Deuteronomy 28 meaning explained in AI Summary
The Covenant Restated
- Renewed Call to Obedience: Moses reiterates the importance of obedience to the covenant, emphasizing the abundant blessings that will follow and the devastating curses that will befall them if they turn away from God.
- Choice and Consequences: The chapter underscores the concept of free will. The Israelites have a choice to obey or disobey, but the consequences of their choice are clear.
Deuteronomy 28 is a pivotal chapter that outlines the consequences of obedience and disobedience to God's covenant. It presents a stark contrast between blessings for faithfulness and curses for unfaithfulness.
Blessings for Obedience (Verses 1-14):
- Abundant blessings in all aspects of life: This includes children, crops, livestock, finances, and victory in battle.
- Elevated status among nations: Israel will be the head, not the tail, lending to nations and not borrowing.
- God's presence and protection: He will open His good treasury, the heavens, to bless their land and their work.
- A holy and set apart people: Obedience will mark them as God's treasured possession.
Curses for Disobedience (Verses 15-68):
- Curses in every area of life: This includes sickness, famine, poverty, defeat in battle, oppression by enemies, and exile from the land.
- Humiliation and suffering: They will become an object of horror, a proverb, and a byword among all nations.
- Loss of God's presence and protection: He will unleash plagues, diseases, and disasters upon them.
- Mental and emotional distress: Their hearts will be filled with fear, confusion, and despair.
Key Themes:
- The Importance of Obedience: The chapter emphasizes the direct link between obedience to God's commands and experiencing His blessings.
- The Severity of Disobedience: The curses described are severe and comprehensive, highlighting the seriousness of turning away from God.
- The Covenant Relationship: The blessings and curses are framed within the context of God's covenant with Israel, emphasizing the conditional nature of the relationship.
- A Warning and an Exhortation: The chapter serves as both a warning against disobedience and an exhortation to choose the path of faithfulness and blessing.
Overall, Deuteronomy 28 presents a powerful and sobering message about the consequences of our choices. It reminds us that true blessing and fulfillment come from aligning our lives with God's will.
Deuteronomy 28 bible study ai commentary
Deuteronomy 28 serves as the climatic conclusion to the legal sections of the book, presenting the two paths available to Israel: life or death, blessing or curse. It functions as the treaty sanctions of the Mosaic Covenant, detailing with graphic specificity the tangible, historical consequences of Israel's collective obedience or disobedience. The blessings outline national flourishing as God's treasured people, intended to be a light to the nations. The curses, significantly longer and more detailed, warn of a complete reversal of their fortunes, culminating in destruction and exile, a return to the very bondage from which God had rescued them. The chapter starkly frames Israel's destiny as a direct and unavoidable outcome of its faithfulnessâor lack thereofâto Yahweh.
Deuteronomy 28 context
This chapter is situated on the plains of Moab as Moses delivers his final addresses to the generation poised to enter Canaan. The structure of Deuteronomy, and this chapter in particular, closely mirrors ancient Near Eastern suzerain-vassal treaties. In these treaties, a great king (suzerain) established a covenant with a lesser king or nation (vassal). The treaty would include a preamble, historical prologue, stipulations (laws), and finally, a list of blessings for loyalty and curses for rebellion. Deuteronomy 28 constitutes this final section of sanctions, making it clear to Israel that their relationship with Yahweh is a formal, binding covenant with real-world, historical consequences for adherence or violation.
Deuteronomy 28:1-2
âAnd if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.â
In-depth-analysis
- "faithfully obey": The Hebrew
shamoaâ tishmaâ
is an emphatic construction (lit. "listening, you will listen"), signifying not just hearing but active, diligent, and wholehearted obedience. - Prerequisite for Blessing: Obedience is the non-negotiable condition. The blessings are a direct consequence of adherence to the covenant stipulations.
- "Set you high":
netankha âelyon
(give you supremacy). This establishes Israelâs intended role: not just a blessed nation, but a leading nation, demonstrating the wisdom and power of their God to the world. - "Overtake you": The blessings are portrayed as an active force that will pursue and envelop the obedient, emphasizing God's proactive desire to bless.
