Deuteronomy 28
1 “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.
And it shall come to pass, if you shall hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD your God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that the LORD your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings shall come to you and take hold of you, but only if you listen to his precepts.
And all these blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you shall hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God.
3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed in the field.
Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
4 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.
Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your cattle, and the flocks of your sheep.
5 Blessed shall be your barns, and blessed your storehouses.
Blessed shall be your basket and your store.
6 Blessed shall you be entering and departing.
Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 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.
The LORD shall cause your enemies that rise up against you to be smitten before your face: they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways.
8 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.
The LORD shall command the blessing upon you in your storehouses, and in all that you set your hand unto; and he shall bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
9 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.
The LORD shall establish you an holy people unto himself, as he has sworn unto you, if you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and walk in his ways.
10 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.
And all people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of you.
11 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.
And the LORD shall make you abundant in goods, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore unto your fathers to give you.
12 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.
The LORD shall open unto you his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto your land in his season, and to bless all the work of your hand: and you shall lend unto many nations, and you shall not borrow.
13 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,
And the LORD shall make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath; if that you hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do them:
14 and will not turn aside from them, neither to the right, nor to the left, nor follow strange gods, nor worship them.
And you shall not go 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 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.
But it shall come to pass, if you will not hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day; that all these curses shall come upon you, and overtake you:
16 Cursed shall you be in the city, cursed in the field.
Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.
17 Cursed shall be your barn, and cursed your storehouses.
Cursed shall be your basket and your store.
18 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.
Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your land, the increase of your cattle, and the flocks of your sheep.
19 Cursed shall you be entering, and cursed departing.
Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 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.
The LORD shall send upon you cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that you set your hand unto in order to do, until you be destroyed, and until you perish quickly; because of the wickedness of your doings, whereby you have forsaken me.
21 May the Lord join a pestilence to you, until he consumes you from the land, which you shall enter so as to possess.
The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto you, until he have consumed you from off the land, where you go to possess it.
22 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.
The LORD shall strike you with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue you until you perish.
23 May the heavens which are above you be of brass, and may the ground upon which you tread be of iron.
And your heaven that is over your head shall be brass, and the earth that is under you shall be iron.
24 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.
The LORD shall make the rain of your land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon you, until you be destroyed.
25 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.
The LORD shall cause you to be smitten before your enemies: you shall go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shall be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
26 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.
And your carcass shall be food unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall frighten them away.
27 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.
The LORD will strike you with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof you can not be healed.
28 May the Lord strike you with frenzy and blindness and a madness of the mind.
The LORD shall strike you with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:
29 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.
And you shall grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways: and you shall be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save you.
30 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.
You shall betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: you shall build an house, and you shall not dwell therein: you shall plant a vineyard, and shall not gather the grapes thereof.
31 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.
your ox shall be slain before your eyes, and you shall not eat thereof: your ass shall be violently taken away from before your face, and shall not be restored to you: your sheep shall be given unto your enemies, and you shall have none to rescue them.
32 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.
Your sons and your daughters shall be given unto another people, and your eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long; and there shall be no might in your hand.
33 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.
The fruit of your land, and all your labours, shall a nation which you know not eat up; and you shall be only oppressed and crushed always:
34 And may you be stupefied at the terror of the things your eyes will see.
So that you shall be mad for the sight of your eyes which you shall see.
35 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.
The LORD shall strike you in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot unto the top of your head.
36 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.
The LORD shall bring you, and your king which you shall set over you, unto a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known; and there shall you serve other gods, wood and stone.
37 And you will become nothing but a proverb and a fable to all the peoples to whom the Lord will lead you.
And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations where the LORD shall lead you.
38 You will sow much seed upon the ground, but you will harvest little. For the locusts will devour everything.
You shall carry much seed out into the field, and shall gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.
39 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.
You shall plant vineyards, and dress them, but shall neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
40 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.
You shall have olive trees throughout all your coasts, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olive shall cast his fruit.
41 You will conceive sons and daughters, and you will not enjoy them. For they will be led into captivity.
You shall brought forth sons and daughters, but you shall not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.
42 Rot will consume all the trees, as well as the fruits of your land.
All your trees and fruit of your land shall the locust consume.
43 The new arrival who lives with you in the land will ascend over you, and be higher. But you will descend, and be lower.
The stranger that is within you shall get up above you very high; and you shall come down very low.
44 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.
He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him: he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
45 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.
Moreover all these curses shall come upon you, and shall pursue you, and overtake you, till you be destroyed; because you hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you:
46 And there will be the signs and portents with you, and with your offspring, forever.
And they shall be upon you for a sign and for a wonder, and upon your seed for ever.
47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God, with gladness and a joyful heart, over the abundance of all things.
Because you served not the LORD your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;
48 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.
Therefore shall you serve your enemies which the LORD shall send against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in lack of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon your neck, until he have destroyed you.
49 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:
The LORD shall bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies; a nation whose tongue you shall not understand;
50 a very insolent nation, which will show no deference to elders, nor take pity on little ones.
A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the young:
51 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.
And he shall eat the fruit of your cattle, and the fruit of your land, until you be destroyed: which also shall not leave you either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of your cattle, or flocks of your sheep, until he have destroyed you.
52 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.
And he shall besiege you in all your gates, until your high and fenced walls come down, wherein you trusted, throughout all your land: and he shall besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land, which the LORD your God has given you.
53 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.
And you shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, which the LORD your God has given you, in the siege, and in the strictness, wherewith your enemies shall distress you:
54 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,
So that 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 which he shall leave:
55 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.
So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he has nothing left him in the siege, and in the strictness, wherewith your enemies shall distress you in all your gates.
56 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,
The tender and delicate woman among you, which 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 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.
And toward her young one that comes out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for lack of all things secretly in the siege and strictness, wherewith your enemy shall distress you in your gates.
58 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,
If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD Your GOD;
59 then the Lord will increase your plagues, and the plagues of your offspring, plagues great and long-lasting, infirmities very grievous and continuous.
Then the LORD will make your plagues wonderful, and the plagues of your seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
60 And he will turn back upon you all the afflictions of Egypt, which you fear, and these will cling to you.
Moreover he will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt, which you were afraid of; and they shall cleave unto you.
61 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.
Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon you, until you be destroyed.
62 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.
And all of you shall be left few in number, whereas all of you were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
63 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.
And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nothing; and all of you shall be plucked from off the land where you go to possess it.
64 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.
And the LORD shall scatter you among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known, even wood and stone.
65 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.
And among these nations shall you find no ease, neither shall the sole of your foot have rest: but the LORD shall give you there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
66 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.
And your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you shall fear day and night, and shall have none assurance of your life:
67 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.
In the morning you shall say, Would God it were even! and at even you shall say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of your heart wherewith you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you shall see.
68 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.”
And the LORD shall bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spoke unto you, You shall see it no more again: and there all of you shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
