Deuteronomy 28

1 “Now if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commandments I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

“So then, if you will listen to the voice of the Lord your God, so as to keep and do all of his commandments, which I instruct to you this day, the Lord your God will cause you to be more exalted than all the nations which exist upon the earth.

2 And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the voice of the LORD your God:

And all these blessings shall come to you and take hold of you, but only if you listen to his precepts.

3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed in the field.

4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock— the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

Blessed shall be the fruit of your loins, and the fruit of your land, and the fruit of your cattle, the droves of your herds, and the folds of your sheep.

5 Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed.

Blessed shall be your barns, and blessed your storehouses.

6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

Blessed shall you be entering and departing.

7 The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.

The Lord will grant that your enemies, who rise up against you, will fall down in your sight. They will come against you by one way, and they will flee from your face by seven ways.

8 The LORD will decree a blessing on your barns and on everything to which you put your hand; the LORD your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.

The Lord will send forth a blessing upon your cellars, and upon all the works of your hands. And he will bless you in the land that you shall receive.

9 The LORD will establish you as His holy people, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.

The Lord will raise you up as a holy people for himself, just as he swore to you, if you will keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and walk in his ways.

10 Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will stand in awe of you.

And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord has been invoked over you, and they shall fear you.

11 The LORD will make you prosper abundantly—in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land—in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.

The Lord will cause you to be abundant in every good thing: in the fruit of your womb, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, which the Lord swore to your fathers that he would give to you.

12 The LORD will open the heavens, His abundant storehouse, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but borrow from none.

The Lord will open his excellent treasury, the heavens, so that it may distribute rain in due time. And he will bless all the works of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you yourself will borrow nothing from anyone.

13 The LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward, if you hear and carefully follow the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am giving you today.

And the Lord will appoint you as the head, and not as the tail. And you shall be always above, and not beneath. But only if you will listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I entrust to you this day, and will keep and do them,

14 Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from any of the words I command you today, and do not go after other gods to serve them.

and will not turn aside from them, neither to the right, nor to the left, nor follow strange gods, nor worship them.

15 If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

But if you are not willing to listen to the voice of the Lord your God, so as to keep and do all his commandments and ceremonies, which I instruct to you this day, all these curses shall come to you, and take hold of you.

16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

Cursed shall you be in the city, cursed in the field.

17 Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed.

Cursed shall be your barn, and cursed your storehouses.

18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, as well as the produce of your land, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.

Cursed shall be the fruit of your loins, and the fruit of your land, the herds of your oxen, and the flocks of your sheep.

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

Cursed shall you be entering, and cursed departing.

20 The LORD will send curses upon you, confusion and reproof in all to which you put your hand, until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the wickedness you have committed in forsaking Him.

The Lord will send famine and hunger upon you, and a rebuke upon all the works that you do, until he quickly crushes and perishes you, because of your very wicked innovations, by which you have forsaken me.

21 The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has exterminated you from the land that you are entering to possess.

May the Lord join a pestilence to you, until he consumes you from the land, which you shall enter so as to possess.

22 The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew; these will pursue you until you perish.

May the Lord strike you with destitution, with fever and cold, with burning and heat, and with polluted air and rot, and may he pursue you until you perish.

23 The sky over your head will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.

May the heavens which are above you be of brass, and may the ground upon which you tread be of iron.

24 The LORD will turn the rain of your land into dust and powder; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed.

May the Lord give you dust instead of rain upon your land, and may ashes descend from heaven over you, until you have been wiped away.

25 The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

May the Lord hand you over to fall before your enemies. May you go forth against them by one way, and flee by seven ways, and may you be scattered across all the kingdoms of the earth.

26 Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the air and beasts of the earth, with no one to scare them away.

And may your carcass be food for all the flying things of the air and the wild beasts of the land, and may there be no one to drive them away.

