Deuteronomy 28:20

20 "Yahweh will send upon you the curse, the panic, and the threat {in everything that you undertake}, {until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly} {because of} the evil of your deeds in that 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 "The fruit of your womb [shall] be cursed and the fruit of you ground, the calves of your cattle and the lambs of your flock.
19 "You shall be cursed {when you come in}, and you [shall] be cursed {when you go out}.
20 "Yahweh will send upon you the curse, the panic, and the threat {in everything that you undertake}, {until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly} {because of} the evil of your deeds in that you have forsaken me.
21 Yahweh will cause the plague to cling to you {until it consumes you} from the land that you [are] going to, to take possession of it.
22 Yahweh will afflict you with the wasting diseases and with the fever and with the inflammation and with the scorching heat and with the sword and with the blight and with the mildew, and they shall pursue you {until you perish}.

Footnotes 8

  • [a]. Others translate as a wish: "may Yahweh send upon you ..."
  • [b]. These words are translated variously, e.g., "starvation," "thirst," "rebuke/dysentery" (NEB) or "curses," "confusion," "frustration" (NLT)
  • [c]. Or "confusion"
  • [d]. Or "rebuke"
  • [e]. Literally "in all the sending out of your hand that you do"
  • [f]. Literally "until your to be destroyed and until your to perish quickly"
  • [g]. Literally "from the face of the evil of your deeds"
  • [h]. Literally "which"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.