Deuteronomy 28

1 And it shall be, if thou wilt, hearken, unto the voice of Yahweh thy God, to observe to do all his commandments which I am commanding thee to-day, then will Yahweh thy God set thee on high, above all the nations of the earth;

It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to the LORD your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

2 and all these blessings shall come in upon thee, and reach thee, —because thou dost hearken unto the voice of Yahweh thy God: —

All these blessings will come upon you, and overtake you, if you listen to the LORD your God’s voice.

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

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

4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground and the fruit of thy cattle, —the young of thy kine, and the ewes of thy flock:

You shall be blessed in the fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the fruit of your animals, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock.

5 Blessed, shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough:

Your basket and your kneading trough shall be blessed.

6 Blessed, shalt thou be when thou comest in, —and, blessed, shalt thou be when thou goest out:

You shall be blessed when you come in, and you shall be blessed when you go out.

7 Yahweh will deliver thine enemies who rise up against thee, to be routed before thee, —one way, shall they come out against thee, and seven ways, shall they flee before thee:

The LORD will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck before you. They will come out against you one way, and will flee before you seven ways.

8 Yahweh will command to be with thee the blessing, in thy storehouses and in all whereunto thou settest thy hand, —and will bless thee in the land which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee:

The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns, and in all that you put your hand to. He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

9 Yahweh will confirm thee unto himself for a holy people, as he sware unto thee, —because thou dost keep the commandments of Yahweh thy God, and dost walk in his ways.

The LORD will establish you for a holy people to himself, as he has sworn to 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 Yahweh, hath been called upon thee, —and shall be afraid of thee.

All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the LORD’s name, and they will be afraid of you.

11 And Yahweh will cause thee to abound in that which is good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle and in the fruit of thy soil, —upon the soil which Yahweh sware unto thy fathers, to give unto thee:

The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.

12 Yahweh will open unto thee his rich storehouse—the heavens, to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless every work of thy hand, so shalt thou lend unto many nations, but thou, shalt not borrow:

The LORD will open to you his good treasure in the sky, to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You will lend to many nations, and you will not borrow.

13 And Yahweh, will give thee, to be the head, and not the tail, and thou shalt be only above, and shalt not be beneath, —because thou dost hearken unto the commandments of Yahweh thy God, which I am commanding thee, to-day, to observe and to do;

The LORD will make you the head, and not the tail. You will be above only, and you will not be beneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today, to observe and to do,

14 and dost not turn side from any of the words which I am commanding you to-day, to the right hand or to the left, —to go after other gods, to serve them,

and shall not turn away from any of the words which I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

15 But it shall be, if thou do not hearken unto the voice of Yahweh thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I am commanding thee to-day, then shall come in upon thee all these curses and shall reach thee: —

But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to the LORD your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you today, that 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:

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

17 Cursed, shall be thy basket, and thy kneading-trough:

Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.

18 Cursed, shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground—the young of thy kine and the ewes of thy flock:

The fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock will be cursed.

19 Cursed, shalt thou be, when thou comest in, —and, cursed, shalt thou be, when thou goest out:

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

20 Yahweh will send upon thee cursing, confusion and rebuke, in all whereunto thou settest thy hand that thou mayest do it, —until thou be destroyed and until thou perish quickly, because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.

The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you put your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the evil of your doings, by which you have forsaken me.

21 Yahweh will cause to cleave unto thee—the pestilence, —until he hath consumed thee from off the soil which thou art entering to possess.

The LORD will make the pestilence cling to you, until he has consumed you from off the land where you go in to possess it.

22 Yahweh, will smite thee, with consumption and with fever, and with inflammation and with violent heat and with the sword, and with blight and with mildew, —and they shall pursue thee, until thou perish.

The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with fiery heat, with the sword, with blight, and with mildew. They will pursue you until you perish.

23 And thy heavens which are over thy head shall become bronze, —and the earth which is under thee iron.

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

24 Yahweh will cause the rain of thy land to be powder and dust, —out of the heavens, shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

The LORD will make the rain of your land powder and dust. It will come down on you from the sky, until you are destroyed.

25 Yahweh will give thee up to be routed before thine enemies, one way, shalt thou go out against them, and, seven ways, shalt thou flee before them, —and thou shalt become a terror unto all the kingdoms of the earth.

The LORD will cause you to be struck before your enemies. You will go out one way against them, and will flee seven ways before them. You will be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth.

26 And thy dead body shall become food for every bird of the heavens, and for the beast of the earth, —with none to fright them away.

Your dead bodies will be food to all birds of the sky, and to the animals of the earth; and there will be no one to frighten them away.

