Context
The Covenant Blessings
28:1 “If
<0518> you indeed
<08085> obey
<06963> <08085> the Lord
<03068> your God
<0430> and are careful
<08104> to observe
<06213> all
<03605> his commandments
<04687> I
<0595> am giving
<06680> you today
<03117>, the Lord
<03068> your God
<0430> will elevate
<05945> you above
<05921> all
<03605> the nations
<01471> of the earth
<0776>.
28:2 All
<03605> these
<0428> blessings
<01293> will come
<0935> to
<05921> you in abundance
<05381> if
<03588> you obey
<06963> <08085> the Lord
<03068> your God
<0430>:
28:3 You
<0859> will be blessed
<01288> in the city
<05892> and blessed
<01288> in the field
<07704>.
28:4 Your children
<0990> <06529> will be blessed
<01288>, as well as the produce
<06529> of your soil
<0127>, the offspring
<06529> of your livestock
<0929>, the calves of your herds
<0504>, and the lambs
<06629> of your flocks
<06251>.
28:5 Your basket
<02935> and your mixing bowl
<04863> will be blessed
<01288>.
28:6 You will be blessed
<01288> when you
<0859> come
<0935> in and blessed
<01288> when you
<0859> go out
<03318>.
28:7 The Lord
<03068> will cause
<05414> your enemies
<0341> who attack
<06965> you to be struck down
<05062> before
<06440> you; they will attack
<03318> you from one
<0259> direction
<01870> but flee
<05127> from
<06440> you in seven
<07651> different directions
<01870>.
28:8 The Lord
<03068> will decree
<06680> blessing
<01293> for you with respect to your barns
<0618> and in everything
<03605> you do
<04916>– yes, he will bless
<01288> you in the land
<0776> he
<0430> <03068> is giving
<05414> you.
28:9 The Lord
<03068> will designate
<06965> you as his holy
<06918> people
<05971> just as
<0834> he promised
<07650> you, if
<03588> you keep
<08104> his commandments
<04687> and obey
<01980> him.
28:10 Then all
<03605> the peoples
<05971> of the earth
<0776> will see
<07200> that
<03588> you belong to the Lord
<05921> <07121> <03068> <08034>, and they will respect
<03372> you
<04480>.
28:11 The Lord
<03068> will greatly
<02896> multiply
<03498> your children
<0990> <06529>, the offspring
<06529> of your livestock
<0929>, and the produce
<06529> of your soil
<0127> in
<05921> the land
<0127> which
<0834> he promised
<07650> your ancestors
<01> he would give
<05414> you.
28:12 The Lord
<03068> will open
<06605> for you his good
<02896> treasure
<0214> house, the heavens
<08064>, to give
<05414> you rain
<04306> for the land
<0776> in its season
<06256> and to bless
<01288> all
<03605> you do
<03027> <04639>; you will lend
<03867> to many
<07227> nations
<01471> but you
<0859> will not
<03808> borrow
<03867> from any.
28:13 The Lord
<03068> will make
<05414> you the head
<07218> and not
<03808> the tail
<02180>, and you will always end up
<01961> at the top
<04605> and not
<03808> at the bottom
<04295>, if
<03588> you obey
<08085> his
<03068> commandments
<04687> which
<0834> I
<0595> am urging
<06680> you today
<03117> to be careful
<08104> to do
<06213>.
28:14 But you must not
<03808> turn away
<05493> from all
<03605> the commandments
<01697> I
<0595> am giving
<06680> you today
<03117>, to either the right
<03225> or left
<08040>, nor pursue
<0310> <01980> other
<0312> gods
<0430> and worship
<05647> them.
Curses as Reversal of Blessings
28:15 “But if
<0518> you ignore
<06963> <08085> <03808> the Lord
<03068> your God
<0430> and are not careful to keep
<08104> all
<03605> his commandments
<04687> and statutes
<02708> I
<0595> am giving
<06680> you today
<03117>, then all
<03605> these
<0428> curses
<07045> will come
<0935> upon
<05921> you in full force
<05381>:
28:16 You
<0859> will be cursed
<0779> in the city
<05892> and cursed
<0779> in the field
<07704>.
28:17 Your basket
<02935> and your mixing bowl
<04863> will be cursed
<0779>.
28:18 Your children
<0990> <06529> will be cursed
<0779>, as well as the produce
<06529> of your soil
<0127>, the calves of your herds
<0504>, and the lambs
<06629> of your flocks
<06251>.
28:19 You will be cursed
<0779> when you
<0859> come
<0935> in and cursed
<0779> when you
<0859> go out
<03318>.
