Deuteronomy 28

1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently to the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all 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 on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God.

And all these blessings shall come to you and take hold of you, but only if you listen to his precepts.

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

Blessed shall you be in the city, and 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 increase of thy cattle, and the flocks of thy 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 thy basket and thy store.

Blessed shall be your barns, and blessed your storehouses.

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

Blessed shall you be entering and departing.

7 The LORD shall cause thy enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.

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 shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thy hand to; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

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 shall establish thee an holy people to himself, as he hath sworn to thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk 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 people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.

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 shall make thee to abound in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD swore to thy fathers to give thee.

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 The LORD shall open to thee his good treasure, the heaven to give rain to thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand: and thou shalt lend to many nations, and thou shalt 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 the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken to the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

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 thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee 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 thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe 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 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 shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.

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

17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.

Cursed shall be your barn, and cursed your storehouses.

18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy cattle, and the flocks of thy 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 shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

Cursed shall you be entering, and cursed departing.

20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thy hand to do, until thou shalt be destroyed, and until thou shalt perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, by which thou hast 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 shall make the pestilence cleave to thee, until he shall have consumed thee from off the land, where thou goest 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 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blighting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou dost 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 thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee 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 shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou art 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 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thy enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into 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 thy dead body shall be food to all fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the earth, and no man shall frighten 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 will smite thee with the boil of Egypt, and with tumours, and with the scab, and with the itch, of which thou canst 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 shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:

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

29 And thou shalt grope at noon, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.

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 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell in it: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt 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 Thy ox shall be slain before thy eyes, and thou shalt not eat of it: thy donkey shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given to thy enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.

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 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given to another people, and thy eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thy hand.

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 The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall be eaten by a nation which thou knowest not; and thou shalt be only oppressed 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 So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thy eyes which thou shalt see.

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

35 The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with severe boils that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot to the top of thy 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 shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, to a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou 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 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations where the LORD shall lead thee.

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

38 Thou shalt carry much seed into the field, and shalt gather but little; for the locust shall consume it.

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

39 Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.

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 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy land, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thy olive shall 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 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.

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

42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.

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

43 The stranger that is within thee shall rise above thee very high; and thou shalt 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 thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt 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 Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou art destroyed; because thou didst hearken not to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:

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

And there will be the signs and portents with you, and with your offspring, forever.

47 Because thou didst not serve the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for 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 Therefore shalt thou serve thy enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in lack of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he hath destroyed thee.

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 a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose language thou shalt 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 of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the young:

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

51 And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou art destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either grain, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy cattle, or flocks of thy sheep, until he hath destroyed thee.

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 he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fortified walls come down, in which thou didst trust, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.

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 thou shalt eat the fruit of thy own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the distress, by which thy enemies shall distress thee:

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 So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children whom he shall leave:

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 that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the distress, by which thy enemies shall distress thee in all thy 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 and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward 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 toward her young one her own offspring, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for lack of all things secretly in the siege and distress, by which thy enemy shall distress thee in thy 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 thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY 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 will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and grievous sicknesses, and of long continuance.

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

60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, of which thou wast afraid; and they shall cleave to thee.

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 plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou art 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 ye shall be left few in number, though ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy 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 to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land where thou goest 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 the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even to the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even 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 among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:

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 thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have no assurance of thy 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 thou shalt say, O that it were evening! and at evening thou shalt say, O that it were morning! for the fear of thy heart which thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thy eyes which thou shalt 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 thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I have said to thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold to your enemies for male and female slaves, and no man 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.”