The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible
The Curses of Disobedience
Deuteronomy 28:15–68 — The Curses of Disobedience. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.
15If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·hā·yāh ’im- lō ṯiš·ma‘ bə·qō·wl Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā liš·mōr la·‘ă·śō·wṯ ’eṯ- kāl- miṣ·wō·ṯāw wə·ḥuq·qō·ṯāw ’ă·šer ’ā·nō·ḵî mə·ṣaw·wə·ḵā hay·yō·wm kāl- hā·’êl·leh haq·qə·lā·lō·wṯ ū·ḇā·’ū ‘ā·le·ḵā wə·hiś·śî·ḡū·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-it-shall-come-to-pass, if you-do-not hearken to the-voice of YHWH your-God, to-keep to-do all His-commandments and-His-statutes which I am-commanding-you today — that all these curses shall-come upon-you and-overtake-you:
Where the English smooths the original
So that thou shalt not be able to escape them, as thou shalt vainly hope and endeavour to do. There is no running from God, but by running to him; no fleeing from his justice, but by fleeing to his mercy.Benson turns the hunting-verb into a gospel: the only escape from the pursuing curse is flight toward the same God.
Wherever the sinner goes, the curse of God follows; wherever he is, it rests upon him. Whatever he has is under a curse.
The curses correspond in form and number Deuteronomy 28:15-19 to the blessings Deuteronomy 28:3-6 , and the special modes in which these threats should be executed are described in five groups of denunciations Deuteronomy 28:20-68 .Barnes gives the architecture the whole unit obeys: a six-fold curse mirroring the six-fold blessing, then five expanding groups.
they are almost exact counterparts of the blessings which were described in the preceding context as the reward of a faithful adherence to the covenant.
16You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
’at·tāh ’ā·rūr bā·‘îr wə·’ā·rūr ’at·tāh baś·śā·ḏeh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Cursed shall-you-be in-the-city, and-cursed shall-you-be in-the-field.
Where the English smooths the original
In Deuteronomy 28:16 the curses are delivered out in form, as the reverse of the blessings in Deuteronomy 28:3 ; and by observing what the blessings mean, the sense of the curses may easily be understood, the one being directly opposite to the other.Gill states the hermeneutic for the whole list: read each curse as the photographic negative of its matching blessing.
Deuteronomy 28:16-19 correspond precisely to Deuteronomy 28:3-6 , so as to set forth the curse as the counterpart of the blessing, except that the basket and kneading-trough are mentioned before the fruit of the body.Keil notes the one structural difference from the blessing-list: basket and trough precede the fruit of the body.
All his enjoyments are made bitter; he cannot take any true comfort in them, for the wrath of God mixes itself with them.
17Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
ṭan·’ă·ḵā ū·miš·’ar·te·ḵā ’ā·rūr
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Cursed shall-be your-basket and-your-kneading-trough.
Where the English smooths the original
Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
set forth the curse as the counterpart of the blessing, except that the basket and kneading-trough are mentioned before the fruit of the bodyKeil's single comment on the series reads all six verdicts as one counterpart of the blessing; set here against the cursed basket and trough.
Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
18The fruit of your womb will be cursed, as well as the produce of your land, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
pə·rî- ḇiṭ·nə·ḵā ’ā·rūr ū·p̄ə·rî ’aḏ·mā·ṯe·ḵā šə·ḡar ’ă·lā·p̄e·ḵā wə·‘aš·tə·rō·wṯ ṣō·ne·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Cursed shall-be the-fruit-of your-womb and-the-fruit-of your-ground, the-offspring of-your-cattle and-the-young of-your-flock.
Where the English smooths the original
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.
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.
set forth the curse as the counterpart of the blessing, except that the basket and kneading-trough are mentioned before the fruit of the body
19You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
’at·tāh ’ā·rūr bə·ḇō·’e·ḵā wə·’ā·rūr ’at·tāh bə·ṣê·ṯe·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Cursed shall-you-be in-your-coming-in, and-cursed shall-you-be in-your-going-out.
Where the English smooths the original
Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
The curses correspond in form and number Deuteronomy 28:15-19 to the blessings Deuteronomy 28:3-6Barnes' structural note completes the six-fold inversion at the going-out and coming-in.
20The LORD will send curses upon you, confusion and reproof in all to which you put your hand, until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the wickedness you have committed in forsaking Him.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
Yah·weh yə·šal·laḥ ham·mə·’ê·rāh ’eṯ- bə·ḵā ’eṯ- ham·mə·hū·māh wə·’eṯ- ham·miḡ·‘e·reṯ bə·ḵāl miš·laḥ yā·ḏə·ḵā ’ă·šer ta·‘ă·śeh ‘aḏ hiš·šā·meḏ·ḵā wə·‘aḏ- ma·hêr ’ă·ḇā·ḏə·ḵā mip·pə·nê rō·a‘ ma·‘ă·lā·le·ḵā ’ă·šer ‘ă·zaḇ·tā·nî
Literal — word-for-word from the original
YHWH will-send against-you the-curse, the-consternation, and-the-rebuke, in-all the-putting-forth of-your-hand which you-do, until you-are-destroyed and-until you-perish quickly, because-of the-evil of-your-doings, in-that you-have-forsaken Me.
Where the English smooths the original
המּהוּמה, the consternation produced by the curse of God, namely, the confusion with which God smites His foesKeil parses the triad as three synonyms heaped to strengthen one threat; this fragment glosses the central panic-word.
the second relates to disquiet and perplexity of mind, arising from the disappointment of their hopes, and presages of approaching miseries
Vexation ; rather, consternation ; the deadly confusion with which God confounds his enemies.
21The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has exterminated you from the land that you are entering to possess.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
Yah·weh had·dā·ḇer yaḏ·bêq bə·ḵā ’eṯ- ‘aḏ kal·lō·ṯōw ’ō·ṯə·ḵā mê·‘al hā·’ă·ḏā·māh ’ă·šer- ’at·tāh ḇā- šām·māh lə·riš·tāh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
YHWH will-make the-pestilence cleave to-you, until He-has-consumed you from-off the-ground which you are-entering there to-possess-it.
Where the English smooths the original
The Lord will make the pestilence fasten upon (cleave to) thee, till He hath destroyed thee out of the land
The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee,.... Not only to come upon them; but to continue with them
Shall make the pestilence cleave to thee — Sometimes Divine Providence shall scourge you by one calamity, and sometimes by another, and they will cut off your people in great numbers.
22The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew; these will pursue you until you perish.
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Yah·weh yak·kə·ḵāh baš·ša·ḥe·p̄eṯ ū·ḇaq·qad·da·ḥaṯ ū·ḇad·dal·le·qeṯ ū·ḇa·ḥar·ḥur ū·ḇa·ḥe·reḇ ū·ḇaš·šid·dā·p̄ō·wn ū·ḇay·yê·rā·qō·wn ū·rə·ḏā·p̄ū·ḵā ‘aḏ ’ā·ḇə·ḏe·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
YHWH will-smite-you with-the-wasting and-with-the-fever and-with-the-inflammation and-with-the-burning-heat and-with-the-sword and-with-the-blight and-with-the-mildew, and-they-shall-pursue-you until you-perish.
Where the English smooths the original
Consumption. —Only here and in Leviticus 26:16 . “With which the flesh is consumed and puffed out” (Rashi).Ellicott pins the wasting-disease word to its only twin in Leviticus 26:16, the very link the Verifier confirms.
Seven Plagues, four on men, and three on their crops.
seven diseases therefore (seven as the stamp of the words of God), whilst pestilence in particular is mentioned first, as the most terrible enemy of life.
23The sky over your head will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.
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šā·me·ḵā ’ă·šer ‘al- rō·šə·ḵā wə·hā·yū nə·ḥō·šeṯ wə·hā·’ā·reṣ ’ă·šer- taḥ·te·ḵā bar·zel
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-your-heavens that are over your-head shall-be bronze, and-the-earth that is under-you iron.
Where the English smooths the original
To this should be added terrible drought, without a drop of rain from heaven (cf. Leviticus 26:19 ).
Cp. Leviticus 26:19 : heaven as iron, earth as brass .Cambridge notes the metals are reversed from Leviticus 26:19 — a small textual fingerprint distinguishing the two curse-lists.
Many judgments are here stated, which would be the fruits of the curse, and with which God would punish the people of the Jews, for their apostacy and disobedience.
24The LORD will turn the rain of your land into dust and powder; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
Yah·weh ’eṯ- yit·tên mə·ṭar ’ar·ṣə·ḵā ’ā·ḇāq wə·‘ā·p̄ār yê·rêḏ ‘ā·le·ḵā min- haš·šā·ma·yim ‘aḏ hiš·šā·mə·ḏāḵ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
YHWH will-give the-rain of-your-land powder and-dust; from the-heavens it-shall-come-down upon-you until you-are-destroyed.
Where the English smooths the original
Instead of rain, dust and ashes should fall from heaven.
instead of showers of rain in their season, to water, refresh, and enrich the earth, and make it fruitful; and for want of them, and through the heat of the sun, being dried and parched, and its clods crumbled into dust
Powder and dust. —The great desert, which lies on the eastern frontier of Palestine, makes this only too possible.Ellicott grounds the dust-rain in the geography: the eastern desert sirocco makes the curse climatically literal.
