Deuteronomy, 28

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,

1. "And if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments which I command you this day, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

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

2. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.

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

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

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;

4. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your beasts, the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock.

5. blessed, your basket and your kneading trough.

5. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough.

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

6. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

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.

7. "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways.

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.

8. The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; and he will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives 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.

9. The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and walk in his ways.

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

10. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of 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.

11. And the LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, within the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.

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.

12. The LORD will open to you his good treasury the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

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,

13. And the LORD will make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall tend upward only, and not downward; if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day, being careful to do 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.

14. and if you do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

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.

15. "But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.

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

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

17. accursed, your basket and your kneading trough;

17. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough.

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

18. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock.

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

19. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

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.

20. "The LORD will send upon you curses, confusion, and frustration, in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly, on account of the evil of your doings, because you have forsaken me.

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.

21. The LORD will make the pestilence cleave to you until he has consumed you off the land which you are entering to take possession of it.

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

22. The LORD will smite you with consumption, and with fever, inflammation, and fiery heat, and with drought, and with blasting, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.

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

23. And the heavens over your head shall be brass, and the earth under you shall be iron.

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

24. The LORD will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down upon you until you are destroyed.

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.

25. "The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them; and you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

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

26. And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth; and there shall be no one to frighten them away.

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.

27. The LORD will smite you with the boils of Egypt, and with the ulcers and the scurvy and the itch, of which you cannot be healed.

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

28. The LORD will smite you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind;

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.

29. and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways; and you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you.

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.

30. You shall betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, and you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, and you shall not use the fruit of it.

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.

31. Your ox shall be slain before your eyes, and you shall not eat of it; your ass shall be violently taken away before your face, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and there shall be no one to help you.

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.

32. Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all the day; and it shall not be in the power of your hand to prevent it.

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.

33. A nation which you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors; and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually;

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

34. so that you shall be driven mad by the sight which your eyes shall see.

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.

35. The LORD will smite you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

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.

36. "The LORD will bring you, and your king whom you set over you, to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known; and there you shall serve other gods, of wood and stone.

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

37. And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples where the LORD will lead you away.

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

38. You shall carry much seed into the field, and shall gather little in; for the locust shall consume it.

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

39. You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worm shall eat them.

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

40. You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off.

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

41. You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity.

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

42. All your trees and the fruit of your ground the locust shall possess.

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

43. The sojourner who is among you shall mount above you higher and higher; and you shall come down lower and lower.

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.

44. He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.

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.

45. All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you, till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you.

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

46. They shall be upon you as a sign and a wonder, and upon your descendants for ever.

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

47. "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things,

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.

48. therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and in want of all things; and he will put a yoke of iron upon your neck, until he has destroyed you.

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,

49. The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you do not understand,

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

50. a nation of stern countenance, who shall not regard the person of the old or show favor to the young,

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.

51. and shall eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; who also shall not leave you grain, wine, or oil, the increase of your cattle or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.

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.

52. They shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which 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.

53. And you shall eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you.

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,

54. The man who is the most tender and delicately bred among you will grudge food to his brother, to the wife of his bosom, and to the last of the children who remain to him;

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.

55. so that he will not give to any of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because he has nothing left him, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your towns.

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-

56. The most tender and delicately bred woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot upon the ground because she is so delicate and tender, will grudge to the husband of her bosom, to her son and to her daughter,

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.

57. her afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears, because she will eat them secretly, for want of all things, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your towns.

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,

58. "If you are not careful to do all the words of this law which are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awful name, the LORD your God,

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

59. then the LORD will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting.

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

60. And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, which you were afraid of; and they shall cleave to you.

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.

61. Every sickness also, and every affliction which is not recorded in the book of this law, the LORD will bring upon you, until you are destroyed.

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,

62. Whereas you were as the stars of heaven for multitude, you shall be left few in number; because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

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.

63. And as the LORD took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you; and you shall be plucked off the land which you are entering to take possession of it.

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.

64. And the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, 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. 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.

65. And among these nations you shall find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of your foot; but the LORD will give you there a trembling heart, and failing eyes, and a languishing soul;

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

66. your life shall hang in doubt before you; night and day you shall be in dread, and have no assurance of your life.

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!

67. In the morning you shall say, `Would it were evening!' and at evening you shall say, `Would it were morning!' because of the dread which your heart shall fear, and the sights which your eyes shall see.

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.'

68. And the LORD will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey which I promised that you should never make again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no man will buy you."

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.

69.