Deuteronomio 28
Palabra de Dios para Todos
Bendiciones por obedecer la ley
(Lv 26:3-13; Dt 7:12-24)
28 »Si obedeces completamente la voz del SEÑOR tu Dios al seguir fielmente todos sus mandamientos que te mando hoy, entonces el SEÑOR tu Dios te hará la nación más importante de todas. 2 Gozarás de todas estas bendiciones si obedeces la voz del SEÑOR tu Dios:
3 Serás bendito en la ciudad
y serás bendito en el campo.
4 Te bendecirá con muchos hijos,
y bendecirá tus campos con buenas cosechas.
Las crías de tus animales serán benditas
y tus terneros y corderos serán benditos.
5 Tu canasta y tu tazón de amasar
serán benditos.
6 Serás bendito en todo tiempo
y en toda actividad.
7 »El SEÑOR te permitirá derrotar a todos tus enemigos cuando te ataquen. Ellos irán contra ti en una dirección, pero huirán de ti en siete direcciones diferentes.
8 »El SEÑOR te bendecirá con graneros llenos y bendecirá todo lo que hagas. Te bendecirá en la tierra que el SEÑOR tu Dios te da. 9 Si obedeces los mandamientos del SEÑOR tu Dios y si vives como él quiere que vivas, el SEÑOR te convertirá en su pueblo santo, como te lo prometió. 10 Entonces todas las naciones de la tierra verán que tú eres el pueblo del SEÑOR y que él es tu protector, y te tendrán miedo.
11 »El SEÑOR te hará extremadamente próspero y te dará muchos hijos, tus animales tendrán muchas crías y tú tendrás muchas cosechas en la tierra que el SEÑOR les prometió a tus antepasados que te daría. 12 El SEÑOR te abrirá sus riquezas y el cielo para enviarle lluvia a tu tierra en el momento preciso, y bendecirá todo lo que hagas. Tendrás dinero para prestarles a muchas naciones pero tú no pedirás prestado. 13 El SEÑOR te hará ir a la cabeza, no al final; siempre estarás en la cima y no en el fondo. Esto sucederá si tú escuchas los mandamientos que el SEÑOR tu Dios te manda hoy y los obedeces cuidadosamente. 14 Serás bendito si sigues sin apartarte de ninguna de las palabras que te ordeno, ni vas tras otros dioses para servirles.
Maldiciones por no obedecer la ley
(Lv 26:14-46)
15 »Pero si tú no obedeces al SEÑOR tu Dios ni sigues fielmente todos sus mandamientos y leyes que hoy te mando, entonces todas estas maldiciones vendrán sobre ti:
16 Serás maldito en la ciudad
y serás maldito en el campo.
17 Tu canasta y tu tazón de amasar
serán malditos.
18 Tus hijos y tus cosechas
serán malditos.
Los terneros de tus manadas y los corderos de tus rebaños
serán malditos.
19 Tú serás maldito en todo tiempo
y en toda actividad.
20 »El SEÑOR te enviará maldición, confusión y obstrucción en todo lo que intentes hacer. Al final serás destruido y desaparecerás rápidamente debido a tus actos perversos en los que olvidas al SEÑOR. 21 El SEÑOR te mandará una enfermedad terrible hasta que te extermine de la tierra que vas a ocupar. 22 El SEÑOR te castigará con calor y falta de lluvia; con vientos cálidos y moho, y con una enfermedad que te causará fiebre, sudor y pérdida extrema de peso. Todas esas cosas te pasarán hasta que estés destruido. 23 El cielo sobre tu cabeza será como el bronce y la tierra bajo tus pies será dura como el hierro por la sequía. 24 El SEÑOR hará que la lluvia para tu tierra sea arena y polvo, los cuales caerán sobre ti desde el cielo hasta destruirte.
25 »El SEÑOR permitirá que seas derrotado por tus enemigos. Saldrás en contra de ellos en una dirección, pero huirás de ellos en siete direcciones. Toda la gente en la tierra sentirá temor al ver todo el mal que te suceda. 26 Tu cadáver se convertirá en comida para toda ave en el cielo y todo animal en la tierra, y no habrá nadie que los ahuyente.
27 »El SEÑOR te castigará con llagas como a los egipcios; tumores, sarna y tiña, enfermedades de las que no podrás sanar. 28 El SEÑOR te castigará volviéndote loco, ciego y confuso. 29 Andarás a tientas de día como un ciego en la oscuridad, y fracasarás en todo lo que hagas. Serás oprimido y robado constantemente y no habrá nadie que te salve.