25The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
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Yah·weh yit·ten·ḵā nig·gāp̄ lip̄·nê ’ō·yə·ḇe·ḵā tê·ṣê ’ê·lāw ’e·ḥāḏ bə·ḏe·reḵ tā·nūs lə·p̄ā·nāw ū·ḇə·šiḇ·‘āh ḏə·rā·ḵîm wə·hā·yî·ṯā lə·za·‘ă·wāh lə·ḵōl mam·lə·ḵō·wṯ hā·’ā·reṣ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
YHWH will-give-you smitten before your-enemies; by-one way you-shall-go-out against-him, and-by-seven ways you-shall-flee before-him; and-you-shall-become a-horror to-all the-kingdoms of-the-earth.
Where the English smooths the original
Defeat in battle, the very opposite of the blessing promised in Deuteronomy 28:7 . Israel should become לזעוה, "a moving to and fro," i.e., so to speak, "a ball for all the kingdoms of the earth to play with" (Schultz).
See on Deuteronomy 28:7 ; Deuteronomy 28:20 a . tossed to and fro ] Rather, for a trembling or a horror (Heb. leza‘avah ). So the v . does not necessarily imply exile.Cambridge ties v. 25 back to the victory-blessing of v. 7 and renders the rare leza‘avah as 'trembling/horror' — not necessarily exile.
thou shall go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them; march out against them in a body
26Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the air and beasts of the earth, with no one to scare them away.
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niḇ·lā·ṯə·ḵā wə·hā·yə·ṯāh lə·ma·’ă·ḵāl lə·ḵāl ‘ō·wp̄ haš·šā·ma·yim ū·lə·ḇe·hĕ·maṯ hā·’ā·reṣ wə·’ên ma·ḥă·rîḏ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-your-corpse shall-become food for-all the-birds of-the-heavens and-for-the-beasts of-the-earth, and-none frightening-them-away.
Where the English smooths the original
You will be cursed both in your life and in your death: for the burial is a testimony of the resurrection a sign you will lack because of your wickedness.The Geneva annotator reads the denial of burial theologically: an unburied body forfeits the buried seed's witness to resurrection.
Which was always reckoned a very grievous calamity, have no other burial than in the bowels of beasts and birds
And thy carcase shall be meat. —Repeated in Jeremiah 7:33 , and to be fulfilled in Tophet, when they had buried until there was no more room.
27The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors and scabs and itch from which you cannot be cured.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
Yah·weh yak·kə·ḵāh biš·ḥîn miṣ·ra·yim ū·ḇå̄·ʿo·p̄å̄·līm ū·ḇag·gā·rāḇ ū·ḇe·ḥā·res ’ă·šer lō- ṯū·ḵal lə·hê·rā·p̄ê
Literal — word-for-word from the original
YHWH will-smite-you with-the-boil-of-Egypt and-with-tumors and-with-scabs and-with-the-itch, of-which you-are-not-able to-be-healed.
Where the English smooths the original
The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt,.... Which some understand of the leprosy, Of that sort of it called "elephantiasis", frequent among the Egyptians
the ulcer of Egypt (see at Exodus 9:9 ), i.e., the form of leprosy peculiar to Egypt
The botch of Egypt. —The “boil,” with which the Egyptians were plagued ( Exodus 9:9 , &c.) is the same word.Ellicott pins the Egyptian boil to the very plague of Exodus 9:9 — the same Hebrew word turned back upon Israel.
28The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind,
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
Yah·weh yak·kə·ḵāh bə·šig·gā·‘ō·wn ū·ḇə·‘iw·wā·rō·wn ū·ḇə·ṯim·hō·wn lê·ḇāḇ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
YHWH will-smite-you with-madness and-with-blindness and-with-bewilderment of-heart.
Where the English smooths the original
there would come idiocy, blindness, and confusion of mind, - three psychical maladies; for although עוּרון signifies primarily bodily blindness, the position of the word between idiocy and confusion of heart, i.e., of the understanding, points to mental blindness here.
The three words are all found in Zechariah 12:4 But in that place the threat seems directed against the enemies of JerusalemEllicott independently spots the verbal link the Verifier confirms: all three rare words recur together only in Zechariah 12:4.
Those who walk by sight, and not by faith, are in danger of losing reason itself, when every thing about them looks frightful.Henry reads the madness-curse pastorally: faithless sight, fixed on terror, unmakes the mind.
29and at noon you will grope about like a blind man in the darkness. You will not prosper in your ways. Day after day you will be oppressed and plundered, with no one to save you.
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baṣ·ṣā·ho·ra·yim wə·hā·yî·ṯā mə·maš·šêš ka·’ă·šer hā·‘iw·wêr yə·maš·šêš bā·’ă·p̄ê·lāh wə·lō ṯaṣ·lî·aḥ ’eṯ- də·rā·ḵe·ḵā kāl- wə·hā·yî·ṯā ’aḵ ‘ā·šūq wə·ḡā·zūl hay·yā·mîm wə·’ên mō·wō·šî·a‘
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-you-shall-be groping at-noon as the-blind gropes in-the-darkness, and-you-shall-not prosper in-your-ways; and-you-shall-be only oppressed and-plundered all the-days, and-none saving.
Where the English smooths the original
Israel would grope in the bright noon-day, like a blind man in the dark, and not make his ways prosper, i.e., not hit upon the right road which led to the goal and to salvation
At noon-day, i.e. in the most clear and evident matters thou shalt grossly mistake and miss thy way. Thou shalt not prosper in thy ways; thy counsels and enterprises shall be frustrated, and turn to thy destruction.
Thou shalt not prosper in thy ways. —The exact opposite is promised to Joshua ( Deuteronomy 1:8 ) if he follows the Book of the Law.Ellicott hears the precise inversion of Joshua 1:8 — the prospering promised to the obedient, denied to the deaf.
30You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not enjoy its fruit.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
ṯə·’ā·rêś ’iš·šāh ’a·ḥêr wə·’îš yiš·gå̄·lɛn·nå̄h tiḇ·neh ba·yiṯ wə·lō- ṯê·šêḇ bōw tiṭ·ṭa‘ ke·rem wə·lō ṯə·ḥal·ləl·lɛn·nū
Literal — word-for-word from the original
A-wife you-shall-betroth, and-another-man shall-ravish-her; a-house you-shall-build, and-you-shall-not-dwell in-it; a-vineyard you-shall-plant, and-you-shall-not-use-its-fruit.
Where the English smooths the original
Another man shall lie with her before thou canst consummate thy marriage, and enjoy her as thy wife. And so in the following branches.
All his enjoyments are made bitter; he cannot take any true comfort in themHenry's note on bitter enjoyments lands precisely on the futility-curse: the wife, house, and vineyard owned but never enjoyed.
Cp. Deuteronomy 20:5-7 . The Heb. text employs a more violent term.Cambridge ties the frustrated wife/house/vineyard to the very war-exemptions of Deut 20:5-7, and flags the cruder Hebrew verb BSB softens.
31Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away and not returned to you. Your flock will be given to your enemies, and no one will save you.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
šō·wr·ḵā ṭā·ḇū·aḥ lə·‘ê·ne·ḵā wə·lō ṯō·ḵal mim·men·nū ḥă·mō·rə·ḵā gā·zūl mil·lə·p̄ā·ne·ḵā wə·lō yā·šūḇ lāḵ ṣō·nə·ḵā nə·ṯu·nō·wṯ lə·’ō·yə·ḇe·ḵā wə·’ên mō·wō·šî·a‘ lə·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Your-ox slaughtered before-your-eyes, and-you-shall-not-eat of-it; your-donkey seized from-before-you, and-it-shall-not-return to-you; your-flock given to-your-enemies, and-none saving for-you.
Where the English smooths the original
Thou shalt have none to rescue. —Here and in Deuteronomy 28:29 the Hebrew literally is, “Thou shalt have no Saviour.”Ellicott surfaces the buried word: literally 'no moshiaʻ, no Saviour' — the Savior-shaped absence the curse keeps naming.
Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof,.... Shall be taken from the herd, and out of the field or stall, by the enemy, and killed for the soldiers to feed on, and not the least part of it given to them
thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.
32Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, while your eyes grow weary looking for them day after day, with no power in your hand.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
bā·ne·ḵā ū·ḇə·nō·ṯe·ḵā nə·ṯu·nîm ’a·ḥêr lə·‘am wə·‘ê·ne·ḵā wə·ḵā·lō·wṯ rō·’ō·wṯ ’ă·lê·hem kāl- hay·yō·wm wə·’ên lə·’êl yā·ḏe·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Your-sons and-your-daughters given to-another people, and-your-eyes looking and-failing for-them all the-day, and-no power in-your-hand.
Where the English smooths the original
When you have provoked the divine justice to deliver you into the hands of your enemies, you shall have nothing left which you can call your own. Your very wives and children shall become a prey to your enemies
The language of this verse is perhaps the most pathetic piece of description in the whole chapter.Ellicott singles out v. 32 — parents watching for stolen children — as the chapter's most pathetic stroke.
But אֵל here is not "the Mighty One, God; but simply" might, strength, power," as in Genesis 31:29 ; Proverbs 3:27 ; Micah 2:1 .The Pulpit settles the ʼel-in-the-hand idiom as 'might/strength,' not 'God' — though the homonym still chills the helpless parent's empty hand.
33A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
‘am ’ă·šer lō- yā·ḏā·‘ə·tā yō·ḵal pə·rî ’aḏ·mā·ṯə·ḵā wə·ḵāl yə·ḡî·‘ă·ḵā kāl- hay·yā·mîm wə·hā·yî·ṯā raq ‘ā·šūq wə·rā·ṣūṣ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
The-fruit of-your-ground and-all your-toil a-people you-do-not-know shall-eat; and-you-shall-be only oppressed and-crushed all the-days.
