Deuteronomy 28

1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to take heed to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that Jehovah thy God will set thee supreme above all nations of the earth;

If you listen carefully to the voice of Yahweh your God so as to keep all his commandments that I am commanding you today, Yahweh your God will set you above all the other nations of the earth.

2 and all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God.

All these blessings will come on you and overtake you, if you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.

3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.

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

4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the offspring of thy kine, and the increase of thy sheep.

Blessed will be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your beasts, the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock.

5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough.

Blessed will be your basket and your kneading trough.

6 Blessed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and blessed shalt thou be in thy going out.

Blessed will you be when you come in, and blessed will you be when you go out.

7 Jehovah will give up, smitten before thee, thine enemies that rise up against thee; they shall come out against thee one way, and by seven ways shall they flee before thee.

Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck down before you; they will come out against you one way but will flee before you seven ways.

8 Jehovah will command blessing on thee in thy granaries, and in all the business of thy hand; and he will bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.

Yahweh will command the blessing to come on you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to; he will bless you in the land that he is giving you.

9 Jehovah will establish thee unto himself a holy people as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, and walk in his ways.

Yahweh will establish you as a people that is set apart for himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, and walk in his ways.

10 And all peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of Jehovah, and they shall be afraid of thee.

All the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of Yahweh, and they will be afraid of you.

11 And Jehovah will give thee abundance of good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land that Jehovah swore unto thy fathers to give thee.

Yahweh will make you very prosperous in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your cattle, in the fruit of your ground, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you.

12 Jehovah will open to thee his good treasure, the heavens, to give rain unto thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand; and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow.

Yahweh will open to you his storehouse of the heavens to give the rain for your land at the right time, and to bless all the work of your hand; you will lend to many nations, but you will 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 hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah thy God, which I command thee this day, to keep and to do them,

Yahweh will make you the head, and not the tail; you will be only above, and you will never be beneath, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God that I am commanding you today, so as to observe and to do them,

14 and if thou turn not aside from any of the words that I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

and if you do not turn away from any of the words that I am commanding you today, to the right hand or to the left, so as 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 take heed 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.

But if you do not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, so as to keep all his commandments and his statutes that I am commanding you today, then all these curses will come on you and overtake you.

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

Cursed will you be in the city, and cursed will you be in the field.

17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough.

Cursed will be your basket and your kneading trough.

18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, the offspring of thy kine, and the increase of thy sheep.

Cursed will be the fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock.

19 Cursed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and cursed shalt thou be in thy going out.

Cursed will you be when you come in, and cursed will you be when you go out.

20 Jehovah will send upon thee cursing, confusion, and rebuke, in all the business of thy hand which thou doest, until thou be destroyed and until thou perish quickly, because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.

Yahweh will send on you curses, confusion, and rebukes in all that you put your hand to, until you are destroyed, and until you perish quickly because of your wicked actions by which you will have forsaken me.

21 Jehovah will make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.

Yahweh will make the plague cling to you until he destroys you from off the land that you are going in to possess.

22 Jehovah will smite thee with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with burning ague, and with drought, and with blight, and with mildew, and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

Yahweh will attack you with infectious diseases, with fever, with inflammation, and with drought and blistering heat, and with scorching winds and mildew. These will pursue you until you perish.

23 And thy heavens which are over thy head shall be brass, and the earth which is under thee, iron.

Your skies that are over your head will be bronze, and the earth that is under you will be iron.

24 Jehovah will give as the rain of thy land powder and dust; from the heavens shall it come down upon thee until thou be destroyed.

Yahweh will make the rain of your land into powder and dust; from the heavens will it come down on you, until you are destroyed.

25 Jehovah will give thee up smitten before thine enemies; thou shalt go out against them one way, and by seven ways shalt thou flee before them; and thou shalt be driven hither and thither into all the kingdoms of the earth.

Yahweh will cause you to be struck down before your enemies; you will go out one way against them but will flee before them seven ways. You will be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth.

26 And thy carcase shall be meat unto all the fowl of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no man to scare them away.

