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Deuteronomy 28
Lexham English Bible

28 “And it will happen that if you indeed listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to diligently observe[a] all his commandments that I am commanding you today,[b] then Yahweh your God will set you above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all of these blessings shall come upon you, and they shall have an effect on you[c] if you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God:

3 “You will be blessed in the city, and you will be blessed in the field.

4 “Blessed will be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your livestock, the calf of your cattle and the lambs of your flock.[d]

5 “Blessed will be your basket and your kneading trough.

6 “Blessed will you be when you come in and blessed will you be when you go out.[e]

7 “Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you;[f] on one road[g] they shall come out against you, but on seven roads[h] they shall flee before you.[i] 8 Yahweh will command concerning you[j] the blessing to be in your barns and in all your endeavors;[k] and he will bless you in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you. 9 Yahweh will establish you for himself[l] as a holy people as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and you walk in his ways. 10 And all of the peoples of the earth shall see that by the name of Yahweh you are called,[m] and they shall fear you.[n] 11 And Yahweh will make you successful and prosperous,[o] in the fruit of your womb and on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors[p] to give to you. 12 Yahweh shall open for you his rich[q] storehouse, even the heavens, to give the rain for[r] your land in its time and to bless all of the work of your hand, and you will lend to many nations; you will not borrow from them. 13 And Yahweh shall make you[s] as head and not the tail, and you shall be only at the top of the nations, and you shall not be at the bottom, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God that I am commanding you today[t] and diligently observe them.[u] 14 And you shall not turn aside from any of[v] the words that I am commanding you today[w] to the right or left by going after other gods to serve them.

15 “And then[x] if you do not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God by diligently observing[y] all of his commandments and his statutes that I am commanding you today,[z] then all of these curses shall come upon you, and they shall overtake you:

16 “You shall[aa] be cursed in the city, and you shall be cursed in the field.

17 “Your basket shall be cursed and your kneading trough.

18 “The fruit of your womb shall be cursed and the fruit of you ground, the calves of your cattle and the lambs of your flock.

19 “You shall be cursed when you come in,[ab] and you shall be cursed when you go out.[ac]

20 “Yahweh will send upon you[ad] the curse,[ae] the panic,[af] and the threat[ag] in everything that you undertake,[ah] until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly[ai] because of[aj] the evil of your deeds in that[ak] you have forsaken me. 21 Yahweh will cause the plague to cling to you until it consumes you[al] from the land that you are going to,[am] to take possession of it. 22 Yahweh will afflict you with the wasting diseases and with the fever and with the inflammation and with the scorching heat and with the sword[an] and with the blight and with the mildew, and they shall pursue you until you perish.[ao] 23 And your heavens that are over your heads shall be like bronze, and the earth that is under you shall be like iron. 24 Yahweh will change the rain of your land to fine dust and to sand; from the heaven it shall come down upon you until you are destroyed.[ap]

25 “Yahweh shall cause you to be defeated before[aq] your enemies; on one road you shall go against[ar] them,[as] but you will flee on seven roads before[at] them,[au] and you shall become a thing of horror to all of the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And your dead bodies shall be as food for all of the birds of the heaven and to the animals of the earth, and there shall not be anyone to frighten them away.[av]

27 “Yahweh shall afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scurvy and with the skin rash that cannot be healed.[aw] 28 Yahweh shall afflict you with madness and with blindness and with confusion of heart. 29 And you shall be groping at noon just as the blind person gropes in the dark, and you shall not succeed in finding your way, and you shall only be abused and robbed all the time,[ax] and there will not be anyone who will rescue you. [ay] 30 You shall become engaged to a woman, but another man shall sleep[az] with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not live in it; a vineyard you shall plant, but you shall not enjoy it. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, and you shall not eat it; your donkey shall be stolen right before you,[ba] and it shall not be returned to you; your sheep and your goats shall be given to your enemies, and there shall not be anyone who rescues you.[bb] 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to other people, and you will be looking on[bc] longingly[bd] for[be] them all day, but you will be powerless to do anything.[bf] 33 A people that you do not know shall consume the harvest of your land and all your labor, and you will be only oppressed and crushed for the rest of your lives.[bg] 34 You shall become mad because of what your eyes shall see.[bh] 35 Yahweh shall strike you with grievous boils on the knees and on the upper thighs from which you will not be able to be healed,[bi] from the sole of your foot and up to your crown. 36 Yahweh will bring you and your king whom you set up over you to a nation that you or your ancestors[bj] have not known, and there you will serve other gods of wood and stone. 37 And you will become a horror and a proverb and ridicule among all the peoples where Yahweh drives you there.