30 »Te comprometerás con una mujer, pero otro hombre la violará. Construirás una casa nueva, pero no vivirás en ella. Plantarás un viñedo, pero no disfrutarás de sus frutos. 31 Tu buey será sacrificado ante tus ojos, pero no comerás nada de él. Tu burro será robado en frente tuyo y no te será devuelto. Tu ganado será entregado a tus enemigos y no habrá nadie que te salve.
32 »Tus hijos e hijas serán entregados a otras naciones y tus ojos se cansarán de buscarlos constantemente, pero no podrás hacer nada.
33 »Una nación que no conoces se comerá tus cosechas y todo aquello por lo que has trabajado tan duro. Serás maltratado y abusado continuamente. 34 Las cosas que verás te volverán loco. 35 El SEÑOR te castigará con llagas dolorosas en las rodillas, en las piernas, desde la planta del pie hasta la cabeza, y no podrás ser curado.
36 »El SEÑOR obligará a ti y a tu rey a ir a una nación que tú ni tus antepasados conocen. Allí servirás a otros dioses hechos de madera y piedra. 37 La gente sentirá terror de ver todo el mal que sufrirás y se burlará de ti, en el pueblo donde el SEÑOR te llevará.
38 »Plantarás muchas semillas en la tierra, pero tu cosecha será pequeña porque las langostas se la comerán. 39 Plantarás viñedos y trabajarás duro en ellos, pero no beberás vino ni cosecharás uvas de ellos porque los gusanos se las comerán. 40 Tendrás olivos en todo tu territorio, pero no te untarás en aceite porque tus olivos se caerán. 41 Tendrás hijos e hijas, pero no se quedarán contigo, porque serán capturados y llevados lejos. 42 Las langostas se comerán todas tus cosechas. 43 El inmigrante que vive entre ustedes ganará más poder mientras ustedes lo irán perdiendo. 44 Él te prestará, pero tú no serás capaz de prestarle. Él irá a la cabeza y tú al final.
45 »Sucederán todas estas maldiciones y continuarán persiguiéndote y apoderándose de ti hasta que seas destruido, porque no obedeciste la voz del SEÑOR tu Dios ni cumpliste sus mandamientos y leyes. 46 Estas maldiciones serán una demostración contra ti y tus descendientes de que Dios te ha juzgado. 47 Todo es porque no quisiste adorar al SEÑOR tu Dios con alegría y sinceridad, a pesar de tener todo en abundancia. 48 Por eso servirás a tus enemigos que el SEÑOR enviará en tu contra, teniendo hambre, sed, desnudez y carencia de todo. Él pondrá un gran peso sobre ti hasta que te haya arruinado.
49 »El SEÑOR enviará contra ti una nación lejana, del final de la tierra, como el águila viene rápidamente del cielo. No conocerás el idioma de aquella nación. 50 Será una nación cruel que no respetará a los ancianos ni tendrá piedad de los jóvenes. 51 Se comerán las crías de tu ganado y las cosechas de tu tierra hasta que estés destruido. No te dejará grano, vino nuevo, aceite, terneros o corderos hasta que estés destruido.
52 »Esa nación te sitiará y atacará todos tus pueblos hasta que tus altas y fuertes murallas en las que tanto confías sean destruidas en toda tu tierra. Esa nación te sitiará y atacará todos tus pueblos en toda la tierra que el SEÑOR tu Dios te ha dado. 53 El enemigo te sitiará y te hará sufrir. No tendrás de qué alimentarte y entonces te comerás a tus propios hijos, los cadáveres de los mismos hijos que el SEÑOR tu Dios te ha dado.
54 »Aun el hombre más tierno y amable entre ustedes se volverá cruel. Mirará con malos ojos a su hermano, a la esposa que ama y al último de los hijos que le queden. 55 No le quedará nada para alimentarse, así que se comerá a sus propios hijos. Para colmo, no compartirá la carne con nadie, ni aun con los de su propia familia. Tal será el sufrimiento que tu enemigo producirá en ti durante el sitio de todas tus ciudades.
