John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 4. Because they met you not with bread and with water , etc.] To supply them therewith, either as a gift, which was a piece of humanity to strangers and travellers, or rather to sell unto them, for on no other terms did the Israelites desire their bread and their water: in the way when ye came forth out of Egypt ; not as soon as they came forth from thence, for it was near forty years after; but it was while they were in the way from thence, as they were journeying to the land of Canaan, and so were travellers, and should have had kindness shown them as such; for though they needed not bread and water, God providing both for them, yet this does not excuse the inhumanity of these people: the words are to be understood by way of distribution; this charge here only belongs to the Ammonites, for it appears that the Moabites did give them bread and water for money, ( Deuteronomy 2:28,29) as what follows belongs peculiarly to the Moabites and not the Ammonites: and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee ; this the Moabites did in conjunction with the Midianites, but the Ammonites had no concern in it; (see Numbers 22:7), it was not therefore because the Moabites and Ammonites were born in incest that they were forbidden entrance into the congregation of the Lord; which might have been thought to have been the reason of it, these instances following upon the former, had not these reasons been assigned.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-8 - We ought to value the privileges of God's people, both for ourselve and for our children, above all other advantages. No persona blemishes, no crimes of our forefathers, no difference of nation, shut us out under the Christian dispensation. But an unsound heart wil deprive us of blessings; and a bad example, or an unsuitable marriage may shut our children from them.
Original Hebrew על5921 דבר1697 אשׁר834 לא3808 קדמו6923 אתכם853 בלחם3899 ובמים4325 בדרך1870 בצאתכם3318 ממצרים4714 ואשׁר834 שׂכר7936 עליך5921 את853 בלעם1109 בן1121 בעור1160 מפתור6604 ארם נהרים763 לקללך׃7043
