28 1 The promises to them that obey the Commandments. 15 The threatenings to the contrary.

If (A)thou shalt obey diligently the voice of the Lord thy God, and observe and do all his commandments, which I command thee this day, then the Lord thy God will [a]set thee on high above all the nations of the earth.

And all these blessings shall come on thee, and [b]overtake thee, if thou shalt obey the voice of the Lord thy God.

Blessed shalt thou be in the [c]city, and blessed also in the field.

Blessed shall be the fruit [d]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.

Blessed shall be thy basket and thy dough.

Blessed shalt thou be when thou [e]comest in, and blessed also when thou goest out.

The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise against thee, to fall before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee [f]seven ways.

The Lord shall command the blessing to be with thee in thy store houses, and in all that thou settest thine [g]hand to, and will bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

The Lord shall make 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 Then all people of the earth shall see that the Name of the Lord is [h]called upon over thee, 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 swore unto thy fathers, to give thee.

12 The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, even the [i]heaven to give rain unto thy land in due season, and to bless all the work of thine hands: and (B)thou shalt lend unto many nations, but shalt not borrow thyself.

13 And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the [j]tail, and thou shalt be above only, and shalt not be beneath, if thou obey the commandments of the Lord thy God which I command thee this day, to keep and to do them.

14 But thou shalt not decline from any of the words, which I command you this day, either to the (C)right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

15 (D)But if thou wilt not obey the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep and to do all his commandments, and his ordinances, which I command thee this day, then all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.

16 Cursed shalt thou be in the town, and cursed also in the field.

17 Cursed shall thy basket be, and thy [k]dough.

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 also when thou goest out.

20 The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, trouble, and [l]shame, in all that which thou settest thine hand to do, until thou be destroyed, and perish quickly, because of the wickedness of thy works, whereby thou hast forsaken me.

21 The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he hath consumed thee from the land, whither thou goest to possess it.

22 (E)The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption, and with the fever, and with a burning ague, and with fervent heat, and with the sword, and with [m]blasting, and with the mildew, and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

23 And thine heaven that is over thine head, shall be [n]brass, and the earth that is under thee, iron.

24 The Lord shall give thee for the rain of thy land, dust and ashes: even from [o]heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

25 And the Lord shall cause thee to fall before thine enemies: thou shalt come out one way against them, and shalt flee seven ways before them, and shalt be [p]scattered through all the kingdoms of the earth.

26 And thy [q]carcass shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and none shall fray them away.

27 The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the hemorrhoids, and with the scab, and with the itch, that thou canst not be healed.

28 And the Lord shall smite thee with madness, and with blindness, and with atoning of heart.

29 Thou shalt also grope at noon days, as the [r]blind gropeth in darkness, and shalt not prosper in thy ways: thou shalt never but be oppressed with wrong, and be powled evermore, and no man shall succor thee.

30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not [s]eat the fruit.

31 Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and no man shall rescue them for thee.

32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes [t]shall still look for them, even till they fall out, and there shall be no power in thine hand.

33 The fruit of thy land and all thy labors shall a people which thou knowest not, eat, and thou shalt never but suffer wrong, and violence always:

34 So that thou shalt be mad for the sight which thine eyes shall see.

35 The Lord shall smite thee in the knees, and in the thighs, with a sore botch, that thou canst not be healed: even from the sole of the foot unto the top of thine head.

36 The Lord shall bring thee and thy [u]King (which thou shalt set over thee) unto a nation, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, and there thou shalt serve other gods: even wood and stone,

37 And thou shalt (F)be a wonder, a proverb and a common talk among all people, whither the Lord shall carry thee.

38 Thou shalt carry out much seed into the field, and shalt gather but little in: for the grasshoppers shall destroy it.

39 (G)Thou shalt plant a vineyard, and dress it, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes: for the worms shall eat it.

40 Thou shalt have Olive trees in all thy coasts, but shalt not anoint thyself with the oil: for thine olives shall [v]fall.

41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but shalt not have them: for they shall go into captivity.

42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land [w]shall the grasshopper consume.

43 The stranger that is among you, shall climb above thee up on high, and thou shalt come down beneath alow.

44 He shall lend thee, and thou shalt not lend 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 obeyedst not the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments, and his ordinances, which he commanded thee:

46 And they shall be upon [x]thee for signs and wonders, and upon thy seed forever,

47 Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with a good heart, for the abundance of all things.

48 Therefore thou shalt serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send upon thee, in hunger and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in need 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 upon thee from far, even from the end of the world, flying swift as an eagle: a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand:

50 A nation of a [y]fierce countenance, which will not regard the person of the old, nor have compassion of the young.

51 The same shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed, and he shall leave thee neither wheat, wine, nor oil, neither the [z]increase of thy kine, nor the flocks of thy sheep, until he have brought thee to naught.