38 “You shall carry out much seed to the field, but you shall gather little produce, for the locust shall devour it. 39 You shall plant vineyards and you shall dress[bk] them, but you shall not drink wine and you shall not gather grapes, for the worm shall eat it.[bl] 40 There shall be olive trees for you in all of your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself, for your olives[bm] shall drop off. 41 You shall bear sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours,[bn] for they shall go into captivity. 42 The cricket shall take possession of all your trees and the fruit of your ground. 43 The alien that is in your midst shall ascend over you, higher and higher, but you shall go down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, but you shall be the tail.

45 “And all of these curses shall come over you, and they shall pursue you, and they shall overtake you until you are destroyed,[bo] because you did not listen[bp] to the voice of Yahweh your God, by observing[bq] his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. 46 And they shall be among you as a sign and as a wonder and among your offspring forever.[br]

47 “Because[bs] of the fact that you did not serve Yahweh your God with joy and with gladness of heart for the abundance of everything, 48 then you shall serve your enemies, whom Yahweh will send against you under conditions of famine, in thirst, in nakedness, and in a lack of everything; and he shall place[bt] a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.[bu] 49 Yahweh will raise up against you a nation from far off, from the end of the earth, attacking as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you will not understand,[bv] 50 a grim-faced nation[bw] who does not show respect[bx] to the old and the young and does not show pity. 51 And it[by] shall consume the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your ground until you are destroyed,[bz] and who will not leave for you any grain, wine, and olive oil, calves of your herds,[ca] and lambs of[cb] your flock until it has destroyed you.[cc] 52 And it shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls fall,[cd] which you are trusting in[ce] throughout your land;[cf] and it shall besiege you in all of your towns in all of your land that Yahweh your God has given to you. 53 And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and your daughters, whom Yahweh your God gave to you, during the siege and during the distress[cg] your enemy inflicts upon you. 54 The most refined and the very sensitive[ch] man among you shall be mean with his brother[ci] and against his beloved wife[cj] and against the rest[ck] of his children that he has left over, 55 by refraining from giving[cl] to even one of them any of the meat of his children that he eats, because there is not anything that is left over for him during the siege and distress[cm] that your enemy inflicts upon you. 56 The most refined and the most delicate woman among you, who shall[cn] not venture to put the sole of her foot on the ground from being so delicate and from such gentleness, shall be mean to her beloved husband[co] and against her son and against her daughter, 57 and even concerning her afterbirth that goes out[cp] from between her feet and also concerning her children that she bears, because she eats them for lack of anything in secret during the siege and during the distress[cq] that your enemy inflicts upon her in your towns.[cr]