27 Yahweh, will smite thee, with the burning sores of Egypt and with the hemorrhoids, and with scab, and with itch, —of which thou canst not be healed.

The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with the tumors, with the scurvy, and with the itch, of which you can not be healed.

28 Yahweh, will smite thee, with madness and with blindness, —and with terror of heart;

The LORD will strike you with madness, with blindness, and with astonishment of heart.

29 and thou shalt he groping about in noonday brightness, as the blind man gropeth in thick darkness, and thou shalt not make thy ways prosper, —but shalt be only oppressed and spoiled all the days with none to save.

You will grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. You will only be oppressed and robbed always, and there will be no one to save you.

30 A wife, shalt thou betroth, and, another man shall lie with her. A house, shalt thou build, and shalt not dwell therein, —A vineyard, shalt thou plant, and shalt not throw it open;

You will betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her. You will build a house, and you will not dwell in it. You will plant a vineyard, and not use its fruit.

31 Thine ox slaughtered before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof, Thine ass stolen from before thee, and shall not be restored to thee, —Thy flock given to thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to save.

Your ox will be slain before your eyes, and you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be violently taken away from before your face, and will not be restored to you. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and you will have no one to save you.

32 Thy sons and thy daughters given to another people, thine eyes looking on, and failing for them all the day, thine own hand being powerless.

Your sons and your daughters will be given to another people. Your eyes will look and fail with longing for them all day long. There will be no power in your hand.

33 The fruit of thy soil, and all thy toilsome produce, shall a people whom thou knowest not, eat up, —and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed, all the days;

A nation which you do not know will eat the fruit of your ground and all of your work. You will only be oppressed and crushed always,

34 so that thou shalt be mad, —for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

so that the sights that you see with your eyes will drive you mad.

35 Yahweh, will smite thee, with a grievous boil, upon the knees and upon the legs, of which thou canst not be healed, —from the sole of thy foot even unto the crown of thy head.

The LORD will strike you in the knees and in the legs with a sore boil, of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

36 Yahweh will bring thee and thy king whom thou wilt set up over thee, unto a nation which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers, —and thou shalt serve there other gods of wood and of stone.

The LORD will bring you, and your king whom you will set over yourselves, to a nation that you have not known, you nor your fathers. There you will serve other gods of wood and stone.

37 Thus shalt thou become a horror, a byword, and a mockery, among all the peoples whither Yahweh thy God will drive thee.

You will become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the LORD will lead you away.

38 Much seed, shalt thou take out into the field, —and little, shalt thou gather in, for the locust shall consume it.

You will carry much seed out into the field, and will gather little in, for the locust will consume it.

39 Vineyards, shalt thou plant, and dress, —but wine, shalt thou not drink, neither shalt thou gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them.

You will plant vineyards and dress them, but you will neither drink of the wine, nor harvest, because worms will eat them.

40 Olive trees, shalt thou have in all thy bounds, —but with oil, shalt thou not anoint thyself, for thine olives, shall drop off.

You will have olive trees throughout all your borders, but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off.

41 Sons and daughters, shalt thou beget, and they shall not be thine, for they shall go into captivity.

You will father sons and daughters, but they will not be yours, for they will go into captivity.

42 All thy trees, and the fruit of thy ground, shall the grasshopper, devour.

Locusts will consume all of your trees and the fruit of your ground.

43 The sojourner who is in thy midst, shall mount up above thee higher and higher, —whereas, thou, shalt come down lower and lower:

The foreigner who is among you will mount up above you higher and higher, and you will come down lower and lower.

44 he, shall lend to thee, but, thou, shalt not lend to him, —he, shall become head, and, thou, shalt become tail.

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

45 Moreover, all these curses, shall come in upon thee, and pursue thee and overtake thee, until thou be destroyed, —because thou didst not hearken unto the voice of Yahweh thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he hath commanded thee;

All these curses will come on you, and will pursue you and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not listen to the LORD your God’s voice, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you.

46 and they shall be upon thee, for a sign, and for a wonder, and upon thy seed, unto times age-abiding.

They will be for a sign and for a wonder to you and to your offspring forever.

47 Because thou servedst not Yahweh thy God, with rejoicing, and with gladness of heart, for abundance of all things,

Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things;

48 therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies, whom Yahweh will send against thee, with hunger and with thirst and with nakedness, and with want of all things, —and he, will put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he hath destroyed thee.

therefore you will serve your enemies whom the LORD sends against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in lack of all things. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.

49 Yahweh will bring against thee a nation from afar, from the end of the earth, as darteth a bird of prey, —a nation whose tongue thou canst not understand;

The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies: a nation whose language you will not understand,

50 a nation of fierce countenance, —who wilt not respect an elder nor to the young, show favour;

a nation of fierce facial expressions, that does not respect the elderly, nor show favor to the young.