Where the English smooths the original
A nation which thou knowest not. —Comp. Jeremiah 5:15-17 , “ A nation whose language thou knowest not . . . shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread” &c.Ellicott links the unknown-people of v. 33 to the eagle-nation prophecy of Jeremiah 5:15-17 — the same alien devourer.
Who shall come from a far country, whom thou didst not at all expect or fear, and therefore will be the more dreadful when they come.
Which thou knowest not; which shall come from a far country, which thou didst not at all expect or fear and therefore will be the more dreadful when they come; a nation whose language thou understandest not, and therefore canst not plead with them for mercy
34You will be driven mad by the sights you see.
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wə·hā·yî·ṯā mə·šug·gā‘ mim·mar·’êh ‘ê·ne·ḵā ’ă·šer tir·’eh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-you-shall-be driven-mad from-the-sight of-your-eyes which you-shall-see.
Where the English smooths the original
Thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes — Quite bereaved of all comfort and hope, and abandoned to utter despair.
On account of the shocking things seen by them, their dreadful calamities, oppressions, and persecutions
mad , rather driven mad . 35 breaks the connection between Deuteronomy 28:34 ; Deuteronomy 28:36 , and is more in place after 27Cambridge prefers the Pual force 'driven mad' and flags v. 35 as displaced — a textual-order observation, honestly noted.
35The LORD will afflict you with painful, incurable boils on your knees and thighs, from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
Yah·weh yak·kə·ḵāh rā‘ ’ă·šer lō- ṯū·ḵal lə·hê·rā·p̄ê biš·ḥîn ‘al- hab·bir·ka·yim wə·‘al- haš·šō·qa·yim mik·kap̄ raḡ·lə·ḵā wə·‘aḏ qā·ḏə·qo·ḏe·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
YHWH will-smite-you with-an-evil boil upon the-knees and-upon the-thighs, of-which you-cannot be-healed, from-the-sole of-your-foot to your-crown.
Where the English smooths the original
With the words, "the Lord will smite thee," Moses resumes in Deuteronomy 28:35 the threat of Deuteronomy 28:27 , to set forth the calamities already threatened under a new aspect, namely, as signs of the rejection of Israel from covenant fellowship with the Lord.
The Lord shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch, that cannot be healed,.... Which in those parts as it is very painful, so is not easily cured
A sore botch. —A boil, as in Deuteronomy 28:27 . In the knees.—Comp. Ezekiel 7:17 ; Ezekiel 21:7 , “All knees shall be weak as water.”Ellicott reads the sole-to-crown boil as the intensified return of the Egyptian boil of v. 27.
36The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
Yah·weh yō·w·lêḵ ’ō·ṯə·ḵā wə·’eṯ- mal·kə·ḵā ’ă·šer tā·qîm ‘ā·le·ḵā ’el- gō·w ’ă·šer ’at·tāh lō- wa·’ă·ḇō·ṯe·ḵā yā·ḏa‘·tā šām wə·‘ā·ḇaḏ·tā ’ă·ḥê·rîm ’ĕ·lō·hîm ‘êṣ wā·’ā·ḇen
Literal — word-for-word from the original
YHWH will-lead you and-your-king whom you-set over-you to a-nation which you-did-not-know, you nor your-fathers; and-there you-shall-serve other gods, wood and-stone.
Where the English smooths the original
This shows how widespread would be the national calamity; and at the same time how hopeless, when he who should have been their defender shared the captive fate of his subjects.
The former passage is not the only one in which Moses shows his fore knowledge that Israel would have a king.Ellicott presses the apologetic point: the foretold king (centuries before Saul) is Moses' genuine foreknowledge, not a late insertion.
This was fulfilled both in Jehoiachin and in Zedekiah, kings of Judah, who were carried captive to Babylon, by Nebuchadnezzar
37You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
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wə·hā·yî·ṯā lə·šam·māh lə·mā·šāl wə·liš·nî·nāh bə·ḵōl hā·‘am·mîm ’ă·šer- Yah·weh šām·māh yə·na·heḡ·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-you-shall-become a-horror, a-proverb, and-a-byword among all the-peoples where YHWH shall-drive-you.
Where the English smooths the original
This verse is the contrary to Deuteronomy 28:10 . It was verified in the first captivity, and did not wait for the last dispersion.Ellicott marks v. 37 as the exact inversion of v. 10 (the nations seeing Israel called by the LORD's name), fulfilled already in the first captivity.
byword ] Only here, Jeremiah 24:9 , 1 Kings 9:7 , 2 Chronicles 7:20 ; lit. the object of biting remarks .Cambridge documents the byword's rarity — only four verses — the lexical ground for the verbal tie to Jeremiah 24:9.
the very name of Jew being a universally recognized term for extreme degradation and wretchedness.
38You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because the locusts will consume it.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
tō·w·ṣî raḇ ze·ra‘ haś·śā·ḏeh te·’ĕ·sōp̄ ū·mə·‘aṭ kî hā·’ar·beh yaḥ·sə·len·nū
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Much seed you-shall-carry-out to-the-field, but-little you-shall-gather, for the-locust shall-consume-it.
Where the English smooths the original
Even in their own land the curse would fall upon every kind of labour and enterprise. Much seed would give little to reap, because the locust would devour the seed
and shall gather but little in at harvest; little springing up, or not coming to perfection, being blighted and blasted
These are the contrary to Deuteronomy 28:11Ellicott reads the harvest-futility of vv. 38-42 as the exact reversal of the abundance-blessing of v. 11.
39You will plant and cultivate vineyards, but will neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, because worms will eat them.
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tiṭ·ṭa‘ wə·‘ā·ḇā·ḏə·tā kə·rā·mîm lō- ṯiš·teh wə·ya·yin wə·lō ṯe·’ĕ·ḡōr kî hat·tō·lā·‘aṯ ṯō·ḵə·len·nū
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Vineyards you-shall-plant and-dress, but-wine you-shall-not-drink nor-gather, for the-worm shall-eat-it.
Where the English smooths the original
the planting and dressing of the vineyard would furnish no wine to drink, because the worm would devour the vine
so far from drinking of the wine of them, that they should not be able to gather any grapes from them: for the worms shall eat them; a sort of worms pernicious to vines
Worms ; probably the vine weevil, the convolvulus or involvulus of the Latin writersThe Pulpit identifies the vine-grub precisely (the convolvulus of the Latin agronomists) — a touch of naturalist detail behind the curse.
40You will have olive trees throughout your territory but will never anoint yourself with oil, because the olives will drop off.
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yih·yū lə·ḵā zê·ṯîm bə·ḵāl gə·ḇū·le·ḵā lō ṯā·sūḵ wə·še·men kî zê·ṯe·ḵā yiš·šal
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Olive-trees you-shall-have throughout all your-border, but-with-oil you-shall-not-anoint-yourself, for your-olive shall-drop-off.
Where the English smooths the original
They would have many olive-trees in the land, but not anoint themselves with oil, because the olive-tree would be rooted out or plundered (ישּׁל, Niphal of שׁלל, as in Deuteronomy 19:5 , not the Kal of נשׁל
but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; nor any other relations, friends, guests, as was usual at entertainments; see Psalm 23:5
Thine olive shall cast his fruit. Some would render here "shall be plundered or rooted out,"The Pulpit honestly weighs the verb — 'plundered/rooted out' vs. 'drop off' — leaving the philological question open.
41You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will go into captivity.
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tō·w·lîḏ bā·nîm ū·ḇā·nō·wṯ wə·lō- yih·yū lāḵ kî yê·lə·ḵū baš·še·ḇî
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Sons and-daughters you-shall-father, but-they-shall-not-be yours, for they-shall-go into-captivity.
Where the English smooths the original
Sons and daughters would they beget, but not keep, because they would have to go into captivity.
Or, "they shall not be thine" (q); being taken from them, and given to others, see Deuteronomy 28:32 ; and for the following reason: for they shall go into captivity
Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.
42Swarms of locusts will consume all your trees and the produce of your land.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
haṣ·ṣə·lā·ṣal yə·yā·rêš kāl- ‘ê·ṣə·ḵā ū·p̄ə·rî ’aḏ·mā·ṯe·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
All your-trees and-the-fruit-of your-ground the-cricket-swarm shall-dispossess.
Where the English smooths the original
All the trees and fruits of the land would the buzzer take possession of. צלצל, from צלל to buzz, a rhetorical epithet applied to locustsKeil catches the onomatopoeia: tsᵉlâtsal, 'the buzzer,' and the startling possession-verb yârash applied to a bug.
Consume ; literally, take possession of . The name given here to the ravaging insect is not the same as in ver. 38; but there can be no doubt it is the locust that is intended.
locust ] Heb. ṣelaṣal , from the rustling of its wings.Cambridge gives the etymology: the locust named for the rustle of its wings — sound captured in the Hebrew.
43The foreigner living among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink down lower and lower.
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hag·gêr ’ă·šer bə·qir·bə·ḵā ya·‘ă·leh ma‘·lāh mā·‘ə·lāh ‘ā·le·ḵā wə·’at·tāh ṯê·rêḏ maṭ·ṭāh māṭ·ṭāh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
The-sojourner who is in-your-midst shall-rise above-you higher and-higher, and-you shall-go-down lower and-lower.
Where the English smooths the original
Israel would be utterly impoverished, and would sink lower and lower, whilst the stranger in the midst of it would, on the contrary, get above it very high
The stranger that is within thee — Within thy gates; who formerly honoured and served thee, and were, some of them, glad of the crumbs which fell from thy table.Benson catches the social inversion: the sojourner once glad of crumbs from Israel's table now rises on Israel's ruin.