Bible references
- Leviticus 26:3-13: 'If you walk in my statutes... I will give you your rains in their season... and you shall eat your bread to the full...' (A parallel list of covenant blessings).
- James 1:22: 'But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.' (NT echo of the principle that hearing must be accompanied by action).
- Exodus 19:5-6: '...if you will indeed obey my voice... you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' (The original statement of Israel's vocational purpose, conditioned on obedience).
Cross references
Isa 1:19 (if willing and obedient); Deut 11:13-15 (love and serve God for blessing); Rom 2:13 (doers of law justified).
Deuteronomy 28:3-6
âBlessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.â
In-depth-analysis
- Comprehensive Blessing: The verses use
merisms
(pairs of opposites) to signify totality. "City and country" means everywhere. "Come in and go out" encompasses all of life's activities and journeys. - Threefold Fertility: The blessings target the core of an agrarian economy: human fertility ("fruit of your womb"), agricultural fertility ("fruit of your ground"), and animal fertility. This directly challenges the Canaanite storm-god Baal and fertility-goddess Asherah, attributing all life and prosperity to Yahweh alone.
- Domestic Prosperity: "Basket and kneading bowl" represent the processed and prepared results of the harvest, signifying abundance flowing from the field into the home.
Bible references
- Psalm 128:1-4: 'Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD... Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house...' (Wisdom literature affirming the blessings of a godly life).
- Genesis 1:28: 'And God blessed them. And God said to them, âBe fruitful and multiply...â' (Echoes the original creational blessing).
- Proverbs 10:22: 'The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.' (Defines true, holistic prosperity as coming from God).
Cross references
Gen 49:25 (blessings of heaven and deep); Ps 127:3 (children a reward); Deut 7:13-14 (promises of fertility); Ps 121:8 (Lord guards your going and coming).
Polemics: By promising control over rain, crops, and wombs, Yahweh is presented as superior to the entire Canaanite pantheon. Success in the land of Canaan would not be achieved by placating local deities (as was common practice), but by exclusive loyalty to Israel's God.
Deuteronomy 28:7-14
âThe LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you... The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns... The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself... and all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you... And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God...â
In-depth-analysis
- National Security: The promise extends from personal prosperity to national security, with divine intervention ensuring military victory.
- Commanded Blessing: Blessing is not just allowed; it is actively "commanded" (
yetsav
) by God onto their storehouses, emphasizing His sovereign control over the economy. - Holy People:
âam qadosh
. This is Israelâs core identity and missional purpose. Their obedience is meant to set them apart (qadosh
) and make them a living testimony to the nations. Their unique status would cause other nations to recognize their special relationship with Yahweh. - Financial Supremacy: "Lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow." This denotes a position of economic power and influence.
- Head and not the Tail: A clear idiom for leadership, dominance, and influence versus subjugation and being controlled by others. This is the pinnacle of the national blessings.
- Final Condition: This section is bookended by another strong reminder that all these promises are contingent on careful obedience and a rejection of idolatry.
Bible references
- 1 Peter 2:9: 'But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession...' (The early church is described in the very language used for covenant Israel).
- Isaiah 60:3, 10-12: 'And nations shall come to your light... Foreigners shall build up your walls... For the nation... that will not serve you shall perish...' (A prophetic vision of the nations being drawn to a glorified, faithful Israel).
- Zechariah 8:23: '...ten men from the nations... shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, âLet us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.â' (The ultimate fulfillment of Israel being a blessing).
Cross references
Mal 3:10-12 (blessings from heaven's windows); Isa 62:2 (nations will see righteousness); Rev 3:9 (I will make them bow down).
Deuteronomy 28:15-19
âBut if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God... then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb... Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.â
In-depth-analysis
- The Pivot: Verse 15 is the thematic hinge of the chapter, perfectly mirroring verse 1. The choice and its consequences are stark.