51 then shall he eat the young of thy cattle and the fruit of thy ground until thou art destroyed, who will not leave for thee corn, new wine or oil, the young of thy kine, or the ewes of thy flock, —until he hath caused thee to perish.

They will eat the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed. They also will not leave you grain, new wine, oil, the increase of your livestock, or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.

52 And he shall lay siege to thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fortified walls come down wherein thou wast trusting, in all thy land, —yea he will lay siege to thee in all thy gates, in all thy land which Yahweh thy God, hath given, unto thee.

They will besiege you in all your gates until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout all your land. They will besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you.

53 And thou wilt eat the fruit of thy body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, whom Yahweh thy God hath given unto thee—in the siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemy will straiten thee.

You will eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies will distress you.

54 The man that is tender among you, and exceedingly delicate, his eye will be jealous of his brother and of the wife of his bosom, and of the remnant of his sons, whom be might leave behind;

The man who is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye will be evil toward his brother, toward the wife whom he loves, and toward the remnant of his children whom he has remaining,

55 so that he will not give to any one of them, of the flesh of his sons which he will eat, because he hath nothing at all left him, —in the siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemy will straiten thee within all thy gates.

so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left to him, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy will distress you in all your gates.

56 The tender and delicate woman among you who hath never adventured the sole of her foot to set it upon the ground, through delicateness and through tenderness, her eye shall be jealous of the husband of her bosom, and of her own son, and of her own daughter;

The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye will be evil toward the husband that she loves, toward her son, toward her daughter,

57 both as to her afterbirth that cometh forth from between her feet and as to her children which she shall bear, for she will eat them for want of all things secretly, —in the siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemy will straiten thee within thine own gates.

toward her young one who comes out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of all things in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy will distress you in your gates.

58 If thou wilt not take heed to do all the words of this law, which are written in this scroll, —to revere this glorious and reverend name, Yahweh thy 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 will Yahweh make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, —plagues great and lasting, and diseases grievous and lasting;

then the LORD will make your plagues and the plagues of your offspring fearful, even great plagues, and of long duration, and severe sicknesses, and of long duration.

60 and he will bring back on thee all the sickness of Egypt, because of which thou wast afraid, —and they shall cleave unto thee;

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

61 even every disease and, every plague, which are not written in this scroll of the law, will Yahweh bring up against thee, until thou art destroyed,

Also every sickness and every plague which is not written in the book of this law, the LORD will bring them on you until you are destroyed.

62 And ye shall be left men few in number, whereas ye had become as the stars of the heavens for multitude, —because thou hast not hearkened unto the voice of Yahweh thy God.

You will be left few in number, even though you were as the stars of the sky for multitude, because you did not listen to the LORD your God’s voice.

63 And it shall come to pass that as Yahweh rejoiced over you to do you good and to multiply you, so, will Yahweh rejoice over you, to cause you to perish and to destroy you, —and ye shall be torn away, from off the soil, whither thou art going in to possess it;

It will happen that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so the LORD will rejoice over you to cause you to perish and to destroy you. You will be plucked from the land that you are going in to possess.

64 and Yahweh will scatter thee among all the peoples, from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth, —and thou wilt serve there other gods whom thou hast not known—thou nor thy fathers, —of wood and of stone.

The LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. There you will serve other gods which you have not known, you nor your fathers, even wood and stone.

65 And among those nations, shalt thou find no ease, neither shall there be a place of rest for the sole of thy foot, —but Yahweh will give unto thee there a trembling heart, and a failing of eyes and faintness of soul.

Among these nations you will find no ease, and there will be no rest for the sole of your foot; but the LORD will give you there a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and pining of soul.

66 And thy life will be hung up for thee in front, —and thou wilt be in dread by night and by day, and wilt not trust in thy life.

Your life will hang in doubt before you. You will be afraid night and day, and will have no assurance of your life.

67 In the morning, thou wilt say—Oh that it were evening! and in the evening, thou wilt say—Oh that it were morning! because of the dread of thy heart which thou wilt dread, and because of the sight of thine eyes which thou wilt see.

In the morning you will say, “I wish it were evening!” and at evening you will say, “I wish it were morning!” for the fear of your heart which you will fear, and for the sights which your eyes will see.

68 And Yahweh will take thee back again to Egypt in ships, by the way whereof I said unto thee, Thou shalt not again any more see it. And ye will offer yourselves there for sale unto thine enemies as servants and as handmaids with no one to buy.

The LORD will bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I told you that you would never see it again. There you will offer yourselves to your enemies for male and female slaves, and nobody will buy you.