29 and you shall (A)grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways.[a] And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. 30 (B)You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. (C)You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. (D)You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat any of it. Your donkey shall be seized before your face, but shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies, but there shall be no one to help you. 32 (E)Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, (F)but you shall be helpless. 33 A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually, 34 so that you are driven mad (G)by the sights that your eyes see. 35 The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs (H)with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

36 “The Lord will (I)bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you (J)nor your fathers have known. And (K)there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. 37 And you shall become (L)a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the Lord will lead you away. 38 (M)You shall carry much seed into the field and shall gather in little, for (N)the locust shall consume it. 39 (O)You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them. 40 You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you (P)shall not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives shall drop off. 41 You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for (Q)they shall go into captivity. 42 (R)The cricket[b] shall possess all your trees and the fruit of your ground. 43 (S)The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 (T)He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him. (U)He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.

45 (V)“All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. 46 They shall be (W)a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. 47 (X)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 (Y)will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. 49 (Z)The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, (AA)swooping down like the eagle, a nation (AB)whose language you do not understand,

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 28:29 Or shall not succeed in finding your ways
  2. Deuteronomy 28:42 Identity uncertain

29 At midday you will grope(A) 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(B) you.

30 You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and rape her.(C) You will build a house, but you will not live in it.(D) You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit.(E) 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,(F) 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(G) all your days.(H) 34 The sights you see will drive you mad.(I) 35 The Lord will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils(J) that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.(K)

36 The Lord will drive you and the king(L) you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors.(M) There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone.(N) 37 You will become a thing of horror,(O) a byword(P) and an object of ridicule(Q) among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you.(R)

38 You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little,(S) because locusts(T) will devour(U) it. 39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine(V) or gather the grapes, because worms will eat(W) them.(X) 40 You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off.(Y) 41 You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity.(Z) 42 Swarms of locusts(AA) 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.(AB) 44 They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them.(AC) They will be the head, but you will be the tail.(AD)

45 All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you(AE) until you are destroyed,(AF) 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.(AG) 47 Because you did not serve(AH) the Lord your God joyfully and gladly(AI) in the time of prosperity, 48 therefore in hunger and thirst,(AJ) in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke(AK) on your neck(AL) until he has destroyed you.

49 The Lord will bring a nation against you(AM) from far away, from the ends of the earth,(AN) like an eagle(AO) swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand,(AP)

Read full chapter