The antithesis to 12 b , 13 aCambridge marks vv. 43-44 as the exact antithesis to the head/lending blessing of vv. 12-13.
44He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.
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hū yal·wə·ḵā wə·’at·tāh lō ṯal·wen·nū hū yih·yeh lə·rōš wə·’at·tāh tih·yeh lə·zā·nāḇ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
He shall-lend to-you, and-you shall-not-lend to-him; he shall-be the-head, and-you shall-be the-tail.
Where the English smooths the original
The opposite of Deuteronomy 28:12 and Deuteronomy 28:13 would come to pass.
The stranger, or one of another nation, shall be in a capacity of lending to the Jew, when the Jew would not be able to lend to the Gentile, his circumstances being so low and mean
He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
45All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, since you did not obey the LORD your God and keep the commandments and statutes He gave you.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
kāl- hā·’êl·leh haq·qə·lā·lō·wṯ ū·ḇā·’ū ‘ā·le·ḵā ū·rə·ḏā·p̄ū·ḵā wə·hiś·śî·ḡū·ḵā ‘aḏ hiš·šā·mə·ḏāḵ kî- lō šā·ma‘·tā bə·qō·wl Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā liš·mōr miṣ·wō·ṯāw wə·ḥuq·qō·ṯāw ’ă·šer ṣiw·wāḵ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-all these curses shall-come upon-you and-pursue-you and-overtake-you until you-are-destroyed, because you-did-not-hearken to-the-voice of-YHWH your-God, to-keep His-commandments and-His-statutes which He-commanded-you.
Where the English smooths the original
In Deuteronomy 28:46 the address returns to its commencement in Deuteronomy 28:15 , with the terrible threat, "These curses shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever," for the purpose of making a pauseKeil sees vv. 45-46 close the inclusio opened at v. 15 — the curse-catalogue may originally have ended here.
and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee till thou be destroyed; which though they would endeavour to flee from and escape, should not be able, since they would follow them so closely and swiftly
Return to the keynote of the section (cp. Deuteronomy 28:15 ), and obvious conclusion to the curses which may originally have closed here.Cambridge agrees with Keil: v. 45 returns to the section's keynote and likely marks an original close.
46These curses will be a sign and a wonder upon you and your descendants forever.
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wə·hā·yū lə·’ō·wṯ ū·lə·mō·w·p̄êṯ ḇə·ḵā ū·ḇə·zar·‘ă·ḵā ‘aḏ- ‘ō·w·lām
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-they-shall-be on-you for-a-sign and-for-a-wonder, and-on-your-seed forever.
Where the English smooths the original
Since man was first placed on the earth, never was there a people that were such a sign to all the inhabitants of it as the Jews have been.Benson reads the 'sign forever' as fulfilled in the unique, enduring visibility of the Jewish people among the nations.
Yet "the remnant" Romans 9:27 ; Romans 11:5 would by faith and obedience become a holy seed.Barnes will not let 'forever' be the last word: he sets the Pauline remnant (Rom 11:5) against the permanence of the curse.
This, though it may imply the final and utter rejection of Israel as a nation, does not preclude the hope of restoration of a part of Israel as individuals
47Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance,
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ta·ḥaṯ ’ă·šer lō- ‘ā·ḇaḏ·tā ’eṯ- Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā bə·śim·ḥāh ū·ḇə·ṭūḇ lê·ḇāḇ kōl mê·rōḇ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Because you-did-not-serve YHWH your-God with-joy and-with-gladness of-heart, out-of the-abundance of-all-things.
Where the English smooths the original
There is only a choice of services; and he who boasts himself free is but a more abject slaveMaclaren's sermon 'A Choice of Masters' turns v. 47-48 into the universal law: not whether to serve, but whom — joyful service of God, or bondage.
Or, in the abundance of all things; for this is opposed to in hunger, in thirst, &c., Deu 28:48 .Poole reads 'the abundance of all things' as the deliberate foil to v. 48's famine — plenty unthanked answered by want.
which they enjoyed in the land of Canaan, a land that abounded with all good things; which laid them under great obligations to serve the Lord
48you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.
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wə·‘ā·ḇaḏ·tā ’eṯ- ’ō·yə·ḇe·ḵā ’ă·šer Yah·weh yə·šal·lə·ḥen·nū bāḵ bə·rā·‘āḇ ū·ḇə·ṣā·mā ū·ḇə·‘ê·rōm ū·ḇə·ḥō·ser kōl wə·nā·ṯan bar·zel ‘ōl ‘al- ṣaw·wā·re·ḵā ‘aḏ hiš·mî·ḏōw ’ō·ṯāḵ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
You-shall-serve your-enemies whom YHWH shall-send against-you, in-hunger and-in-thirst and-in-nakedness and-in-lack of-all-things; and-He-shall-put an-iron yoke upon your-neck until He-has-destroyed you.
Where the English smooths the original
This is highly just, that they who refuse the reasonable service of God should be made slaves to their enemies; and, instead of the easy yoke of God, should be put under a yoke of iron.Benson states the talion plainly: the easy yoke of God refused, the iron yoke of enemies imposed.
A yoke of iron, which thou canst neither well bear, nor break. See Jeremiah 28:13 ,14 .Poole ties the iron yoke to Jeremiah 28:13-14, where the prophet's wooden yoke is replaced by iron.
Since they would not serve the Lord their God, who was so good a master to them, and supplied them with all good things, and with plenty of them, they should serve other lords, their enemies
49The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
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Yah·weh yiś·śā gō·w mê·rā·ḥō·wq miq·ṣêh hā·’ā·reṣ yiḏ·’eh ‘ā·le·ḵā ka·’ă·šer han·nā·šer gō·w ’ă·šer lə·šō·nōw lō- ṯiš·ma‘
Literal — word-for-word from the original
YHWH will-lift against-you a-nation from-afar, from the-end of-the-earth, as the-eagle swoops; a-nation whose tongue you-shall-not-understand.
Where the English smooths the original
The eagles of Rome may be alluded to here. And of the Chaldæans it is said, “They shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat” ( Habakkuk 1:8 ).Ellicott keeps both referents open — Chaldean and Roman — refusing to collapse the swooping eagle into a single empire.
it applies to other enemies of Israel beside these, namely to the great imperial powers generally, the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Romans, whom the Lord raised up as the executors of His curse upon His rebellious people
from far , etc.] Isaiah 5:26 of Assyrians, Jeremiah 5:15 of Babylonians (though perhaps originally of Scythians).
50a ruthless nation with no respect for the old and no pity for the young.
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‘az pā·nîm ’ă·šer gō·w lō- yiś·śā p̄ā·nîm lə·zā·qên lō yā·ḥōn wə·na·‘ar
Literal — word-for-word from the original
A-nation fierce-of-face, who shall-not-lift-the-face to-the-old nor show-favor to-the-young.
Where the English smooths the original
A people "firm, hard of face," i.e., upon whom nothing makes an impression
A nation of a fierce countenance — Such were the Chaldeans, who, according to the historian, “slew the young men” of the Jews “in the house of the sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man or him that stooped for age.”Benson reads the merciless nation across both Chaldeans and Romans, citing the historian's record of pitiless slaughter.
which aptly describes the old Romans, who are always represented as such; and whereas it is said of the Chaldeans, that they were a nation dreadful and terrible, Habakkuk 1:7
51They will eat the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain or new wine or oil, no calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks, until they have caused you to perish.
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wə·’ā·ḵal pə·rî ḇə·hem·tə·ḵā ū·p̄ə·rî- ’aḏ·mā·ṯə·ḵā ‘aḏ hiš·šā·mə·ḏāḵ ’ă·šer yaš·’îr lə·ḵā lō- dā·ḡān tî·rō·wōš wə·yiṣ·hār šə·ḡar ’ă·lā·p̄e·ḵā wə·‘aš·tə·rōṯ ṣō·ne·ḵā ‘aḏ ha·’ă·ḇî·ḏōw ’ō·ṯāḵ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-it-shall-eat the-offspring of-your-cattle and-the-fruit-of your-ground until you-are-destroyed, who shall-not-leave you grain, new-wine, or-oil, the-offspring of-your-cattle or-the-young of-your-flock, until it-has-made-you-perish.
Where the English smooths the original
This foe would consume all the fruit of the cattle and the land, i.e., everything which the nation had acquired through agriculture and the breeding of stock, without leaving it anything, until it was utterly destroyed
and the fruit of thy land; their wheat, barley, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives, and dates: until thou be destroyed
See Deuteronomy 28:4 ; Deuteronomy 28:18 ; Deuteronomy 28:20 ; Deuteronomy 28:24 . All but a few LXX codd. omit until thou be destroyed .Cambridge cross-links the plunder-inventory back to the blessing (v. 4) and curse (v. 18) — the same staples named in promise, curse, and pillage.
52They will besiege all the cities throughout your land, until the high and fortified walls in which you trust have fallen. They will besiege all your cities throughout the land that the LORD your God has given you.
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wə·hê·ṣar lə·ḵā bə·ḵāl šə·‘ā·re·ḵā bə·ḵāl ’ar·ṣe·ḵā ‘aḏ hag·gə·ḇō·hō·wṯ wə·hab·bə·ṣu·rō·wṯ ḥō·mō·ṯe·ḵā ’ă·šer ’at·tāh bō·ṭê·aḥ bā·hên re·ḏeṯ wə·hê·ṣar lə·ḵā bə·ḵāl šə·‘ā·re·ḵā bə·ḵāl ’ar·ṣə·ḵā ’ă·šer Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā nā·ṯan lāḵ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-it-shall-besiege-you in-all your-gates until your-high and-fortified walls come-down, in-which you are-trusting, throughout all your-land.
