Deuteronomy 28:1-14
THE BLESSINGS OF OBEDIENCE... [ Continue Reading ]
THE BLESSINGS OF OBEDIENCE... [ Continue Reading ]
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord, thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord, thy God, will set thee on high above all nations of the earth, this being the thought which is developed in the des... [ Continue Reading ]
and all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee, so as to surround every obedient Israelite with their fullness, IF THOU SHALT HEARKEN UNTO THE VOICE OF THE LORD, THY GOD, for that is always the condition whose fulfillment may not be evaded.... [ Continue Reading ]
Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field, out in the country, these two designations including the spheres in which life ordinarily moves.... [ Continue Reading ]
Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. The rich blessing of many children, always represented so in the Bible, would be equaled by the number and the quality of all other products.... [ Continue Reading ]
Blessed shall be thy basket, the place where the products of farm and orchard are stored for immediate use, AND THY STORE, the kneading-trough, Exodus 12:34, where the bread was prepared from day to day.... [ Continue Reading ]
Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out, Numbers 27:17, the blessing thus extending to all undertakings.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face, said in the form of a sincere wish: May the Lord deliver thine enemies smitten before thy face! the obligation of obedience thus being brought out once more. THEY SHALL COME OUT AGAINST THEE ONE WAY, AND FLEE... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, literally, place it at their disposal in causing their granaries and elevators to he full to overflowing, AND IN ALL THAT THOU SETTEST THINE HAND UNTO, in business of every kind; AND HE SHALL BLESS THEE IN THE LAND WHICH THE LORD, THY... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord shall establish thee, set thee up on high, AN HOLY PEOPLE UNTO HIMSELF, AS HE HATH SWORN UNTO THEE, Exodus 19:5; Genesis 22:16, IF THOU SHALT KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD, THY GOD, AND WALK IN HIS WAYS. Thus the destiny of Israel would be realized.... [ Continue Reading ]
And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, this conviction would be impressed upon them by the evidence before their eyes, the life of the entire people serving as an object-lesson, showing that Israel was in intimate fellowship with Jehovah; AND THEY SHA... [ Continue Reading ]
And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, give them more than enough for good fortune and prosperity, IN THE FRUIT OF THY BODY, AND IN THE FRUIT OF THY CATTLE, AND IN THE FRUIT OF THY GROUND, IN THE LAND WHICH THE LORD SWARE UNTO THY FATHERS TO GIVE THEE.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord shall open unto thee His good treasure, the storehouse of His rich blessings, THE HEAVEN TO GIVE THE RAIN UNTO THY LAND IN HIS SEASON, Leviticus 26:4, AND TO BLESS ALL THE WORK OF THINE HAND; AND THOU SHALT LEND UNTO MANY NATIONS, AND THOU SHALT NOT BORROW, Deuteronomy 15:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
And the Lord shall make thee the head and not the tail, always first and never last; and thou shalt be above only, AND THOU SHALT NOT BE BENEATH, having the advantage in every undertaking, always the victor in every war, IF THAT THOU HEARKEN UNTO THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD, THY GOD, WHICH I COMMAN... [ Continue Reading ]
and thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, the slightest deviation from the path of God's commands being regarded as unfaithfulness to the covenant between them and Jehovah, TO GO AFTER OTHER GODS TO SERVE THEM. There is always... [ Continue Reading ]
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord, thy God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses, namely, those enumerated in the second part of the Chapter, SHALL COME UPON THEE AND OVERTAKE THEE, li... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CURSES OF DISOBEDIENCE... [ Continue Reading ]
Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.... [ Continue Reading ]
Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.... [ Continue Reading ]
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.... [ Continue Reading ]
Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. These four verses correspond exactly to Deuteronomy 28:3, in order to emphasize the curse as the direct opposite of the blessing.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, His emphatic execration, VEXATION, the dismay and consternation following the divine curse, AND REBUKE, the threat of His holy wrath, IN ALL THAT THOU SETTEST THINE HAND UNTO FOR TO DO, in every plan and in every undertaking, UNTIL THOU BE DESTROYED, AND UNTIL... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until He have consumed thee from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. The most severe and the most dreaded disease is named first, to increase the effectiveness of the description.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption, the terrible white plague, the scourge of the world, AND WITH A FEVER, Leviticus 26:16, AND WITH AN INFLAMMATION, fever attended with a very high temperature, AND WITH AN EXTREME BURNING, AND WITH THE SWORD, or drought, AND WITH BLASTING, which would dry... [ Continue Reading ]