- Symmetrical Reversal: Verses 16-19 are a verbatim, point-for-point negation of the blessings in verses 3-6. This powerful literary device shows that disobedience doesn't just result in a lack of blessing, but in the active imposition of its opposite. God's power to bless is equaled by His power to curse.
Bible references
- Lamentations 2:17: 'The LORD has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago...' (A direct reflection on the fulfillment of these covenant curses during the fall of Jerusalem).
- Jeremiah 11:3: 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant.' (The prophets consistently framed Israel's calamities in the language of Deuteronomy 28).
Cross references
Lev 26:14-39 (parallel list of covenant curses); Mal 2:2 (I will send the curse); Dan 9:11 (curse and oath in Law of Moses poured out).
Deuteronomy 28:20-44
The text describes a cascade of curses including: confusion, disease, drought (heaven of bronze, earth of iron), military defeat, unburied corpses, incurable boils and madness, societal breakdown (losing wife, home, and crops to others), children taken into captivity, economic exploitation by a foreign people, and locust plagues. Israel will become an object of horror, a byword, and a taunt. The foreigner living among them will rise to become "the head," and Israel will become "the tail."
In-depth-analysis
- Progressive Severity: The curses are not random; they escalate in intensity. They begin with agricultural and economic hardship and spiral into disease, psychological torment, total societal collapse, and national subjugation.
- Psychological Warfare: Curses like "madness, blindness, and confusion of mind" (v. 28) show that the judgment is not merely external but also internal. Itâs a complete unraveling of the human person and society.
- Byword and Taunt:
mashal
andsheninah
. This means Israel's name will become synonymous with failure and divine judgment among the nationsâthe precise opposite of their calling to make God's name great. - Historical Foreshadowing: The description of drought, defeat, and subjugation served as the theological lens through which Israel would later understand the judgments during the periods of the Judges, the Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom (722 BC), and the Babylonian exile of the southern kingdom (586 BC).
Bible references
- 1 Kings 9:7-8: '...Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples... everyone who passes by it will be appalled...' (Solomon is warned at the dedication of the Temple that these curses are real).
- Amos 4:6-10: 'âI gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities... yet you did not return to me,â declares the LORD...' (The prophet catalogues a series of cursesâfamine, drought, plagueâsent to provoke repentance, all drawn from Deut 28).
- Jeremiah 24:9: 'I will make them a horror, a disaster for all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse...' (Jeremiah directly applies the language of Deut 28 to the impending Babylonian exile).
Cross references
2 Chr 7:19-22 (temple warning); Neh 9:36-37 (post-exilic confession of subjugation); Mic 6:13-15 (sickness for sin).
Deuteronomy 28:45-57
The curses are described as a "sign and a wonder." The reason given: "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart for the abundance of all things." The punishment is servitude to enemies "in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything." An invader is described: from afar, swift as an eagle, fierce, speaking a foreign tongue. This will lead to horrific sieges where people resort to cannibalism, consuming their own children.
In-depth-analysis
- The Cause: Joyless Service: The reason for judgment is not just disobedience, but a failure of heart. Service to God was meant to be joyful out of gratitude. Grudging or duty-bound service is revealed as a form of rebellion itself.
- Yoke of Iron: This powerful metaphor (v. 48) signifies absolute, crushing subjugation. Jeremiah later makes a literal yoke to prophesize this reality (Jer 27-28).
- The Invader: The description (v. 49) is a startlingly accurate pre-writing of Israel's future conquerors: the speed and emblem of the eagle fits both Babylon and, even more famously, Rome. The foreign tongue emphasizes the terror and alienation of the conquest.
- Ultimate Social Collapse: The graphic depiction of siege-induced cannibalism (vv. 53-57) is the absolute nadir of human depravity and desperation. It represents the complete disintegration of family, compassion, and societal bonds. This was tragically fulfilled.
Bible references
- Lamentations 4:10: 'The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children; they became their food during the destruction of the daughter of my people.' (Direct fulfillment of the siege curse).