Curses by Disease and Drought
28:20 “The Lord
<03068> will send
<07971> on you a curse
<03994>, confusing
<04103> you and opposing you
<04045> in everything
<03605> you undertake
<03027> <04916> until
<05704> you are destroyed
<08045> and quickly
<04118> perish
<06> because
<06440> of the evil
<07455> of your deeds
<04611>, in that
<0834> you have forsaken me
<05800>.
28:21 The Lord
<03068> will plague
<01698> you with deadly diseases
<01692> until
<05704> he has completely removed
<03615> you from
<05921> the land
<0127> you
<0859> are about
<0935> to possess
<03423>.
28:22 He will afflict
<05221> you with weakness
<07829>, fever
<06920>, inflammation
<01816>, infection
<02746>, sword
<02719>, blight
<07711>, and mildew
<03420>; these will attack
<07291> you until
<05704> you perish
<06>.
28:23 The sky
<08064> above
<05921> your heads
<07218> will be
<01961> bronze
<05178> and the earth
<0776> beneath
<08478> you iron
<01270>.
28:24 The Lord
<03068> will make
<05414> the rain
<04306> of your land
<0776> powder
<080> and dust
<06083>; it will come down
<03381> on
<05921> you from
<04480> the sky
<08064> until
<05704> you are destroyed
<08045>.
Curses by Defeat and Deportation
28:25 “The Lord
<03068> will allow
<05414> you to be struck down
<05062> before
<06440> your enemies
<0341>; you will attack
<03318> them from one
<0259> direction
<01870> but flee
<05127> from
<0413> them in seven
<07651> directions
<01870> and will become
<01961> an object of terror
<02189> to all
<03605> the kingdoms
<04467> of the earth
<0776>.
28:26 Your carcasses
<05038> will be
<01961> food
<03978> for every
<03605> bird
<05775> of the sky
<08064> and wild animal
<0929> of the earth
<0776>, and there will be no
<0369> one to chase them off
<02729>.
28:27 The Lord
<03068> will afflict
<05221> you with the boils
<07822> of Egypt
<04714> and with tumors
<06076>, eczema
<01618>, and scabies
<02775>, all of which
<0834> cannot
<03201> <03808> be healed
<07495>.
28:28 The Lord
<03068> will also subject
<05221> you to madness
<07697>, blindness
<05788>, and confusion
<08541> of mind
<03824>.
28:29 You will
<01961> feel
<04959> your way along at noon
<06672> like
<0834> the blind person
<05787> does in darkness
<0653> and you will not
<03808> succeed
<06743> in anything you do
<01870>; you will be
<01961> constantly
<0389> oppressed
<06231> and continually
<03117> <03605> robbed
<01497>, with no one
<0369> to save
<03467> you.
28:30 You will be engaged
<0781> to a woman
<0802> and another
<0312> man
<0376> will rape
<07693> her. You will build
<01129> a house
<01004> but not
<03808> live in it. You will plant
<05193> a vineyard
<03754> but not
<03808> even begin
<02490> to use it.
28:31 Your ox
<07794> will be slaughtered
<02873> before your very eyes
<05869> but you will not
<03808> eat
<0398> of it. Your donkey
<02543> will be stolen
<01497> from
<04480> you as you watch
<06440> and will not
<03808> be returned
<07725> to you. Your flock
<06629> of sheep will be given
<05414> to your enemies
<0341> and there will be no one
<0369> to save
<03467> you.
28:32 Your sons
<01121> and daughters
<01323> will be given
<05414> to another
<0312> people
<05971> while you look
<07200> on in vain
<03616> all
<03605> day
<03117>, and you will be powerless
<03027> <0410> <0369> to
<0413> do anything about it.
28:33 As for the produce
<06529> of your land
<0127> and all
<03605> your labor
<03018>, a people
<05971> you do not
<03808> know
<03045> will consume
<0398> it, and you will be
<01961> nothing but
<07535> oppressed
<06231> and crushed
<07533> for the rest
<03117> of your lives.
28:34 You will go
<01961> insane
<07696> from seeing
<07200> all this.
28:35 The Lord
<03068> will afflict
<05221> you in your knees
<01290> and on
<05921> your legs
<07785> with painful, incurable
<07451> boils
<07822>– from the soles
<03709> of your feet
<07272> to
<05704> the top of
<06936> your head
<06936>.
28:36 The Lord
<03068> will force you and your king
<04428> whom
<0834> you will appoint
<06965> over
<05921> you to go away
<01980> to
<0413> a people
<01471> whom
<0834> you
<0859> and your ancestors
<01> have not
<03808> known
<03045>, and you will serve
<05647> other
<0312> gods
<0430> of wood
<06086> and stone
<068> there
<08033>.