27 The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors and scabs and itch from which you cannot be cured.

May the Lord strike you with the ulcer of Egypt, and may he strike the part of your body, through which the dung goes out, with disease as well as itch, so much so that you are unable to be cured.

28 The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind,

May the Lord strike you with frenzy and blindness and a madness of the mind.

29 and at noon you will grope about like a blind man in the darkness. You will not prosper in your ways. Day after day you will be oppressed and plundered, with no one to save you.

And may you grope at midday, just as a blind man is accustomed to grope in darkness, and may your paths not be straight. And at all times may you suffer slander and be oppressed with violence, and may you have no one who may free you.

30 You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not enjoy its fruit.

May you take a wife, though another sleeps with her. May you build a house, but not live within it. May you plant a vineyard, and not gather its vintage.

31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away and not returned to you. Your flock will be given to your enemies, and no one will save you.

May your ox be immolated before you, though you do not eat from it. May your donkey be seized in your sight, and not restored to you. May your sheep be given to your enemies, and may there be no one who may help you.

32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, while your eyes grow weary looking for them day after day, with no power in your hand.

May your sons and your daughters be handed over to another people, as your eyes watch and languish at the sight of them throughout the day, and may there be no strength in your hand.

33 A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.

May a people you do not know eat the fruits of your land and of all your labors. And may you continually suffer from slander and oppression every day.

34 You will be driven mad by the sights you see.

And may you be stupefied at the terror of the things your eyes will see.

35 The LORD will afflict you with painful, incurable boils on your knees and thighs, from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

May the Lord strike you with a very grievous ulcer in the knees and in the legs, and may you be unable to attain health, from the sole of the foot to the top of the head.

36 The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.

May the Lord lead you and your king, whom you will have appointed over yourself, into a nation which you and your fathers have not known. And there you will serve foreign gods, of wood and of stone.

37 You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations to which the LORD will drive you.

And you will become nothing but a proverb and a fable to all the peoples to whom the Lord will lead you.

38 You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because the locusts will consume it.

You will sow much seed upon the ground, but you will harvest little. For the locusts will devour everything.

39 You will plant and cultivate vineyards, but will neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, because worms will eat them.

You will dig and plant a vineyard, but you will not drink the wine, nor gather anything at all from it. For it will be devastated by worms.

40 You will have olive trees throughout your territory but will never anoint yourself with oil, because the olives will drop off.

You will have olive trees in all your borders, but you will not be anointed with the oil. For the olives will fall off and perish.

41 You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will go into captivity.

You will conceive sons and daughters, and you will not enjoy them. For they will be led into captivity.

42 Swarms of locusts will consume all your trees and the produce of your land.

Rot will consume all the trees, as well as the fruits of your land.

43 The foreigner living among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink down lower and lower.

The new arrival who lives with you in the land will ascend over you, and be higher. But you will descend, and be lower.

44 He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.

He will lend to you, and you will not lend to him. He will be as the head, and you will be as the tail.

45 All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, since you did not obey the LORD your God and keep the commandments and statutes He gave you.

And all these curses shall come to you, and shall pursue you, and shall take hold of you, until you pass away, because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and you would not serve his commandments and ceremonies, which he has instructed to you.

46 These curses will be a sign and a wonder upon you and your descendants forever.

And there will be the signs and portents with you, and with your offspring, forever.

47 Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance,

Because you did not serve the Lord your God, with gladness and a joyful heart, over the abundance of all things.

48 you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

You will serve your enemy, whom the Lord will send to you, in hunger and thirst and nakedness, and in destitution of all things. And he will place an iron yoke upon your neck, until he has crushed you.

49 The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,

The Lord will lead over you a nation from far away, even from the furthest parts of the earth, like an eagle flying with great force, whose language you are not able to understand:

50 a ruthless nation with no respect for the old and no pity for the young.

a very insolent nation, which will show no deference to elders, nor take pity on little ones.

51 They will eat the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain or new wine or oil, no calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks, until they have caused you to perish.