56 »Aun la mujer más delicada y amable entre ustedes se volverá cruel. Aunque sea una mujer que ni siquiera pise el suelo de lo delicada que es, se volverá cruel con su amado esposo, con su hijo y con su hija. 57 Se esconderá para dar a luz a su hijo y luego se comerá al bebé junto con la placenta. Todo esto te sucederá cuando tus enemigos te sitien y te hagan sufrir en todas tus ciudades.
58 »Tienes que tener cuidado de obedecer todas las palabras de esta ley que están escritas en este libro. Respeta el nombre glorioso y temible del SEÑOR tu Dios. 59 Si no, el SEÑOR enviará castigos terribles sobre ti y tus descendientes; castigos severos y duraderos; enfermedades dolorosas y duraderas. 60 Te mandará todas las enfermedades que mandó contra Egipto, las que te asustaron tanto, esas las sufrirás tú. 61 Además, el SEÑOR te enviará cada enfermedad y problema que no está escrito en este libro de esta ley, hasta destruirte. 62 A pesar de ser tan numerosos como las estrellas del cielo, sólo quedarán algunos de ustedes, por no haber obedecido la voz del SEÑOR tu Dios.
63 »Así como el SEÑOR se ha propuesto prosperarte y multiplicarte, así el SEÑOR se propondrá arruinarte y destruirte, y serás echado de la tierra que vas a ocupar. 64 El SEÑOR te esparcirá por todas las naciones de la tierra, de un extremo al otro, y allí servirás a otros dioses extraños de madera y piedra que ni tú ni tus antepasados han conocido antes.
65 »Entre esas naciones no tendrás paz ni habrá lugar para que descanses la planta de tus pies. Allí el SEÑOR te dará una mente preocupada, ojos débiles y garganta seca. 66 Tu vida siempre correrá peligro, estarás asustado día y noche, y no sabrás si seguirás con vida. 67 Será tanto el miedo que tendrás y las cosas que verás, que dirás por la mañana: “¡Si ya atardeciera!”, y en la tarde dirás: “¡Si ya amaneciera!” 68 El SEÑOR te enviará de vuelta a Egipto en barcos, por el camino que te dije que no volverías a ver de nuevo. Allí ustedes tratarán de venderse a sus enemigos como esclavos, pero no habrá quién los compre».
Deuteronomy 28
New English Translation
The Covenant Blessings
28 “If you indeed[a] obey the Lord your God and are careful to observe all his commandments I am giving[b] you today, the Lord your God will elevate you above all the nations of the earth. 2 All these blessings will come to you in abundance[c] if you obey the Lord your God: 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field.[d] 4 Your children[e] will be blessed, as well as the produce of your soil, the offspring of your livestock, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks. 5 Your basket and your mixing bowl will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.[f] 7 The Lord will cause your enemies who attack[g] you to be struck down before you; they will attack you from one direction[h] but flee from you in seven different directions. 8 The Lord will decree blessing for you with respect to your barns and in everything you do—yes, he will bless you in the land he[i] is giving you. 9 The Lord will designate you as his holy people just as he promised you, if you keep his commandments[j] and obey him.[k] 10 Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you belong to the Lord,[l] and they will respect you. 11 The Lord will greatly multiply your children,[m] the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your soil in the land that he[n] promised your ancestors[o] he would give you. 12 The Lord will open for you his good treasure house, the heavens, to give you rain for the land in its season and to bless all you do;[p] you will lend to many nations but you will not borrow from any. 13 The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always end up at the top and not at the bottom, if you obey his[q] commandments that I am urging[r] you today to be careful to do. 14 But you must not turn away from all the commandments I am giving[s] you today, to either the right or left, nor pursue other gods and worship[t] them.
Curses as Reversal of Blessings
15 “But if you ignore[u] the Lord your God and are not careful to keep all his commandments and statutes I am giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you in full force:[v] 16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the field. 17 Your basket and your mixing bowl will be cursed. 18 Your children[w] will be cursed, as well as the produce of your soil, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks. 19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.[x]
Curses by Disease and Drought
20 “The Lord will send on you a curse, confusing you and opposing you[y] in everything you undertake[z] until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the evil of your deeds, in that you have forsaken me.[aa] 21 The Lord will plague you with deadly diseases[ab] until he has completely removed you from the land you are about to possess. 22 He[ac] will afflict you with weakness,[ad] fever, inflammation, infection,[ae] sword,[af] blight, and mildew; these will attack you until you perish. 23 The[ag] sky[ah] above your heads will be bronze and the earth beneath you iron. 24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; it will come down on you from the sky until you are destroyed.