28:37 You will become
<01961> an occasion of horror
<08047>, a proverb
<04912>, and an object of ridicule
<08148> to all
<03605> the peoples
<05971> to whom
<08033> <0834> the Lord
<03068> will drive
<05090> you.
The Curse of Reversed Status
28:38 “You will take
<03318> much
<07227> seed
<02233> to the field
<07704> but gather
<0622> little
<04592> harvest, because
<03588> locusts
<0697> will consume
<02628> it.
28:39 You will plant
<05193> vineyards
<03754> and cultivate
<05647> them, but you will not
<03808> drink
<08354> wine
<03196> or
<03808> gather
<0103> in grapes, because
<03588> worms
<08438> will eat
<0398> them.
28:40 You will have
<01961> olive trees
<02132> throughout
<03605> your territory
<01366> but you will not
<03808> anoint
<05480> yourself with olive oil
<08081>, because
<03588> the olives
<02132> will drop off
<05394> the trees while still unripe.
28:41 You will bear
<03205> sons
<01121> and daughters
<01323> but not
<03808> keep
<01961> them, because
<03588> they will be taken
<01980> into captivity
<07628>.
28:42 Whirring locusts
<06767> will take over
<03423> every
<03605> tree
<06086> and all the produce
<06529> of your soil
<0127>.
28:43 The foreigners
<01616> who
<0834> reside among
<07130> you will become
<05927> higher
<04605> and higher
<04605> over
<05921> you and you
<0859> will become
<03381> lower
<04295> and lower
<04295>.
28:44 They will lend
<03867> to you
<0859> but you will not
<03808> lend
<03867> to them; they will become
<01961> the head
<07218> and you
<0859> will become
<01961> the tail
<02180>!
28:45 All
<03605> these
<0428> curses
<07045> will fall
<0935> on
<05921> you, pursuing
<07291> and overtaking
<05381> you until
<05704> you are destroyed
<08045>, because
<03588> you would not
<03808> obey
<06963> <08085> the Lord
<03068> your God
<0430> by keeping
<08104> his commandments
<04687> and statutes
<02708> that
<0834> he has given
<06680> you.
28:46 These curses will be
<01961> a perpetual
<05769> <05704> sign
<0226> and wonder
<04159> with reference to you and your descendants
<02233>.
The Curse of Military Siege
28:47 “Because
<08478> you have not
<03808> served
<05647> the Lord
<03068> your God
<0430> joyfully
<08057> and wholeheartedly
<03824> <02898> with the abundance
<07230> of everything
<03605> you have,
28:48 instead in hunger
<07458>, thirst
<06772>, nakedness
<05903>, and poverty
<02640> you will serve
<05647> your enemies
<0341> whom
<0834> the Lord
<03068> will send
<07971> against you. They will place
<05414> an iron
<01270> yoke
<05923> on
<05921> your neck
<06677> until
<05704> they have destroyed
<08045> you.
28:49 The Lord
<03068> will raise up
<05375> a distant
<07350> nation
<01471> against
<05921> you, one from the other side
<07097> of the earth
<0776> as
<0834> the eagle
<05404> flies
<01675>, a nation
<01471> whose
<0834> language
<03956> you will not
<03808> understand
<08085>,
28:50 a nation
<01471> of stern
<05794> appearance
<06440> that
<0834> will have
<05375> no
<03808> regard
<06440> for the elderly
<02205> or
<03808> pity
<02603> for the young
<05288>.
28:51 They will devour
<0398> the offspring
<06529> of your livestock
<0929> and the produce
<06529> of your soil
<0127> until
<05704> you are destroyed
<08045>. They will not
<03808> leave
<07604> you with any grain
<01715>, new wine
<08492>, olive oil
<03323>, calves of your herds
<0504>, or lambs
<06629> of your flocks
<06251> until
<05704> they have destroyed
<06> you.
28:52 They will besiege
<06887> all
<03605> of your villages
<08179> until
<05704> all of your high
<01364> and fortified
<01219> walls
<02346> collapse
<03381>– those in which
<0834> you
<0859> put your confidence
<0982> throughout
<03605> the land
<0776>. They will besiege
<06887> all
<03605> your villages
<08179> throughout
<03605> the land
<0776> the Lord
<03068> your God
<0430> has given
<05414> you.
28:53 You will then eat
<0398> your own offspring
<0990> <06529>, the flesh
<01320> of the sons
<01121> and daughters
<01323> the Lord
<03068> your God
<0430> has given
<05414> you, because of the severity
<04689> of the siege
<04692> by which
<0834> your enemies
<0341> will constrict
<06693> you.
28:54 The man
<0376> among you who is by nature
<03966> tender
<07390> and sensitive
<06028> will turn against
<07489> his brother
<0251>, his beloved
<02436> wife
<0802>, and his remaining
<03499> children
<01121>.
