Deuteronomy, 28

1. "Thus, then, shall it be: if you continue to heed the voice of the LORD, your God, and are careful to observe all his commandments which I enjoin on you today, the LORD, your God, will raise you high above all the nations of the earth.

1. 'But if you faithfully obey the voice of Yahweh your God, by keeping and observing all his commandments, which I am laying down for you today, Yahweh your God will raise you higher than every other nation in the world,

2. When you hearken to the voice of the LORD, your God, all these blessings will come upon you and overwhelm you:

2. and all these blessings will befall and overtake you, for having obeyed the voice of Yahweh your God.

3. "May you be blessed in the city, and blessed in the country!

3. 'You will be blessed in the town and blessed in the countryside;

4. "Blessed be the fruit of your womb, the produce of your soil and the offspring of your livestock, the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks!

4. blessed, the offspring of your body, the yield of your soil, the yield of your livestock, the young of your cattle and the increase of your flocks;

5. "Blessed be your grain bin and your kneading bowl!

5. blessed, your basket and your kneading trough.

6. "May you be blessed in your coming in, and blessed in your going out!

6. You will be blessed in coming home, and blessed in going out.

7. "The LORD will beat down before you the enemies that rise up against you; though they come out against you from but one direction, they will flee before you in seven.

7. The enemies who attack you, Yahweh will defeat before your eyes; they will advance on you from one direction and flee from you in seven.

8. The LORD will affirm his blessing upon you, on your barns and on all your undertakings, blessing you in the land that the LORD, your God, gives you.

8. Yahweh will command blessedness to be with you, on your barns and on all your undertakings, and he will bless you in the country given you by Yahweh your God.

9. Provided that you keep the commandments of the LORD, your God, and walk in his ways, he will establish you as a people sacred to himself, as he swore to you;

9. 'From you Yahweh will make a people consecrated to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and follow his ways.

10. so that, when all the nations of the earth see you bearing the name of the LORD, they will stand in awe of you.

10. The peoples of the world, seeing that you bear Yahweh's name, will all be afraid of you.

11. The LORD will increase in more than goodly measure the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your soil, in the land which he swore to your fathers he would give you.

11. Yahweh will make you abound in possessions: in the offspring of your body, in the yield of your cattle and in the yield of your soil, in the country which he swore to your ancestors that he would give you.

12. The LORD will open up for you his rich treasure house of the heavens, to give your land rain in due season, blessing all your undertakings, so that you will lend to many nations and borrow from none.

12. For you Yahweh will open his treasury of rain, the heavens, to give your country its rain at the right time, and to bless all your labours. You will make many nations your subjects, yet you will be subject to none.

13. The LORD will make you the head, not the tail, and you will always mount higher and not decline, as long as you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I order you today to observe carefully;

13. Yahweh will put you at the head, not at the tail; you will always be on top and never underneath, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, which I am laying down for you today, and then keep them and put them into practice,

14. not turning aside to the right or to the left from any of the commandments which I now give you, in order to follow other gods and serve them.

14. not deviating to right or to left from any of the words which I am laying down for you today, by following other gods and serving them.

15. "But if you do not hearken to the voice of the LORD, your God, and are not careful to observe all his commandments which I enjoin on you today, all these curses shall come upon you and overwhelm you:

15. 'But if you do not obey the voice of Yahweh your God, and do not keep and observe all his commandments and laws which I am laying down for you today then all these curses will befall and overtake you.

16. "May you be cursed in the city, and cursed in the country!

16. 'You will be accursed in the town and accursed in the countryside;

17. "Cursed be your grain bin and your kneading bowl!

17. accursed, your basket and your kneading trough;

18. "Cursed be the fruit of your womb, the produce of your soil and the offspring of your livestock, the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks!

18. accursed, the offspring of your body, the yield of your soil, the young of your cattle and the increase of your flock.

19. "May you be cursed in your coming in, and cursed in your going out!

