Deuteronomy 28
1 'And it hath been, if thou dost hearken diligently to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all His commands which I am commanding thee to-day, that Jehovah thy God hath made thee uppermost 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 upon thee, and overtaken thee, because thou dost hearken to the voice of Jehovah 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 [art] thou in the city, and blessed [art] thou in the field.
Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed in the field.
4 'Blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, increase of thine oxen, and wealth of thy 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] thy basket and thy kneading-trough.
Blessed shall be your barns, and blessed your storehouses.
6 'Blessed [art] thou in thy coming in, and blessed [art] thou in thy going out.
Blessed shall you be entering and departing.
7 'Jehovah giveth thine enemies, who are rising up against thee — smitten before thy face; in one way they come out unto thee, and in seven ways they flee before thee.
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 'Jehovah commandeth with thee the blessing in thy storehouses, and in every putting forth of thy hand, and hath blessed thee in the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to 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 'Jehovah doth establish thee to Himself for a holy people, as He hath sworn to thee, when thou keepest the commands of Jehovah thy God, and hast 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 Jehovah is called upon thee, and they have been 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 Jehovah hath made thee abundant in good, in the fruit of the womb, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, on the ground which Jehovah hath sworn to thy fathers to give to 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 'Jehovah doth open to thee his good treasure — the heavens — to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand, and thou hast lent to many nations, and thou — thou dost 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 Jehovah hath given thee for head, and not for tail; and thou hast been only above, and art not beneath, for thou dost hearken unto the commands of Jehovah thy God, which I am commanding thee to-day, 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 thou dost not turn aside from all the words which I am commanding you to-day — 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 hath been, if thou dost not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God to observe to do all His commands, and His statutes, which I am commanding thee to-day, that all these revilings have come upon thee, and overtaken 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 [art] thou in the city, and cursed [art] thou in the field.
Cursed shall you be in the city, cursed in the field.
17 'Cursed [is] thy basket and thy kneading-trough.
Cursed shall be your barn, and cursed your storehouses.
18 'Cursed [is] the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, increase of thine oxen, and wealth of thy 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 [art] thou in thy coming in, and cursed [art] thou in thy going out.
Cursed shall you be entering, and cursed departing.
20 'Jehovah doth send on thee the curse, the trouble, and the rebuke, in every putting forth of thy hand which thou dost, till thou art destroyed, and till thou perish hastily, because of the evil 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 'Jehovah doth cause to cleave to thee the pestilence, till He consume thee from off the ground whither thou art 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 'Jehovah doth smite thee 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 thee till thou 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 heavens which [are] over thy head have been brass, and the earth which [is] under thee iron;
May the heavens which are above you be of brass, and may the ground upon which you tread be of iron.
24 Jehovah giveth the rain of thy land — dust and ashes; from the heavens it cometh down on thee till 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 'Jehovah giveth thee smitten before thine enemies; in one way thou goest out unto them, and in seven ways dost flee before them, and thou hast 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 thy carcase hath been for food to every fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the earth, and there is none causing trembling.
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 'Jehovah doth smite thee with the ulcer of Egypt, and with emerods, and with scurvy, and with itch, of which thou art 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 'Jehovah doth smite thee 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 thou hast been gropling at noon, as the blind gropeth in darkness; and thou dost not cause thy ways to prosper; and thou hast been only oppressed and plundered all the days, and there is no saviour.
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 'A woman thou dost betroth, and another man doth lie with her; a house thou dost build, and dost not dwell in it; a vineyard thou dost plant, and dost 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 thine ox [is] slaughtered before thine eyes, and thou dost not eat of it; thine ass [is] taken violently away from before thee, and it is not given back to thee; thy sheep [are] given to thine enemies, and there is no saviour for thee.
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 [are] given to another people, and thine eyes are looking and consuming for them all the day, and thy 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 The fruit of thy ground, and all thy labour, eat up doth a people whom thou hast not known; and thou hast been only oppressed and bruised 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 thou hast been mad, because of the sight of thine eyes which thou dost see.
And may you be stupefied at the terror of the things your eyes will see.
