Deuteronomy 28:30-31

The Third Sixfold Curse (Deuteronomy 28:30).

This is then followed by a further sixfold curse divided into three and three, the first three patterned on ‘you will -- and', the last three patterned on ‘your -- and'. This third set of curses refers to what have been called ‘futility curses' where the proper enjoyment of something is not experienced but is frustrated by circumstances.

Deuteronomy 28:30

‘You will betroth a wife, and another man will lie with her;

You will build a house, and you will not dwell in it;

You will plant a vineyard, and will not use its fruit.

Your ox will be slain before your eyes, and you will not eat of it;

Your ass will be violently taken away from before your face, and will not be restored to you;

Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and you will have none to save you.'

The first three examples can be compared with Deuteronomy 20:5. The betrothing of a wife, the building of a house, and the planting of a vineyard were seen as the three main boons that came from God's blessing and were to be the result of His promises and His covenant. Here they would be lost and would go to others because of their rebellion against Yahweh. The main measure of wealth was a man's herds and flocks. Here all would be lost because they had broken the covenant. Note the constant stress on the fact that there is none to help (Deuteronomy 28:26; Deuteronomy 28:29, and here). They have forsaken Yahweh, and so Yahweh has forsaken them.

In the parallel Deuteronomy 28:32 in the analysis their sons and daughters will be given to another people and the fruit of their ground and all their labours will be eaten up by a nation that they know not, an intensification of this curse.