47 (A)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 (B)will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. 49 (C)The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, (D)swooping down like the eagle, a nation (E)whose language you do not understand, 50 a hard-faced nation (F)who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young. 51 It shall (G)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 (H)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 (I)you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you, (J)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 (K)begrudge food to his brother, to (L)the wife he embraces,[a] 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, (M)in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your towns. 56 (N)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,[b] 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, (O)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, (P)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 (Q)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 (R)you were as numerous (S)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 (T)took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will (U)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 (V)will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and (W)there you shall serve other gods (X)of wood and stone, (Y)which neither you nor your fathers have known. 65 And (Z)among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but (AA)the Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and (AB)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 (AC)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 (AD)the sights that your eyes shall see. 68 And the Lord (AE)will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that (AF)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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 28:54 Hebrew the wife of his bosom
  2. Deuteronomy 28:56 Hebrew the husband of her bosom

47 Because you did not serve(A) the Lord your God joyfully and gladly(B) in the time of prosperity, 48 therefore in hunger and thirst,(C) in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke(D) on your neck(E) until he has destroyed you.

49 The Lord will bring a nation against you(F) from far away, from the ends of the earth,(G) like an eagle(H) swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand,(I) 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old(J) 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(K) or olive oil,(L) nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined.(M) 52 They will lay siege(N) 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.(O)

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.(P) 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.(Q) 56 The most gentle and sensitive(R) 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(S) 57 the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For in her dire need she intends to eat them(T) 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,(U) which are written in this book, and do not revere(V) this glorious and awesome name(W)—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(X) 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,(Y) until you are destroyed.(Z) 62 You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky(AA) will be left but few(AB) in number, because you did not obey the Lord your God. 63 Just as it pleased(AC) the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please(AD) him to ruin and destroy you.(AE) You will be uprooted(AF) from the land you are entering to possess.

64 Then the Lord will scatter(AG) you among all nations,(AH) from one end of the earth to the other.(AI) There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.(AJ) 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place(AK) for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes(AL) weary with longing, and a despairing heart.(AM) 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.(AN) 68 The Lord will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again.(AO) 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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