Curses by Defeat and Deportation
25 “The Lord will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an object of terror[ai] to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 Your carcasses will be food for every bird of the sky and wild animal of the earth, and there will be no one to chase them off. 27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, eczema, and scabies, all of which cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will also subject you to madness, blindness, and confusion of mind.[aj] 29 You will feel your way along at noon like the blind person does in darkness and you will not succeed in anything you do;[ak] you will be constantly oppressed and continually robbed, with no one to save you. 30 You will be engaged to a woman, and another man will rape[al] her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not even begin to use it. 31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your very eyes, but you will not eat of it. Your donkey will be stolen from you as you watch and will not be returned to you. Your flock of sheep will be given to your enemies, and there will be no one to save you. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while you look on in vain all day, and you will be powerless to do anything about it.[am] 33 As for the produce of your land and all your labor, a people you do not know will consume it, and you will be nothing but oppressed and crushed for the rest of your lives. 34 You will go insane from seeing all this. 35 The Lord will afflict you in your knees and on your legs with painful, incurable boils—from the soles of your feet to the top of your head. 36 The Lord will force you and your king[an] whom you will appoint over you to go away to a people whom you and your ancestors have not known, and you will serve other gods of wood and stone there. 37 You will become an occasion of horror, a proverb, and an object of ridicule to all the peoples to whom the Lord will drive you.
The Curse of Reversed Status
38 “You will take much seed to the field but gather little harvest, because locusts will consume it. 39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them, but you will not drink wine or gather in grapes, because worms will eat them. 40 You will have olive trees throughout your territory, but you will not anoint yourself with olive oil, because the olives will drop off the trees while still unripe.[ao] 41 You will bear sons and daughters but not keep them, because they will be taken into captivity. 42 Whirring locusts[ap] will take over every tree and all the produce of your soil. 43 The resident foreigners[aq] who reside among you will become higher and higher over you, and you will become lower and lower. 44 They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them; they will become the head, and you will become the tail!
45 “All these curses will fall on you, pursuing and overtaking you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping his commandments and statutes that he has given[ar] you. 46 These curses[as] will be a perpetual sign and wonder with reference to you and your descendants.[at]
The Curse of Military Siege
47 “Because you have not served the Lord your God joyfully and wholeheartedly with the abundance of everything you have, 48 instead in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and poverty[au] you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. They[av] will place an iron yoke on your neck until they have destroyed you. 49 The Lord will raise up a distant nation against you, one from the other side of the earth[aw] as the eagle flies,[ax] a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a nation of stern appearance that will have no regard for the elderly or pity for the young. 51 They[ay] will devour the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your soil until you are destroyed. They will not leave you with any grain, new wine, olive oil, calves of your herds,[az] or lambs of your flocks[ba] until they have destroyed you. 52 They will besiege all of your villages[bb] until all of your high and fortified walls collapse—those in which you put your confidence throughout the land. They will besiege all your villages throughout the land the Lord your God has given you. 53 You will then eat your own offspring,[bc] the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you, because of the severity of the siege[bd] by which your enemies will constrict you. 54 The man among you who is by nature tender and sensitive will turn against his brother, his beloved wife, and his remaining children. 55 He will withhold from all of them his children’s flesh that he is eating (since there is nothing else left), because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict[be] you in your villages. 56 Likewise, the most[bf] tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her foot on the ground because of her daintiness,[bg] will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters, 57 and will secretly eat her afterbirth[bh] and her newborn children[bi] (since she has nothing else),[bj] because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages.
The Curse of Covenant Termination
58 “If you refuse to obey[bk] all the words of this law, the things written in this scroll, and refuse to fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, 59 then the Lord will increase your punishments and those of your descendants—great and long-lasting afflictions and severe, enduring illnesses. 60 He will infect you with all the diseases of Egypt[bl] that you dreaded, and they will persistently afflict you.[bm] 61 Moreover, the Lord will bring upon you every kind of sickness and plague not mentioned in this scroll of commandments,[bn] until you have perished. 62 There will be very few of you left, though at one time you were as numerous as the stars in the sky,[bo] because you will have disobeyed[bp] the Lord your God. 63 This is what will happen: Just as the Lord delighted to do good for you and make you numerous, so he[bq] will also take delight in destroying and decimating you. You will be uprooted from the land you are about to possess. 64 The Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of wood and stone. 65 Among those nations you will have no rest, nor will there be a place of peaceful rest for the soles of your feet, for there the Lord will give you an anxious heart, failing eyesight, and a spirit of despair. 66 Your life will hang in doubt before you; you will be terrified by night and day and will have no certainty of surviving from one day to the next.[br] 67 In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ And in the evening you will say, ‘I wish it were morning!’ because of the things you will fear and the things you will see. 68 Then the Lord will make you return to Egypt by ship, over a route I said to you that you would never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 28:1 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “indeed.”
