Deuteronomy 28:41 kjv
Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.
Deuteronomy 28:41 nkjv
You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity.
Deuteronomy 28:41 niv
You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity.
Deuteronomy 28:41 esv
You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for they shall go into captivity.
Deuteronomy 28:41 nlt
You will have sons and daughters, but you will lose them, for they will be led away into captivity.
Deuteronomy 28 41 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lev 26:29 | You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and... of your daughters. | Extreme consequence for covenant breaking |
| Lev 26:33 | And I will scatter you among the nations... | Judgment of national dispersion |
| Deut 28:25 | The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies... | Immediate military defeat leading to capture |
| Deut 28:36 | The LORD will bring you and your king... to a nation... | Exile of leadership and people |
| Deut 28:37 | And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword... | National disgrace and shame |
| Deut 28:48 | ...you shall serve your enemies... in hunger and thirst... | Bondage under conquerors |
| Deut 28:64 | And the LORD will scatter you among all peoples... | Universal dispersion among the nations |
| 2 Kgs 17:6 | In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria... | Historical fulfillment (Northern Kingdom exile) |
| 2 Kgs 24:14-16 | And he carried into exile all Jerusalem... ten thousand captives... | Historical fulfillment (Babylonian exile) |
| Jer 15:7-9 | ...I will bereave them of children; I will destroy my people... | God's active role in their childlessness/loss |
| Jer 20:6 | And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. | Captivity reaching even the prophets and their families |
| Jer 25:9-11 | ...I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants... | Seventy years of Babylonian captivity prophesied |
| Lam 1:5 | Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy. | Direct lament on children in captivity |
| Lam 2:20 | Shall women eat their offspring, children of every span? | Utmost distress of child loss through famine |
| Hos 9:11-12 | Their glory shall fly away like a bird, no birth, no pregnancy, no conception! | Loss of fruitfulness and lineage |
| Amos 5:27 | Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus... | Judgment of exile |
| Mic 1:16 | Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair, for your cherished children... | Extreme mourning over taken children |
| Ps 127:3 | Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD... | Contrast: Children as a blessing (normal context) |
| Isa 49:22 | ...they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried... | Promise of future return of children/exiles |
| Jer 29:10-14 | For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed... | Prophecy of return from captivity |
| Ezek 36:24 | For I will take you from the nations and gather you... | God's promise of ultimate regathering |
| Zech 8:7-8 | Behold, I will save my people from the country of the sunrise and from the country of the sunset, and I will bring them back... | Fulfillment of national restoration |
| Mt 24:15-21 | ...let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains... | Future distress analogous to earlier judgments |
| Lk 21:20-24 | ...when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know... | Foretelling Jerusalem's fall and people led captive |
Deuteronomy 28 verses
Deuteronomy 28 41 Meaning
Deuteronomy 28:41 speaks to a profound consequence of national disobedience to God's covenant: parents will beget children, but they will experience no joy or benefit from them because these children will be taken into captivity. This curse signifies a deep personal loss and the disruption of future lineage, striking at the very heart of familial and societal continuity. It foretells a sorrowful detachment where the natural blessing of offspring turns into a source of grief due to their involuntary removal by foreign powers.
Deuteronomy 28 41 Context
Deuteronomy 28 stands as a pivotal chapter within Moses' farewell address to Israel on the plains of Moab, before their entry into the Promised Land. It functions as a summary of the blessings for obedience to the covenant and the curses for disobedience. Verses 1-14 detail abundant blessings—fertility, prosperity, security, and honor. However, starting from verse 15, the chapter transitions into a severe enumeration of curses for failure to obey the Lord God. These curses progressively intensify, moving from illness and economic blight to military defeat, famine, national disgrace, and ultimately, forced exile and the traumatic loss of family members. Deuteronomy 28:41 falls squarely within this catalog of devastating consequences, specifically highlighting the deeply personal and societal anguish associated with the loss of children to foreign captors. Historically and culturally, in the Ancient Near East, children represented security, labor, continuation of family name, and care in old age. Their loss, particularly through slavery or foreign captivity, was a most profound and horrifying calamity, symbolizing the utter destruction of a family's and nation's future.