Where the English smooths the original
The siege of the last two “fenced cities” by Nebuchadnezzar’s army is mentioned in Jeremiah 34:7 . The siege and capture of Jotapata by the Romans, in spite of all the efforts of the Jews to defend it, is specially recorded by Josephus.Ellicott documents the siege-curse twice fulfilled — Nebuchadnezzar's fenced cities and the Roman taking of Jotapata.
wherein thou trustedst , so Jeremiah 5:17 .Cambridge ties the trusted-walls clause to Jeremiah 5:17 — the misplaced confidence Deuteronomy everywhere warns against.
the Jews had several cities well fenced and strongly fortified, besides Jerusalem, which was fortified both by art and nature
53Then you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you.
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wə·’ā·ḵal·tā p̄ə·rî- ḇiṭ·nə·ḵā bə·śar bā·ne·ḵā ū·ḇə·nō·ṯe·ḵā ’ă·šer Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā nā·ṯan- lə·ḵā bə·mā·ṣō·wr ū·ḇə·mā·ṣō·wq ’ă·šer- ’ō·yə·ḇe·ḵā yā·ṣîq lə·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-you-shall-eat the-fruit of-your-womb, the-flesh of-your-sons and-your-daughters whom YHWH your-God gave-you, in-the-siege and-in-the-distress with-which your-enemy shall-press you.
Where the English smooths the original
Specially confirmed in the siege of Samaria by the Syrians ( 2Kings 6:26-29 ; but see on Deuteronomy 28:56 ), and also in Jerusalem when besieged by Nebuchadnezzar. (See Lamentations 2:20 ; Lamentations 4:10 .)Ellicott documents the literal fulfilment — Samaria under the Syrians, Jerusalem under Babylon — that the cannibalism-threat tragically met.
in their distress and siege they would be driven to eat the fruit of their body, and the flesh of their own children
Yet these are but the beginning of sorrows to those under the curse of God.
54The most gentle and refined man among you will begrudge his brother, the wife he embraces, and the rest of his children who have survived,
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
mə·’ōḏ hā·raḵ wə·he·‘ā·nōḡ hā·’îš bə·ḵā tê·ra‘ ‘ê·nōw ḇə·’ā·ḥîw ū·ḇə·’ê·šeṯ ḥê·qōw ū·ḇə·ye·ṯer bā·nāw ’ă·šer yō·w·ṯîr
Literal — word-for-word from the original
The-man 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 whom he-leaves-over.
Where the English smooths the original
The effeminate and luxurious man would look with ill-favour upon his brother, the wife of his bosom, and his remaining children, "to give" (so that he would not give) to one of them of the flesh of his children which he was consuming, because there was nothing left to him in the siege.
His wants will make him throw off all distinction of, and compassion for, his nearest and dearest relations. Hunger will make him snatch the meat out of the mouths of his own children, and grudge every morsel that they eat.
Evil, i.e. unkind, envious, covetous, to monopolize these dainty bits to themselves, and grudging that their dearest relations should have any part of them.Poole glosses the 'evil eye' idiom: the grudging that hoards the unspeakable food from one's own kin.
55refusing to share with any of them the flesh of his children he will eat because he has nothing left in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you within all your gates.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
mit·têṯ lə·’a·ḥaḏ mê·hem mib·bə·śar bā·nāw ’ă·šer yō·ḵêl mib·bə·lî lōw kōl hiš·’îr- bə·mā·ṣō·wr ū·ḇə·mā·ṣō·wq ’ă·šer ’ō·yiḇ·ḵā yā·ṣîq lə·ḵā bə·ḵāl šə·‘ā·re·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
So-as-not to-give to-any of-them of-the-flesh of-his-children which he-eats, because nothing is-left to-him, in-the-siege and-in-the-distress with-which your-enemy shall-press you in-all your-gates.
Where the English smooths the original
So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat,.... Neither give to a brother, nor to a wife, nor to any of his remaining children, the least bit of the flesh of a child he has killed and dressed for his own food; which adds to the barbarity of his action
A complication of horrors is here described. They shall eat some of their children and refuse to share even this food with those that are left.Ellicott names the compounded horror: not the cannibalism alone, but the refusal to share even that with the surviving family.
to give" (so that he would not give) to one of them of the flesh of his children which he was consuming, because there was nothing left to him in the siege.Keil's single comment spans vv. 54-55; set here against the refusal to share the flesh.
56The most gentle and refined woman among you, so gentle and refined she would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge the husband she embraces and her son and daughter
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hā·rak·kāh wə·hā·‘ă·nug·gāh ḇə·ḵā ū·mê·rōḵ mê·hiṯ·‘an·nêḡ ’ă·šer lō- nis·sə·ṯāh haṣ·ṣêḡ ḵap̄- raḡ·lāh ‘al- hā·’ā·reṣ tê·ra‘ ‘ê·nāh bə·’îš ḥê·qāh ū·ḇiḇ·nāh ū·ḇə·ḇit·tāh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
The-tender and-delicate woman among-you, who-would-not-venture to-set the-sole of-her-foot on 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.
Where the English smooths the original
The delicate and luxurious woman, who had not attempted to put her feet to the ground (had always been carried therefore either upon a litter or an ass: cf. Judges 5:10 , and Arvieux, Sitten der Beduinen Ar. p. 143), from tenderness and delicacy
This was fulfilled to the very letter in the case of Mary of Beth-ezob in the siege of Jerusalem by Titus. The story is told with horrible minuteness by Josephus, and again by Eusebius in his Church History.Ellicott names the historical horror — Mary of Beth-ezob in the Roman siege, recorded by Josephus and Eusebius — as the verse fulfilled to the letter.
Who is instanced in because of her sex, which is more pitiful and compassionate, and especially one that has been brought up genteelly, and has always lived deliciously
57the afterbirth that comes from between her legs and the children she bears, because she will secretly eat them for lack of anything else in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you within your gates.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
ū·ḇə·šil·yā·ṯāh hay·yō·w·ṣêṯ mib·bên raḡ·le·hā ū·ḇə·ḇā·ne·hā ’ă·šer tê·lêḏ kî- bas·sā·ṯer ṯō·ḵə·lêm bə·ḥō·ser- kōl bə·mā·ṣō·wr ū·ḇə·mā·ṣō·wq ’ă·šer ’ō·yiḇ·ḵā yā·ṣîq lə·ḵā biš·‘ā·re·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-toward her-afterbirth that-comes-out from-between her-legs, and-toward her-children whom she-bears — for she-shall-eat-them in-secret, for-lack of-all-things, in-the-siege and-in-the-distress with-which your-enemy shall-press you in-your-gates.
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Her young one ; literally, her after-birth . The Hebrew suggests an extreme of horror beyond what the Authorized Version indicates.The Pulpit flags that the Hebrew (the hapax shilyâh) reaches an extreme the English versions soften.
Or her secundine, "her afterbirth", as in the margin of our Bibles; so the Targum of Jonathan and Aben Ezra interpret it.
Yet these are but the beginning of sorrows to those under the curse of God. What then will be the misery of that world where their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched!Henry lifts the eye from the siege-horror to the worse judgment it forewarns — the unquenched fire of the world to come.
58If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God—
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
’im- lō ṯiš·mōr la·‘ă·śō·wṯ ’eṯ- kāl- diḇ·rê haz·zōṯ hat·tō·w·rāh hak·kə·ṯū·ḇîm haz·zeh bas·sê·p̄er lə·yir·’āh ’eṯ- han·niḵ·bāḏ wə·han·nō·w·rā haz·zeh ’êṯ haš·šêm Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
If you-do-not-keep to-do all the-words of-this-law written in-this-book, to-fear this-glorious and-awesome Name, YHWH your-God —
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The full measure of the divine curse would be poured out upon Israel, when its disobedience had become hardened into disregard of the glorious and fearful name of the Lord its God.
for one way or other God will be feared.Henry's clause crowns v. 58: the law's whole aim is the fear of the glorious Name — refused in reverence, it is exacted in plague.
It is no light matter when the Almighty says to any people or to any person, “I am Jehovah thy God.”Ellicott weighs the gravity of the Name (kâbôd = weight): to fear it is to feel the full weight of the Almighty's self-naming.
59He will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary disasters, severe and lasting plagues, and terrible and chronic sicknesses.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
Yah·weh ’eṯ- wə·’êṯ zar·‘e·ḵā wə·hip̄·lā mak·kō·ṯə·ḵā mak·kō·wṯ gə·ḏō·lō·wṯ wə·ne·’ĕ·mā·nō·wṯ mak·kō·wṯ rā·‘îm wə·ne·’ĕ·mā·nîm wā·ḥo·lā·yim
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Then-YHWH will-make-extraordinary your-plagues and-the-plagues of-your-seed, great and-lasting plagues, and-evil and-lasting sicknesses.
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the Lord would make its strokes and the strokes of its seed wonderful, i.e., would visit the people and their descendants with extraordinary strokes, with great and lasting strokes, and with evil and lasting diseases
Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful,.... Visible, remarkable, distinguishable, and astonishing to all that see them
wonderful ] Extraordinary or exceptional .Cambridge renders the marvel-verb plainly as 'extraordinary' — God working wonders, here of plague.
