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20 Jehovah will send upon thee cursing, discomfiture, and rebuke, in all that thou puttest thy hand unto to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the evil of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. 21 Jehovah will make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest in to possess it. 22 Jehovah will smite thee with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and with [a]the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. 23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. 24 Jehovah will make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

25 Jehovah will cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies; thou shalt go out one way against them, and shalt flee seven ways before them: and thou shalt be [b]tossed to and from among all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And thy dead body shall be food unto all birds of the heavens, and unto the beasts of the earth; and there shall be none to frighten them away. 27 Jehovah will smite thee with the boil of Egypt, and with the [c]emerods, and with the scurvy, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. 28 Jehovah will smite thee with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart; 29 and thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and robbed alway, and there shall be none to save thee. 30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not use the fruit thereof. 31 Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to save thee. 32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people; and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day: and there shall be nought in the power of thy hand. 33 The fruit of thy ground, and all thy labors, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway; 34 so that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 35 Jehovah will smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore boil, whereof thou canst not be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the crown of thy head.

36 Jehovah will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. 37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples whither Jehovah shall lead thee away. 38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather little in; for the locust shall consume it. 39 Thou shalt plant vineyards and dress them, but thou shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worm shall eat them. 40 Thou shalt have olive-trees throughout all thy borders, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast its fruit. 41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be thine; for they shall go into captivity. 42 All thy trees and the fruit of thy ground shall the locust possess. 43 The sojourner that is in the midst of thee shall mount up above thee higher and higher; and thou shalt come down lower and 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. 45 And all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: 46 and they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.

47 Because thou servedst not Jehovah thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things; 48 therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies that Jehovah shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. 49 Jehovah will bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; 50 a nation of fierce countenance, that shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young, 51 and shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy ground, until thou be destroyed; that also shall not leave thee grain, new wine, or oil, the increase of thy cattle, or the young of thy flock, until they have caused thee to perish. 52 And they shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fortified walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land; and they shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which Jehovah thy God hath given thee. 53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, whom Jehovah thy God hath given thee, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee. 54 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 hath remaining; 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 wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in all thy gates. 56 The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure 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, 57 and toward her [d]young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy 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, Jehovah thy God; 59 then Jehovah will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. 60 And he will bring upon thee again all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. 61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will Jehovah bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. 62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou didst not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God. 63 And it shall come to pass, that, as Jehovah rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so Jehovah will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest in to possess it. 64 And Jehovah will scatter thee among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers, even wood and stone. 65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of thy foot: but Jehovah will give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul; 66 and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear night and day, and shalt have no assurance of thy life. 67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would it were morning! for the fear of thy heart which thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 68 And Jehovah will bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I said unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall sell yourselves unto your enemies for bondmen and for bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 28:22 Or, as otherwise read, drought
  2. Deuteronomy 28:25 Or, a terror unto all
  3. Deuteronomy 28:27 Or, tumors. Or, plague boils
  4. Deuteronomy 28:57 Or, after-birth

20 The Lord will send on you curses,(A) confusion and rebuke(B) in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin(C) because of the evil(D) you have done in forsaking him.[a] 21 The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess.(E) 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease,(F) with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought,(G) with blight(H) and mildew, which will plague(I) you until you perish.(J) 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.(K) 24 The Lord will turn the rain(L) of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.

25 The Lord will cause you to be defeated(M) before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven,(N) and you will become a thing of horror(O) to all the kingdoms on earth.(P) 26 Your carcasses will be food for all the birds(Q) and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.(R) 27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt(S) and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. 29 At midday you will grope(T) about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue(U) you.

30 You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and rape her.(V) You will build a house, but you will not live in it.(W) You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit.(X) 31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation,(Y) and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. 33 A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression(Z) all your days.(AA) 34 The sights you see will drive you mad.(AB) 35 The Lord will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils(AC) that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.(AD)

36 The Lord will drive you and the king(AE) you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors.(AF) There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone.(AG) 37 You will become a thing of horror,(AH) a byword(AI) and an object of ridicule(AJ) among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you.(AK)

38 You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little,(AL) because locusts(AM) will devour(AN) it. 39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine(AO) or gather the grapes, because worms will eat(AP) them.(AQ) 40 You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off.(AR) 41 You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity.(AS) 42 Swarms of locusts(AT) will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.

43 The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower.(AU) 44 They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them.(AV) They will be the head, but you will be the tail.(AW)

45 All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you(AX) until you are destroyed,(AY) because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. 46 They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever.(AZ) 47 Because you did not serve(BA) the Lord your God joyfully and gladly(BB) in the time of prosperity, 48 therefore in hunger and thirst,(BC) in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke(BD) on your neck(BE) until he has destroyed you.

49 The Lord will bring a nation against you(BF) from far away, from the ends of the earth,(BG) like an eagle(BH) swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand,(BI) 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old(BJ) or pity for the young. 51 They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine(BK) or olive oil,(BL) nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined.(BM) 52 They will lay siege(BN) to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the Lord your God is giving you.(BO)

53 Because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you.(BP) 54 Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children, 55 and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities.(BQ) 56 The most gentle and sensitive(BR) woman among you—so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot—will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter(BS) 57 the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For in her dire need she intends to eat them(BT) secretly because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of your cities.

58 If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law,(BU) which are written in this book, and do not revere(BV) this glorious and awesome name(BW)—the Lord your God— 59 the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. 60 He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt(BX) that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. 61 The Lord will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law,(BY) until you are destroyed.(BZ) 62 You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky(CA) will be left but few(CB) in number, because you did not obey the Lord your God. 63 Just as it pleased(CC) the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please(CD) him to ruin and destroy you.(CE) You will be uprooted(CF) from the land you are entering to possess.

64 Then the Lord will scatter(CG) you among all nations,(CH) from one end of the earth to the other.(CI) There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.(CJ) 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place(CK) for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes(CL) weary with longing, and a despairing heart.(CM) 66 You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. 67 In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”—because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.(CN) 68 The Lord will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again.(CO) There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 28:20 Hebrew me