Deuteronomy 28:42-52

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.)
44 He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him; he shall be into the head, and thou shalt be into the tail. (He shall lend to thee, but thou shalt not lend to him; he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.)
45 And all these cursings shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and take thee, till thou perish; for thou heardest not the voice of thy Lord God, neither keptest his commandments and ceremonies, which he commanded to thee. (And all these curses shall come upon thee, and they shall pursue thee, and shall overtake thee, until thou die; for thou heardest not the voice of the Lord thy God, nor obeyed his commandments and statutes, which he commanded to thee.)
46 And signs, and great wonders shall be in thee, and in thy seed, till into without end; (And these signs, and great wonders, shall be upon thee, and upon thy descendants, forevermore;)
47 for thou servedest not thy Lord God in joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things that God sent thee. (for thou servedest not the Lord thy God with joy and gladness in your heart, for the abundance of all the good things that God hath sent thee.)
48 Thou shalt serve thine enemy, whom God shall send to thee, in hunger, and thirst, and in nakedness, and in poverty of all things; and he shall put an iron yoke on thy noll, till he all-break thee. (And so thou shalt serve thy enemy, whom God shall send against thee, in hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, and in the poverty of all things; and he shall put an iron yoke upon thy neck, until he all-break thee.)
49 The Lord shall bring on thee a folk from far place, and from the last ends of [the] earth, into the likeness of an eagle flying with rush, of which folk thou mayest not understand their language; (The Lord shall bring against thee a nation from a far place, and from the last ends of the earth, like an eagle flying swiftly to its prey, of which nation thou shalt not understand their language;)
50 a folk most greedy asker this shall be (they shall be a nation, or a people, of fierce countenance), that shall not give reverence to an eld man, neither have mercy upon a little child.
51 And it shall devour the fruit of thy beasts, and the fruits of thy land, till thou perishest, and this folk shall not leave to thee wheat, wine, and oil, nor droves of oxen, and flocks of sheep, till he lose thee, (And they shall devour the fruit of thy beasts, and the fruit of thy land, until thou diest, and this nation shall not leave thee any corn, or wine, or oil, or herds of oxen, or flocks of sheep, until they have completely destroyed thee,)
52 and all-break [thee] in all thy cities (and have all-broken thee in all thy cities), and till thy firm and high walls be destroyed, in which thou haddest trust in all thy land. Thou shalt be besieged within thy gates in all thy land, which thy Lord God shall give to thee.

Deuteronomy 28:42-52 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.