58 “If you do not diligently observe[cs] all the words of this law written in this scroll by revering this glorious and awesome name, Yahweh your God, 59 then Yahweh shall overwhelm you with your plagues and the plagues of your offspring, severe plagues and lasting illnesses, grievous and enduring. 60 And he shall bring back upon you all the diseases of Egypt concerning which you were in dread[ct] because of them.[cu] 61 Also any illness and any plague[cv] that is not written in the scroll of this law, he shall bring them, Yahweh, upon you until you are destroyed. 62 And you shall remain only a few people[cw] in place of the fact you were formerly as the stars of heaven as far as number is concerned, because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God. 63 And then[cx] as Yahweh delighted over you to make you prosperous[cy] to make you numerous, so Yahweh shall delight over you to exterminate you[cz] and to destroy you, and so you shall be plucked from the land that you are going there to take possession of it. 64 And Yahweh shall scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth up to the other end of the earth, and there you shall serve other gods that you have not known nor[da] your ancestors,[db] gods of wood and stone. 65 And among these nations you shall not find rest, and there shall not be a resting place for the sole of your foot, and Yahweh shall give you there an anxious heart and a weakening of eyes[dc] and a languishing of your inner self.[dd] 66 And your life shall hang in doubt before you,[de] and you shall be startled[df] night and day, and you shall not be confident of your life. 67 In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it was evening!’[dg] and in the evening you shall say ‘If only it was morning!’[dh] because of the dread of your heart that you shall feel, and because of the sight of your eyes that you shall see. 68 And Yahweh shall bring you back to Egypt in ships by the route that I promised[di] to you that ‘You shall not see it again!’[dj] And you shall sell yourself there to your enemies as slaves and as female slaves, but there will not be a buyer.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 28:1 Literally “to observe to do”
  2. Deuteronomy 28:1 Literally “the day”
  3. Deuteronomy 28:2 Literally “they shall overtake you”
  4. Deuteronomy 28:4 Literally “what is dropped of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks”
  5. Deuteronomy 28:6 Literally “in/at your coming and you will be blessed in/at your going out”
  6. Deuteronomy 28:7 Literally “the ones rising against you being defeated to the face of you”
  7. Deuteronomy 28:7 Or “way”
  8. Deuteronomy 28:7 Or “ways”
  9. Deuteronomy 28:7 Literally “to the face of you”
  10. Deuteronomy 28:8 Literally “with you”
  11. Deuteronomy 28:8 Literally “in all of the sending forth of your hand”
  12. Deuteronomy 28:9 Literally “to/for him”
  13. Deuteronomy 28:10 Literally “that the name of Yahweh is called/assigned upon you”
  14. Deuteronomy 28:10 Literally “they shall be afraid/fearful from you”
  15. Deuteronomy 28:11 Literally “Yahweh will cause for you goodness”
  16. Deuteronomy 28:11 Or “fathers”
  17. Deuteronomy 28:12 Literally “good”
  18. Deuteronomy 28:12 Hebrew “of”
  19. Deuteronomy 28:13 Literally “place/set you up”
  20. Deuteronomy 28:13 Literally “the day”
  21. Deuteronomy 28:13 Literally “to observe them and to do them”
  22. Deuteronomy 28:14 Literally “all of”
  23. Deuteronomy 28:14 Literally “the day”
  24. Deuteronomy 28:15 Literally “and it will happen”
  25. Deuteronomy 28:15 Literally “to observe and to do”
  26. Deuteronomy 28:15 Literally “the day”
  27. Deuteronomy 28:16 All of these curses have a future orientation that points to Israel in the land of Canaan
  28. Deuteronomy 28:19 Literally “at/in your coming”
  29. Deuteronomy 28:19 Literally “at/in your going out”
  30. Deuteronomy 28:20 Others translate as a wish: “may Yahweh send upon you …”
  31. Deuteronomy 28:20 These words are translated variously, e.g., “starvation,” “thirst,” “rebuke/dysentery” (NEB) or “curses,” “confusion,” “frustration” (NLT)
  32. Deuteronomy 28:20 Or “confusion”
  33. Deuteronomy 28:20 Or “rebuke”
  34. Deuteronomy 28:20 Literally “in all the sending out of your hand that you do”
  35. Deuteronomy 28:20 Literally “until your to be destroyed and until your to perish quickly”
  36. Deuteronomy 28:20 Literally “from the face of the evil of your deeds”