And he will devour the fruit of your cattle, and the fruits of your land, until you have passed away, without leaving behind you wheat, or wine, or oil, or herds of oxen, or flocks of sheep: until he utterly destroys you.

52 They will besiege all the cities throughout your land, until the high and fortified walls in which you trust have fallen. They will besiege all your cities throughout the land that the LORD your God has given you.

And he will crush you in all your cities. And your strong and lofty walls, in which you trusted, will be destroyed throughout all your land. You will be besieged within your gates throughout all your land, which the Lord your God will give to you.

53 Then you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you.

And you will eat the fruit of your womb, and the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, which the Lord your God will give to you, due to the anguish and devastation with which your enemy will oppress you.

54 The most gentle and refined man among you will begrudge his brother, the wife he embraces, and the rest of his children who have survived,

The man who is pampered and very self-indulgent among you will vie with his own brother, and with the wife who lies at his bosom,

55 refusing to share with any of them the flesh of his children he will eat because he has nothing left in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you within all your gates.

lest he give to them from the flesh of his sons, which he will eat. For he has nothing else due to the siege and the destitution, with which your enemies will devastate you within all your gates.

56 The most gentle and refined woman among you, so gentle and refined she would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge the husband she embraces and her son and daughter

The tender and pampered woman, who would not walk upon the soil, nor step firmly with her foot due to her very great softness and tenderness, will vie with her husband, who lies at her bosom, over the flesh of son and of daughter,

57 the afterbirth that comes from between her legs and the children she bears, because she will secretly eat them for lack of anything else in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you within your gates.

and over the filth of the afterbirth, which goes forth from between her thighs, and over the children who are born in the same hour. For they will eat them secretly, due to the scarcity of all things during the siege and the devastation, with which your enemy will oppress you within your gates.

58 If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God—

If you will not keep and do all the words of this law, which have been written in this volume, and fear his glorious and terrible name, that is, the Lord your God,

59 He will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary disasters, severe and lasting plagues, and terrible and chronic sicknesses.

then the Lord will increase your plagues, and the plagues of your offspring, plagues great and long-lasting, infirmities very grievous and continuous.

60 He will afflict you again with all the diseases you dreaded in Egypt, and they will cling to you.

And he will turn back upon you all the afflictions of Egypt, which you fear, and these will cling to you.

61 The LORD will also bring upon you every sickness and plague not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed.

In addition, the Lord will lead over you all the diseases and plagues that are not written in the volume of this law, until he crushes you.

62 You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left few in number, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

And you will remain few in number, though you were before like the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God.

63 Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and multiply, so also it will please Him to annihilate you and destroy you. And you will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.

And just as before, when the Lord rejoiced over you, doing good for you and multiplying you, so shall he rejoice, scattering and overturning you, so as to take you away from the land, which you shall enter in order to possess.

64 Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.

The Lord will disperse you among all the peoples, from the heights of the earth to its furthest limits. And there you will serve foreign gods of wood and of stone, which you and your fathers did not know.

65 Among those nations you will find no repose, not even a resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despairing soul.

Similarly, you will not have tranquility, even within those nations, nor will there be any rest for the steps of your feet. For the Lord will give to you in that place a fearful heart, and failing eyes, and a life consumed with grieving.

66 So your life will hang in doubt before you, and you will be afraid night and day, never certain of survival.

And your life will be as if it were hanging before you. You will be afraid night and day, and you will not have confidence in your own life.

67 In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’—because of the dread in your hearts of the terrifying sights you will see.

In the morning you will say, ‘Who will grant evening to me?’ and at evening, ‘Who will grant morning to me?’ because of the dread of your heart, with which you will be terrified, and because of those things that you will see with your eyes.

68 The LORD will return you to Egypt in ships by a route that I said you should never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”

The Lord will lead you back into Egypt with a fleet of ships, along the way, about which he said to you that you would not see it again. In that place, you will be put up for sale as men and women servants to your enemies, but there will be no one willing to buy you.”