35 'Jehovah doth smite thee with an evil ulcer, on the knees, and on the legs (of which thou art not able to be healed), from the sole of thy foot even unto thy 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 'Jehovah doth cause thee to go, and thy king whom thou raisest up over thee, unto a nation which thou hast not known, thou and thy fathers, and thou hast served there 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 hast been for an astonishment, for a simile, and for a byword among all the peoples whither Jehovah doth 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 'Much seed thou dost take out into the field, and little thou dost gather in, for the locust doth consume it;
You will sow much seed upon the ground, but you will harvest little. For the locusts will devour everything.
39 vineyards thou dost plant, and hast laboured, and wine thou dost not drink nor gather, for the worm doth consume 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 to thee in all thy border, and oil thou dost not pour out, for thine olive doth fall 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 'Sons and daughters thou dost beget, and they are not with thee, 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 all thy trees and the fruit of thy ground doth the locust possess;
Rot will consume all the trees, as well as the fruits of your land.
43 the sojourner who [is] in thy midst goeth up above thee very high, and thou goest 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 doth lend [to] thee, and thou dost not lend [to] him; he is for head, and thou art 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 come upon thee have all these curses, and they have pursued thee, and overtaken thee, till thou art destroyed, because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep His commands, and His statutes, which he hath 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 have been on thee for a sign and for a wonder, also on thy seed — to the age.
And there will be the signs and portents with you, and with your offspring, forever.
47 'Because that thou hast not served Jehovah thy God 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 thou hast served thine enemies, whom Jehovah sendeth against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in lack of all things; and he hath put a yoke of iron on thy neck, till 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 'Jehovah doth lift up against thee a nation, from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle it flieth; a nation whose tongue thou hast 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 — fierce of countenance — which accepteth not the face of the aged, and the young doth not favour;
a very insolent nation, which will show no deference to elders, nor take pity on little ones.
51 and it hath eaten the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy ground, till thou art destroyed; which leaveth not to thee corn, new wine, and oil, increase of thine oxen, and wealth of thy flock, till it 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 it hath laid siege to thee in all thy gates, till thy walls come down, the high and the fenced ones in which thou art trusting, in all thy land; yea, it hath laid siege to thee in all thy gates, in all thy land, which Jehovah thy God hath given to 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 hast eaten the fruit of thy body, flesh of thy sons and thy daughters (whom Jehovah thy God hath given to thee), in the siege, and in the straitness with which thine enemies do straiten 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 'The man who is tender in thee, 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 leaveth,
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 eateth, because he hath nothing left to him, in the siege, and in the straitness with which thine enemy doth straiten 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 woman in thee, and the delicate, who hath 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 cometh out from between her feet, even against her sons whom she doth bear, for she doth eat them for the lacking of all things in secret, in the siege and in the straitness with which thine enemy doth straiten thee within 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 dost not observe to do all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honoured and fearful name — Jehovah 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 hath Jehovah made wonderful thy strokes, and the strokes of thy seed — great strokes, and stedfast, and evil sicknesses, and stedfast.
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 hath brought back on thee all the diseases of Egypt, of the presence of which thou hast been afraid, and they have cleaved 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 stroke which is not written in the book of this law; Jehovah doth cause them to go up upon thee till 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 have been left with few men, instead of which ye have been as stars of the heavens for multitude, because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah 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 hath been, as Jehovah hath rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so doth Jehovah rejoice over you to destroy you, and to lay you waste; and ye have been pulled away from off the ground whither thou art 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 Jehovah hath scattered thee among all the peoples, from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth; and thou hast served there other gods which thou hast not known, thou and thy 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 among those nations thou dost not rest, yea, there is no resting-place for the sole of thy foot, and Jehovah hath given to thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and grief of 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 thy life hath been hanging in suspense before thee, and thou hast been afraid by night and by day, and dost not believe in 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 sayest, O that it were evening! and in the evening thou sayest, O that it were morning! from the fear of thy heart, with which thou art afraid, and from the sight of thine eyes which thou seest.
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 Jehovah hath brought thee back to Egypt with ships, by a way of which I said to thee, Thou dost not add any more to see it, and ye have sold yourselves there to thine enemies, for men-servants and for maid-servants, 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.”
