Deuteronomy 28

1 And it shall come to pass, if you will indeed hear the voice of the Lord your God, to observe and do all these commands, which I charge you this day, that the Lord your God shall set you on 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 shall come upon you, and shall find you. If you will indeed hear 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 blessed [shall] you [be] in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.

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

4 Blessed shall be the offspring of your body, and the fruits of your land, and the herds of your oxen, and the flocks of your sheep.

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 Blessed shall be your barns, and your stores.

Blessed shall be your barns, and blessed your storehouses.

6 Blessed shall you be in your coming in, and blessed shall you be in your going out.

Blessed shall you be entering and departing.

7 The Lord deliver your enemies that withstand you utterly broken before your face: they shall come out against you one way, and they shall flee seven ways from before you.

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 send upon you his blessing in your barns, and on all on which you shall put your hand, in the land which the Lord your God gives 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 raise you up for himself a holy people, as he sware to your fathers; if you will hear the voice of the Lord your God, and walk in all 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 And all the nations of the earth shall see you, that the name of the Lord is called upon you, and they shall 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 And the Lord your God shall multiply you for good in the offspring of your body, and in the offspring of your cattle, and in the fruits of your land, on your land which the Lord sware to your fathers to give to 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 May the Lord open to you his good treasure, the heaven, to give rain to your land in season: may he bless all the works of your hands: so shall you lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.

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 your God make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall then be above and you shall not be below, if you will listen to the voice of the Lord your God, in all things that I charge you this day to observe.

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 You shall not turn aside from any of the commandments, which I charge you this day, to the right hand or to the left, to 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 But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to the voice of the Lord your God, to observe all his commandments, as many as I charge you this day, then all these curses shall come on 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 Cursed [shall] you [be] in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.

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

17 Cursed shall be your barns and your stores.

Cursed shall be your barn, and cursed your storehouses.

18 Cursed shall be the offspring of your body, and the fruits of your land, the herds of your oxen, and the flocks of your sheep.

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 Cursed shall you be in your coming in, and cursed shall you be in your going out.

Cursed shall you be entering, and cursed departing.

20 The Lord send upon you lack, and famine, and consumption of all things on which you shall put your hand, until he shall have utterly destroyed you, and until he shall have consumed you quickly because of your evil devices, because you have forsaken me.

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 cause the pestilence to cleave to you, until he shall have consumed you off the land into which you go to inherit it.

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 strike you with distress, and fever, and cold, and inflammation, and blighting, and paleness, and they shall pursue you until they have destroyed you.

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 And you shall have over your head a sky of brass, and the earth under you shall be 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 your God make the rain of your land dust; and dust shall come down from heaven, until it shall have destroyed you, and until it shall have quickly consumed you.

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 give you up for slaughter before your enemies: you shall go out against them one way, and flee from their face seven ways; and you shall be a dispersion in 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 And your dead men shall be food to the birds of the sky, and to the beasts of the earth; and there shall be none 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 strike you with the botch of Egypt in the seat, and with a malignant scab, and itch, so that you can not be healed.

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 strike you with insanity, and blindness, and astonishment of mind.

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

29 And you shall grope at mid-day, as a blind man would grope in the darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways; and then you shall be unjustly treated, and plundered continually, and there shall be no helper.

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 shall take a wife, and another man shall have her; you shall build a house, and you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, and shall not gather the grapes of it.

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 calf [shall be] slain before you, and you shall not eat of it; your ass shall be violently taken away from you, and shall not be restored to you: your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no helper.

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 your daughters shall be given to another nation, and your eyes wasting away shall look for them: your hand shall have no strength.

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 nation which you know not shall eat the produce of your land, and all your labors; and you shall be injured and crushed always.

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 And you shall be distracted, because of the sights of your eyes which you shall see.

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

35 The Lord strike you with an evil sore, on the knees and the legs, so that you shall not be able to be healed from the sole of your foot to the crown 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 carry away you and your princes, whom you shall set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers know; and you shall there serve other gods, 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 An you shall be there for a wonder, and a parable, and a tale, among all the nations, to which the Lord your God shall carry you away.

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

38 You shall carry forth much seed into the field, and you shall bring in little, because the locust shall devour it.

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

39 You shall plant a vineyard, and dress it, and shall not drink the wine, neither shall you delight yourself with it, because the worm shall devour it.

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 shall have olive trees in all your borders, and you shall not anoint you with oil, because your olive shall utterly cast [its fruit].

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 shall beget sons and daughters, and they shall not be [your], for they shall depart into captivity.

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

42 All your trees and the fruits of your land shall the blight consume.

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

43 The stranger that is within you shall get up very high, and you shall come down very low.

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 shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him: he shall be the head, and you shall 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 And all these curses shall come upon you, and shall pursue you, and shall overtake you, until he shall have consumed you, and until he shall have destroyed you; because you did not listen to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commands, and his ordinances which he has commanded 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 And [these things] shall be signs in you, and wonders among your seed for ever;

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 gladness and a good heart, because of the abundance of all things.

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

48 And you shall serve your enemies, which the Lord will send forth against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and you shall wear upon your neck a yoke of iron until he shall have 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 shall bring upon you a nation from the extremity of the earth, like the swift flying of an eagle, a nation whose voice you shall 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 nation bold in countenance, which shall not respect the person of the aged and shall not pity the young.

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

51 And it shall eat up the young of your cattle, and the fruits of your land, so as not to leave to you corn, wine, oil, the herds of your oxen, and the flocks of your sheep, until it shall have destroyed you;

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 and have utterly crushed you in your cities, until the high and strong walls be destroyed, in which you trust, in all your land; and it shall afflict you in your cities, which he has given to 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 And you shall eat the fruit of your body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, all that he has given you, in your straitness and your affliction, with which your enemy shall afflict 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 He that is tender and very delicate within you shall look with an evil eye upon his brother, and the wife in his bosom, and the children that are left, which may have been left to him;

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 so as [not] to give to one of them of the flesh of his children, whom he shall eat, because of his having nothing left him in your straitness, and in your affliction, with which your enemies shall afflict you in all your cities.

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 And she that is tender and delicate among you, whose foot has not assayed to go upon the earth for delicacy and tenderness, shall look with an evil eye on her husband in her bosom, and her son and her 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 and her offspring that comes out between her feet, and the child which she shall bear; for she shall eat them because of the lack of all things, secretly in your straitness, and in your affliction, with which your enemy shall afflict you in your cities.

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 will not listen to do all the words of this law, which have been written in this book, to fear this glorious and wonderful 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 then the Lord shall magnify your plagues, and the plagues of your seed, great and wonderful plagues, and evil and dwelling diseases.

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

60 And he shall bring upon you all the evil pain of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cleave to you.

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

61 And the Lord shall bring upon you every sickness, and every plague that is not written, and every one that is written in the book of this law, until he shall have destroyed you.

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 And you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of the sky in multitude; because you did not listen to 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 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 you shall be quickly removed from the land, into which you go to inherit it.

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 And the Lord your God shall scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other; and you shall there serve other gods, wood and stone, which you have not known, nor your fathers.

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 Moreover among those nations he will not give you quiet, neither by any means shall the sole of your foot have rest; and the Lord shall give you there another and a misgiving heart, and failing eyes, and a wasting 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 And your life shall be in suspense before your eyes; and you shall be afraid by day and by night, and you shall have no assurance of your life.

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 shall say, Would it were evening! and in the evening you shall say, Would it were morning! for the fear of your heart with which you shall fear, and for the sights of your eyes which you shall 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 And the Lord shall bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said, You shall not see it again; and you shall be sold there to your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and none shall 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.”