Deuteronomy 28:15-68

New International Version

Curses for Disobedience

¹⁵However, if you do not obey^(A) the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today,^(B) all these curses will come on you and overtake you:^(C)

¹⁶You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.^(D)

¹⁷Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.^(E)

¹⁸The 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.^(F)

¹⁹You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.^(G)

²⁰The Lord will send on you curses,^(H) confusion and rebuke^(I) in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin^(J) because of the evil^(K) you have done in forsaking him.^[a] ²¹The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess.^(L) ²²The Lord will strike you with wasting disease,^(M) with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought,^(N) with blight^(O) and mildew, which will plague^(P) you until you perish.^(Q) ²³The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.^(R) ²⁴The Lord will turn the rain^(S) of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.

²⁵The Lord will cause you to be defeated^(T) before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven,^(U) and you will become a thing of horror^(V) to all the kingdoms on earth.^(W) ²⁶Your carcasses will be food for all the birds^(X) and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.^(Y) ²⁷The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt^(Z) and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. ²⁸The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. ²⁹At midday you will grope^(AA) 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^(AB) you.

³⁰You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and rape her.^(AC) You will build a house, but you will not live in it.^(AD) You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit.^(AE) ³¹Your 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. ³²Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation,^(AF) and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. ³³A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression^(AG) all your days.^(AH) ³⁴The sights you see will drive you mad.^(AI) ³⁵The Lord will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils^(AJ) that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.^(AK)

³⁶The Lord will drive you and the king^(AL) you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors.^(AM) There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone.^(AN) ³⁷You will become a thing of horror,^(AO) a byword^(AP) and an object of ridicule^(AQ) among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you.^(AR)

³⁸You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little,^(AS) because locusts^(AT) will devour^(AU) it. ³⁹You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine^(AV) or gather the grapes, because worms will eat^(AW) them.^(AX) ⁴⁰You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off.^(AY) ⁴¹You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity.^(AZ) ⁴²Swarms of locusts^(BA) will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.

⁴³The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower.^(BB) ⁴⁴They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them.^(BC) They will be the head, but you will be the tail.^(BD)

⁴⁵All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you^(BE) until you are destroyed,^(BF) because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. ⁴⁶They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever.^(BG) ⁴⁷Because you did not serve^(BH) the Lord your God joyfully and gladly^(BI) in the time of prosperity, ⁴⁸therefore in hunger and thirst,^(BJ) in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke^(BK) on your neck^(BL) until he has destroyed you.

⁴⁹The Lord will bring a nation against you^(BM) from far away, from the ends of the earth,^(BN) like an eagle^(BO) swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand,^(BP) ⁵⁰a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old^(BQ) or pity for the young. ⁵¹They 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^(BR) or olive oil,^(BS) nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined.^(BT) ⁵²They will lay siege^(BU) 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.^(BV)

⁵³Because 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.^(BW) ⁵⁴Even 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, ⁵⁵and 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.^(BX) ⁵⁶The most gentle and sensitive^(BY) 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^(BZ) ⁵⁷the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For in her dire need she intends to eat them^(CA) secretly because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of your cities.

⁵⁸If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law,^(CB) which are written in this book, and do not revere^(CC) this glorious and awesome name^(CD)—the Lord your God— ⁵⁹the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. ⁶⁰He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt^(CE) that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. ⁶¹The Lord will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law,^(CF) until you are destroyed.^(CG) ⁶²You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky^(CH) will be left but few^(CI) in number, because you did not obey the Lord your God. ⁶³Just as it pleased^(CJ) the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please^(CK) him to ruin and destroy you.^(CL) You will be uprooted^(CM) from the land you are entering to possess.

⁶⁴Then the Lord will scatter^(CN) you among all nations,^(CO) from one end of the earth to the other.^(CP) There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.^(CQ) ⁶⁵Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place^(CR) for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes^(CS) weary with longing, and a despairing heart.^(CT) ⁶⁶You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. ⁶⁷In 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.^(CU) ⁶⁸The Lord will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again.^(CV) There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.