- 2 Kings 6:28-29: '...This woman said to me, âGive your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.â' (An earlier, harrowing account of this curse fulfilled during a siege of Samaria).
- Jeremiah 5:15: 'Behold, I am bringing against you a nation from afar... a mighty nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know...' (Jeremiah's prophecy against Judah uses the exact description from Deuteronomy).
Cross references
Ezek 5:10 (fathers eating sons); Isa 1:7 (land devoured by strangers).
Deuteronomy 28:58-68
"if you are not careful to do all the words of this law... so that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the LORD your God," the curses will be "extraordinary," "severe," and "lasting." Israel, once as numerous as the stars, will be left few in number. Just as God rejoiced in blessing them, "so the LORD will rejoice in ruining you and bringing you to ruin." The chapter culminates with the ultimate curse: scattering among all peoples and a return to Egypt by ship, to be sold as slaves, "but no one will buy you."
In-depth-analysis
- Theology of Divine Emotion: The statement that God will "rejoice" (
yasis
) in their ruin is shocking. It must be understood not as sadistic pleasure, but as a terrifying expression of Godâs satisfaction in the ultimate execution of his justice and the vindication of his holiness. - Reversal of the Abrahamic Promise: The promise to Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous "as the stars of heaven" (Gen 15:5) is explicitly undone (v. 62). This is a covenantal undoing.
- Scattering (Diaspora): "The LORD will scatter you among all peoples" (v. 64) is the prophecy of the Diaspora, the state of Jewish existence for millennia.
- Ultimate Humiliation: Reversal of the Exodus: The Exodus was Israel's foundational act of salvationâGod liberating them from slavery in Egypt. This curse (v. 68) represents the complete reversal of that redemption. They will return to the very place of bondage, not as conquerors, but as cargo on ships to be sold.
- "No one will buy you": This final phrase is the ultimate declaration of worthlessness. They will be so broken and undesirable that even as slaves, they are of no value. It is a state of utter abandonment.
Bible references
- Galatians 3:13: 'Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for usâfor it is written, âCursed is everyone who is hanged on a treeâ' (The quintessential NT interpretation: Jesus takes the full weight of the covenant curse upon himself to redeem his people).
- Romans 11:1-2, 25-26: 'I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means!... a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved.' (Paul grapples with the fulfillment of these curses but affirms God's ultimate plan of restoration).
- Luke 21:24: '[T]hey will... be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles...' (Jesus' prophecy of Jerusalem's destruction in 70 AD uses the language of diaspora from Deut 28).
Cross references
Neh 1:8-9 (confessing the scattering); Hos 9:3 (they shall return to Egypt); Isa 6:11-12 (prophecy of ruin and small remnant).
Polemics: This theology of a single God who controls the destiny of all nations and executes justice on a global scale was radical. Unlike Mesopotamian beliefs where defeat meant one's city-god was weaker than the conqueror's god, Israel's theology taught that their own God, Yahweh, would use foreign nations as instruments of His discipline against them for their unfaithfulness.
Deuteronomy chapter 28 analysis
- Literary Structure: The chapter's imbalanced structure is intentional. The blessings (14 verses) are concise and desirable, while the curses (54 verses) are exhaustive and terrifying. The sheer weight of the text leans toward the warning, highlighting the gravity of disobedience and the ease with which a people can fall away.
- Covenant Fulfillment: This chapter became the primary theological framework for the Old Testament prophets (especially Jeremiah) and historical writers (authors of Kings and Chronicles) to interpret Israel's suffering and exiles. They saw their national tragedies not as random historical events or God's weakness, but as the predictable and just fulfillment of these very covenant curses.
- Reversal as a Theme: The chapter is built on the principle of reversal. Every blessing has a corresponding curse. Key reversals include:
- Blessing â Curse
- Exodus from Egypt â Return to Egypt
- Population like stars â Small remnant
- Head of nations â Tail of nations
- Lender â Borrower
- Theological Implication for Salvation: The devastating totality of the curses demonstrates humanity's inability to achieve righteousness and life through perfect law-keeping. It creates the theological necessity for a new covenant and a savior. The curse is so absolute that only one who could bear it fullyâChrist (Gal 3:13)âcould provide an escape from it. It establishes the problem that the Gospel solves.
