Deuteronomy, 28

1. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe [and] to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:

1. Well now, if you obey in truth the voice of Yahweh, your God, practicing and observing all the commandments which I give you today, Yahweh, your God, shall raise you high above all the nations of the earth.

2. And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

2. Then all these blessings shall reach you and come upon you for having obeyed the voice of Yahweh, your God:

3. Blessed [shalt] thou [be] in the city, and blessed [shalt] thou [be] in the field.

3. Blessed shall you be in the city and in the field.

4. Blessed [shall be] the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

4. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body and the fruit of your land, the young of your asses, the offspring of your cattle and sheep.

5. Blessed [shall be] thy basket and thy store.

5. Blessed shall be your basket and your bowl of dough.

6. Blessed [shalt] thou [be] when thou comest in, and blessed [shalt] thou [be] when thou goest out.

6. Blessed shall you be when you begin and when you finish.

7. The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.

7. Yahweh will bring down your enemies who rise against you, and put them at your feet. By one way they shall come out against you but by seven ways they shall flee from you.

8. The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

8. Yahweh will order the blessing to be with you in your granaries and in your activities. He shall bless you in the land which Yahweh, your God, gives you.

9. The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.

9. Yahweh shall make you a holy people, as he has sworn, if you keep his commandments and follow in his ways.

10. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.

10. Then all the nations of the earth shall see that you are under the protection of Yahweh and they will respect you.

11. And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.

11. Yahweh shall fill you with all kinds of good things, increasing the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your land which Yahweh promised on oath to your fathers that he would give you.

12. The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.

12. Yahweh shall open the heavens for you, his rich treasury, to give rain in its season which your fields need, and he shall bless all that you plan to do. You shall lend to many nations but it shall not be necessary for you to borrow anything from them.

13. And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do [them]:

13. Yahweh will set you at the head of the nations and not at the tail; you shall always be on top and never below, if you fulfill the commandments of Yahweh, your God, which I command you today,

14. And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, [to] the right hand, or [to] the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

14. observing them and putting them into practice, without turning aside either to the right or to the left to follow and worship other gods.

15. But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

15. But if you do not obey the voice of Yahweh, your God, and do not take care to practice all his commandments and norms which I command you today, all these curses shall come upon you:

16. Cursed [shalt] thou [be] in the city, and cursed [shalt] thou [be] in the field.

16. Cursed shall you be in the city and in the field.

17. Cursed [shall be] thy basket and thy store.

17. Cursed shall your granary be, and cursed shall your storage houses be.

18. Cursed [shall be] the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

18. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the fruit of your land, the offspring of your cattle and the young of your sheep.

19. Cursed [shalt] thou [be] when thou comest in, and cursed [shalt] thou [be] when thou goest out.

19. Cursed shall you be in everything you do, from beginning to end.

20. The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.

20. Yahweh will send misfortune, destruction and fear upon everything you do until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil deeds you have done in forsaking Yahweh.

21. The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.

21. He shall make pestilence cling to you until you disappear from the land which you are entering today to make it yours.

22. The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

22. Yahweh will punish you with tuberculosis, fever, inflammation, fiery heat, wheat-smug and mildew that shall pursue you until you die.

23. And thy heaven that [is] over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee [shall be] iron.

23. The heavens above you shall be brass and the earth under you shall be iron.

24. The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

24. Instead of rain, Yahweh shall make ashes and powder fall from heaven until you are destroyed.

25. The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

25. Yahweh shall let you be defeated before your enemies. By one way you shall go out to fight them but by seven ways you shall flee from them. All the nations of the earth shall be horrified to see you.

26. And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray [them] away.

26. Your dead bodies shall serve as food for all the birds of the air, and no one shall chase them away.

27. The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.

27. Yahweh shall strike you with the boils and plagues of Egypt, with tumors, scurvy and itch, from which you cannot be healed.

28. The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:

28. Yahweh shall punish you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind.

29. And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save [thee].

29. In the same way that the blind grope in darkness, so shall you grope in broad daylight, and you shall not succeed. You shall always be oppressed and robbed, with no one to defend you.

30. Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.

30. You shall be engaged to marry a woman, but another man shall lie with her. You shall build a house but not live in it. You shall plant a vineyard but not eat its grapes.

31. Thine ox [shall be] slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass [shall be] violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep [shall be] given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue [them].

31. Your ox shall be slaughtered before you but you shall not eat of it. Before your very eyes, you shall be robbed of your ass, which will never be recovered. Your sheep shall be turned over to your enemies, but no one shall come to defend you.

32. Thy sons and thy daughters [shall be] given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail [with longing] for them all the day long: and [there shall be] no might in thine hand.

32. Your sons and daughters shall be handed over to foreign nations and you shall yearn for them continually but you will be unable to take action.

33. The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:

33. A people unknown to you shall eat the fruit of your fields, the fruit of all your toil. And you shall never cease to be exploited and oppressed all your life.