Your dead body will be food to all the birds of the heavens and to the beasts of the earth; there will be no one to frighten them away.

27 Jehovah will smite thee with the ulcers of Egypt, and with boils, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.

Yahweh will attack you with the boils of Egypt and with ulcers, scurvy, and itch, from which you cannot be healed.

28 Jehovah will smite thee with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart;

Yahweh will attack you with madness, with blindness, and with mental confusion.

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 spoiled continually, and there shall be none to save.

You will grope about at noonday like the blind grope in the darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways; you will be always oppressed and robbed, and there will be no one to save you.

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 eat of it.

You will become engaged to a woman, but another man will seize her and rape her. You will build a house but not live in it; you will plant a vineyard but not enjoy its fruit.

31 Thine ox shall be slaughtered before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof; thine ass shall be snatched away from before thy face, and shall not return to thee; thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to recover them.

Your ox will be slain before your eyes, but you will not eat its meat; your donkey will be forcibly taken away from before you and will not be restored to you. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and you will have no one to aid you.

32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and languish for them all the day long; and there shall be no power in thy hand [to help it].

Your sons and your daughters will be given to other peoples; your eyes will look for them the entire day, but will fail with longing for them. There will be no strength in your hand.

33 The fruit of thy ground and all thy labour, shall a people that thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed continually.

The harvest of your land and of all your labors—a nation that you do not know will eat it up; you will always be oppressed and crushed,

34 And thou shalt be mad through the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

so that you will become insane by what you have to see happen.

35 Jehovah will smite thee in the knees and in the legs with evil ulcers, whereof thou canst not be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.

Yahweh will attack you in the knees and legs with severe boils from which you cannot be cured, from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head.

36 Jehovah will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that neither thou nor thy fathers have known, and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.

Yahweh will take you and the king whom you will place over yourself to a nation that you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors; there you will worship other gods of wood and stone.

37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples whither Jehovah shall lead thee.

You will become a source of horror, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples where Yahweh will lead you away.

38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather little in; for the locust shall devour it.

You will take much seed out into the field, but will gather little seed in, for the locusts will consume it.

39 Thou shalt plant and till vineyards, but shalt drink no wine, nor gather [the fruit]; for the worms shall eat it.

You will plant vineyards and cultivate them, but you will neither drink any of the wine, nor even gather in the grapes, for worms will eat them.

40 Olive-trees shalt thou have throughout all thy borders, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with oil; for thine olive-tree shall cast its fruit.

You will have olive trees within all your territory, but you will not rub any of the oil on yourself, for your olive trees will drop their fruit.

41 Sons and daughters shalt thou beget, but thou shalt not have them [to be with thee]; for they shall go into captivity.

You will have sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, for they will go into captivity.

42 All thy trees and the fruit of thy ground shall the locust possess.

All your trees and the fruit of your ground—the locusts will take them over.

43 The sojourner that is in thy midst shall rise above thee higher and higher, and thou shalt sink down lower and lower.

The foreigner who is among you will rise up above you higher and higher; you yourself will come down lower and lower.

44 He shall lend to thee, but thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.

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

45 And all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, until 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.

All these curses will come on you and will pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed. This will happen because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, so as to keep his commandments and his regulations that he commanded you.

46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.

These curses will be on you as signs and wonders, and on your descendants forever.

47 Because thou servedst not Jehovah thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything,

Because you did not worship Yahweh your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart when you were in prosperity,

48 thou shalt serve thine enemies whom Jehovah will send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of everything; and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.

therefore will you serve the enemies that Yahweh will send against you; you will serve them in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in poverty. He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he destroys you.

49 Jehovah will bring a nation against thee from afar, from the end of the earth, like as the eagle flieth, a nation whose tongue thou understandest not;

Yahweh will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle flies to its victim, a nation whose language you do not understand;

50 a nation of fierce countenance, which regardeth not the person of the old, nor is kind to the young;

a nation with a fierce face that does not respect the aged and does not show favor to the young.