Deuteronomy 28 summary
Deuteronomy 28 outlines the two futures available to Israel based on its covenant fidelity. Obedience to God's law will bring comprehensive blessings: agricultural abundance, fertility, victory, and international leadership ("the head and not the tail"). Disobedience will trigger a cascade of horrific and escalating curses: disease, famine, defeat, psychological torment, societal collapse, and ultimately, a complete reversal of their salvation history, culminating in exile and being sold back into a worthless slavery. The chapter stands as a stark warning, framing all of Israel's future history as a consequence of this choice.
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Deuteronomy chapter 28 kjv
- 1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
- 2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
- 3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
- 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
- 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
- 6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
- 7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
- 8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
- 9 The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.
- 10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
- 11 And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
- 12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
- 13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:
- 14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
- 15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
- 16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
- 17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
- 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
- 19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
- 20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
- 21 The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.
- 22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
- 23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
- 24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
- 25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
- 26 And thy carcass shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.
- 27 The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.
- 28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:
- 29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.
- 30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.
- 31 Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.
- 32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long; and there shall be no might in thine hand.
- 33 The fruit of thy land, and all thy labors, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:
- 34 So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
- 35 The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.
- 36 The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
- 37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
- 38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.
- 39 Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
- 40 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.
- 41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.
- 42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.
- 43 The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.
- 44 He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
- 45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:
- 46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.
- 47 Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;
- 48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.
- 49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
- 50 A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young:
- 51 And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.
- 52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.
- 53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:
- 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:
- 55 So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.
- 56 The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,
- 57 And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.
- 58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;
- 59 Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
- 60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.
- 61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
- 62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.
- 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 nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.
- 64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.
- 65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
- 66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:
- 67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
- 68 And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
Deuteronomy chapter 28 nkjv
- 1 "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
- 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
- 3 "Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
- 4 "Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
- 5 "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
- 6 "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
- 7 "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
- 8 "The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
- 9 "The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.
- 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.
- 11 And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.
- 12 The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
- 13 And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.
- 14 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
- 15 "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
- 16 "Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.
- 17 "Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
- 18 "Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
- 19 "Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
- 20 "The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.
- 21 The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess.
- 22 The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.
- 23 And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron.
- 24 The LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
- 25 "The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth.
- 26 Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away.
- 27 The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed.
- 28 The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart.
- 29 And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you.
- 30 "You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes.
- 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them.
- 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand.
- 33 A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually.
- 34 So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see.
- 35 The LORD will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.
- 36 "The LORD will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods?wood and stone.
- 37 And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the LORD will drive you.
- 38 "You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it.
- 39 You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
- 40 You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off.
- 41 You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity.
- 42 Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land.
- 43 "The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower.
- 44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
- 45 "Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.
- 46 And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever.
- 47 "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything,
- 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.
- 49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand,
- 50 a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young.
- 51 And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you.
- 52 "They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you.
- 53 You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you.
- 54 The sensitive and very refined man among you will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind,
- 55 so that he will not give any of them the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.
- 56 The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity, will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter,
- 57 her placenta which comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of everything in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.
- 58 "If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD,
- 59 then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues?great and prolonged plagues?and serious and prolonged sicknesses.
- 60 Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you.
- 61 Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the LORD bring upon you until you are destroyed.
- 62 You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
- 63 And it shall be, that just as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess.
- 64 "Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known?wood and stone.
- 65 And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul.
- 66 Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life.
- 67 In the morning you shall say, 'Oh, that it were evening!' And at evening you shall say, 'Oh, that it were morning!' because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see.
- 68 "And the LORD will take you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you, 'You shall never see it again.' And there you shall be offered for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you."
Deuteronomy chapter 28 niv
- 1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.
- 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
- 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
- 4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock?the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
- 5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
- 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
- 7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.