28:55 He will withhold
<05414> from all of them
<01992> his children’s
<01121> flesh
<01320> that
<0834> he is eating
<0398> (since there is nothing
<03605> <01097> else left
<07604>), because of the severity
<04689> of the siege
<04692> by which
<0834> your enemy
<0341> will constrict
<06693> you in your villages
<08179>.
28:56 Likewise, the most tender
<07390> and delicate
<06028> of your women, who
<0834> would never
<03808> think
<05254> of putting
<03322> even the sole
<03709> of her foot
<07272> on
<05921> the ground
<0776> because of her daintiness
<07391> <06026>, will turn against
<07489> her beloved
<02436> husband
<0376>, her sons
<01121> and daughters
<01323>,
28:57 and will secretly
<05643> eat
<0398> her afterbirth
<07272> <0996> <03318> <07988> and her newborn
<03205> children
<01121> (since
<0834> she has nothing else
<03605>), because
<03588> of the severity
<02640> of the siege
<04692> by which
<0834> your enemy
<0341> will constrict
<06693> you in your villages
<08179>.
The Curse of Covenant Termination
28:58 “If
<0518> you refuse
<08104> <03808> to obey
<06213> all
<03605> the words
<01697> of this
<02063> law
<08451>, the things written
<03789> in this scroll
<05612>, and refuse to fear
<03372> this
<02088> glorious
<03513> and awesome
<03372> name
<08034>, the Lord
<03068> your God
<0430>,
28:59 then the Lord
<03068> will increase
<06381> your punishments
<04347> and those of your descendants
<02233>– great
<01419> and long-lasting
<0539> afflictions
<04347> and severe
<07451>, enduring
<0539> illnesses
<02483>.
28:60 He will infect
<07725> you with all
<03605> the diseases
<04064> of Egypt
<04714> that
<0834> you dreaded
<03025>, and they will persistently
<06440> afflict
<01692> you.
28:61 Moreover
<01571>, the Lord
<03068> will bring
<05927> upon
<05921> you every
<03605> kind of sickness
<02483> and plague
<04347> not
<03808> mentioned
<03789> in this
<02063> scroll
<05612> of commandments
<08451>, until
<05704> you have perished
<08045>.
28:62 There will be very few
<04962> of you left
<07604>, though
<08478> at one time you were as numerous
<07230> as the stars
<03556> in the sky
<08064>, because
<03588> you will have disobeyed
<06963> <08085> <03808> the Lord
<03068> your God
<0430>.
28:63 This is what will happen
<01961>: Just
<0834> as the Lord
<03068> delighted
<07797> to do good
<03190> for you and make you numerous
<07235>, he
<03068> will take delight
<07797> in
<05921> <05921> destroying
<06> and decimating
<08045> you. You will be uprooted
<05255> from the land
<0127> you
<0859> are about
<0935> to possess
<03423>.
28:64 The Lord
<03068> will scatter
<06327> you among all
<03605> nations
<05971>, from one end
<07097> of the earth
<0776> to
<05704> the other
<0776> <07097>. There
<08033> you will worship
<05647> other
<0312> gods
<0430> that
<0834> neither
<03808> you
<0859> nor your ancestors
<01> have known
<03045>, gods of wood
<06086> and stone
<068>.
28:65 Among those
<01992> nations
<01471> you will have no
<03808> rest
<07280> nor
<03808> will there be
<01961> a place of peaceful rest
<04494> for the soles
<03709> of your feet
<07272>, for there
<08033> the Lord
<03068> will give
<05414> you an anxious
<07268> heart
<03820>, failing
<03631> eyesight
<05869>, and a spirit
<05315> of despair
<01671>.
28:66 Your life
<02416> will hang
<08511> in doubt before
<05048> you; you will be terrified
<06342> by night
<03915> and day
<03119> and will have no
<03808> certainty
<0539> of surviving
<02416> from one day to the next.
28:67 In the morning
<01242> you will say
<0559>, ‘If
<04310> only it were
<05414> evening
<06153>!’ And in the evening
<06153> you will say
<0559>, ‘I wish it were morning
<01242>!’ because of the things you will fear
<06342> and the things you will see
<07200>.
28:68 Then the Lord
<03068> will make you return
<07725> to Egypt
<04714> by ship
<0591>, over a route
<01870> I said
<0559> to you that you would never
<03808> see
<07200> again
<05750> <03254>. There
<08033> you will sell
<04376> yourselves to your enemies
<0341> as male and female
<08198> slaves
<05650>, but no
<0369> one will buy
<07069> you.”
Texts -- Deuteronomy 28:1-68 (NET)
Pericope