52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy cities, until thine high and strong walls fall down, wherein thou trustedst in all the land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy [aa]cities throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.

53 (H)And thou shalt eat the fruit of thy body, even the flesh of thy sons and thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee, during the siege and straitness wherein thine enemies shall enclose thee:

54 So that the man (that is tender and exceeding dainty among you,) (I)shall be grieved at his brother, and at his wife that lieth in his bosom, and at the remnant of his children, which he hath yet left,

55 For fear of giving unto any of them of the flesh of his children, whom he shall eat, because he hath nothing left him in that siege, and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall besiege thee in all thy cities.

56 The tender and dainty [ab]woman among you, which never would venture to set the sole of her foot upon the ground (for her softness and tenderness) shall be grieved at her husband that lieth in her bosom, and at her son, and at her daughter,

57 And at her [ac]afterbirth (that shall come out from between her feet) and at her children, which she shall bear: for when all things lack, she shall eat them secretly, during the siege and straightness wherewith thine enemy shall besiege thee in thy cities.

58 ¶ If thou wilt not keep and do [ad]all the words of the Law (that are written in this book) and 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 diseases and of long durance.

60 Moreover, he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, whereof thou wast afraid, and they shall cleave unto thee.

61 And every sickness, and every plague, which is not [ae]written in the book of this Law, will the Lord heap upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

62 And ye shall be left few in number, where ye were as the (J)stars of heaven in multitude, because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God.

63 And as the Lord hath rejoiced over you, to do you good, and to multiply you, so he will rejoice over you, to destroy you, and bring you to naught, and ye shall be rooted out of the land, whither thou goest to possess it.

64 And the Lord shall [af]scatter thee among all people from the one end of the world unto the other, and there thou shalt serve other gods, which thou hast not known, nor thy fathers, even wood and stone.

65 Also among these nations thou shalt find no rest, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: for the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and looking to return till thine eyes fall out, and a sorrowful mind.

66 And thy life shall [ag]hang before thee, and thou shalt fear both night and day, and shalt have none assurance of thy life.

67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were evening, and at the evening thou shalt say, Would God it were morning, for the fear of thine heart, which 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 [ah]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 bondwomen, and there shall be no buyer.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 28:1 He will make thee the most excellent of all people.
  2. Deuteronomy 28:2 When thou thinkest thyself forsaken.
  3. Deuteronomy 28:3 Thou shalt live wealthily.
  4. Deuteronomy 28:4 Thy children and succession.
  5. Deuteronomy 28:6 All thine enterprises shall have good success.
  6. Deuteronomy 28:7 Meaning, many ways.
  7. Deuteronomy 28:8 God will bless us, if we do our duty, and not be idle.
  8. Deuteronomy 28:10 In that he is thy God, and thou art his people.
  9. Deuteronomy 28:12 For nothing in the earth is profitable but when God sendeth his blessings from heaven.
  10. Deuteronomy 28:13 Or, the lowest
  11. Deuteronomy 28:17 Or, store.
  12. Deuteronomy 28:20 Or, rebuke.
  13. Deuteronomy 28:22 Or, drought.
  14. Deuteronomy 28:23 It shall give thee no more moisture than if it were of brass.
  15. Deuteronomy 28:24 Or, out of the air as dust raised with wind.
  16. Deuteronomy 28:25 Some read, thou shalt be a terror and fear, when they shall hear how God hath plagued thee.
  17. Deuteronomy 28:26 Thou shalt be cursed both in thy life and in thy death: for the burial is a testimony of the resurrection which sign for thy wickedness thou shalt lack.
  18. Deuteronomy 28:29 In things most evident and clear thou shalt lack discretion and judgment.
  19. Deuteronomy 28:30 Hebrew, make it common.
  20. Deuteronomy 28:32 When they shall return from their captivity.
  21. Deuteronomy 28:36 As he did Manasseh, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah and others.
  22. Deuteronomy 28:40 Or, be shaken before they be ripe.
  23. Deuteronomy 28:42 Under one kind he containeth all the vermin, which destroy the fruits of the land: and this is an evident token of God’s curse.
  24. Deuteronomy 28:46 God’s plagues be evident signs that he is offended with thee.
  25. Deuteronomy 28:50 Or, barbarous, cruel or impudent.
  26. Deuteronomy 28:51 Or, firstborn of thy bullock.
  27. Deuteronomy 28:52 Or, gates.
  28. Deuteronomy 28:56 As came to pass in the days of Joram king of Israel, 2 Kings 6:20, and when the Romans besieged Jerusalem.
  29. Deuteronomy 28:57 Hunger shall so bite her, that she shall be ready to eat her child before it be delivered.
  30. Deuteronomy 28:58 For he that offendeth in one, is guilty of all, James 2:10.
  31. Deuteronomy 28:61 Declaring, that God hath infinite means to plague the wicked, besides them that are ordinary or written.
  32. Deuteronomy 28:64 Signifying that it is a singular gift of God to be in a place whereas we may worship God purely, and declare our faith and religion.
  33. Deuteronomy 28:66 Or, thou shall be in doubt of thy life.
  34. Deuteronomy 28:68 Because they were unmindful of that miracle, when the Sea gave place for them to pass through.