60He will afflict you again with all the diseases you dreaded in Egypt, and they will cling to you.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·hê·šîḇ bə·ḵā ’êṯ kāl- maḏ·wêh ’ă·šer yā·ḡō·rə·tā miṣ·ra·yim mip·pə·nê·hem wə·ḏā·ḇə·qū bāḵ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-He-will-bring-back upon-you all the-diseases of-Egypt which you-dreaded, and-they-shall-cling to-you.
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would visit the people and their descendants with extraordinary strokes, with great and lasting strokes, and with evil and lasting diseases ( Deuteronomy 28:60 ), and would bring all the pestilences of Egypt uponKeil's comment spans vv. 59-60; the bringing-back of Egypt's pestilences is the heart of the verse.
Contrast Exodus 15:26 . “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of Jehovah . . . I will put none of these diseases of Egypt which thou knowest, upon thee; for I am Jehovah, that healeth thee”Ellicott sets the verse against Exodus 15:26 — YHWH-Rophe who withheld Egypt's diseases now returns them; the Healer's promise reversed.
All that in a way of judgment were brought upon the Egyptians for refusing to let Israel go; or all such diseases as were peculiar to them, and common among them, as the leprosy, the itch, ulcers
61The LORD will also bring upon you every sickness and plague not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
Yah·weh gam ya‘·lêm ‘ā·le·ḵā kāl- ḥo·lî wə·ḵāl mak·kāh ’ă·šer lō ḵā·ṯūḇ haz·zōṯ bə·sê·p̄er hat·tō·w·rāh ‘aḏ hiš·šā·mə·ḏāḵ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Also every sickness and-every plague which is-not-written in-the-book of-this-law, YHWH will-bring-up upon-you until you-are-destroyed.
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Also every disease and every stroke that was not written in this book of the law, - not only those that were written in the book of the law, but those also that did not stand therein.
Which is not here mentioned or threatened; and it suggests, that whatsoever sickness or disease that could be thought of or named, or were at any time in any place among men, might be expected to come upon them for their disobedience
Well might the Apostle write, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”Ellicott reaches for Hebrews 10:31 to gloss the unwritten plagues: the judgment exceeds every catalogue.
62You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left few in number, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
ta·ḥaṯ ’ă·šer hĕ·yî·ṯem lā·rōḇ kə·ḵō·wḵ·ḇê haš·šā·ma·yim wə·niš·’ar·tem mə·‘āṭ bim·ṯê kî- lō šā·ma‘·tā bə·qō·wl Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-you-shall-be-left few in-number, whereas you were as the-stars of-the-heavens for-multitude, because you-did-not-hearken to-the-voice of-YHWH your-God.
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Israel would be almost annihilated thereby. "Ye will be left in few people (a small number; cf. Deuteronomy 26:5 ), whereas ye were as numerous as the stars of heaven."
there was in the last siege of Jerusalem, by Titus, an infinite multitude, saith Josephus, who perished by famineBenson reads the star-multitude reduced to a remnant against Josephus' account of the famine-deaths in the Roman siege.
If they would not serve God with cheerfulness, they should be compelled to serve their enemies.Henry's reversal-epigram (from the 28:45-68 block) frames the star-promise shrunk to a remnant.
63Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and multiply, so also it will please Him to annihilate you and destroy you. And you will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.
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wə·hā·yāh ka·’ă·šer- śāś Yah·weh ‘ă·lê·ḵem lə·hê·ṭîḇ ’eṯ·ḵem ū·lə·har·bō·wṯ ’eṯ·ḵem kên yā·śîś Yah·weh ‘ă·lê·ḵem lə·ha·’ă·ḇîḏ ’eṯ·ḵem ū·lə·haš·mîḏ ’eṯ·ḵem wə·nis·saḥ·tem mê·‘al hā·’ă·ḏā·māh ’ă·šer- ’at·tāh ḇā- šām·māh lə·riš·tāh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-it-shall-be, just-as YHWH rejoiced over-you to-do-you-good and-to-multiply-you, so YHWH will-rejoice over-you to-make-you-perish and-to-destroy-you; and-you-shall-be-plucked from-off the-ground which you are-entering there to-possess.
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With this bold anthropomorphic expression Moses seeks to remove from the nation the last prop of false confidence in the mercy of God.
Rejoice over you to destroy you; his just indignation against you will be so great, that it will be a pleasure to him to take vengeance on you. For though he doth not delight in the death of a sinner in itselfPoole holds both truths: God does not delight in a sinner's death in itself (Ezek 18), yet His vindicated justice is its own kind of pleasure.
They have, indeed, been plucked from off the land, ver. 63.
64Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
Yah·weh we·hĕ·p̄î·ṣə·ḵā bə·ḵāl hā·‘am·mîm miq·ṣêh hā·’ā·reṣ wə·‘aḏ- qə·ṣêh hā·’ā·reṣ šām wə·‘ā·ḇaḏ·tā ’ă·ḥê·rîm ’ĕ·lō·hîm ‘êṣ wā·’ā·ḇen ’ă·šer ’at·tāh lō- wa·’ă·ḇō·ṯe·ḵā yā·ḏa‘·tā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-YHWH will-scatter-you among all the-peoples, from the-end of-the-earth to the-end of-the-earth; and-there you-shall-serve other gods, wood and-stone, which you-did-not-know, you nor your-fathers.
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And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people. —Fulfilled, literally, in this last dispersion.
scattered among all nations to the end of the earth, and there be compelled to serve other gods, which are wood and stone, which have no life and no sensation, and therefore can hear no prayer
Which refers to their present dispersion, being now, more or fewer, in all parts of the world, east, west, north, and south
65Among those nations you will find no repose, not even a resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despairing soul.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
hā·hêm ū·ḇag·gō·w·yim lō ṯar·gî·a‘ yih·yeh wə·lō- mā·nō·w·aḥ lə·ḵap̄- raḡ·le·ḵā šām Yah·weh lə·ḵā wə·nā·ṯan rag·gāz lêḇ wə·ḵil·yō·wn ‘ê·na·yim wə·ḏa·’ă·ḇō·wn nā·p̄eš
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-among those nations you-shall-have-no-repose, and-there-shall-be no resting-place for-the-sole of-your-foot; and-YHWH will-give you there a-trembling heart, failing eyes, and-a-despairing soul.
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They should have no rest; no rest of body, ver. 65, but be continually on the remove, either in hope of gain, or fear of persecution. No rest of the mind, which is much worse.
Israel would find no ease or rest, not even rest for the sole of its foot, i.e., no place where it could quietly set its foot, and remain and have peace in its heart.
The repeated persecutions of the Jews by other nations in the time of their dispersion are among the most fearful and wonderful phenomena of history.Ellicott reads the no-rest curse against the long, restless history of the dispersion — body and mind without a place to stand.
66So your life will hang in doubt before you, and you will be afraid night and day, never certain of survival.
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wə·hā·yū ḥay·ye·ḵā tə·lu·’îm lə·ḵā min·ne·ḡeḏ ū·p̄ā·ḥaḏ·tā lay·lāh wə·yō·w·mām wə·lō ṯa·’ă·mîn bə·ḥay·ye·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-your-life shall-be hung for-you in-doubt before-you, and-you-shall-dread night and-day, and-you-shall-not-believe in-your-life.
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Thy life will be hung up before thee," i.e., will be like some valued object, hanging by a thin thread before thine eyes, which any moment might tear down
Thy life shall hang in doubt before thee. —“Perhaps 1 shall die to-day by the sword that cometh upon me” (Rashi).
And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee,.... Whether it shall be spared or not by the enemy: and thou shalt fear day and night; being in continual dread of being killed
67In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’—because of the dread in your hearts of the terrifying sights you will see.
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bab·bō·qer tō·mar mî- yit·tên ‘e·reḇ ū·ḇā·‘e·reḇ tō·mar mî- yit·tên bō·qer mip·pa·ḥaḏ lə·ḇā·ḇə·ḵā ’ă·šer tip̄·ḥāḏ ū·mim·mar·’êh ‘ê·ne·ḵā ’ă·šer tir·’eh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
In-the-morning you-shall-say, “Would that it-were evening!” and-in-the-evening you-shall-say, “Would that it-were morning!” — from the-dread of-your-heart with-which you-shall-dread, and-from the-sight of-your-eyes which you-shall-see.
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In the morning they would wish it were evening, and in the evening would wish it were morning, from perpetual dread of what each day or night would bring.
The Talmud expounds this of the constant increase of trouble. Yesterday evening this morning was longed for. To-day the trouble is more terrible, and every hour adds to the curse.Ellicott relays the Talmud's reading: a misery that mounts hour by hour, each present moment worse than the longed-for past.
Yet these are but the beginning of sorrows to those under the curse of God.Henry lifts the morning-evening despair toward the worse sorrow it forewarns — the beginning, not the end, of the curse's grief.
68The LORD will return you to Egypt in ships by a route that I said you should never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”
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Yah·weh we·hĕ·šî·ḇə·ḵā miṣ·ra·yim bā·’o·nî·yō·wṯ bad·de·reḵ ’ă·šer ’ā·mar·tî lə·ḵā lō- lir·’ō·ṯāh ṯō·sîp̄ ‘ō·wḏ šām wə·hiṯ·mak·kar·tem lə·’ō·yə·ḇe·ḵā la·‘ă·ḇā·ḏîm wə·liš·p̄ā·ḥō·wṯ wə·’ên qō·neh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-YHWH will-bring-you-back to-Egypt in-ships, by-the-way of-which I-said to-you, “You-shall-not see it again”; and-there you-shall-sell yourselves to-your-enemies as-male-slaves and-as-female-slaves, and-none buying.