- Deuteronomy 28:1 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today” (likewise in v. 15).
- Deuteronomy 28:2 tn Heb “come upon you and overtake you” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “come upon you and accompany you.”
- Deuteronomy 28:3 tn Or “in the country” (so NAB, NIV, NLT). This expression also occurs in v. 15.
- Deuteronomy 28:4 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
- Deuteronomy 28:6 sn Come in…go out. To “come in” and “go out” is a figure of speech (merism) indicating all of life and its activities.
- Deuteronomy 28:7 tn Heb “who rise up against” (so NIV).
- Deuteronomy 28:7 tn Heb “way” (also later in this verse and in v. 25).
- Deuteronomy 28:8 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” Because English would not typically reintroduce the proper name following a relative pronoun (“he will bless…the Lord your God is giving”), the pronoun (“he”) has been employed here in the translation.
- Deuteronomy 28:9 tn Heb “the commandments of the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in the previous verse.
- Deuteronomy 28:9 tn Heb “and walk in his ways” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
- Deuteronomy 28:10 tn Heb “the name of the Lord is called over you.” The Hebrew idiom indicates ownership; see 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1, as well as BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph. 2.d.(4).
- Deuteronomy 28:11 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “will give you a lot of children.”
- Deuteronomy 28:11 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 28:8.
- Deuteronomy 28:11 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 36, 64).
- Deuteronomy 28:12 tn Heb “all the work of your hands.”
- Deuteronomy 28:13 tn Heb “the Lord your God’s.” See note on “he” in 28:8.
- Deuteronomy 28:13 tn Heb “commanding” (so NRSV); NASB “which I charge you today.”
- Deuteronomy 28:14 tn Heb “from all the words which I am commanding.”
- Deuteronomy 28:14 tn Heb “in order to serve.”
- Deuteronomy 28:15 tn Heb “do not hear the voice of.”
- Deuteronomy 28:15 tn Heb “and overtake you” (so NIV, NRSV); NAB, NLT “and overwhelm you.”
- Deuteronomy 28:18 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
- Deuteronomy 28:19 sn See note on the similar expression in v. 6.
- Deuteronomy 28:20 tn Heb “the curse, the confusion, and the rebuke” (NASB and NIV similar); NRSV “disaster, panic, and frustration.”
- Deuteronomy 28:20 tn Heb “in all the stretching out of your hand.”
- Deuteronomy 28:20 tc For the MT first person common singular suffix (“me”), the LXX reads either “Lord” (Lucian) or third person masculine singular suffix (“him”; various codices). The MT’s more difficult reading probably represents the original text.tn Heb “the evil of your doings wherein you have forsaken me”; CEV “all because you rejected the Lord.”
- Deuteronomy 28:21 tn Heb “will cause pestilence to cling to you.”
- Deuteronomy 28:22 tn Heb “The Lord.” See note on “he” in 28:8.
- Deuteronomy 28:22 tn Or perhaps “consumption” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The term is from a verbal root that indicates a weakening of one’s physical strength (cf. NAB “wasting”; NIV, NLT “wasting disease”).
- Deuteronomy 28:22 tn Heb “hot fever”; NIV “scorching heat.”
- Deuteronomy 28:22 tn Or “drought” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).
- Deuteronomy 28:23 tc The MT reads “Your.” The LXX reads “Heaven will be to you.”
- Deuteronomy 28:23 tn Or “heavens” (also in the following verse). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
- Deuteronomy 28:25 tc The meaningless MT reading זַעֲוָה (zaʿavah) is clearly a transposition of the more commonly attested Hebrew noun זְוָעָה (zevaʿah, “terror”).
- Deuteronomy 28:28 tn Heb “heart” (so KJV, NASB).
- Deuteronomy 28:29 tn Heb “you will not cause your ways to prosper.”
