Deuteronomy 28

1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that Jehovah thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth:2 and all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of Jehovah 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 beasts, the increase of thy cattle, and the young of thy flock.5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough.6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

7 Jehovah will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee: they shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee seven ways.8 Jehovah will command the blessing upon thee in thy barns, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto; and he will bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.9 Jehovah will establish thee for a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee; if thou shalt keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, and walk in his ways.10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of Jehovah; and they shall be afraid of thee.11 And Jehovah will make thee plenteous for good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers to give thee.12 Jehovah will open unto thee his good treasure the heavens, to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.13 And Jehovah will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them,14 and shalt not turn aside from any of the words which I command you 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 Jehovah 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 kneading-trough.18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, the increase of thy cattle, and the young of thy flock.19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

20 Jehovah will send upon thee cursing, discomfiture, and rebuke, in all that thou puttest thy hand unto to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the evil of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.21 Jehovah will make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest in to possess it.22 Jehovah will smite thee with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, 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 Jehovah will make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

25 Jehovah will cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies; thou shalt go out one way against them, and shalt flee seven ways before them: and thou shalt be tossed to and from among all the kingdoms of the earth.26 And thy dead body shall be food unto all birds of the heavens, and unto the beasts of the earth; and there shall be none to frighten them away.27 Jehovah will smite thee with the boil of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scurvy, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.28 Jehovah will smite thee with madness, and with blindness, and with 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 robbed alway, and there shall be none to save thee.30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not use the fruit 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 save thee.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: and there shall be nought in the power of thy hand.33 The fruit of thy ground, and all thy labors, 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 Jehovah will smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore boil, whereof thou canst not be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the crown of thy head.

36 Jehovah will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples whither Jehovah shall lead thee away.38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather little in; for the locust shall consume it.39 Thou shalt plant vineyards and dress them, but thou shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worm shall eat them.40 Thou shalt have olive-trees throughout all thy borders, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast its fruit.41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be thine; for they shall go into captivity.42 All thy trees and the fruit of thy ground shall the locust possess.43 The sojourner that is in the midst of thee shall mount up above thee higher and higher; and thou shalt come down lower and lower.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 And 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 Jehovah 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 Jehovah thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things;48 therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies that Jehovah 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 Jehovah will bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;50 a nation of fierce countenance, that shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young,51 and shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy ground, until thou be destroyed; that also shall not leave thee grain, new wine, or oil, the increase of thy cattle, or the young of thy flock, until they have caused thee to perish.52 And they shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fortified walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land; and they shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which Jehovah 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, whom Jehovah thy God hath given thee, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee.54 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 whom he hath remaining;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 distress wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in all thy gates.56 The tender and delicate woman among you, who 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 whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly, in the siege and in the distress 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, JEHOVAH THY GOD;59 then Jehovah 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 And he will bring upon thee again 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 Jehovah 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 didst not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God.63 And it shall come to pass, that, as Jehovah rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so Jehovah will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest in to possess it.64 And Jehovah will scatter thee among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers, even wood and stone.65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of thy foot: but Jehovah will give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul;66 and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear night and day, and shalt have no assurance of thy life.67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would it were morning! for the fear of thy heart which thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.68 And Jehovah will bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I said unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall sell yourselves unto your enemies for bondmen and for bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

Deuteronomy 28

The Covenant Blessings

1 “If you indeedt obey the Lord your God and are careful to observe all his commandments I am givingt you today, the Lord your God will elevate you above all the nations of the earth.2 All these blessings will come to you in abundancet if you obey the Lord your God:3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field.t4 Your childrent 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.5 Your basket and your mixing bowl will be blessed.6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.s7 The Lord will cause your enemies who attackt you to be struck down before you; they will attack you from one directiont but flee from you in seven different directions.8 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 het is giving you.9 The Lord will designate you as his holy people just as he promised you, if you keep his commandmentst and obey him.t10 Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you belong to the Lord,t and they will respect you.11 The Lord will greatly multiply your children,t the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your soil in the land which het promised your ancestorst 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;t 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 hist commandments which I am urgingt you today to be careful to do.

14 But you must not turn away from all the commandments I am givingt you today, to either the right or left, nor pursue other gods and worshipt them.

Curses as Reversal of Blessings

15 “But if you ignoret the Lord your God and are not careful to keep all his commandments and statutes I am giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you in full force:t16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the field.17 Your basket and your mixing bowl will be cursed.18 Your childrent will be cursed, as well as the produce of your soil, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.