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Footnotes

Deuteronomy 28:20 Hebrew me

Deuteronomy 32

New International Version

32 Listen,^(A) you heavens,^(B) and I will speak;
    hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.^(C)
²Let my teaching fall like rain^(D)
    and my words descend like dew,^(E)
like showers^(F) on new grass,
    like abundant rain on tender plants.

³I will proclaim^(G) the name of the Lord.^(H)
    Oh, praise the greatness^(I) of our God!
⁴He is the Rock,^(J) his works are perfect,^(K)
    and all his ways are just.
A faithful God^(L) who does no wrong,
    upright^(M) and just is he.^(N)

⁵They are corrupt and not his children;
    to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation.^(O)
⁶Is this the way you repay^(P) the Lord,
    you foolish^(Q) and unwise people?^(R)
Is he not your Father,^(S) your Creator,^[a]
    who made you and formed you?^(T)

⁷Remember the days of old;^(U)
    consider the generations long past.^(V)
Ask your father and he will tell you,
    your elders, and they will explain to you.^(W)
⁸When the Most High^(X) gave the nations their inheritance,
    when he divided all mankind,^(Y)
he set up boundaries^(Z) for the peoples
    according to the number of the sons of Israel.^[b]^(AA)
⁹For the Lord’s portion^(AB) is his people,
    Jacob his allotted inheritance.^(AC)

¹⁰In a desert^(AD) land he found him,
    in a barren and howling waste.^(AE)
He shielded^(AF) him and cared for him;
    he guarded him as the apple of his eye,^(AG)
¹¹like an eagle that stirs up its nest
    and hovers over its young,^(AH)
that spreads its wings to catch them
    and carries them aloft.^(AI)
¹²The Lord alone led^(AJ) him;^(AK)
    no foreign god was with him.^(AL)

¹³He made him ride on the heights^(AM) of the land
    and fed him with the fruit of the fields.
He nourished him with honey from the rock,^(AN)
    and with oil^(AO) from the flinty crag,
¹⁴with curds and milk from herd and flock
    and with fattened lambs and goats,
with choice rams of Bashan^(AP)
    and the finest kernels of wheat.^(AQ)
You drank the foaming blood of the grape.^(AR)

¹⁵Jeshurun^[c]^(AS) grew fat^(AT) and kicked;
    filled with food, they became heavy and sleek.
They abandoned^(AU) the God who made them
    and rejected the Rock^(AV) their Savior.
¹⁶They made him jealous^(AW) with their foreign gods
    and angered^(AX) him with their detestable idols.
¹⁷They sacrificed^(AY) to false gods,^(AZ) which are not God—
    gods they had not known,^(BA)
    gods that recently appeared,^(BB)
    gods your ancestors did not fear.
¹⁸You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
    you forgot^(BC) the God who gave you birth.

¹⁹The Lord saw this and rejected them^(BD)
    because he was angered by his sons and daughters.^(BE)
²⁰“I will hide my face^(BF) from them,” he said,
    “and see what their end will be;
for they are a perverse generation,^(BG)
    children who are unfaithful.^(BH)
²¹They made me jealous^(BI) by what is no god
    and angered me with their worthless idols.^(BJ)
I will make them envious by those who are not a people;
    I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.^(BK)
²²For a fire will be kindled by my wrath,^(BL)
    one that burns down to the realm of the dead below.^(BM)
It will devour^(BN) the earth and its harvests^(BO)
    and set afire the foundations of the mountains.^(BP)