- Deuteronomy 28:30 tc For MT reading שָׁגַל (shagal, “ravish; violate”), the Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate presume the less violent שָׁכַב (shakhav, “lie with”). The unexpected counterpart to betrothal here favors the originality of the MT.
- Deuteronomy 28:32 tn Heb “and there will be no power in your hand”; NCV “there will be nothing you can do.”
- Deuteronomy 28:36 tc The LXX reads the plural “kings.”
- Deuteronomy 28:40 tn Heb “your olives will drop off” (נָשַׁל, nashal), referring to the olives dropping off before they ripen. Elsewhere זַיִת (zayit, “olive”) can refer to an olive, the tree branch, the tree, or the grove. Agriculturally it might make the most sense to mean the olive flower (cf. Job 15:33). Whether the flowers drop off without being fertilized, or the olives drop off while unripe, the harvest is lost.
- Deuteronomy 28:42 tn The Hebrew term denotes some sort of buzzing or whirring insect; some have understood this to be a type of locust (KJV, NIV, CEV), but other insects have also been suggested: “buzzing insects” (NAB); “the cricket” (NASB); “the cicada” (NRSV).
- Deuteronomy 28:43 tn Heb “the foreigner.” This is a collective singular and has therefore been translated as plural; this includes the pronouns in the following verse, which are also singular in the Hebrew text.
- Deuteronomy 28:45 tn Heb “commanded”; NAB, NIV, TEV “he gave you.”
- Deuteronomy 28:46 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the curses mentioned previously) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Deuteronomy 28:46 tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).
- Deuteronomy 28:48 tn Heb “lack of everything.”
- Deuteronomy 28:48 tn Heb “he” (also later in this verse). The pronoun is a collective singular referring to the enemies (cf. CEV, NLT). Many translations understand the singular pronoun to refer to the Lord (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV).
- Deuteronomy 28:49 tn Heb “from the end of the earth.”
- Deuteronomy 28:49 tn Some translations understand this to mean “like an eagle swoops down” (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), comparing the swift attack of an eagle to the attack of the Israelites’ enemies.
- Deuteronomy 28:51 tn Heb “it” (so NRSV), a collective singular referring to the invading nation (several times in this verse and v. 52).
- Deuteronomy 28:51 tn Heb “increase of herds.”
- Deuteronomy 28:51 tn Heb “growth of flocks.”
- Deuteronomy 28:52 tn Heb “gates,” also in vv. 55, 57.
- Deuteronomy 28:53 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NRSV); NASB “the offspring of your own body.”
- Deuteronomy 28:53 tn Heb “siege and stress.”
- Deuteronomy 28:55 tn Heb “besiege,” redundant with the noun “siege.”
- Deuteronomy 28:56 tc The LXX adds σφόδρα (sphodra, “very”) to bring the description into line with v. 54.
- Deuteronomy 28:56 tn Heb “delicateness and tenderness.”
- Deuteronomy 28:57 tn Heb includes “that which comes out from between her feet.”
- Deuteronomy 28:57 tn Heb “her sons that she will bear.”
- Deuteronomy 28:57 tn Heb includes “in her need for everything.”
- Deuteronomy 28:58 tn Heb “If you are not careful to do.”
- Deuteronomy 28:60 sn These are the plagues the Lord inflicted on the Egyptians prior to the exodus which, though they did not fall upon the Israelites, must have caused great terror (cf. Exod 15:26).
- Deuteronomy 28:60 tn Heb “will cling to you” (so NIV); NLT “will claim you.”
- Deuteronomy 28:61 tn The Hebrew term תּוֹרָה (torah) can refer either (1) to the whole Pentateuch or, more likely, (2) to the book of Deuteronomy or even (3) only to this curse section of the covenant text. “Scroll” better reflects the actual document, since “book” conveys the notion of a bound book with pages to the modern English reader. Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the book of this law”; NIV, NLT “this Book of the Law”; TEV “this book of God’s laws and teachings.”
- Deuteronomy 28:62 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
- Deuteronomy 28:62 tn Heb “have not listened to the voice of.”
- Deuteronomy 28:63 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 28:8.
- Deuteronomy 28:66 tn Heb “you will not be confident in your life.” The phrase “from one day to the next” is implied by the following verse.
Deuteronomy 28
King James Version
28 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
7 The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
8 The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
9 The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways.
10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee.
11 And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
12 The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
13 And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:
14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
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.
