Deuteronomy 28

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:

1Listen carefully to the LORD your God. Do all the commands I give you today. Then he will lift you high above every nation on earth.

2And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

2If you listen to the LORD your God, all these blessings will come to you. They will catch up with you.

3Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.

3You will be blessed in the city. You will be blessed out in the fields.

4Blessed 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.

4You will have many children. Your land will grow much food. Your cows and sheep will have many young.

5Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.

5Your food basket will be blessed. Your bowl for mixing bread will be blessed too.

Note"Basket and store" means the basket food was carried in and the bowl bread dough was mixed in. Together they stand for all your food.

6Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

6You will be blessed when you come in. You will be blessed when you go out.

7The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.

7Enemies will rise up against you, but the LORD will beat them. They will come at you one way. They will run from you in seven directions.

8The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

8The LORD will bless your barns. He will bless everything you do. He will bless you in the land he is giving you.

9The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.

9The LORD will make you his own holy people, just as he promised. This happens if you keep his commands and live his way.

10And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.

10Then everyone on earth will see that you belong to the LORD. They will be in awe of you.

11And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, 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.

11The LORD will give you plenty. You will have many children, many animals, and much food. This will be in the land he promised your family long ago.

12The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.

12The LORD will open the sky, his rich storehouse. He will send rain at the right time. He will bless all your work. You will lend to many nations and borrow from none.

13And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

13The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. You will always be on top, never underneath. This happens if you listen to his commands and obey them.

14And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

14Do not turn away from anything I command you today. Do not turn to the right or the left. Do not go and serve other gods.

15But 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 shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

15But if you will not listen to the LORD your God, and will not obey all his commands and rules, then all these curses will come and catch you. A curse is a terrible thing sent as punishment.

16Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.

16You will be cursed in the city. You will be cursed out in the fields.

17Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.

17Your food basket will be cursed. Your bowl for mixing bread will be cursed too.

18Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

18Your children will be cursed. Your crops will be cursed. Your cows and sheep will be cursed.

19Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

19You will be cursed when you come in. You will be cursed when you go out.

20The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.

20The LORD will send trouble, confusion, and blame on everything you do. You will be destroyed and die quickly. This is because you did evil and turned away from him.

21The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.

21The LORD will make sickness stick to you. It will wipe you out of the land you are going in to take.

22The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

22The LORD will strike you with wasting sickness, fever, and swelling. He will send burning heat, dry weather, and rot on your crops. These will chase you until you die.

23And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.

23The sky above your head will be like metal. The ground under your feet will be like iron.

NoteA sky "like brass" and ground "like iron" is a picture of no rain falling and dirt too hard to farm.

24The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

24The LORD will turn your rain into dust and powder. It will fall on you from the sky until you are destroyed.

25The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

25The LORD will let your enemies beat you. You will march out at them one way. You will run from them in seven directions. Every kingdom on earth will be shocked at you.

26And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.

26Birds and wild animals will eat your dead bodies. No one will chase them away.

NoteIn 1611 English, "meat" meant food of any kind, not just animal flesh.

27The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.

27The LORD will give you the sores of Egypt. You will have tumors, scabs, and itching. No one can heal them.

28The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:

28The LORD will strike you with madness, blindness, and a mixed-up mind.

29And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.

29At noon you will feel your way like a blind man in the dark. Nothing you do will go well. People will hurt you and rob you every day. No one will save you.

30Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.

30You will promise to marry a woman, and another man will take her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not pick its grapes.

31Thine 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.

31Your ox will be killed in front of you, and you will not eat it. Your donkey will be grabbed away and never given back. Your sheep will be handed to your enemies. No one will get them back.

32Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand:

32Your sons and daughters will be given to another people. You will watch for them all day until your eyes give out. You will have no power to help.

33The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:

33A people you do not know will eat your crops and all you worked for. You will be hurt and crushed every day.

34So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

34The things you see will drive you out of your mind.

35The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.

35The LORD will cover your knees and legs with painful sores. They cannot be healed. They will spread from your feet to the top of your head.