- 8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
- 9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in obedience to him.
- 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you.
- 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity?in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground?in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.
- 12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.
- 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.
- 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.
- 15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:
- 16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
- 17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
- 18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
- 19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
- 20 The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him.
- 21 The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess.
- 22 The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.
- 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.
- 24 The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.
- 25 The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth.
- 26 Your carcasses will be food for all the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.
- 27 The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured.
- 28 The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind.
- 29 At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
- 30 You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and rape her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit.
- 31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them.
- 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand.
- 33 A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days.
- 34 The sights you see will drive you mad.
- 35 The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.
- 36 The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone.
- 37 You will become a thing of horror, a byword and an object of ridicule among all the peoples where the LORD will drive you.
- 38 You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it.
- 39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them.
- 40 You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off.
- 41 You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity.
- 42 Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.
- 43 The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower.
- 44 They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, but you will be the tail.
- 45 All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you.
- 46 They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever.
- 47 Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity,
- 48 therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.
- 49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand,
- 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young.
- 51 They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or olive oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined.
- 52 They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the LORD your God is giving you.
- 53 Because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you.
- 54 Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children,
- 55 and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities.
- 56 The most gentle and sensitive woman among you?so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot?will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter
- 57 the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For in her dire need she intends to eat them secretly because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of your cities.
- 58 If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name?the LORD your God?
- 59 the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.
- 60 He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you.
- 61 The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed.
- 62 You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the LORD your God.
- 63 Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.
- 64 Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods?gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.
- 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart.
- 66 You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life.
- 67 In the morning you will say, "If only it were evening!" and in the evening, "If only it were morning!"?because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.
- 68 The LORD will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.
Deuteronomy chapter 28 esv
- 1 "And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
- 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.
- 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
- 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.
- 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
- 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
- 7 "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
- 8 The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
- 9 The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways.
- 10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.
- 11 And the LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.
- 12 The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
- 13 And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them,
- 14 and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
- 15 "But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.
- 16 Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.
- 17 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
- 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.
- 19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
- 20 "The LORD will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me.
- 21 The LORD will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
- 22 The LORD will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish.
- 23 And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron.
- 24 The LORD will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
- 25 "The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
- 26 And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away.
- 27 The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed.
- 28 The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind,
- 29 and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you.
- 30 You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit.
- 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat any of it. Your donkey shall be seized before your face, but shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies, but there shall be no one to help you.
- 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, but you shall be helpless.
- 33 A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually,
- 34 so that you are driven mad by the sights that your eyes see.
- 35 The LORD will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.
- 36 "The LORD will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone.
- 37 And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the LORD will lead you away.
- 38 You shall carry much seed into the field and shall gather in little, for the locust shall consume it.
- 39 You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them.
- 40 You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives shall drop off.
- 41 You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for they shall go into captivity.
- 42 The cricket shall possess all your trees and the fruit of your ground.
- 43 The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower.
- 44 He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him. He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
- 45 "All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you.
- 46 They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever.
- 47 Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,
- 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.
- 49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand,
- 50 a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young.
- 51 It shall eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; it also shall not leave you grain, wine, or oil, the increase of your herds or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.
- 52 "They shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land. And they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which the LORD your God has given you.
- 53 And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you.
- 54 The man who is the most tender and refined among you will begrudge food to his brother, to the wife he embraces, and to the last of the children whom he has left,
- 55 so that he will not give to any of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because he has nothing else left, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your towns.
- 56 The most tender and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because she is so delicate and tender, will begrudge to the husband she embraces, to her son and to her daughter,
- 57 her afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears, because lacking everything she will eat them secretly, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your towns.
- 58 "If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the LORD your God,
- 59 then the LORD will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting.
- 60 And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you.
- 61 Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the LORD will bring upon you, until you are destroyed.
- 62 Whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, you shall be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
- 63 And as the LORD took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
- 64 "And the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
- 65 And among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but the LORD will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul.