19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.s

Curses by Disease and Drought

20 “The Lord will send on you a curse, confusing you and opposing yout in everything you undertaket until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the evil of your deeds, in that you have forsaken me.st21 The Lord will plague you with deadly diseasest until he has completely removed you from the land you are about to possess.22 Het will afflict you with weakness,t fever, inflammation, infection,t sword,t blight, and mildew; these will attack you until you perish.23 Thes skyt above your heads will be bronze and the earth beneath you iron.

24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; it will come down on you from the sky until you are destroyed.

Curses by Defeat and Deportation

25 “The Lord will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an object of terrors to all the kingdoms of the earth.26 Your carcasses will be food for every bird of the sky and wild animal of the earth, and there will be no one to chase them off.27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, eczema, and scabies, all of which cannot be healed.28 The Lord will also subject you to madness, blindness, and confusion of mind.t29 You will feel your way along at noon like the blind person does in darkness and you will not succeed in anything you do;t you will be constantly oppressed and continually robbed, with no one to save you.30 You will be engaged to a woman and another man will rapes her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not even begin to use it.31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your very eyes but you will not eat of it. Your donkey will be stolen from you as you watch and will not be returned to you. Your flock of sheep will be given to your enemies and there will be no one to save you.32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while you look on in vain all day, and you will be powerless to do anything about it.t33 As for the produce of your land and all your labor, a people you do not know will consume it, and you will be nothing but oppressed and crushed for the rest of your lives.34 You will go insane from seeing all this.35 The Lord will afflict you in your knees and on your legs with painful, incurable boils – from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.36 The Lord will force you and your kings whom you will appoint over you to go away to a people whom you and your ancestors have not known, and you will serve other gods of wood and stone there.

37 You will become an occasion of horror, a proverb, and an object of ridicule to all the peoples to whom the Lord will drive you.

The Curse of Reversed Status

38 “You will take much seed to the field but gather little harvest, because locusts will consume it.39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them, but you will not drink wine or gather in grapes, because worms will eat them.40 You will have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with olive oil, because the olives will drop off the trees while still unripe.t41 You will bear sons and daughters but not keep them, because they will be taken into captivity.42 Whirring locustst will take over every tree and all the produce of your soil.43 The foreignerst who reside among you will become higher and higher over you and you will become lower and lower.

44 They will lend to you but you will not lend to them; they will become the head and you will become the tail!
45 All these curses will fall on you, pursuing and overtaking you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping his commandments and statutes that he has givent you.

46 These cursest will be a perpetual sign and wonder with reference to you and your descendants.t

The Curse of Military Siege

47 “Because you have not served the Lord your God joyfully and wholeheartedly with the abundance of everything you have,48 instead in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and povertyt you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. Theyt will place an iron yoke on your neck until they have destroyed you.49 The Lord will raise up a distant nation against you, one from the other side of the eartht as the eagle flies,t a nation whose language you will not understand,50 a nation of stern appearance that will have no regard for the elderly or pity for the young.51 Theyt will devour the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your soil until you are destroyed. They will not leave you with any grain, new wine, olive oil, calves of your herds,t or lambs of your flockst until they have destroyed you.52 They will besiege all of your villagest until all of your high and fortified walls collapse – those in which you put your confidence throughout the land. They will besiege all your villages throughout the land the Lord your God has given you.53 You will then eat your own offspring,t the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you, because of the severity of the sieget by which your enemies will constrict you.54 The man among you who is by nature tender and sensitive will turn against his brother, his beloved wife, and his remaining children.55 He will withhold from all of them his children’s flesh that he is eating (since there is nothing else left), because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrictt you in your villages.56 Likewise, the mosts tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her foot on the ground because of her daintiness,t will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters,

57 and will secretly eat her afterbirtht and her newborn childrent (since she has nothing else),t because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages.

The Curse of Covenant Termination

58 “If you refuse to obeyt 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,59 then the Lord will increase your punishments and those of your descendants – great and long-lasting afflictions and severe, enduring illnesses.60 He will infect you with all the diseases of Egypts that you dreaded, and they will persistently afflict you.t61 Moreover, the Lord will bring upon you every kind of sickness and plague not mentioned in this scroll of commandments,t until you have perished.62 There will be very few of you left, though at one time you were as numerous as the stars in the sky,t because you will have disobeyedt the Lord your God.63 This is what will happen: Just as the Lord delighted to do good for you and make you numerous, het will take delight in destroying and decimating you. You will be uprooted from the land you are about to possess.64 The Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of wood and stone.65 Among those nations you will have no rest nor will there be a place of peaceful rest for the soles of your feet, for there the Lord will give you an anxious heart, failing eyesight, and a spirit of despair.66 Your life will hang in doubt before you; you will be terrified by night and day and will have no certainty of surviving from one day to the next.t67 In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ And in the evening you will say, ‘I wish it were morning!’ because of the things you will fear and the things you will see.

68 Then the Lord will make you return to Egypt by ship, over a route I said to you that you would never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”