36The LORD shall bring thee, and thy 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.

36The LORD will take you and the king you chose to a nation you never knew. There you will serve other gods made of wood and stone.

37And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.

37People in every nation where the LORD sends you will be shocked at you. They will make jokes about you.

38Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.

38You will plant much seed in your field. You will bring in only a little. Locusts, big hungry bugs, will eat it.

39Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.

39You will plant grapevines and take care of them. You will not drink the wine or pick the grapes. Worms will eat them.

40Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.

40You will have olive trees all through your land. You will have no oil to rub on your skin. The olives will drop off the trees.

41Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.

41You will have sons and daughters, but you will not keep them. They will be taken away as prisoners.

42All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.

42Locusts will eat all your trees and everything your land grows.

43The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.

43The foreigner living among you will rise higher and higher. You will sink lower and lower.

44He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.

44He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.

45Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, 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:

45All these curses will come on you. They will chase you and catch you until you are destroyed. This is because you did not obey the LORD your God or keep his commands and rules.

46And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.

46These curses will be a sign and a warning about you. They will stay on your children and their children forever.

47Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;

47You had plenty of everything. But you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and a glad heart.

48Therefore 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 shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.

48So you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. You will be hungry, thirsty, without clothes, and without anything at all. He will put a heavy iron bar on your neck until you are destroyed.

49The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;

49The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth. It will swoop down fast like an eagle. You will not understand their language.

50A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:

50They will be a hard, cruel people. They will not respect old people or show kindness to children.

51And 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.

51They will eat your animals and your crops until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, wine, or oil. They will leave no calves or lambs. They will not stop until you are gone.

52And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.

52They will surround every town in your land. They will attack until your high, strong walls fall down. Those walls were what you trusted. They will trap every town in the land the LORD gave you.

53And 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, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:

53Your enemies will shut you inside and squeeze you until you are starving. Then you will eat your own children, the sons and daughters the LORD gave you.

54So that the man that is 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 which he shall leave:

54Even the gentlest, softest man among you will turn hard. He will look with mean eyes at his brother, at his wife, and at his children who are still alive.

55So 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.

55He will not share with any of them the flesh of his own children he is eating. He has nothing else left. The enemy has shut him inside his town and squeezed him.

56The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon 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,

56The gentlest, softest woman among you will turn hard too. She was so delicate she never set her bare foot on the ground. Now she will look with mean eyes at her husband, her son, and her daughter.

57And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.

57She will not share her newborn baby or the other children she bears. She will eat them in secret, because she has nothing else. The enemy has shut her inside her town and squeezed her.

58If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;

58If you do not carefully do every word of this law written in this book, and do not honor the great and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, then this will happen to you.

59Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.

59The LORD will send huge troubles on you and on your children. He will send great plagues that last a long time. He will send bad sicknesses that will not go away.

NoteIn 1611 English, "wonderful" meant huge or amazing in size, not happy. Here it means the troubles will be enormous.

60Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.

60He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt that you were afraid of. They will stick to you.

61Also 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.

61The LORD will also send every sickness and plague not written in this book of law. He will send them until you are destroyed.

62And 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.

62Once you were as many as the stars in the sky. Only a few of you will be left. This is because you would not obey the LORD your God.

63And 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 nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.

63The LORD was glad to do good for you and make you many. In the same way he will be glad to destroy you and wipe you out. You will be pulled off the land you are going in to take.

64And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.

64The LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will serve other gods made of wood and stone. You and your family never knew those gods.

65And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:

65Among those nations you will find no rest. Your feet will find no place to stop. The LORD will give you a shaking heart, tired eyes, and a sad mind.

66And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:

66Your life will feel like it hangs by a thread. You will be afraid day and night. You will never feel safe.

67In 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.

67In the morning you will say, "I wish it were evening!" In the evening you will say, "I wish it were morning!" You will say this because of your fear and the things you see.

68And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

68The LORD will send you back to Egypt in ships. He told you that you would never see that road again. There you will offer yourselves to your enemies as slaves. But no one will buy you.