19. You will be accursed in coming home, and accursed in going out.

20. "The LORD will put a curse on you, defeat and frustration in every enterprise you undertake, until you are speedily destroyed and perish for the evil you have done in forsaking me.

20. 'Yahweh will send a curse on you, a spell, an imprecation on all your labours until you have been destroyed and quickly perish, because of your perverse behaviour, for having deserted me.

21. The LORD will bring a pestilence upon you that will persist until he has exterminated you from the land you are entering to occupy.

21. Yahweh will fasten the plague on you, until it has exterminated you from the country which you are about to enter and make your own.

22. The LORD will strike you with wasting and fever, with scorching, fiery drought, with blight and searing wind, that will plague you until you perish.

22. Yahweh will strike you down with consumption, fever, inflammation, burning fever, drought, wind-blast, mildew, and these will pursue you to your ruin.

23. The sky over your heads will be like bronze and the earth under your feet like iron.

23. The heavens above you will be brass, the earth beneath you iron.

24. For rain the LORD will give your land powdery dust, which will come down upon you from the sky until you are destroyed.

24. Your country's rain Yahweh will turn into dust and sand; it will fall on you from the heavens until you perish.

25. The LORD will let you be beaten down before your enemies; though you advance against them from one direction, you will flee before them in seven, so that you will become a terrifying example to all the kingdoms of the earth.

25. Yahweh will have you defeated by your enemies; you will advance on them from one direction and flee from them in seven; and you will be a terrifying object-lesson to all the kingdoms of the world.

26. Your carcasses will become food for all the birds of the air and for the beasts of the field, with no one to frighten them off.

26. Your carcase will be carrion for all wild birds and all wild animals, with no one to scare them away.

27. The LORD will strike you with Egyptian boils and with tumors, eczema and the itch, until you cannot be cured.

27. 'Yahweh will strike you down with Egyptian ulcers, with swellings in the groin, with scurvy and the itch, for which you will find no cure.

28. And the LORD will strike you with madness, blindness and panic,

28. Yahweh will strike you down with madness, blindness, distraction of mind,

29. so that even at midday you will grope like a blind man in the dark, unable to find your way. "You will be oppressed and robbed continually, with no one to come to your aid.

29. until you grope your way at noon like a blind man groping in the dark, and your steps will lead you nowhere. 'You will never be anything but exploited and plundered, with no one to save you.

30. Though you betroth a wife, another man will have her. Though you build a house, you will not live in it. Though you plant a vineyard, you will not enjoy its fruits.

30. Get engaged to a woman, another man will have her; build a house, you will not live in it; plant a vineyard, you will not gather its first-fruits.

31. Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, and you will not eat of its flesh. Your ass will be stolen in your presence, but you will not recover it. Your flocks will be given to your enemies, with no one to come to your aid.

31. Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes and you will eat none of it; your donkey will be carried off in front of you and not be returned to you; your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will come to your help.

32. Your sons and daughters will be given to a foreign nation while you look on and grieve for them in constant helplessness.

32. Your sons and daughters will be handed over to another people, and every day you will wear your eyes out watching for them, while your hands are powerless.

33. A people whom you do not know will consume the fruit of your soil and of all your labor, and you will be oppressed and crushed at all times without surcease,

33. A nation hitherto unknown to you will eat the yield of your soil and of all your hard work. You will never be anything but exploited and crushed.

34. until you are driven mad by what your eyes must look upon.

34. You will be driven mad by the sights you will see.

35. The LORD will strike you with malignant boils of which you cannot be cured, on your knees and legs, and from the soles of your feet to the crown of your head.

35. Yahweh will strike you down with foul ulcers on knee and leg, for which you will find no cure -- from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.

36. "The LORD will bring you, and your king whom you have set over you, to a nation which you and your fathers have not known, and there you will serve strange gods of wood and stone,

36. 'Yahweh will send away both you and the king whom you have appointed to rule you to a nation unknown either to you or to your ancestors, and there you will serve other gods, made of wood and stone.

