud, in tractate Rosh Hashanah, folio 32, quotes a sage on verse 33 there as saying: “wish that the Lord redeem us from every place;” we would be willing to endure the punishments preceding this, knowing the result would be the redemption.” [The subject matter under discussion in the Talmud there is the reciting of scriptural verses depicting G–d’s fury and anger in our liturgy on a day such as new Year’s; it would be better to recite only verses depicting G–d’s attribute of mercy. Ed.]