  37. Deuteronomy 28:20 Literally “which”
  38. Deuteronomy 28:21 Literally “it to consume to”
  39. Deuteronomy 28:21 Hebrew “to there”
  40. Deuteronomy 28:22 Others translate “drought” (NLT, NEB)
  41. Deuteronomy 28:22 Literally “until your/you to perish”
  42. Deuteronomy 28:24 Literally “until your being destroyed”
  43. Deuteronomy 28:25 Literally “to the face of”
  44. Deuteronomy 28:25 Literally “to/toward”
  45. Deuteronomy 28:25 Hebrew “him”
  46. Deuteronomy 28:25 Literally “to the face of”
  47. Deuteronomy 28:25 Hebrew “him”
  48. Deuteronomy 28:26 Literally “one causing fright to them”
  49. Deuteronomy 28:27 Literally “the skin rash that not it is able it to be healed”
  50. Deuteronomy 28:29 Literally “all the days”
  51. Deuteronomy 28:29 Literally “one who delivers/rescues you”
  52. Deuteronomy 28:30 Or “ravish/violate”
  53. Deuteronomy 28:31 Literally “to the face of you”
  54. Deuteronomy 28:31 Literally “there shall not be for you one who rescues”
  55. Deuteronomy 28:32 Literally “your eyes will see/look”
  56. Deuteronomy 28:32 Literally “wearing out”
  57. Deuteronomy 28:32 Hebrew “to”
  58. Deuteronomy 28:32 Literally “but there will not be for power of your hand”
  59. Deuteronomy 28:33 Literally “all of the days”
  60. Deuteronomy 28:34 Literally “from/by the sight of your eyes”
  61. Deuteronomy 28:35 Literally “which not you are able to heal”
  62. Deuteronomy 28:36 Or “fathers”
  63. Deuteronomy 28:39 Or “cultivate”
  64. Deuteronomy 28:39 That is, the produce
  65. Deuteronomy 28:40 Hebrew “olive”
  66. Deuteronomy 28:41 Literally “for you”
  67. Deuteronomy 28:45 Literally “until you to be destroyed”
  68. Deuteronomy 28:45 Literally “not you listened”
  69. Deuteronomy 28:45 Literally “to observe”
  70. Deuteronomy 28:46 Literally “until eternity,” but not in a timeless, philosophic sense
  71. Deuteronomy 28:47 Literally “Under”
  72. Deuteronomy 28:48 Literally “give”
  73. Deuteronomy 28:48 Literally “until his destroying of you”
  74. Deuteronomy 28:49 Literally “a nation who not you will understand its language”
  75. Deuteronomy 28:50 Literally “a nation fierce/determined of face”
  76. Deuteronomy 28:50 Literally “who not lifts up faces”
  77. Deuteronomy 28:51 That is, the invading nation
  78. Deuteronomy 28:51 Literally “until your destroying”
  79. Deuteronomy 28:51 Literally “what is dropped of your herds”
  80. Deuteronomy 28:51 Literally “the offspring of small animals”
  81. Deuteronomy 28:51 Literally “until his to destroy you”
  82. Deuteronomy 28:52 Literally “until the coming down of your walls, high and fortified”
  83. Deuteronomy 28:52 Hebrew “in them,” which is redundant
  84. Deuteronomy 28:52 Literally “in all of your land”
  85. Deuteronomy 28:53 Literally “in siege and in distress”
  86. Deuteronomy 28:54 Or “kindly disposed”
  87. Deuteronomy 28:54 Literally “shall be bad/evil his eye against his brother”
  88. Deuteronomy 28:54 Literally “against the wife of his lap”
  89. Deuteronomy 28:54 Or “remainder”
  90. Deuteronomy 28:55 Literally “from giving”
  91. Deuteronomy 28:55 Literally “in the siege and distress”
  92. Deuteronomy 28:56 Or “would”
  93. Deuteronomy 28:56 Literally “shall be bad her eye against the husband of her lap”
  94. Deuteronomy 28:57 Literally “the going out”
  95. Deuteronomy 28:57 Literally “in the siege and in the distress”
  96. Deuteronomy 28:57 Literally “gates”
  97. Deuteronomy 28:58 Literally “you observe to do”
  98. Deuteronomy 28:60 Literally “you dreaded”
  99. Deuteronomy 28:60 Literally “from their presence”
  100. Deuteronomy 28:61 Or “each illness and each plague”
  101. Deuteronomy 28:62 Literally “with people of few”
  102. Deuteronomy 28:63 Literally “And it will happen”
  103. Deuteronomy 28:63 Literally “to do good with you”
  104. Deuteronomy 28:63 Or “to cause you to perish”
  105. Deuteronomy 28:64 Hebrew “and”
  106. Deuteronomy 28:64 Or “your fathers”
  107. Deuteronomy 28:65 Or “a failure of eyes”
  108. Deuteronomy 28:65 Or “soul”
  109. Deuteronomy 28:66 Literally “they shall be your life hanging for you in front”
  110. Deuteronomy 28:66 Or “in fear”
  111. Deuteronomy 28:67 Literally “Who shall give evening?”
  112. Deuteronomy 28:67 Literally “Who shall give morning?”
  113. Deuteronomy 28:68 Literally “spoke”
  114. Deuteronomy 28:68 Literally “you shall not do again further to see it/her”
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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.