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If the exodus was the birth of the nation of God as such, return would be its death
The Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships. —Josephus says this was done with many of the Jews by Titus.Ellicott records the historical aftermath Josephus reports — Titus shipping captive Jews to Egypt — without forcing the prophecy to a single event.
And let us be thankful that Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, by being made a curse for usHenry ends the whole curse-chapter at the cross: the no-buyer of v. 68 is answered by the Redeemer who buys back the unbuyable.
The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.
AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.
The curse-section does not invent a new vocabulary; it photographs the blessing and prints the negative. Albert Barnes states the architecture plainly: “The curses correspond in form and number Deuteronomy 28:15-19 to the blessings Deuteronomy 28:3-6 , and the special modes in which these threats should be executed are described in five groups of denunciations.” Keil & Delitzsch hear the same structure as liturgy — the curse proclaimed, in his phrase, “in a sixfold repetition of the word” cursed, answering the sixfold bârûk. John Gill gives the reader the key: the curses are “delivered out in form, as the reverse of the blessings,” the one “directly opposite to the other.” The Hebrew bears this out lexeme for lexeme: the rare basket-and-trough pair (ṭeneʼ, mishʼereth, each in only four verses) and the near-hapax ʻashtᵉrâh (increase of the flock, four verses) recur from the blessing of vv. 4–5 into the curse of vv. 17–18 — verbal proof that this is one document run backwards.
After the formula, the curse expands into Barnes’ “five groups of denunciations.” The first (vv. 20–26) is general devastation — mᵉhûwmâh (the God-sent rout) and the unit’s one true hapax migʻereth (rebuke, found nowhere else). The second (vv. 27–37) turns Egypt’s plagues back on Israel — the boil of Egypt (v. 27), shiggâʻôwn/ʻivvârôwn/timmâhôwn (madness, blindness, stupor — the same three rare words that cluster only in Zechariah 12:4). The third (vv. 38–44) is agricultural futility crowned by the bitter pun of v. 42, where the locust yârashes — dispossesses — the orchards with the very conquest-verb Israel used on Canaan. The fourth and fifth (vv. 45–57) bring the eagle-nation and the siege. Keil refuses to pin the swooping eagle to one empire: it applies “to the great imperial powers generally, the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Romans, whom the Lord raised up as the executors of His curse.” The siege descends to its floor in the cannibalism of vv. 53–57, which Charles Ellicott documents as literally fulfilled “in the siege of Samaria by the Syrians” and “in Jerusalem when besieged by Nebuchadnezzar.” Keil hears the refrain “in the siege and in the straitness” repeated, in his rendering, “with their appalling sound,” through vv. 53, 55, 57 — the narrowness closing by reiteration.
At the structural hinge of the unit (vv. 45–48), Moses names the offence, and it is startling. The catalogue of plagues hangs not first on idolatry or bloodshed but on the joylessness of v. 47 — Israel “did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance” (BSB). The Hebrew bə·śim·ḥāh (festal joy) is the diagnostic word. Alexander Maclaren, preaching on vv. 47–48 under the title A Choice of Masters, frames the whole as “A service which is freedom because it is rendered by love, or a service which is hard slavery.” Matthew Henry draws the poetic justice that follows: “If they would not serve God with cheerfulness, they should be compelled to serve their enemies.” The same verb ʻâbad (serve) governs both clauses — joyless service of God in v. 47, famished service of foes in v. 48 — so the punishment is built from the crime’s own word.
The final group sums the whole law as the call to “fear this glorious and awesome name” (v. 58 BSB, ha-Shem), then unwinds the exodus thread by thread. The diseases of Egypt are brought back (v. 60, shûwb); the star-multitude of the Abrahamic promise is reduced to few men (v. 62); and the LORD who once rejoiced to multiply Israel now — in Keil’s words, “this bold anthropomorphic expression” meant “to remove from the nation the last prop of false confidence in the mercy of God” — rejoices to uproot it (v. 63). The chapter ends in Keil’s stark formula: “If the exodus was the birth of the nation of God as such, return would be its death.” Israel sails back to Egypt in ships (v. 68), to be sold as slaves with none buying — the redemption run perfectly backwards. Matthew Henry alone refuses to leave the reader there: “let us be thankful that Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, by being made a curse for us.”
Read under Sola Scriptura, Deuteronomy 28’s curse is not divine cruelty but divine faithfulness turned, by covenant violation, into its terrible obverse — and the text says so in its own grammar. The plagues are ne·’ĕ·mā·nō·wṯ (v. 59), “faithful,” from the root of amen: they keep God’s word as surely as the blessings would have. The whole catastrophe hangs, three times over (vv. 15, 45, 62), on one failed verb — shâmaʻ, to hear — the verb of the Shema; covenant ruin is, at bottom, a deafness to a Voice. Yet the deepest reading is that the curse is quotation: it cites the blessing (vv. 3–6), the Abrahamic star-promise (v. 62), the exodus (v. 68), in order to reverse them — which means the curse cannot speak without invoking the very grace it inverts. And one word goes missing exactly where it is most needed: mō·wō·šî·a‘, a savior — “and none saving” (vv. 29, 31). The chapter is shaped as a Savior-sized absence. Joseph Benson’s line on v. 15 reads the whole: “There is no running from God, but by running to him; no fleeing from his justice, but by fleeing to his mercy.” The curse that pursues (v. 45) can only be outrun toward the One who pronounces it. That this is fallible synthesis, not Scripture, must be held firmly — but the text’s own vocabulary points past its horror to a redemption it does not yet name.
The curse cannot be spoken without quoting the blessing it reverses — and at its center it leaves one word missing, mō·wō·šî·a‘, a savior: the chapter is shaped as a Savior-sized absence. (A reading to be tested, not a verse.)
AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.
The three afflictions of v. 28 — shiggâʻôwn (madness), ʻivvârôwn (blindness), and timmâhôwn (bewilderment of heart) — appear together as a cluster only in Zechariah 12:4, where the LORD smites the horses of the nations besieging Jerusalem with the same three. Two of the words are near-hapaxes (timmâhôwn in just 2 verses, the other two in 3 each), so the overlap is no coincidence of common speech but a deliberate verbal echo. The Verifier confirms all three shared lexemes.
Zechariah 12:4
basis: Verifier-confirmed Hebrew↔Hebrew link sharing three rare lexemes: H8541 timmâhôwn (in only 2 vv), H7697 shiggâʻôwn (in 3 vv), H5788 ʻivvârôwn (in 3 vv), plus H5221 nâkâh (smite). A cluster of low-frequency words shared by two verses = a verbal correspondence.
Verse 22’s first two diseases — shachepheth (wasting/consumption) and qaddachath (fever) — are each found in only two verses of the whole Hebrew Bible, and the other verse for both is Leviticus 26:16, the parallel covenant-curse of the Holiness Code. Charles Ellicott flags it independently: “Only here and in Leviticus 26:16.” Two rare words shared by one other verse make this the tightest verbal tie in the unit — Deuteronomy 28 is consciously composed alongside Leviticus 26.
Leviticus 26:16
basis: Verifier-confirmed Hebrew↔Hebrew link: H7829 shachepheth (in only 2 vv) and H6920 qaddachath (in only 2 vv), the twin of each being Leviticus 26:16. Two independent hapax-pairs shared with a single verse — a verbal/compositional correspondence, not a shared motif.
Verse 18 curses the ʻashtᵉrâh (the teeming young of the flock) and the sheger (the cast/dropped of the cattle) — and these are nearly the rarest words in the unit: ʻashtᵉrâh stands in only four verses of the whole Hebrew Bible, sheger in five. The same pair names the flock’s increase in the blessing of v. 4 and in the Abrahamic land-promise of Deuteronomy 7:13. So one rare lexeme runs the full covenant circuit — promise (7:13), blessing (28:4), curse (28:18) — and the Verifier confirms it. John Gill simply points the reader back: “See Gill on Deuteronomy 28:4.” Keil & Delitzsch read the whole list as one composition: the curses “correspond precisely to Deuteronomy 28:3-6.” The curse cannot even name the cattle without borrowing the blessing’s own word.
Deuteronomy 28:4 · Deuteronomy 7:13
basis: Verifier-confirmed Hebrew↔Hebrew link sharing two rare lexemes: H6251 ʻashtᵉrâh (in only 4 vv) and H7698 sheger (in 5 vv), plus H504 ʼeleph (7 vv). The same low-frequency flock-increase pair recurs in the blessing (28:4) and the land-promise (7:13); a cluster of rare words shared across these verses is a verbal/compositional correspondence, the highest-scoring candidate in the unit.
The horror of vv. 53–57 — eating “the flesh of your sons and daughters… in the siege and in the distress” — recurs in Jeremiah 19:9, where the same act is foretold over besieged Jerusalem. The Verifier finds the link carried by the rare distress-word mâtsôwq (6 vv) together with tsûwq, mâtsôwr, and bâsâr (flesh) — the fixed siege-cannibalism collocation. Ellicott documents the grim fulfilment at Samaria (2 Kings 6) and Jerusalem (Lam 4:10).
Jeremiah 19:9 · Lamentations 4:10
basis: Verifier-confirmed Hebrew↔Hebrew link sharing the rare H4689 mâtsôwq (in 6 vv) plus H6693 tsûwq, H4692 mâtsôwr, and H1320 bâsâr (flesh) — the siege-and-eat-flesh collocation. Lamentations 4:10 is the historical attestation (commentary basis, Ellicott), tiered with the Jeremiah verbal link.