Deuteronomy 28
New King James Version
Blessings on Obedience(A)
28 “Now it shall come to pass, (B)if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God (C)will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and (D)overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
3 (E)“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be (F)in the country.
4 “Blessed shall be (G)the [a]fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 (H)“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 “The Lord (I)will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8 “The Lord will (J)command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you (K)set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
9 (L)“The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are (M)called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be (N)afraid of you. 11 And (O)the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord [b]swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you His good [c]treasure, the heavens, (P)to give the rain to your land in its season, and (Q)to bless all the work of your hand. (R)You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make (S)you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you [d]heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 (T)So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
Curses on Disobedience(U)
15 “But it shall come to pass, (V)if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.
17 “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
18 “Cursed shall be the [e]fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
19 “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 “The Lord will send on you (W)cursing, (X)confusion, and (Y)rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me. 21 The Lord will make the [f]plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. 22 (Z)The Lord will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with (AA)scorching,[g] and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish. 23 And (AB)your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
25 (AC)“The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become [h]troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 (AD)Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away. 27 The Lord will strike you with (AE)the boils of Egypt, with (AF)tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and (AG)confusion of heart. 29 And you shall (AH)grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you.
30 (AI)“You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; (AJ)you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; (AK)you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them. 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to (AL)another people, and your eyes shall look and (AM)fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be [i]no strength in your (AN)hand. 33 A nation whom you have not known shall eat (AO)the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually. 34 So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see. 35 The Lord will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.
36 “The Lord will (AP)bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and (AQ)there you shall serve other gods—wood and stone. 37 And you shall become (AR)an[j] astonishment, a proverb, (AS)and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you.
38 (AT)“You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for (AU)the locust shall [k]consume it. 39 You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the (AV)wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. 40 You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off. 41 You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for (AW)they shall go into captivity. 42 Locusts shall [l]consume all your trees and the produce of your land.
43 “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
45 “Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you [m]did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. 46 And they shall be upon (AX)you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever.
47 (AY)“Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, (AZ)for the abundance of everything, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in (BA)hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He (BB)will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 (BC)The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, (BD)as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a nation of fierce countenance, (BE)which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. 51 And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you.
52 “They shall (BF)besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the Lord your God has given you. 53 (BG)You shall eat the [n]fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you. 54 The [o]sensitive and very refined man among you (BH)will[p] be hostile toward his brother, toward (BI)the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind, 55 so that he will not give any of them the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates. 56 The [q]tender and [r]delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity, [s]will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter, 57 her [t]placenta which comes out (BJ)from between her feet and her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of everything in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.
58 “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear (BK)this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, 59 then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants (BL)extraordinary plagues—great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses. 60 Moreover He will bring back on you all (BM)the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. 61 Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed. 62 You (BN)shall be left few in number, whereas you were (BO)as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God. 63 And it shall be, that just as the Lord (BP)rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the Lord (BQ)will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be (BR)plucked[u] from off the land which you go to possess.
64 “Then the Lord (BS)will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and (BT)there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known—wood and stone. 65 And (BU)among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; (BV)but there the Lord will give you a [v]trembling heart, failing eyes, and (BW)anguish of soul. 66 Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life. 67 (BX)In the morning you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were morning!’ because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and (BY)because of the sight which your eyes see.
68 “And the Lord (BZ)will take you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you, (CA)‘You shall never see it again.’ And there you shall be offered for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 28:4 offspring
- Deuteronomy 28:11 promised
- Deuteronomy 28:12 storehouse
- Deuteronomy 28:13 listen to
- Deuteronomy 28:18 offspring
- Deuteronomy 28:21 pestilence
- Deuteronomy 28:22 blight
- Deuteronomy 28:25 a terror
- Deuteronomy 28:32 nothing you can do
- Deuteronomy 28:37 a thing of horror
- Deuteronomy 28:38 devour
- Deuteronomy 28:42 possess
- Deuteronomy 28:45 did not listen to
- Deuteronomy 28:53 offspring
- Deuteronomy 28:54 Lit. tender
- Deuteronomy 28:54 Lit. his eye shall be evil toward
- Deuteronomy 28:56 sensitive
- Deuteronomy 28:56 refined
- Deuteronomy 28:56 Lit. her eye shall be evil toward
- Deuteronomy 28:57 afterbirth
- Deuteronomy 28:63 torn
- Deuteronomy 28:65 anxious
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