- 66 Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life.
- 67 In the morning you shall say, 'If only it were evening!' and at evening you shall say, 'If only it were morning!' because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your eyes shall see.
- 68 And the LORD will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that you should never make again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer."
Deuteronomy chapter 28 nlt
- 1 "If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the world.
- 2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the LORD your God:
- 3 Your towns and your fields
will be blessed. - 4 Your children and your crops
will be blessed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks
will be blessed. - 5 Your fruit baskets and breadboards
will be blessed. - 6 Wherever you go and whatever you do,
you will be blessed. - 7 "The LORD will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!
- 8 "The LORD will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
- 9 "If you obey the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways, the LORD will establish you as his holy people as he swore he would do.
- 10 Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the LORD, and they will stand in awe of you.
- 11 "The LORD will give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops.
- 12 The LORD will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them.
- 13 If you listen to these commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom.
- 14 You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them.
- 15 "But if you refuse to listen to the LORD your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you:
- 16 Your towns and your fields
will be cursed. - 17 Your fruit baskets and breadboards
will be cursed. - 18 Your children and your crops
will be cursed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks
will be cursed. - 19 Wherever you go and whatever you do,
you will be cursed. - 20 "The LORD himself will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in everything you do, until at last you are completely destroyed for doing evil and abandoning me.
- 21 The LORD will afflict you with diseases until none of you are left in the land you are about to enter and occupy.
- 22 The LORD will strike you with wasting diseases, fever, and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew. These disasters will pursue you until you die.
- 23 The skies above will be as unyielding as bronze, and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron.
- 24 The LORD will change the rain that falls on your land into powder, and dust will pour down from the sky until you are destroyed.
- 25 "The LORD will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
- 26 Your corpses will be food for all the scavenging birds and wild animals, and no one will be there to chase them away.
- 27 "The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, scurvy, and the itch, from which you cannot be cured.
- 28 The LORD will strike you with madness, blindness, and panic.
- 29 You will grope around in broad daylight like a blind person groping in the darkness, but you will not find your way. You will be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will come to save you.
- 30 "You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will sleep with her. You will build a house, but someone else will live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will never enjoy its fruit.
- 31 Your ox will be butchered before your eyes, but you will not eat a single bite of the meat. Your donkey will be taken from you, never to be returned. Your sheep and goats will be given to your enemies, and no one will be there to help you.
- 32 You will watch as your sons and daughters are taken away as slaves. Your heart will break for them, but you won't be able to help them.
- 33 A foreign nation you have never heard about will eat the crops you worked so hard to grow. You will suffer under constant oppression and harsh treatment.
- 34 You will go mad because of all the tragedy you see around you.
- 35 The LORD will cover your knees and legs with incurable boils. In fact, you will be covered from head to foot.
- 36 "The LORD will exile you and your king to a nation unknown to you and your ancestors. There in exile you will worship gods of wood and stone!
- 37 You will become an object of horror, ridicule, and mockery among all the nations to which the LORD sends you.
- 38 "You will plant much but harvest little, for locusts will eat your crops.
- 39 You will plant vineyards and care for them, but you will not drink the wine or eat the grapes, for worms will destroy the vines.
- 40 You will grow olive trees throughout your land, but you will never use the olive oil, for the fruit will drop before it ripens.
- 41 You will have sons and daughters, but you will lose them, for they will be led away into captivity.
- 42 Swarms of insects will destroy your trees and crops.
- 43 "The foreigners living among you will become stronger and stronger, while you become weaker and weaker.
- 44 They will lend money to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, and you will be the tail!
- 45 "If you refuse to listen to the LORD your God and to obey the commands and decrees he has given you, all these curses will pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed.
- 46 These horrors will serve as a sign and warning among you and your descendants forever.
- 47 If you do not serve the LORD your God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits you have received,
- 48 you will serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you. You will be left hungry, thirsty, naked, and lacking in everything. The LORD will put an iron yoke on your neck, oppressing you harshly until he has destroyed you.