Deuteronomy 28 41 Word analysis
- Thou shalt beget (תִּֽיצוֹר - tiyzōr / תֵּלֵד - tēled - from יָלַד - yalad, to bear/beget): While the common translation is "beget," the root yalad fundamentally means to bear or bring forth. It signifies the biological act of having children. The phrase emphasizes that even the natural process of procreation, which is a divine blessing (Gen 1:28, Ps 127:3), will occur, but without the associated joy. It highlights the stark irony: the capability to produce offspring remains, but the fruit of that blessing is withheld.
- sons and daughters (בָּנִים וּבָנוֹת - bānim ūḇānōṯ): Standard Hebrew terms for male and female children. This underscores that the judgment applies comprehensively to all offspring, regardless of gender, impacting the entire familial structure and future generations.
- but thou shalt not enjoy them (וְלֹֽא־יִֽהְיוּ לָךְ - wəlōʾ-yihyū lāḵ / לֹֽא תִהְיֶה לָהֶם - lōʾ tihiyeh lāhem): The Hebrew literally means "but they will not be to you" or "you will not be for them" in terms of possession or benefit. This is a powerful and distressing phrase. "Enjoy" here captures the essence of possessing, benefiting from, and finding delight in children, which is their natural purpose and parents' deepest hope. It implies the absence of parental connection, companionship, care, and the continuation of the family line through them. The blessing is nullified.
- for they shall go into captivity (כִּי יֵלְכ וּ בַשְּׁבִֽי - kî yēlkū baš·šeḇî):
- for (כִּי - kî): This conjunction clearly indicates the reason or cause for the inability to enjoy the children. The lack of enjoyment is not arbitrary but a direct result of a specific impending disaster.
- they shall go (יֵלְכוּ - yēlkū - from הָלַךְ - hālak, to go/walk): Signifies a forced movement, a compelled departure. It's not a voluntary leaving but an inescapable process. The future tense implies the inevitability of this judgment.
- into captivity (בַשְּׁבִֽי - baš·šeḇî): The noun shevi (שְׁבִי) refers to being taken captive, exiles, prisoners, or spoil. It implies seizure by an enemy, slavery, and forced relocation to a foreign land. This was a common punishment inflicted by conquering nations in the Ancient Near East, specifically designed to break the spirit, identity, and future of a defeated people by severing family ties and obliterating their land-based heritage. This curse would find historical fulfillment centuries later in the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles, where large portions of the Israelite and Judahite populations, including women and children, were deported.
Deuteronomy 28 41 Bonus section
The curse described in Deuteronomy 28:41 not only predicts physical captivity but also subtly touches upon a theological truth about true enjoyment and blessing. In the Bible, children are a gift from God (Ps 127:3). When a people forsakes God, they disconnect from the source of all true blessing. Thus, even if they physically produce children, their spiritual condition prevents them from experiencing the deep, abiding joy that comes from living in alignment with the Creator. The verse reflects a principle that all blessings, whether children, land, or prosperity, are ultimately conditioned on fellowship with God. Without Him, even cherished possessions can become sources of sorrow or be entirely lost, illustrating that genuine fulfillment stems from obedience and relationship with the divine rather than mere acquisition.
Deuteronomy 28 41 Commentary
Deuteronomy 28:41 lays bare a devastating covenant curse: the severing of the most fundamental human bond—that between parent and child—as a consequence of national apostasy. The verse emphasizes the bitter irony of God's people being able to bear children, yet forbidden the deep joy, purpose, and continuity they ordinarily represent. Instead of being sources of comfort and heirs, these children are destined for forced removal into foreign captivity. This judgment goes beyond mere material loss; it represents the shattering of lineage, legacy, and hope for the future. It underscores God's ultimate sovereignty over life and destiny, demonstrating that when a nation rejects His blessings by turning away from His covenant, He can remove the very gifts they cherish most, transforming what should be a blessing into a profound and lasting sorrow. The historical accounts of Israel and Judah's exiles serve as somber evidence of this precise divine consequence.