51 and he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy ground, until thou be destroyed; for he shall not leave thee corn, new wine, or oil, offspring of thy kine, or increase of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.

They will eat the young of your cattle and the fruit of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave for you no grain, new wine, or oil, no young of your cattle or of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.

52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and strong walls wherein thou trustedst come down, throughout all thy land; and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates in all thy land, which Jehovah thy God hath given thee.

They will besiege you in all your city gates, until your high and fortified walls come down everywhere in your land, walls in which you had trusted. They will besiege you within all your city gates throughout all the land that Yahweh your God had given you.

53 And in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee, 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.

You will eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, whom Yahweh your God gave you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies will put upon you.

54 The eye of the man in thy midst that is tender and very luxurious shall be evil towards his brother, and the wife of his bosom, and the residue of his children which he hath left;

The man who is tender and very delicate among you—he will be envious of his brother and his own dear wife, and of whatever children he has left.

55 so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children that he eateth, because he hath nothing left him in the siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.

So he will not give to any of them the flesh of his own children that he is going to eat, because he will have nothing left for himself in the siege and in the distress which your enemy will put upon you within all your city gates.

56 The eye of the tender and luxurious woman in thy midst who would not attempt to set the sole of her foot upon the ground from luxuriousness and from tenderness, shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and her son, and her daughter,

The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to put the bottom of her foot on the ground for delicateness and tenderness—she will be envious of her own dear husband, of her son, and of her daughter,

57 because of her afterbirth which hath come out between her feet, and her children whom she shall bear; for she shall secretly eat them for want of everything in the siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.

and of her own newborn that comes out from between her legs, and of the children whom she will bear. She will eat them in private for lack of anything else, during the siege and in the distress which your enemy will put upon you within your city gates.

58 If thou wilt not take heed to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, to fear this glorious and fearful name, JEHOVAH THY GOD;

If you do not keep all the words of this law that are written in this book, so as to honor this glorious and fearful name, Yahweh your God,

59 then Jehovah will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, great and persistent plagues and evil and persistent sicknesses;

then Yahweh will make your plagues terrible, and those of your descendants; they will be great plagues, of long duration, and severe diseases, of long duration.

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

He will bring on you again all the diseases of Egypt that you were afraid of; they will cling to you.

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.

Also every sickness and plague that is not written in the book of this law, those also Yahweh will bring on you until you are destroyed.

62 And ye shall be left a small company, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah thy God.

You will be left few in number, although you were like the stars of the heavens in number, because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your 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 whereunto thou goest to possess it.

As Yahweh once rejoiced over you in doing you good, and in multiplying you, so he will rejoice over you in making you perish and in destroying you. You will be plucked off the land that you are going into to possess.

64 And Jehovah will scatter thee among all peoples, from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; and thou shalt there serve other gods, whom thou hast not known, neither thou nor thy fathers, wood and stone.

Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples from the one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; there you will worship other gods that you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors, gods of wood and stone.

65 And among these nations shalt thou have no rest, neither shall the sole of thy foot have a resting-place, and Jehovah shall give thee there a trembling heart, languishing of the eyes, and pining of the soul.

Among these nations will you find no ease, and there will be no rest for the bottoms of your feet; instead, Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a soul that mourns.

66 And thy life shall hang in suspense before thee; and thou shalt be in terror day and night and shalt be afraid of thy life.

Your life will hang in doubt before you; you will fear every night and day and will have no certainty at all in your life.

67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would that it were even! and in the evening thou shalt say, Would that it were morning! through the fright of thy heart wherewith thou shalt be in terror, and through the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

In the morning you will say, 'I wish it were evening!' and in the evening you will say, 'I wish it were morning!' because of the fear in your hearts and the things your eyes will have to see.

68 And Jehovah will bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I said unto thee, Thou shalt see it again no more; and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and there shall be no man to buy [you].

Yahweh will bring you into Egypt again by ships, by the route about which I had said to you, 'You will not see Egypt again.' There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will purchase you.”