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;

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 in upon thee, and reach thee, —because thou dost hearken unto the voice of Yahweh 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 body, and the fruit of thy ground and the fruit of thy cattle, —the young of thy kine, and the ewes of thy flock:

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

Blessed will you be when you come in, and blessed will you be 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:

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 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:

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 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.

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 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 will see that you are called by the name of Yahweh, 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:

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 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:

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 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;

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 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 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 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 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 body, and the fruit of thy ground—the young of thy kine and the ewes of thy flock:

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

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

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

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

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.

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 become bronze, —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 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.

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 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.

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 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 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 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.

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

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

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

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 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 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 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 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, 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 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 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 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;

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

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

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.

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 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.

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 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 a source of horror, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples where Yahweh 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 take much seed out into the field, but will gather little seed in, for the locusts 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 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 in all thy bounds, —but with oil, shalt thou not anoint thyself, for thine olives, shall drop off.

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, and they shall not be thine, 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 grasshopper, devour.

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

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 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 become head, and, thou, shalt become 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 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 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, unto times age-abiding.

These curses will be on you as signs and wonders, and on your descendants 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 worship Yahweh your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart when you were in prosperity,

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 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 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;

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, —who wilt not respect an elder nor to the young, show favour;

a nation with a fierce face that does not respect the aged and does not 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 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 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 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 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 Yahweh your God gave you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies will put upon 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

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, which are written in this scroll, —to revere this glorious and reverend name, Yahweh 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 will Yahweh make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, —plagues great and lasting, and diseases grievous and lasting;

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 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 that you were afraid of; 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 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 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, 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 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;

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 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.

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 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 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 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 fear every night and day and will have no certainty at all in 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 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 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.

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.”