Blessings on Obedience(A)

28 “Now it shall come to pass, (B)if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God (C)will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and (D)overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

(E)“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be (F)in the country.

“Blessed shall be (G)the [a]fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

“Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

(H)“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

“The Lord (I)will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

“The Lord will (J)command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you (K)set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

(L)“The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are (M)called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be (N)afraid of you. 11 And (O)the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord [b]swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you His good [c]treasure, the heavens, (P)to give the rain to your land in its season, and (Q)to bless all the work of your hand. (R)You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make (S)you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you [d]heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 (T)So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Curses on Disobedience(U)

15 “But it shall come to pass, (V)if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

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

17 “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

18 “Cursed shall be the [e]fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

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

20 “The Lord will send on you (W)cursing, (X)confusion, and (Y)rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me. 21 The Lord will make the [f]plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. 22 (Z)The Lord will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with (AA)scorching,[g] and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish. 23 And (AB)your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

25 (AC)“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 become [h]troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 (AD)Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away. 27 The Lord will strike you with (AE)the boils of Egypt, with (AF)tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and (AG)confusion of heart. 29 And you shall (AH)grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 28:4 offspring
  2. Deuteronomy 28:11 promised
  3. Deuteronomy 28:12 storehouse
  4. Deuteronomy 28:13 listen to
  5. Deuteronomy 28:18 offspring
  6. Deuteronomy 28:21 pestilence
  7. Deuteronomy 28:22 blight
  8. Deuteronomy 28:25 a terror

Blessings for Obedience

28 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow(A) all his commands(B) I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.(C) All these blessings will come on you(D) and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:

You will be blessed(E) in the city and blessed in the country.(F)

The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.(G)

Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.(H)

The Lord will grant that the enemies(I) who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.(J)

The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless(K) you in the land he is giving you.

The Lord will establish you as his holy people,(L) as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands(M) of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name(N) of the Lord, and they will fear you. 11 The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock(O) and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.(P)

12 The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse(Q) of his bounty,(R) to send rain(S) on your land in season and to bless(T) all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.(U) 13 The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow(V) them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.(W) 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left,(X) following other gods and serving them.

Curses for Disobedience

15 However, if you do not obey(Y) the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today,(Z) all these curses will come on you and overtake you:(AA)

16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.(AB)

17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.(AC)

18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.(AD)

19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.(AE)

20 The Lord will send on you curses,(AF) confusion and rebuke(AG) in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin(AH) because of the evil(AI) you have done in forsaking him.[a] 21 The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess.(AJ) 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease,(AK) with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought,(AL) with blight(AM) and mildew, which will plague(AN) you until you perish.(AO) 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.(AP) 24 The Lord will turn the rain(AQ) of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.

25 The Lord will cause you to be defeated(AR) before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven,(AS) and you will become a thing of horror(AT) to all the kingdoms on earth.(AU) 26 Your carcasses will be food for all the birds(AV) and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.(AW) 27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt(AX) and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. 29 At midday you will grope(AY) about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue(AZ) you.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 28:20 Hebrew me