- 49 "The LORD will bring a distant nation against you from the end of the earth, and it will swoop down on you like a vulture. It is a nation whose language you do not understand,
- 50 a fierce and heartless nation that shows no respect for the old and no pity for the young.
- 51 Its armies will devour your livestock and crops, and you will be destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine, olive oil, calves, or lambs, and you will starve to death.
- 52 They will attack your cities until all the fortified walls in your land ? the walls you trusted to protect you ? are knocked down. They will attack all the towns in the land the LORD your God has given you.
- 53 "The siege and terrible distress of the enemy's attack will be so severe that you will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters, whom the LORD your God has given you.
- 54 The most tenderhearted man among you will have no compassion for his own brother, his beloved wife, and his surviving children.
- 55 He will refuse to share with them the flesh he is devouring ? the flesh of one of his own children ? because he has nothing else to eat during the siege and terrible distress that your enemy will inflict on all your towns.
- 56 The most tender and delicate woman among you ? so delicate she would not so much as touch the ground with her foot ? will be selfish toward the husband she loves and toward her own son or daughter.
- 57 She will hide from them the afterbirth and the new baby she has borne, so that she herself can secretly eat them. She will have nothing else to eat during the siege and terrible distress that your enemy will inflict on all your towns.
- 58 "If you refuse to obey all the words of instruction that are written in this book, and if you do not fear the glorious and awesome name of the LORD your God,
- 59 then the LORD will overwhelm you and your children with indescribable plagues. These plagues will be intense and without relief, making you miserable and unbearably sick.
- 60 He will afflict you with all the diseases of Egypt that you feared so much, and you will have no relief.
- 61 The LORD will afflict you with every sickness and plague there is, even those not mentioned in this Book of Instruction, until you are destroyed.
- 62 Though you become as numerous as the stars in the sky, few of you will be left because you would not listen to the LORD your God.
- 63 "Just as the LORD has found great pleasure in causing you to prosper and multiply, the LORD will find pleasure in destroying you. You will be torn from the land you are about to enter and occupy.
- 64 For the LORD will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship foreign gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods made of wood and stone!
- 65 There among those nations you will find no peace or place to rest. And the LORD will cause your heart to tremble, your eyesight to fail, and your soul to despair.
- 66 Your life will constantly hang in the balance. You will live night and day in fear, unsure if you will survive.
- 67 In the morning you will say, 'If only it were night!' And in the evening you will say, 'If only it were morning!' For you will be terrified by the awful horrors you see around you.
- 68 Then the LORD will send you back to Egypt in ships, to a destination I promised you would never see again. There you will offer to sell yourselves to your enemies as slaves, but no one will buy you."
- Bible Book of Deuteronomy
- 1 The Command to Leave Horeb
- 2 The Wilderness Years
- 3 King Og of Bashan
- 4 Moses Commands Obedience
- 5 The Ten Commandments
- 6 The Greatest Commandment
- 7 A Chosen People
- 8 Remember what God has done
- 9 Not Because of Righteousness
- 10 New Tablets of Stone
- 11 Love and Serve the Lord
- 12 The Lord's Chosen Place of Worship
- 13 Prophet Dreamer of dreams
- 14 Clean and Unclean Food
- 15 The Sabbatical Year
- 16 Passover
- 17 Legal Decisions by Priests and Judges
- 18 Provision for Priests and Levites
- 19 Laws Concerning Cities of Refuge
- 20 Laws Concerning Warfare
- 21 Atonement for Unsolved Murders
- 22 Various Laws
- 23 Those Excluded from the Assembly
- 24 Law of divorce by Moses
- 25 Laws Concerning Levirate Marriage
- 26 Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes
- 27 The Altar on Mount Ebal
- 28 Blessings for Obedience
- 29 The Covenant of God with Israel
- 30 Repentance and Forgiveness
- 31 Joshua to Succeed Moses
- 32 Song of Moses
- 33 Moses' Final Blessing on Israel
- 34 Moses Dies on Mount Nebo