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Deuteronomy 28
English Standard Version

Blessings for Obedience

28 “And (A)if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you (B)high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and (C)overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and (D)blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be (E)the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your (F)kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be (G)when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 “The Lord (H)will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord (I)will command the blessing on you in your barns and (J)in all that you undertake. (K)And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 9 (L)The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10 And (M)all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are (N)called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be (O)afraid of you. 11 And (P)the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in (Q)the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, (R)to give the rain to your land in its season and (S)to bless all the work of your hands. And (T)you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you (U)the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, 14 (V)and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Curses for Disobedience

15 “But (W)if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and (X)overtake you. 16 Cursed shall you be (Y)in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

20 “The Lord (Z)will send on you curses, confusion, and (AA)frustration in all that you undertake to do, (AB)until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. 21 The Lord will make (AC)the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 22 (AD)The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought[a] and with (AE)blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. 23 And (AF)the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

25 (AG)“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 (AH)shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And (AI)your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and (AJ)there shall be no one to frighten them away. 27 The Lord will strike you (AK)with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and (AL)scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will strike you with (AM)madness and blindness and confusion of mind, 29 and you shall (AN)grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways.[b] And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. 30 (AO)You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. (AP)You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. (AQ)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 (AR)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, (AS)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 (AT)by the sights that your eyes see. 35 The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs (AU)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 (AV)bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you (AW)nor your fathers have known. And (AX)there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. 37 And you shall become (AY)a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the Lord will lead you away. 38 (AZ)You shall carry much seed into the field and shall gather in little, for (BA)the locust shall consume it. 39 (BB)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 (BC)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 (BD)they shall go into captivity. 42 (BE)The cricket[c] shall possess all your trees and the fruit of your ground. 43 (BF)The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 (BG)He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him. (BH)He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.

45 (BI)“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 (BJ)a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. 47 (BK)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 (BL)will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. 49 (BM)The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, (BN)swooping down like the eagle, a nation (BO)whose language you do not understand, 50 a hard-faced nation (BP)who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young. 51 It shall (BQ)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 (BR)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 (BS)you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you, (BT)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 (BU)begrudge food to his brother, to (BV)the wife he embraces,[d] 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, (BW)in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your towns. 56 (BX)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,[e] 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, (BY)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, (BZ)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 (CA)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 (CB)you were as numerous (CC)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 (CD)took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will (CE)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 (CF)will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and (CG)there you shall serve other gods (CH)of wood and stone, (CI)which neither you nor your fathers have known. 65 And (CJ)among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but (CK)the Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and (CL)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 (CM)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 (CN)the sights that your eyes shall see. 68 And the Lord (CO)will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that (CP)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.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 28:22 Or sword
  2. Deuteronomy 28:29 Or shall not succeed in finding your ways
  3. Deuteronomy 28:42 Identity uncertain
  4. Deuteronomy 28:54 Hebrew the wife of his bosom
  5. Deuteronomy 28:56 Hebrew the husband of her bosom
Close LSB

Deuteronomy 28
Legacy Standard Bible

Blessings for Keeping the Commandments

28 “(A)Now it will be, if you diligently listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I am commanding you today, Yahweh your God (B)will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings will come upon you and (C)overtake you if you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God:

3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be (D)in the [a]field.

