Deuteronomy 28:33-43

33 A people whom thou knowest not, eat (up) the fruits of thy land, and all thy travails; and ever[more] be thou suffering false challenges, and be thou oppressed in all days, or all time, (A people, whom thou knowest not, shall eat up the fruits of thy land, and thou shalt suffer false challenges forevermore, and thou shalt be oppressed for all time,)
34 and be thou wondering at the fearfulness of those things which thine eyes shall see. (and thou shalt wonder at the fearfulness of those things which thine eyes shall see.)
35 The Lord smite thee with the worst botch in the knees, and in the hinder parts of the leg; and thou may not be healed from the sole of thy foot till to thy top/unto the noll. (The Lord shall strike thee with the worst boils on your knees, and on the back part of your legs; and thou shalt never be able to be healed, from the sole of thy feet unto the top of thy head.)
36 And the Lord shall lead thee, and thy king, whom thou shalt ordain on thee, into a folk which thou knowest not, thou, and thy fathers; and thou shalt serve there to alien gods, to tree, and to stone. (And the Lord shall bring thee, and thy king, whom thou shalt ordain over thee, to a nation whom thou knowest not, neither thou, nor thy fathers; and thou shalt serve foreign, or other, gods there, yea, gods made out of wood and stone.)
37 And thou shalt be lost, or forgotten, into a proverb, and into a fable, to all peoples, to whom the Lord shall bring thee in. (And thou shalt become a proverb, and a fable, to all the people into whom the Lord shall bring thee.)
38 Thou shalt cast much seed into the earth, and thou shalt gather again little; for locusts shall devour all things.
39 Thou shalt plant, and dig a vinery, and thou shalt not drink the wine of it, neither thou shalt gather thereof anything; for it shall be wasted with worms. (Thou shalt plant a vineyard, and dig it, but thou shalt not drink the wine of it, nor shalt thou gather anything from it; for it shall be wasted by worms.)
40 Thou shalt have olive trees in all thy coasts, and thou shalt not be anointed with (the) oil of them; for they shall fall down, and perish. (Thou shalt have olive trees in all thy land, but thou shalt not be anointed with their oil; for they shall all fall down, and perish.)
41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, and thou shalt not use them (but thou shalt not have them near); for they shall be led into captivity.
42 Rust, or mildew, shall waste all thy trees and the fruits of thy land.
43 A comeling, that dwelleth with thee in the land, shall go up upon thee, and he shall be the higher; forsooth thou shalt go down, and shalt be the lower. (A newcomer, who shall live with thee in the land, shall go up over thee, and he shall be higher; but thou shalt go down, and shalt be lower.)

Deuteronomy 28:33-43 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 28

In this chapter Moses enlarges on the blessings and the curses which belong, the one to the doers, the other to the transgressors of the law; the blessings, De 28:1-14; the curses, some of which concern individual persons, others the whole nation and body of people, and that both under the former and present dispensations, and which had their fulfilment in their former captivities, and more especially in their present dispersion, De 28:15-68.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.