And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, not sending forth one drop of rain, Leviticus 26:19, as often happened in the later history of Israel, AND THE EARTH THAT IS UNDER THEE SHALL BE IRON, not yielding SO much as an ear of grain.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust, in the form of severe dust storms, accompanied by a burning wind, as they sometimes sweep over Palestine; FROM HEAVEN SHALL IT COME UPON THEE UNTIL THOU BE DESTROYED.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies; thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them, this being the reverse of the blessing spoken of in v. 7; AND SHALT BE REMOVED INTO ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH, literally, "for a removing," or, for a football, n... [ Continue Reading ]
And thy carcass shall be meat unto all fowls of the air and unto the beasts of the earth, the greatest shame and disgrace which could strike a dead person, Jeremiah 7:33; Jeremiah 16:4, AND NO MAN SHALL FRAY THEM AWAY, scare away the birds and beasts, of prey from their gruesome meal.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, a form of leprosy which was very common in Egypt, AND WITH THE EMERODS, painful ulcers, AND WITH THE SCAB, AND WITH THE ITCH, both disagreeable skin diseases, WHEREOF THOU CANST NOT BE HEALED; all medical skill would avail nothing when the virulence... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord shall smite thee with madness, an insanity which shut off all sane consciousness, AND BLINDNESS, AND ASTONISHMENT OF HEART, a disease which interfered with the proper functioning of the heart.... [ Continue Reading ]
And thou shalt grope at noonday, at the time when objects should be doubly clear, AS THE BLIND GROPETH IN DARKNESS, AND THOU SHALT NOT PROSPER IN THY WAYS, utterly unable to find the way which would lead to success; AND THOU SHALT BE ONLY OPPRESSED AND SPOILED EVERMORE, AND NO MAN SHALL SAVE THEE. T... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her, thus deflowering the bride-to-be and bringing sorrow to him who was her husband before God; THOU SHALT BUILD AN HOUSE, AND THOU SHALT NOT DWELL THERE IN; THOU SHALT PLANT A VINEYARD, AND SHALT NOT GATHER THE GRAPES THEREOF, the owner wou... [ Continue Reading ]
Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof; thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee; thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.... [ Continue Reading ]
thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, dragged away into shameful slavery, AND THINE EYES SHALL LOOK, AND FAIL WITH LONGING FOR THEM ALL THE DAY LONG; AND THERE SHALL BE NO MIGHT IN THINE HAND, the parents would be altogether helpless, unable to rescue their children. This se... [ Continue Reading ]
The fruit of thy land and all thy labors shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway,... [ Continue Reading ]
so that thou shalt be mad, driven to insanity, FOR THE SIGHT OF THINE EYES WHICH THOU SHALT SEE. The threat of v. 27 is now once more taken up.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord shall smite thee in the knees and in the legs with a sore botch, a leprosy of all the joints, THAT CANNOT BE HEALED, FROM THE SOLE OF THY FOOT UNTO THE TOP OF THY HEAD, for the ulcers spread out from the joints.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord shall bring thee, and the king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone, seduced into idolatry of the most flagrant kind.... [ Continue Reading ]
And thou Shalt become an astonishment, an object which would cause horror, A PROVERB, one whose example would be cited in proverbial sayings, AND A BYWORD, an object of raillery, AMONG ALL NATIONS WHITHER THE LORD SHALL LEAD THEE. Details of the curse as it would strike Canaan are now given.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it, Joel 1:4.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou shalt plant vineyards and dress them, do the work of a husbandman with painstaking care, BUT SHALT NEITHER DRINK OF THE WINE, NOR GATHER THE GRAPES; FOR THE WORMS SHALL EAT THEM. Throughout this section the Hebrew brings out the contrast much more strongly by placing the object first.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou shalt have olive-trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit, or it would be rooted out and its fruit scattered by strong winds.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them, literally, "they shall not be thine"; FOR THEY SHALL GO INTO CAPTIVITY.... [ Continue Reading ]
All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume, take possession of and enjoy as they choose, utterly destroy.... [ Continue Reading ]
The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high, growing richer and more influential right along; AND THOU SHALT COME DOWN VERY LOW, becoming impoverished in the same degree as the other increases in wealth.... [ Continue Reading ]
He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him; he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. So the opposite of Deuteronomy 28:12 would come to pass.... [ Continue Reading ]
Moreover, all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, like a relentless, vindictive enemy, TILL THOU BE DESTROYED BECAUSE THOU HEARKENEDST NOT UNTO THE VOICE OF THE LORD, THY GOD, TO KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS AND HIS STATUTES WHICH HE COMMANDED THEE;... [ Continue Reading ]
and they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed forever. The curses are spoken of as arousing astonishment and horror, because they so plainly show the direct interference of the Lord in punishing the disobedience of the people. The punishment is now presented from still a... [ Continue Reading ]