Blessings for Obedience

28 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow(A) all his commands(B) I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.(C) All these blessings will come on you(D) and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:

You will be blessed(E) in the city and blessed in the country.(F)

The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.(G)

Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.(H)

The Lord will grant that the enemies(I) who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.(J)

The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless(K) you in the land he is giving you.

The Lord will establish you as his holy people,(L) as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands(M) of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name(N) of the Lord, and they will fear you. 11 The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock(O) and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.(P)

12 The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse(Q) of his bounty,(R) to send rain(S) on your land in season and to bless(T) all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.(U) 13 The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow(V) them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.(W) 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left,(X) following other gods and serving them.

Curses for Disobedience

15 However, if you do not obey(Y) the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today,(Z) all these curses will come on you and overtake you:(AA)

16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.(AB)

17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.(AC)

18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.(AD)

19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.(AE)

20 The Lord will send on you curses,(AF) confusion and rebuke(AG) in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin(AH) because of the evil(AI) you have done in forsaking him.[a] 21 The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess.(AJ) 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease,(AK) with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought,(AL) with blight(AM) and mildew, which will plague(AN) you until you perish.(AO) 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.(AP) 24 The Lord will turn the rain(AQ) of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.

25 The Lord will cause you to be defeated(AR) before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven,(AS) and you will become a thing of horror(AT) to all the kingdoms on earth.(AU) 26 Your carcasses will be food for all the birds(AV) and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.(AW) 27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt(AX) and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. 29 At midday you will grope(AY) about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue(AZ) you.

30 You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and rape her.(BA) You will build a house, but you will not live in it.(BB) You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit.(BC) 31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation,(BD) and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. 33 A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression(BE) all your days.(BF) 34 The sights you see will drive you mad.(BG) 35 The Lord will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils(BH) that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.(BI)

36 The Lord will drive you and the king(BJ) you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors.(BK) There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone.(BL) 37 You will become a thing of horror,(BM) a byword(BN) and an object of ridicule(BO) among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you.(BP)

38 You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little,(BQ) because locusts(BR) will devour(BS) it. 39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine(BT) or gather the grapes, because worms will eat(BU) them.(BV) 40 You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off.(BW) 41 You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity.(BX) 42 Swarms of locusts(BY) will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.

43 The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower.(BZ) 44 They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them.(CA) They will be the head, but you will be the tail.(CB)

45 All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you(CC) until you are destroyed,(CD) because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. 46 They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever.(CE) 47 Because you did not serve(CF) the Lord your God joyfully and gladly(CG) in the time of prosperity, 48 therefore in hunger and thirst,(CH) in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke(CI) on your neck(CJ) until he has destroyed you.

49 The Lord will bring a nation against you(CK) from far away, from the ends of the earth,(CL) like an eagle(CM) swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand,(CN) 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old(CO) or pity for the young. 51 They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine(CP) or olive oil,(CQ) nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined.(CR) 52 They will lay siege(CS) to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the Lord your God is giving you.(CT)

53 Because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you.(CU) 54 Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children, 55 and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities.(CV) 56 The most gentle and sensitive(CW) woman among you—so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot—will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter(CX) 57 the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For in her dire need she intends to eat them(CY) secretly because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of your cities.

58 If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law,(CZ) which are written in this book, and do not revere(DA) this glorious and awesome name(DB)—the Lord your God— 59 the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. 60 He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt(DC) that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. 61 The Lord will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law,(DD) until you are destroyed.(DE) 62 You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky(DF) will be left but few(DG) in number, because you did not obey the Lord your God. 63 Just as it pleased(DH) the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please(DI) him to ruin and destroy you.(DJ) You will be uprooted(DK) from the land you are entering to possess.

64 Then the Lord will scatter(DL) you among all nations,(DM) from one end of the earth to the other.(DN) There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.(DO) 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place(DP) for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes(DQ) weary with longing, and a despairing heart.(DR) 66 You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. 67 In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”—because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.(DS) 68 The Lord will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again.(DT) There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 28:20 Hebrew me