Verse 37 threatens that Israel will become mâshâl (a proverb) and shᵉnîynâh (a sharp taunt) among the peoples. The second word is rare, and Cambridge documents it as a near-hapax — “Only here, Jeremiah 24:9 , 1 Kings 9:7 , 2 Chronicles 7:20 ; lit. the object of biting remarks .” Its pairing with mâshâl recurs in Jeremiah 24:9, where the LORD makes the rejected figs a reproach and a byword among the nations. The shared low-frequency lexeme grounds the verbal link.
Jeremiah 24:9 · 1 Kings 9:7
basis: Verifier-confirmed Hebrew↔Hebrew link: H8148 shᵉnîynâh (in only 4 vv) paired with H4912 mâshâl (proverb). The rarity of shᵉnîynâh in the same proverb-and-taunt collocation makes this verbal; 1 Kings 9:7 is added on the commentary basis (Cambridge) as the parallel, not a verifier hit.
Verse 65’s promise of no mânôwach (resting-place) in exile is echoed in Lamentations 1:3, where exiled Judah “finds no resting-place” among the nations. The shared rest-word is moderately rare (only 7 verses), but it is the single low-frequency lexeme the two verses hold in common — the other shared words (gôwy, nations, 511 vv; lôʼ, not, 3967 vv) are ubiquitous. One moderately-rare word in a shared no-rest-in-exile setting is an honest structural-thematic tie, not a quotation; we tier it down accordingly. Matthew Henry reads it as “no rest of body,” then worse, “No rest of the mind, which is much worse.”
Lamentations 1:3
basis: Verifier returns H4494 mânôwach (rest, in only 7 vv) shared with Lamentations 1:3, but the only other shared lexemes are H1471 gôwy (511 vv) and H3808 lôʼ (3967 vv) — both extremely common. A single moderately-rare word with no quotation claim is a shared motif/structure, not a verbal quotation; downgraded from the Verifier's mechanical 'verbal' label to structural/thematic under the under-claiming rule.
The frustrated-labor triad of v. 30 (betroth, build, plant — and enjoy none of it) becomes a fixed prophetic curse-form. Zephaniah 1:13 and Amos 5:11 reuse the build-houses-but-not-dwell, plant-vineyards-but-not-drink pattern. The Verifier confirms shared lexemes (nâṭaʻ plant, kerem vineyard, bânâh build, yâshab dwell), but these are common words; the binding tie is the shared structure, so this is tiered thematic, not verbal.
Zephaniah 1:13 · Amos 5:11
basis: Verifier-confirmed shared lexemes H5193 nâṭaʻ, H3754 kerem, H1129 bânâh, H3427 yâshab — but all are high-frequency common words; the real correspondence is the shared futility-curse pattern (build/not-dwell, plant/not-drink), so tiered structural/thematic rather than verbal.
Verse 23’s shut metallic sky and iron ground is the close cousin of Leviticus 26:19, and Cambridge notes the metals are reversed there (“heaven as iron, earth as brass”). Older harmonies also reach to 1 Kings 8:37 / Amos 4:9 for the blight-and-mildew pair (v. 22). But on v. 23 itself the Verifier finds no shared original-language lexeme with 1 Kings 8:37 — the connection there is thematic and must be argued, not asserted. We flag it honestly rather than overclaim a verbal link the index does not support.
Leviticus 26:19 · 1 Kings 8:37
basis: The Leviticus 26:19 tie rests on the shared bronze/iron-sky motif (commentary basis, Cambridge), with the metals reversed. The 1 Kings 8:37 tie returns from the Verifier with NO shared original-language lexeme — 'connection, if any, is thematic/structural and must be argued, not asserted.' Flagged accordingly.
Verse 25 ends with Israel made lə·za·‘ă·wāh — a horror, a thing one shudders at. The word zaʻăvâh is a true near-hapax: it occurs in only two verses of the entire Hebrew Bible, and its single twin is Ezekiel 23:46, where the LORD makes faithless Jerusalem “a horror and a spoil.” Keil & Delitzsch spot the same tie in the consonants, noting the form stands “here and at Ezekiel 23:46,” and glosses the sense as “a ball for all the kingdoms of the earth to play with.” Cambridge renders it “for a trembling or a horror (Heb. leza‘avah ).” Two verses, one rare word: the verbal link is exact.
Ezekiel 23:46
basis: Verifier-confirmed Hebrew↔Hebrew link: H2189 zaʻăvâh (in only 2 vv), whose sole twin is Ezekiel 23:46. A genuine near-hapax shared by exactly one other verse is a verbal correspondence; Keil independently names the Ezekiel 23:46 occurrence.
Among the four skin-diseases of v. 27 is gārāb (scab/scurvy), a rare word found in only three verses. Two of those three are sacrificial law: Leviticus 21:20 (a priest with gārāb is barred from the altar) and Leviticus 22:22 (an animal with gārāb is unfit to be offered). Cambridge traces it precisely: “scurvy ] Heb. garab (Ar. garab = mange), Leviticus 21:20 ; Leviticus 22:22.” The theological force is sharp: the very blemish that disqualifies a beast from sacrifice now falls on Israel’s own flesh — the cursed nation becomes, in its body, an offering God will not receive. Keil identifies the boil of the same verse as “the form of leprosy peculiar to Egypt.”
Leviticus 22:22 · Leviticus 21:20
basis: Verifier-confirmed Hebrew↔Hebrew link: H1618 gârâb (in only 3 vv), shared with Leviticus 22:22 (the third occurrence is Leviticus 21:20, added on the commentary basis, Cambridge). A rare lexeme shared with a single verse is a verbal correspondence; the figural weight (blemished-offering) is interpretive and marked as such in the body.
AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.
Paul reads the curse of the law through Deuteronomy and resolves it at the cross: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13). The hanging-citation is from Deuteronomy 21:23, but the curse of the law Paul has in view is exactly the qᵉlâlâh/ʼārûr sentence of this chapter (and 27:26). Matthew Henry ends his exposition of the whole curse-chapter here: “let us be thankful that Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, by being made a curse for us, and bearing in his own person all that punishment which our sins merit.” This is a structural/typological reading across Testaments, not a verbal Hebrew↔Greek link — Galatians quotes Greek and shares no Strong’s number with Deut 28 — but the figural correspondence is ancient and central: the “none saving” of vv. 29, 31 finds its answer in the One who became the curse to save.
Galatians 3:13 · Deuteronomy 28:15 · Deuteronomy 28:29
Verse 20 grounds the whole curse in a relational verb: ‘ă·zaḇ·tā·nî, “you have forsaken ME” (H5800 ʻâzab, with the first-person suffix). That same Hebrew verb is the cry of Psalm 22:1 — “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me” — and here the link is not merely figural: the Verifier finds Deuteronomy 28:20 and Psalm 22:1 share the actual lexeme ʻâzab (H5800). Because the verb is common (206 verses), this Hebrew↔Hebrew tie is structural, not a rare-word quotation — but it is a real lexical bridge, not an assertion. The Gospel takes the next step into Greek: Christ takes Psalm 22:1 onto His own lips at Golgotha (Matthew 27:46). Where Israel forsook God and so came under the curse, the sinless One is Himself forsaken, bearing the abandonment the covenant-breakers earned. The Deuteronomy→Psalm leg is a shared-lexeme structural link; the leap to Matthew 27:46 is purely figural (Greek, no shared Strong’s number), and the typology of the Forsaken-for-the-forsakers is widely held in the church’s reading.
Psalm 22:1 · Matthew 27:46 · Deuteronomy 28:20
The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.
Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:
Five honesty notes specific to this unit. (1) Verse 22’s ḥereb is a genuine textual fork. The consonants can be read ḥereb (“the sword”) or ḥoreb (“drought”). Keil & Delitzsch keep the sword (with the LXX, Targum, Syriac); the Vulgate, Arabic, and Samaritan read drought; BSB silently adopts the latter. We name both rather than resolve it. (2) Several historical-fulfilment claims belong to the commentators, not to the Hebrew. Ellicott’s remark that “The eagles of Rome may be alluded to here” (v. 49), his tying of v. 53 to the siege of Samaria, and of v. 68 to Titus shipping Jews to Egypt (after Josephus) are interpretive identifications — Keil rightly keeps the eagle-nation open to “the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Romans” together. We report these as voiced opinions, not as the text’s own claim. (3) The cross-Testament (Greek↔Hebrew) legs are typological, never verbal. Galatians 3:13 and Matthew 27:46 share no Strong’s number with Deuteronomy 28 (Greek vs. Hebrew indexes); they are figural readings tiered by attestation, and the Verifier correctly returns ‘flagged — no shared lexeme’ for every Hebrew↔Greek pair. The one exception is internal to the Old Testament: Deuteronomy 28:20 and Psalm 22:1 do share the Hebrew verb ʻâzab (H5800, forsake) — a real lexical bridge, but a common word (206 vv), so that leg is tiered structural, not verbal; only the further step to the Greek of Matthew 27:46 is purely figural. (4) One thread is flagged on the index itself: the popular harmony of v. 23 with 1 Kings 8:37 returns no shared original-language lexeme from the Verifier, so we mark it ‘verify source’ rather than assert a verbal link the data does not support. (5) One thread was tiered down for honesty. The v. 65 ↔ Lamentations 1:3 ‘no resting-place’ link rests on a single moderately-rare word (mânôwach, 7 vv) with only ubiquitous words besides; we downgrade it from the Verifier’s mechanical ‘verbal’ label to structural/thematic rather than overclaim a quotation. The parses are Berean/Strong’s and are not contradicted here.
✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)