Deuteronomy 28
1 “And it has been, if you listen diligently to the voice of your God YHWH, to observe to do all His commands which I am commanding you today, that your God YHWH has made you highest 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 have come on you and overtaken you, because you listen to the voice of your God YHWH:
And all these blessings shall come to you and take hold of you, but only if you listen to his precepts.
3 Blessed [are] you in the city, and blessed [are] you in the field.
Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed in the field.
4 Blessed [is] the fruit of your womb, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your livestock, the increase of your oxen, and the wealth of your flock.
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 [is] your basket and your kneading-trough.
Blessed shall be your barns, and blessed your storehouses.
6 Blessed [are] you in your coming in, and blessed [are] you in your going out.
Blessed shall you be entering and departing.
7 YHWH makes your enemies, who are rising up against you, to be struck before your face; in one way they come out to you, and in seven ways they flee 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 YHWH commands the blessing with you in your storehouses, and in every putting forth of your hand, and has blessed you in the land which your God YHWH is giving to 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 YHWH establishes you to Himself for a holy people, as He has sworn to you, when you keep the commands of your God YHWH and have walked 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 and all the peoples of the land have seen that the Name of YHWH is called by you, and they have been afraid 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 YHWH has made you abundant in good, in the fruit of the womb, and in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, on the ground which YHWH has sworn 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 YHWH opens his good treasure to you—the heavens—to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand, and you have lent to many nations, and you do not borrow.
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 And YHWH has set you for head and not for tail; and you have been only above, and are not beneath, for you listen to the commands of your God YHWH, which I am commanding you today, to keep and to do,
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 and you do not turn aside from all the words which I am commanding you today [to] the right or 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 And it has been, if you do not listen to the voice of your God YHWH, to observe to do all His commands and His statutes which I am commanding you today, that all these revilings have come on you and overtaken 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 [are] you in the city, and cursed [are] you in the field.
Cursed shall you be in the city, cursed in the field.
17 Cursed [is] your basket and your kneading-trough.
Cursed shall be your barn, and cursed your storehouses.
18 Cursed [is] the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your land, the increase of your oxen, and the wealth of your flock.
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 [are] you in your coming in, and cursed [are] you in your going out.
Cursed shall you be entering, and cursed departing.
20 YHWH sends the curse, the trouble, and the rebuke on you, in every putting forth of your hand which you do, until you are destroyed, and until you perish quickly, because of the evil of your doings [by] which 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 YHWH causes the pestilence to cleave to you until He consumes you from off the ground to where you are going in to possess 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 YHWH strikes you with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with extreme burning, and with sword, and with blasting, and with mildew, and they have pursued 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 And your heavens which [are] over your head have been bronze, and the earth which [is] under you iron;
May the heavens which are above you be of brass, and may the ground upon which you tread be of iron.
24 YHWH gives dust and ashes [for] the rain of your land; it comes down on you from the heavens 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 YHWH makes you struck before your enemies; in one way you go out to them, and in seven ways you flee before them, and you have been for a trembling to all 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 carcass has been for food for every bird of the heavens and for the beast of the earth, and there is none causing [them] to tremble.
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 YHWH strikes you with the ulcer of Egypt, and with lumps, and with scurvy, and with itch, of which you are not able to 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 YHWH strikes you with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart;
May the Lord strike you with frenzy and blindness and a madness of the mind.
29 and you have been groping at noon, as the blind gropes in darkness; and you do not cause your ways to prosper; and you have been only oppressed and plundered [for] all the days, and there is no savior.
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 betroth a woman, and another man lies with her; you build a house, and do not dwell in it; you plant a vineyard, and do not make it common;
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 [is] slaughtered before your eyes, and you do not eat of it; your donkey [is] violently taken away from before you, and it is not given back to you; your sheep [are] given to your enemies, and there is no savior for 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 your daughters [are] given to another people, and your eyes are looking and consumed for them all the day, but your hand is not to God!
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 whom you have not known eat the fruit of your ground and all your labor; and you have been only oppressed and bruised [for] all the days;
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 have been mad because of the sight of your eyes which you see.
And may you be stupefied at the terror of the things your eyes will see.
35 YHWH strikes you with a severe ulcer on the knees and on the legs (of which you are not able to be healed), from the sole of your foot even to your crown.
