28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

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28 the curse if you disobey(A) the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods,(B) which you have not known.

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10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

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10 For all who rely on the works of the law(A) are under a curse,(B) as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”[a](C)

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Footnotes

  1. Galatians 3:10 Deut. 27:26

But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

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But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil,(A) there will be wrath and anger.(B) There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil:(C) first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;(D)

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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 carcase 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 labours, 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 shew favour 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.

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Curses for Disobedience

15 However, 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)

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

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

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.(F)

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

20 The 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] 21 The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess.(L) 22 The 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) 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.(R) 24 The Lord will turn the rain(S) 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(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) 26 Your carcasses will be food for all the birds(X) and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.(Y) 27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt(Z) 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(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.

30 You 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) 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,(AF) 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(AG) all your days.(AH) 34 The sights you see will drive you mad.(AI) 35 The 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)

36 The 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) 37 You 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)

38 You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little,(AS) because locusts(AT) will devour(AU) it. 39 You 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) 40 You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off.(AY) 41 You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity.(AZ) 42 Swarms of locusts(BA) 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.(BB) 44 They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them.(BC) They will be the head, but you will be the tail.(BD)

45 All 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. 46 They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever.(BG) 47 Because you did not serve(BH) the Lord your God joyfully and gladly(BI) in the time of prosperity, 48 therefore 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.

49 The 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) 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old(BQ) 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(BR) or olive oil,(BS) nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined.(BT) 52 They 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)

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.(BW) 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.(BX) 56 The 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) 57 the 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.

58 If 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— 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(CE) 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,(CF) until you are destroyed.(CG) 62 You 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. 63 Just 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.

64 Then 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) 65 Among 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) 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.(CU) 68 The 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

  1. Deuteronomy 28:20 Hebrew me

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

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41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,(A) you who are cursed, into the eternal fire(B) prepared for the devil and his angels.(C)

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11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

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11 Woe to the wicked!(A)
    Disaster(B) is upon them!
They will be paid back(C)
    for what their hands have done.(D)

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20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

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20 but if you resist and rebel,(A)
    you will be devoured by the sword.”(B)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(C)

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19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:

20 The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.

21 And the Lord shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:

22 So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the Lord hath laid upon it;

23 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

24 Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?

25 Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:

26 For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:

27 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:

28 And the Lord rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.

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19 When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing(A) on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,”(B) they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. 20 The Lord will never be willing to forgive(C) them; his wrath and zeal(D) will burn(E) against them. All the curses written in this book will fall on them, and the Lord will blot(F) out their names from under heaven. 21 The Lord will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster,(G) according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.(H)

22 Your children who follow you in later generations and foreigners who come from distant lands will see the calamities that have fallen on the land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it.(I) 23 The whole land will be a burning waste(J) of salt(K) and sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,(L) Admah and Zeboyim, which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger.(M) 24 All the nations will ask: “Why has the Lord done this to this land?(N) Why this fierce, burning anger?”

25 And the answer will be: “It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt.(O) 26 They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them. 27 Therefore the Lord’s anger burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book.(P) 28 In furious anger and in great wrath(Q) the Lord uprooted(R) them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now.”

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14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;

15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:

16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:

20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.

21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.

22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.

23 And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;

24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

26 And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.

27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;

28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.

30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.

32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.

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Punishment for Disobedience

14 “‘But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands,(A) 15 and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws(B) and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant,(C) 16 then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever(D) that will destroy your sight and sap your strength.(E) You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.(F) 17 I will set my face(G) against you so that you will be defeated(H) by your enemies;(I) those who hate you will rule over you,(J) and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.(K)

18 “‘If after all this you will not listen to me,(L) I will punish(M) you for your sins seven times over.(N) 19 I will break down your stubborn pride(O) and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.(P) 20 Your strength will be spent in vain,(Q) because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit.(R)

21 “‘If you remain hostile(S) toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over,(T) as your sins deserve. 22 I will send wild animals(U) against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few(V) in number that your roads will be deserted.(W)

23 “‘If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction(X) but continue to be hostile toward me, 24 I myself will be hostile(Y) toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over. 25 And I will bring the sword(Z) on you to avenge(AA) the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague(AB) among you, and you will be given into enemy hands. 26 When I cut off your supply of bread,(AC) ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied.

27 “‘If in spite of this you still do not listen to me(AD) but continue to be hostile toward me, 28 then in my anger(AE) I will be hostile(AF) toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over.(AG) 29 You will eat(AH) the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.(AI) 30 I will destroy your high places,(AJ) cut down your incense altars(AK) and pile your dead bodies[a] on the lifeless forms of your idols,(AL) and I will abhor(AM) you. 31 I will turn your cities into ruins(AN) and lay waste(AO) your sanctuaries,(AP) and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings.(AQ) 32 I myself will lay waste the land,(AR) so that your enemies who live there will be appalled.(AS)

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 26:30 Or your funeral offerings