Deuteronomy 28:20

20 "1The LORD will send upon you curses, confusion, and 2rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until 3you perish quickly, on account * of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me.

Deuteronomy 28:20 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 28:20

The Lord shall send upon thee cursing
Which is either a general word for all that follows, or rather, since that had been expressed before in various instances, this may denote some particular judgment. Jarchi interprets it of penury, of want of all good things, extreme poverty, so as to be reduced to the utmost necessity, and as to stand in need of the common comforts and supports of life, and even to have their blessings and mercies turned into curses; the consequence of which must needs be

vexation;
trouble, distress, and anguish of spirit:

and rebuke;
this may well be considered as a rebuke and correction in Providence for sins committed, to awaken to a sense and acknowledgment of them, and to repentance for them:

in all that thou settest thine hand to do;
nothing done should prosper, to relieve them under their pressing wants, a curse attending all their efforts, and so sad disappointment follows; and all as a just rebuke for their many sins: and this would be their case more or less,

until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly;
through famine, and want of the common necessaries of life; as at the sieges of Samaria and Jerusalem, by the kings of Syria, Assyria, and Babylon:

because of the wickedness of thy doings, because thou hast forsaken
me;
their several immoralities and impieties, and particularly their idolatry, which was a forsaking the worship of the true God, and following idols; an iniquity to be punished by the judge, and of all things the most provoking to the Lord.

Deuteronomy 28:20 In-Context

18 "Cursed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
19 "Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 "The LORD will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me.
21 "The LORD will make the pestilence cling to you until He has consumed you from the land where you are entering to possess it.
22 "The LORD will smite you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with fiery heat and with the sword and with blight and with mildew, and they will pursue you until you perish.

Cross References 3

  • 1. Deuteronomy 28:8; Malachi 2:2
  • 2. Psalms 80:16; Isaiah 51:20; Isaiah 66:15
  • 3. Deuteronomy 4:26

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Lit "the putting forth of your hand which you do"
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