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 YHWH causes you and your king whom you raise up over you to go to a nation which you have not known, you and your fathers, and you have served other gods there—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 and you have been for an astonishment, for an allegory, and for a byword among all the peoples to where YHWH leads 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 take much seed out into the field, and you gather little in, for the locust consumes it;
You will sow much seed upon the ground, but you will harvest little. For the locusts will devour everything.
39 you plant vineyards and have labored, but you do not drink wine, nor gather [grapes], for the worm consumes 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 olives are yours in all your border, but you do not pour out oil, for your olive falls 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 beget sons and daughters, but they are not with you, for they go into captivity;
You will conceive sons and daughters, and you will not enjoy them. For they will be led into captivity.
42 the locust possesses all your trees and the fruit of your ground;
Rot will consume all the trees, as well as the fruits of your land.
43 the sojourner who [is] in your midst goes up very high above you, and you go 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 lends [to] you, and you do not lend [to] him; he is for head and you are for 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 have come on you, and pursued you, and overtaken you, until you are destroyed, because you have not listened to the voice of your God YHWH, to keep His commands and His statutes 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 they have been on you for a sign and for a wonder, also on your seed—for all time.
And there will be the signs and portents with you, and with your offspring, forever.
47 Because that you have not served your God YHWH with joy and with gladness of 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 you have served your enemies, whom YHWH sends against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in lack of all things; and He has put a yoke of iron 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 YHWH lifts up a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth—it flies as the eagle—a nation whose tongue you have not heard,
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 of fierce countenance, which does not accept the face of the aged and does not favor the young;
a very insolent nation, which will show no deference to elders, nor take pity on little ones.
51 and it has eaten the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; which does not leave to you grain, new wine, and oil, the increase of your oxen, and the wealth of your flock, until it has 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 it has laid siege to you in all your gates until your walls come down—the high and the fortified ones in which you are trusting, in all your land; indeed, it has laid siege to you in all your gates, in all your land which your God YHWH 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 have eaten the fruit of your body, [the] flesh of your sons and your daughters (whom your God YHWH has given to you), in the siege and in the constriction with which your enemies constrict 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 man who is tender in you, and who [is] very delicate—his eye is evil against his brother, and against the wife of his bosom, and against the remnant of his sons whom he leaves,
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 against giving to one of them of the flesh of his sons whom he eats, because he has nothing left for himself in the siege and in the constriction with which your enemy constricts you in 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 tender woman in you, and the delicate, who has not tried the sole of her foot to place on the ground because of delicateness and because of tenderness—her eye is evil against the husband of her bosom, and against her son, and against 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 against her seed which comes out from between her feet, even against her sons whom she bears, for she eats them in secret, in the lacking of everything, in the siege and in the constriction with which your enemy constricts 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 do not observe to do all the words of this law which are written in this scroll, to fear this honored and fearful Name—your God YHWH—
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 YHWH has made your strokes extraordinary, and the strokes [against] your seed [are] great strokes that are persisting and severe sicknesses that are persisting.
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 has brought back all the diseases of Egypt on you, from the presence of which you have been afraid, and they have cleaved to you.
And he will turn back upon you all the afflictions of Egypt, which you fear, and these will cling to you.
61 Also every sickness and every stroke which is not written in the scroll of this law—YHWH causes them to go up on you 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 and you have been left with few men, whereas that you would have been as stars of the heavens for multitude, for you have not listened to the voice of your God YHWH.
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 has been, as YHWH has rejoiced over you to do you good and to multiply you, so YHWH rejoices over you to destroy you and to lay you waste; and you have been pulled away from off the ground to where you are going in to possess 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 YHWH has scattered you among all the peoples, from the end of the earth even to the [other] end of the earth; and you have served other gods there which you have not known, you and your fathers—wood and stone.
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 And you do not rest among those nations, indeed, there is no resting place for the sole of your foot, and YHWH has given to you a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and grief of soul there;
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 has been hanging in suspense before you, and you have been afraid by night and by day, and you do not have assurance in 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 say, O that it were evening! And in the evening you say, O that it were morning! (From the fear of your heart, with which you are afraid, and from the sight of your eyes which you 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 YHWH has brought you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you, You do not add to see it anymore; and you have sold yourselves to your enemies there, for menservants and for maidservants, and there is no buyer.”
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.”
