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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. All these blessings will come to you in abundance[c] if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field.[d] 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. Your basket and your mixing bowl will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.[f] 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. 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. 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.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 28:1 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “indeed.”
  2. Deuteronomy 28:1 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today” (likewise in v. 15).
  3. Deuteronomy 28:2 tn Heb “come upon you and overtake you” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “come upon you and accompany you.”
  4. Deuteronomy 28:3 tn Or “in the country” (so NAB, NIV, NLT). This expression also occurs in v. 15.
  5. Deuteronomy 28:4 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
  6. 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.
  7. Deuteronomy 28:7 tn Heb “who rise up against” (so NIV).
  8. Deuteronomy 28:7 tn Heb “way” (also later in this verse and in v. 25).
  9. 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.
  10. Deuteronomy 28:9 tn Heb “the commandments of the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in the previous verse.
  11. Deuteronomy 28:9 tn Heb “and walk in his ways” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
  12. 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).
  13. Deuteronomy 28:11 tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “will give you a lot of children.”
  14. Deuteronomy 28:11 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 28:8.
  15. Deuteronomy 28:11 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 36, 64).
  16. Deuteronomy 28:12 tn Heb “all the work of your hands.”
  17. Deuteronomy 28:13 tn Heb “the Lord your God’s.” See note on “he” in 28:8.
  18. Deuteronomy 28:13 tn Heb “commanding” (so NRSV); NASB “which I charge you today.”
  19. Deuteronomy 28:14 tn Heb “from all the words which I am commanding.”
  20. Deuteronomy 28:14 tn Heb “in order to serve.”

Blessings for Obedience

28 “Now(A) if you faithfully obey the Lord your God(B) and are careful to follow all his commands I am giving you today,(C) the Lord your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth.(D) All these blessings will come and overtake(E) you, because you obey the Lord your God:

You will be blessed in the city
and blessed in the country.(F)
Your offspring[a] will be blessed,
and your land’s produce,
and the offspring of your livestock,
including the young of your herds
and the newborn of your flocks.(G)
Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed.
You will be blessed when you come in
and blessed when you go out.(H)

“The Lord will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you from one direction but flee from you in seven directions. The Lord will grant you a blessing on your barns and on everything you do;[b](I) he will bless you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.(J) The Lord will establish you as his holy people,(K) as he swore to you, if you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you bear the Lord’s name,(L) and they will stand in awe of you.(M) 11 The Lord will make you prosper abundantly with offspring,[c] the offspring of your livestock, and your land’s produce in the land the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you. 12 The Lord will open for you his abundant storehouse,(N) the sky, to give your land rain in its season and to bless all the work of your hands.(O) You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. 13 The Lord will make you the head and not the tail;(P) you will only move upward and never downward if you listen to the Lord your God’s commands I am giving you today and are careful to follow them. 14 Do not turn aside to the right or the left from all the things I am commanding you today,(Q) and do not follow other gods to worship them.

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Footnotes

  1. 28:4 Lit The fruit of your womb, also in v. 18
  2. 28:8 Lit you put your hand to, also in v. 20
  3. 28:11 Lit abundantly in the fruit of your womb