²³“I will heap calamities^(BQ) on them
    and spend my arrows^(BR) against them.
²⁴I will send wasting famine^(BS) against them,
    consuming pestilence^(BT) and deadly plague;^(BU)
I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts,^(BV)
    the venom of vipers^(BW) that glide in the dust.^(BX)
²⁵In the street the sword will make them childless;
    in their homes terror^(BY) will reign.^(BZ)
The young men and young women will perish,
    the infants and those with gray hair.^(CA)
²⁶I said I would scatter^(CB) them
    and erase their name from human memory,^(CC)
²⁷but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy,
    lest the adversary misunderstand^(CD)
and say, ‘Our hand has triumphed;
    the Lord has not done all this.’”^(CE)

²⁸They are a nation without sense,
    there is no discernment^(CF) in them.
²⁹If only they were wise and would understand this^(CG)
    and discern what their end will be!^(CH)
³⁰How could one man chase a thousand,
    or two put ten thousand to flight,^(CI)
unless their Rock had sold them,^(CJ)
    unless the Lord had given them up?^(CK)
³¹For their rock is not like our Rock,^(CL)
    as even our enemies concede.^(CM)
³²Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom^(CN)
    and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are filled with poison,^(CO)
    and their clusters with bitterness.^(CP)
³³Their wine is the venom of serpents,
    the deadly poison of cobras.^(CQ)

³⁴“Have I not kept this in reserve
    and sealed it in my vaults?^(CR)
³⁵It is mine to avenge;^(CS) I will repay.^(CT)
    In due time their foot will slip;^(CU)
their day of disaster is near
    and their doom rushes upon them.^(CV)”

³⁶The Lord will vindicate his people^(CW)
    and relent^(CX) concerning his servants^(CY)
when he sees their strength is gone
    and no one is left, slave^(CZ) or free.^[d]
³⁷He will say: “Now where are their gods,
    the rock they took refuge in,^(DA)
³⁸the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices
    and drank the wine of their drink offerings?^(DB)
Let them rise up to help you!
    Let them give you shelter!

³⁹“See now that I myself am he!^(DC)
    There is no god besides me.^(DD)
I put to death^(DE) and I bring to life,^(DF)
    I have wounded and I will heal,^(DG)
    and no one can deliver out of my hand.^(DH)
⁴⁰I lift my hand^(DI) to heaven and solemnly swear:
    As surely as I live forever,^(DJ)
⁴¹when I sharpen my flashing sword^(DK)
    and my hand grasps it in judgment,
I will take vengeance^(DL) on my adversaries
    and repay those who hate me.^(DM)
⁴²I will make my arrows drunk with blood,^(DN)
    while my sword devours flesh:^(DO)
the blood of the slain and the captives,
    the heads of the enemy leaders.”

⁴³Rejoice,^(DP) you nations, with his people,^[e]^[f]
for he will avenge the blood of his servants;^(DQ)
he will take vengeance on his enemies^(DR)
and make atonement for his land and people.^(DS)

⁴⁴Moses came with Joshua^[g]^(DT) son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. ⁴⁵When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, ⁴⁶he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day,^(DU) so that you may command^(DV) your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. ⁴⁷They are not just idle words for you—they are your life.^(DW) By them you will live long^(DX) in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Moses to Die on Mount Nebo

⁴⁸On that same day the Lord told Moses,^(DY) ⁴⁹“Go up into the Abarim^(DZ) Range to Mount Nebo^(EA) in Moab, across from Jericho,^(EB) and view Canaan,^(EC) the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. ⁵⁰There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die^(ED) and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died^(EE) on Mount Hor^(EF) and was gathered to his people. ⁵¹This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh^(EG) in the Desert of Zin^(EH) and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites.^(EI) ⁵²Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance;^(EJ) you will not enter^(EK) the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”

Footnotes

Deuteronomy 32:6 Or Father, who bought you
Deuteronomy 32:8 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) sons of God
Deuteronomy 32:15 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel.
Deuteronomy 32:36 Or and they are without a ruler or leader
Deuteronomy 32:43 Or Make his people rejoice, you nations
Deuteronomy 32:43 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) people, / and let all the angels worship him, /
Deuteronomy 32:44 Hebrew Hoshea, a variant of Joshua