²⁵ The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions.^(A) You will be an object of horror^(B) to all the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶ Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, with no one to scare them away.^(C)

⁴¹ You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will be taken prisoner. ⁴² Buzzing insects will take possession of all your trees and your land’s produce. ⁴³ The resident alien among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink lower and lower. ⁴⁴ He will lend to you, but you won’t lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.

⁴⁵ “All these curses will come, pursue, and overtake you until you are destroyed, since you did not obey the Lord your God and keep the commands and statutes he gave you. ⁴⁶ These curses will be a sign and a wonder^(A) against you and your descendants forever. ⁴⁷ Because you didn’t serve the Lord your God with joy and a cheerful heart,^(B) even though you had an abundance of everything, ⁴⁸ you will serve your enemies that the Lord will send against you, in famine, thirst, nakedness, and a lack of everything. He will place an iron yoke^(C) on your neck until he has destroyed you.