Deuteronomy 28:58-63

The Curse of Covenant Termination

28:58 “If you refuse to obey ¹  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, 28:59 then the Lord will increase your punishments and those of your descendants – great and long-lasting afflictions and severe, enduring illnesses. 28:60 He will infect you with all the diseases of Egypt ²  that you dreaded, and they will persistently afflict you. ³  28:61 Moreover, the Lord will bring upon you every kind of sickness and plague not mentioned in this scroll of commandments, ⁴  until you have perished. 28:62 There will be very few of you left, though at one time you were as numerous as the stars in the sky, ⁵  because you will have disobeyed ⁶  the Lord your God. 28:63 This is what will happen: Just as the Lord delighted to do good for you and make you numerous, he ⁷  will take delight in destroying and decimating you. You will be uprooted from the land you are about to possess.

[28:58]  ¹ tn Heb “If you are not careful to do.”

[28:60]  ² 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).

[28:60]  ³ tn Heb “will cling to you” (so NIV); NLT “will claim you.”

[28:61]  ⁴ 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.”

[28:62]  ⁵ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[28:62]  ⁶ tn Heb “have not listened to the voice of.”

[28:63]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 28:8.