37. and will call forth amazement, reproach and barbed scorn from all the nations to which the LORD will lead you.

37. And you will be the astonishment, the byword, the laughing-stock of all the peoples where Yahweh is taking you.

38. "Though you spend much seed on your field, you will harvest but little, for the locusts will devour the crop.

38. 'You will cast seed in plenty on the fields but harvest little, since the locust will devour it.

39. Though you plant and cultivate vineyards, you will not drink or store up the wine, for the grubs will eat the vines clean.

39. You will plant and till your vineyards but not drink the wine or gather the grapes, since the grub will eat them up.

40. Though you have olive trees throughout your country, you will have no oil for ointment, for your olives will drop off unripe.

40. You will grow olive trees throughout your territory but not anoint yourself with the oil, since your olive trees will be cut down.

41. Though you beget sons and daughters, they will not remain with you, but will go into captivity.

41. You will father sons and daughters but they will not belong to you, since they will go into captivity.

42. Buzzing insects will infest all your trees and the crops of your soil.

42. All your trees and the whole yield of your soil will be the prey of insects.

43. The alien residing among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink lower and lower.

43. 'The foreigners living with you will rise higher and higher at your expense, while you yourself sink lower and lower.

44. He will lend to you, not you to him. He will become the head, you the tail.

44. You will be subject to them, not they to you; they will be the ones at the head, and you the one at the tail.

45. "All these curses will come upon you, pursuing you and overwhelming you, until you are destroyed, because you would not hearken to the voice of the LORD, your God, nor keep the commandments and statutes he gave you.

45. 'All these curses will befall you, pursue you and overtake you until you have been destroyed, for not having obeyed the voice of Yahweh your God by keeping his commandments and laws which he has laid down for you.

46. They will light on you and your descendants as a sign and a wonder for all time.

46. They will be a sign and a wonder over you and your descendants for ever.

47. Since you would not serve the LORD, your God, with joy and gratitude for abundance of every kind,

47. 'For not having joyfully and with happy heart served Yahweh your God, despite the abundance of everything,

48. therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and utter poverty, you will serve the enemies whom the LORD will send against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck, until he destroys you.

48. you will have to serve the enemy whom Yahweh will send against you, in hunger, thirst, lack of clothing and total privation. He will put an iron yoke on your neck, until he has destroyed you.

49. "The LORD will raise up against you a nation from afar, from the end of the earth, that swoops down like an eagle, a nation whose tongue you do not understand,

49. 'Against you Yahweh will raise a distant nation from the ends of the earth like an eagle taking wing: a nation whose language you do not understand,

50. a nation of stern visage, that shows neither respect for the aged nor pity for the young.

50. a nation grim of face, with neither respect for the old, nor pity for the young.

51. They will consume the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your soil, until you are destroyed; they will leave you no grain or wine or oil, no issue of your herds or young of your flocks, until they have brought about your ruin.

51. He will eat the yield of your cattle and the yield of your soil until you have been destroyed; he will leave you neither wheat, nor wine, nor oil, nor the young of your cattle, nor increase of your flock, until he has made an end of you.

52. They will besiege you in each of your communities, until the great, unscalable walls you trust in come tumbling down all over your land. They will so besiege you in every community throughout the land which the LORD, your God, has given you,

52. He will besiege you inside all your towns until your loftiest and most strongly fortified walls collapse, on which, throughout your country, you have relied. He will besiege you inside all the towns throughout your country, given you by Yahweh your God.

53. that in the distress of the siege to which your enemy subjects you, you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your own sons and daughters whom the LORD, your God, has given you.

53. During the siege and in the distress to which your enemy will reduce you, you will eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of the sons and daughters given you by Yahweh your God.