4 “Blessed shall be the [b]offspring of your [c]body and the [d]produce of your ground and the [e]offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.

5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

6 “Blessed shall you be (E)when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 “Yahweh shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be [f]defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. 8 Yahweh will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in (F)all that you send forth your hand to do, and He will bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. 9 (G)Yahweh will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and walk in His ways. 10 So all the peoples of the earth will see that [g](H)you are called by the name of Yahweh, and they will be afraid of you. 11 (I)And Yahweh will make you abound in prosperity, in the [h]offspring of your [i]body and in the [j]offspring of your beast and in the [k]produce of your ground, in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers to give you. 12 Yahweh will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and (J)you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 (K)And Yahweh will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, which I am commanding you today, to keep and to do, 14 and (L)do not turn aside from any of the words which I am commanding you today, to the right or to the left, to walk after other gods to serve them.

Curses for Not Keeping the Commandments

15 “(M)But it will be, if you do not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep and to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I am commanding you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

16 “(N)Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the [l]field.

17 “(O)Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

18 “(P)Cursed shall be the [m]offspring of your [n]body and the [o]produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.

19 “(Q)Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

20 “(R)Yahweh will send upon you the curse, confusion, and (S)rebuke, in all [p]that you send forth your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until (T)you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me. 21 (U)Yahweh will make the pestilence cling to you until He has consumed you from the land where you are entering to possess it. 22 (V)Yahweh will strike you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with fiery heat and with [q]the sword and (W)with scorching wind and with mildew, and they will pursue you until (X)you perish. 23 And [r]the heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron. 24 (Y)Yahweh will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

25 “(Z)Yahweh shall cause you to be [s]defeated before your enemies; you will go out one way against them, but you will flee seven ways before them, and you will (AA)become an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 (AB)And your carcasses will be food to all birds of the sky and to the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away.

27 “(AC)Yahweh will strike you with the boils of Egypt and with (AD)tumors and with the scab and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. 28 Yahweh will strike you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart; 29 and you will [t](AE)grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not succeed in your ways; but you shall only be oppressed and robbed all your days, with none to save you. 30 (AF)You shall betroth a wife, but another man will violate her; (AG)you shall build a house, but you will not live in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but you will not [u]use its fruit. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat of it; your donkey shall be torn away from you and will not be returned to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you will have none to save you. 32 (AH)Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and yearn for them all the day long; but there will be nothing [v]you can do. 33 (AI)A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and crushed all your days. 34 And you shall be driven mad by the sight of what your eyes see. 35 (AJ)Yahweh will strike you on the knees and legs with sore boils, from which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the top of your head. 36 (AK)Yahweh will lead you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods, (AL)wood and stone. 37 (AM)You shall become an object of horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the people where Yahweh drives you.

38 “(AN)You shall bring out much seed to the field, but you will gather in little, for (AO)the locust will consume it. 39 (AP)You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them. 40 (AQ)You shall have olive trees throughout your territory, but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off. 41 (AR)You shall become the father of sons and daughters, but they will not be yours, for they will go into captivity. 42 (AS)The cricket shall possess all your trees and the produce of your ground. 43 (AT)The sojourner who is among you shall rise above you higher and higher, but you will go down lower and lower. 44 (AU)He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him; (AV)he shall be the head, and you will be the tail.

45 “So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you (AW)until you are destroyed, because you would not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. 46 And they shall become (AX)a sign and a wonder on you and your seed forever.

