Deuteronomy 28:25-35

25 The Lord give thee (to) falling before thine enemies; by one way go thou [out] against them, and by seven ways flee thou from them, and be thou scattered by all the realms of [the] earth; (The Lord shall cause thee to fall before thy enemies; thou shalt go out against them by one way, but thou shalt flee from them by seven ways, and thou shalt be scattered into all the kingdoms of the earth;)
26 and thy dead body be it into meat to all birds of heaven, and to beasts of the earth, and none be that may drive them away. (and thy dead bodies shall be food for all the birds of the air, and all the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one who can drive them away.)
27 The Lord smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and the Lord smite the part of (the) body whereby ordures, or turds, be voided out; also the Lord smite thee with scab, and itching, so that thou mayest not be cured. (The Lord shall strike thee with the boils of Egypt, and he shall strike the part of the body where the ordures, or the turds, be voided out; and he shall also strike thee with scabs, and itching, from which thou can never be cured.)
28 The Lord smite thee with madness, and blindness, and wildness of thought; (The Lord shall strike thee with madness, and blindness, and wildness of thought;)
29 and grope thou in midday, as a blind man is wont to grope in darknesses; and (ad)dress he not thy ways; in all time suffer thou false challenge, and be thou oppressed by violence, neither have thou any that shall deliver thee. (and thou shalt grope in midday, like a blind man is wont to grope in the darkness; and the Lord shall not direct thy ways; at all times, or continuously, thou shalt be violently attacked and robbed, but thou shalt have no one to save thee.)
30 Take thou a wife, and another man sleep with her; build thou an house, and dwell thou not therein; plant thou a vinery, and gather thou not grapes thereof. (Thou shalt take a wife, but another man shall sleep with her; thou shalt build a house, but thou shalt not live in it; and thou shalt plant a vineyard, but thou shalt not gather its grapes.)
31 Thine ox be offered before thee, and eat thou not thereof; thine ass be ravished in thy sight, and be it not yielded again to thee; thy sheep be given to thine enemies, and none be that help thee to recover them. (Thy ox shall be slaughtered before thee, but thou shalt not eat any of it; thy donkey shall be stolen from thee, and it shall not be given back to thee; thy sheep shall be given over to thy enemies, and no one shall help thee to recover them.)
32 Thy sons and thy daughters be given to another people, while thine eyes see, and fail at the sight of them all day; and no strength be in thine hand (to help them). (Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given to another people, while thou seest it, and then thine eyes shall fail for not being able to see thy children all day long; and there shall be no strength in thy hands to help them.)
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.)

Deuteronomy 28:25-35 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.