Because thou servedst not the Lord, thy God, with joyfullness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things, for the Lord, from the beginning, had blessed His people in an unusually rich amount,... [ Continue Reading ]
therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things; and he, the enemy, SHALL PUT A YOKE OF IRON UPON THY NECK UNTIL HE HAVE DESTROYED THEE. Since they would have rejected the Lord with the richness of... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth, as he pounces down suddenly upon his prey; A NATION WHOSE TONGUE THOU SHALT NOT UNDERSTAND, and therefore be unable to communicate with the enemy and to plead for a merciful treatment on his... [ Continue Reading ]
a nation of fierce countenance, beyond every impression of mercy, WHICH SHALL NOT REGARD THE PERSON OF THE OLD, NOR SHOW FAVOR TO THE YOUNG, striking down indiscriminately whatever happens to be in the way;... [ Continue Reading ]
and he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed; which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. This description fits all the great world powers, through whom th... [ Continue Reading ]
And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, every city in the entire land, UNTIL THY HIGH AND FENCED WALLS, solid and fortified as they are, COME DOWN, WHEREIN THOU TRUSTEDST, THROUGHOUT ALL THY LAND; AND HE SHALL BESIEGE THEE IN ALL THY GATES THROUGH OUT ALL THY LAND, WHICH THE LORD, THY GOD, HATH... [ Continue Reading ]
And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord, thy God, hath given thee, a most revolting form of cannibalism, IN THE SIEGE AND IN THE STRAITNESS WHEREWITH THINE ENEMIES SHALL DISTRESS THEE, these words being repeated in a horrible refrain... [ Continue Reading ]
so that them an that is tender among you, having avoided hardships of every kind all his life, AND VERY DELICATE, HIS EYE SHALL BE EVIL TOWARD HIS BROTHER, AND TOWARD THE WIFE OF HIS BOSOM, AND TOWARD THE REMNANT OF HIS CHILDREN WHICH HE SHALL LEAVE, he who formerly was satisfied only with the fines... [ Continue Reading ]
so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat; because he hath nothing left him in the siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. Cf Leviticus 26:29.... [ Continue Reading ]
The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, insisting upon riding some beast of burden for even the shortest distances or reclining upon the cushions of a litter, HER EYE SHALL BE EVIL TOWARD THE HUSB... [ Continue Reading ]
and toward, rather, because of, HER YOUNG ONE, the afterbirth, THAT COMETH OUT FROM BETWEEN HER FEET, AND TOWARD HER CHILDREN WHICH SHE SHALL BEAR, namely, during the siege, for these she would keep for her own food; FOR SHE SHALL EAT THEM FOR WANT OF ALL THINGS SECRETLY IN THE SIEGE AND STRAITNESS... [ Continue Reading ]
If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this Law that are written in this book, the precepts as they were contained in the five books, including Deuteronomy, THAT THOU MAYEST FEAR THIS GLORIOUS AND FEARFUL NAME, THE LORD, THY GOD, Leviticus 24:11; Exodus 14:4; Leviticus 10:3,... [ Continue Reading ]
then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful and the plagues of thy seed, visit them with unheard-of diseases, EVEN GREAT PLAGUES, AND OF LONG CONTINUANCE, AND SORE SICKNESSES, AND OF LONG CONTINUANCE.... [ Continue Reading ]
Moreover, he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, the sicknesses included in the ten great plagues, WHICH THOU WAST AFRAID OF; AND THEY SHALL CLEAVE UNTO THEE. The Israelites had been delivered from them by the departure out of Egypt, but the Lord would now deliberately turn the diseases... [ Continue Reading ]
Also every sickness and every plague which is not written in the book of this Law, them will the Lord bring upon thee until thou be destroyed.... [ Continue Reading ]
And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude, because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord, thy God. And still more strongly the Lord puts His threat, as if He felt vindictive satisfaction in punishing the sinners.... [ Continue Reading ]
And it shall come to pass that, as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good and to multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you and to bring you to naught; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. Thus the last prop of the people which held up a... [ Continue Reading ]
And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other, a threat which was also literally fulfilled, as the history of the Jews shows; AND THERE THOU SHALT SERVE OTHER GODS, WHICH NEITHER THOU NOR THY FATHERS HAVE KNOWN, EVEN WOOD AND STONE.... [ Continue Reading ]
And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest, a homeless people, always feeling the curse of the exile; BUT THE LORD SHALL GIVE THEE THERE A TREMBLING HEART AND FAILING OF EYES AND SORROW OF MIND, Leviticus 26:36 ff. ;... [ Continue Reading ]
and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee, like a precious treasure hanging suspended by a very thin thread and ever in danger of being lost; AND THOU SHALT FEAR DAY AND NIGHT, AND SHALT HAVE NONE ASSURANCE OF THY LIFE, despairing continually of its preservation;... [ Continue Reading ]
in the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. The uncertainty of their fate would keep them in a continuous state of fear and t... [ Continue Reading ]
And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, stored away in slave ships, and with no possibility of escape, BY THE WAY WHEREOF I SPAKE UNTO THEE, THOU SHALT SEE IT NO MORE AGAIN, Deuteronomy 17:16; AND THERE YE SHALL BE SOLD UNTO YOUR ENEMIES FOR BONDMEN AND BONDWOMEN, put up for sale... [ Continue Reading ]