47 “(AY)Because you did not serve Yahweh your God with gladness and a merry heart—because of the abundance of all things, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom Yahweh will send against you, (AZ)in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He (BA)will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

49 “(BB)Yahweh will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, (BC)as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose tongue you shall not understand, 50 a nation of fierce countenance who will (BD)have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young. 51 Moreover, it shall eat the [w]offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed, who also will not allow grain, new wine, or oil, and the increase of your herd or the young of your flock to remain for you until they have caused you to perish. 52 (BE)And it shall besiege you in all your gates until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land, and it shall besiege you in all your gates throughout your land which Yahweh your God has given you. 53 (BF)Then you shall eat the [x]offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom Yahweh your God has given you, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will [y]oppress you. 54 The man who is [z]refined and very delicate among you [aa]shall be hostile toward his brother and toward the wife [ab]he cherishes and toward the rest of his children who remain, 55 so that he will not give even one of them any of the flesh of his children which he will eat, since he has nothing else remaining, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will [ac]oppress you in all your gates. 56 (BG)The [ad]refined and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and [ae]refinement, [af]shall be hostile toward the husband [ag]she cherishes and toward her son and daughter, 57 and toward her afterbirth which issues from between her [ah]legs and toward her children whom she bears; for (BH)she will eat them secretly for lack of anything else, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will [ai]oppress you in your gates.

58 “If you are not careful to do all the words of this law which are written in this book, to [aj](BI)fear this glorious and fearsome (BJ)name, Yahweh your God, 59 then Yahweh will bring wondrous plagues on you and plagues on those who are your seed, even great and enduring plagues, and miserable and enduring sicknesses. 60 (BK)And He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you. 61 Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, Yahweh will bring on you (BL)until you are destroyed. 62 Then you shall remain few in number, (BM)whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God. 63 And it will be that as Yahweh (BN)delighted over you to prosper you and multiply you, so Yahweh will (BO)delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be (BP)torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. 64 Moreover, Yahweh will (BQ)scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall (BR)serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. 65 (BS)Moreover, among those nations you shall find no relief, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there (BT)Yahweh will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. 66 So your life shall [ak]hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day and shall not have any faith in your life. 67 (BU)In the morning you shall say, ‘Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and because of the sight of your eyes which you will see. 68 And Yahweh will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, ‘You will never see it again!’ And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 28:3 Or country
  2. Deuteronomy 28:4 Lit fruit
  3. Deuteronomy 28:4 Lit womb
  4. Deuteronomy 28:4 Lit fruit
  5. Deuteronomy 28:4 Lit fruit
  6. Deuteronomy 28:7 Lit smitten
  7. Deuteronomy 28:10 Lit the name of Yahweh is called upon you
  8. Deuteronomy 28:11 Lit fruit
  9. Deuteronomy 28:11 Or womb
  10. Deuteronomy 28:11 Lit fruit
  11. Deuteronomy 28:11 Lit fruit
  12. Deuteronomy 28:16 Or country
  13. Deuteronomy 28:18 Lit fruit
  14. Deuteronomy 28:18 Or womb
  15. Deuteronomy 28:18 Lit fruit
  16. Deuteronomy 28:20 Lit the putting forth of your hand which you do
  17. Deuteronomy 28:22 Or drought
  18. Deuteronomy 28:23 Lit your
  19. Deuteronomy 28:25 Lit smitten
  20. Deuteronomy 28:29 Lit be groping
  21. Deuteronomy 28:30 Lit begin it
  22. Deuteronomy 28:32 Lit in the strength of your hand
  23. Deuteronomy 28:51 Lit fruit
  24. Deuteronomy 28:53 Lit fruit
  25. Deuteronomy 28:53 Or distress
  26. Deuteronomy 28:54 Lit tender
  27. Deuteronomy 28:54 Lit his eye shall be evil toward
  28. Deuteronomy 28:54 Lit of his bosom
  29. Deuteronomy 28:55 Or distress
  30. Deuteronomy 28:56 Lit tender
  31. Deuteronomy 28:56 Lit tenderness
  32. Deuteronomy 28:56 Lit her eye shall be evil toward
  33. Deuteronomy 28:56 Lit of her bosom
  34. Deuteronomy 28:57 Lit feet
  35. Deuteronomy 28:57 Or distress
  36. Deuteronomy 28:58 Or reverence
  37. Deuteronomy 28:66 Lit be hung for you in front
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