54. The most refined and fastidious man among you will begrudge his brother and his beloved wife and his surviving children,

54. The gentlest and tenderest of your men will scowl at his brother, and at the wife whom he embraces, and at his remaining children,

55. any share in the flesh of his children that he himself is using for food when nothing else is left him in the straits of the siege to which your enemy will subject you in all your communities.

55. not willing to give any of them any of his own children's flesh, which he is eating; because of the siege and the distress to which your enemy will reduce you in all your towns, he will have nothing left.

56. The most refined and delicate woman among you, so delicate and refined that she would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge her beloved husband and her son and daughter

56. The most refined and fastidious of your women, so refined, so fastidious that she has never ventured to set the sole of her foot to the ground, will scowl at the husband whom she embraces, and at her son and daughter, and at the after-birth when it leaves her womb, and at the child to which she has given birth-

57. the afterbirth that issues from her womb and the infant she brings forth when she secretly uses them for food for want of anything else, in the straits of the siege to which your enemy will subject you in your communities.

57. she will hide away and eat them, so complete will be the starvation resulting from the siege and the distress to which your enemy will reduce you in all your towns.

58. "If you are not careful to observe every word of the law which is written in this book, and to revere the glorious and awesome name of the LORD, your God,

58. 'If you do not keep and observe all the words of this Law, which are written in this book, in the fear of this glorious and awe-inspiring name: Yahweh your God,

59. he will smite you and your descendants with severe and constant blows, malignant and lasting maladies.

59. Yahweh will strike you down with monstrous plagues, you and your descendants: with plagues grievous and lasting, diseases pernicious and enduring.

60. He will again afflict you with all the diseases of Egypt which you dread, and they will persist among you.

60. He will afflict you with all the maladies of Egypt which you used to dread, and they will fasten on you.

61. Should there be any kind of sickness or calamity not mentioned in this book of the law, that too the LORD will bring upon you until you are destroyed.

61. What is more, Yahweh will afflict you with all the plagues and all the diseases not mentioned in the book of this Law, until you have been destroyed.

62. Of you who were numerous as the stars in the sky, only a few will be left, because you would not hearken to the voice of the LORD, your God.

62. There will only be a small group of you left, you who were once as numerous as the stars of heaven. 'For not having obeyed the voice of Yahweh your God,

63. "Just as the LORD once took delight in making you grow and prosper, so will he now take delight in ruining and destroying you, and you will be plucked out of the land you are now entering to occupy.

63. just as Yahweh used to delight in making you happy and in making your numbers grow, so will he take delight in ruining you and destroying you. You will be torn from the country which you are about to enter and make your own.

64. The LORD will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will serve strange gods of wood and stone, such as you and your fathers have not known.

64. Yahweh will scatter you throughout every people, from one end of the earth to the other; there you will serve other gods made of wood and stone, hitherto unknown either to you or to your ancestors.

65. Among these nations you will find no repose, not a foot of ground to stand upon, for there the LORD will give you an anguished heart and wasted eyes and a dismayed spirit.

65. Among these nations there will be no repose for you, no rest for the sole of your foot; there Yahweh will give you a quaking heart, weary eyes, halting breath.

66. You will live in constant suspense and stand in dread both day and night, never sure of your existence.

66. Your life ahead of you will hang in doubt; you will be afraid day and night, uncertain of your life.

67. In the morning you will say, 'Would that it were evening!' and in the evening you will say, 'Would that it were morning!' for the dread that your heart must feel and the sight that your eyes must see.

67. In the morning you will say, "How I wish it were evening!", and in the evening you will say, "How I wish it were morning!", such terror will grip your heart and such sights you will see!

68. The LORD will send you back in galleys to Egypt, to the region I told you that you were never to see again; and there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer."

68. Yahweh will send you back to Egypt, either by ship or by a road which I promised you would never see again. And there you will want to offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as serving men and women, but no one will buy you.'

69. These are the words of the covenant which the LORD ordered Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant which he made with them at Horeb.

69. These are the words of the covenant which Yahweh ordered Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant which he had made with them at Horeb.