34. So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

34. You shall be driven mad by what you see.

35. The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.

35. Yahweh will strike you with the most malignant boils on the knees and legs, from which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

36. The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.

36. Yahweh will bring you and the king you have chosen to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods made of wood and stone.

37. And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.

37. All the nations to which Yahweh will bring you will be astonished, and will make you a byword and the butt of jokes.

38. Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather [but] little in; for the locust shall consume it.

38. You shall sow many seeds in your fields but shall harvest very little because the locusts shall devour them.

39. Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress [them], but shalt neither drink [of] the wine, nor gather [the grapes]; for the worms shall eat them.

39. You shall plant and cultivate a vineyard but shall not drink wine or eat grapes because the worms shall devour them.

40. Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint [thyself] with the oil; for thine olive shall cast [his fruit].

40. You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but they shall not give you even a drop of oil to anoint yourself, for the olives shall drop off and rot.

41. Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.

41. You shall have sons and daughters but they shall not be yours for they shall be taken into captivity.

42. All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.

42. All your trees and all the produce of your land shall be infested with insects.

43. The stranger that [is] within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.

43. The foreigner who lives with you shall prosper every day at your expense as you become poorer.

44. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.

44. He shall lend to you and you shall have to borrow; he shall always be the head and you the tail.

45. Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:

45. All these curses shall fall upon you, pursue you and oppress you until all of you perish, for you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh, your God, or obey the commandments and the norms which he gave you.

46. And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.

46. These shall be forever upon you and your descendants as an awesome sign.

47. Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all [things];

47. For having not served Yahweh, your God, with joy and gladness of heart when you lacked nothing,

48. Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all [things]: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.

48. you shall serve the enemies Yahweh will send against you, while you go hungry, thirsty, naked and suffer all kinds of misery. They shall put a yoke of iron upon your neck until they have destroyed you all.

49. The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, [as swift] as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;

49. Yahweh shall make a nation from afar come against you, as swift as the eagle flies,

50. A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:

50. a nation whose language you do not understand, a cruel nation that does not show respect to the old or compassion to the young.

51. And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which [also] shall not leave thee [either] corn, wine, or oil, [or] the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.

51. They shall consume the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your land so that you perish, leaving you with no wheat or wine or oil or the young of your cattle and sheep until they finish you off.

52. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.

52. They shall besiege you in all your cities until the highest and most fortified walls in which you placed your trust fall down throughout your land. You shall remain besieged within your cities throughout the land which Yahweh, your God, will give you.

53. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:

53. You shall eat the fruit of your body, the flesh of your sons and daughters which Yahweh has given you, in the siege and anguish to which your enemy will reduce you.

54. [So that] the man [that is] tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:

54. The most refined among you shall look with distrust at his brother, his wife and his children who are still alive

55. So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.

55. refusing to share with them the flesh of his children that he is eating, because nothing is left to him during the siege and the anguish to which your enemy shall reduce you in your cities.

56. The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,

56. The most tender and delicate woman among your people, so delicate and tender that she will not dare go barefoot, shall look with distrust at the husband of her heart, and also at her son and daughter.

57. And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all [things] secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.

57. She shall hide from them to eat the placenta from her womb and the children to whom she gave birth, for lack of any other food, when your enemy lays siege to your cities and reduces you to the most extreme misery.

58. If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;

58. If you do not put into practice all the words of this Law which are written in this book and do not fear that glorious and terrible Name, Yahweh, your God,

59. Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, [even] great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.

59. he will punish you, you and your descendants, with fearful plagues, severe and lasting plagues, malignant sicknesses and incurable diseases.

60. Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.

60. He will make all the plagues of Egypt fall upon you, which you were afraid of, and these shall cling to you.

61. Also every sickness, and every plague, which [is] not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

61. Even more, Yahweh shall order all the diseases and plagues which are not recorded in this book of the Law to be with you until you are wiped out.

62. And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.

62. For not having obeyed the voice of Yahweh, your God, only a few of you will remain, although before, you were as numerous as the stars of the heaven.

63. And it shall come to pass, [that] as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.

63. So it shall happen, that in the same manner that it pleased Yahweh to do you good and to multiply you, it shall also please him to pursue and destroy you. You shall be plucked off the land you are entering to conquer.

64. And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, [even] wood and stone.

64. Yahweh shall scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.

65. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:

65. In those nations, you shall not have peace or rest for the sole of your foot. There Yahweh shall give you a cowardly heart, swollen eyes and anxious soul by day and by night.

66. And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:

66. Your life shall be before you as a pendant that hangs on a thread, and you shall be in dread night and day.

67. In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

67. In the morning you shall say: "Would it were evening!" but in the evening you shall say: "Would it were morning!" because of the fear that makes your heart tremble when you behold what your eyes see.

68. And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy [you].

68. Yahweh shall bring you back to Egypt for your sin, in spite of what he said to you: "You shall not see it again." There you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as slaves, but no man will buy you."

69.

69. These are the words of the Covenant which Yahweh commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the Covenant he made with them at Horeb.