Deuteronomy 28
28
1 "So then, if you will listen to the voice of the Lord your God, so as to keep and do all of his commandments, which I instruct to you this day, the Lord your God will cause you to be more exalted than all the nations which exist upon the earth.
2 And all these blessings shall come to you and take hold of you, but only if you listen to his precepts.
3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your loins, and the fruit of your land, and the fruit of your cattle, the droves of your herds, and the folds of your sheep.
5 Blessed shall be your barns, and blessed your storehouses.
6 Blessed shall you be entering and departing.
7 The Lord will grant that your enemies, who rise up against you, will fall down in your sight. They will come against you by one way, and they will flee from your face by seven ways.
8 The Lord will send forth a blessing upon your cellars, and upon all the works of your hands. And he will bless you in the land that you shall receive.
9 The Lord will raise you up as a holy people for himself, just as he swore to you, if you will keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and walk in his ways.
10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord has been invoked over you, and they shall fear you.
11 The Lord will cause you be abundant in every good thing: in the fruit of your womb, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, which the Lord swore to your fathers that he would give to you.
12 The Lord will open his excellent treasury, the heavens, so that it may distribute rain in due time. And he will bless all the works of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you yourself will borrow nothing from anyone.
13 And the Lord will appoint you as the head, and not as the tail. And you shall be always above, and not beneath. But only if you will listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I entrust to you this day, and will keep and do them,
14 and will not turn aside from them, neither to the right, nor to the left, nor follow strange gods, nor worship them.
15 But if you are not willing to listen to the voice of the Lord your God, so as to keep and do all his commandments and ceremonies, which I instruct to you this day, all these curses shall come to you, and take hold of you.
16 Cursed shall you be in the city, cursed in the field.
17 Cursed shall be your barn, and cursed your storehouses.
18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your loins, and the fruit of your land, the herds of your oxen, and the flocks of your sheep.
19 Cursed shall you be entering, and cursed departing.
20 The Lord will send famine and hunger upon you, and a rebuke upon all the works that you do, until he quickly crushes and perishes you, because of your very wicked innovations, by which you have forsaken me.
21 May the Lord join a pestilence to you, until he consumes you from the land, which you shall enter so as to possess.
22 May the Lord strike you with destitution, with fever and cold, with burning and heat, and with polluted air and rot, and may he pursue you until you perish.
23 May the heavens which are above you be of brass, and may the ground upon which you tread be of iron.
24 May the Lord give you dust instead of rain upon your land, and may ashes descend from heaven over you, until you have been wiped away.
25 May the Lord hand you over to fall before your enemies. May you go forth against them by one way, and flee by seven ways, and may you be scattered across all the kingdoms of the earth.
26 And may your carcass be food for all the flying things of the air and the wild beasts of the land, and may there be no one to drive them away.
27 May the Lord strike you with the ulcer of Egypt, and may he strike the part of your body, through which the dung goes out, with disease as well as itch, so much so that you are unable to be cured.
28 May the Lord strike you with frenzy and blindness and a madness of the mind.
29 And may you grope at midday, just as a blind man is accustomed to grope in darkness, and may your paths not be straight. And at all times may you suffer slander and be oppressed with violence, and may you have no one who may free you.
30 May you take a wife, though another sleeps with her. May you build a house, but not live within it. May you plant a vineyard, and not gather its vintage.
31 May your ox be immolated before you, though you do not eat from it. May your donkey be seized in your sight, and not restored to you. May your sheep be given to your enemies, and may there be no one who may help you.
32 May your sons and your daughters be handed over to another people, as your eyes watch and languish at the sight of them throughout the day, and may there be no strength in your hand.
33 May a people you do not know eat the fruits of your land and of all your labors. And may you continually suffer from slander and oppression every day.
34 And may you be stupefied at the terror of the things your eyes will see.
35 May the Lord strike you with a very grievous ulcer in the knees and in the legs, and may you be unable to attain health, from the sole of the foot to the top of the head.
36 May the Lord lead you and your king, whom you will have appointed over yourself, into a nation which you and your fathers have not known. And there you will serve foreign gods, of wood and of stone.
37 And you will become nothing but a proverb and a fable to all the peoples to whom the Lord will lead you.
38 You will sow much seed upon the ground, but you will harvest little. For the locusts will devour everything.
39 You will dig and plant a vineyard, but you will not drink the wine, nor gather anything at all from it. For it will be devastated by worms.
40 You will have olive trees in all your borders, but you will not be anointed with the oil. For the olives will fall off and perish.
41 You will conceive sons and daughters, and you will not enjoy them. For they will be led into captivity.
42 Rot will consume all the trees, as well as the fruits of your land.
43 The new arrival who lives with you in the land will ascend over you, and be higher. But you will descend, and be lower.
44 He will lend to you, and you will not lend to him. He will be as the head, and you will be as the tail.
45 And all these curses shall come to you, and shall pursue you, and shall take hold of you, until you pass away, because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and you would not serve his commandments and ceremonies, which he has instructed to you.
46 And there will be the signs and portents with you, and with your offspring, forever.
47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God, with gladness and a joyful heart, over the abundance of all things.
48 You will serve your enemy, whom the Lord will send to you, in hunger and thirst and nakedness, and in destitution of all things. And he will place an iron yoke upon your neck, until he has crushed you.
49 The Lord will lead over you a nation from far away, even from the furthest parts of the earth, like an eagle flying with great force, whose language you are not able to understand:
50 a very insolent nation, which will show no deference to elders, nor take pity on little ones.
51 And he will devour the fruit of your cattle, and the fruits of your land, until you have passed away, without leaving behind you wheat, or wine, or oil, or herds of oxen, or flocks of sheep: until he utterly destroys you.
52 And he will crush you in all your cities. And your strong and lofty walls, in which you trusted, will be destroyed throughout all your land. You will be besieged within your gates throughout all your land, which the Lord your God will give to you.
53 And you will eat the fruit of your womb, and the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, which the Lord your God will give to you, due to the anguish and devastation with which your enemy will oppress you.
54 The man who is pampered and very self-indulgent among you will vie with his own brother, and with the wife who lies at his bosom,
55 lest he give to them from the flesh of his sons, which he will eat. For he has nothing else due to the siege and the destitution, with which your enemies will devastate you within all your gates.
56 The tender and pampered woman, who would not walk upon the soil, nor step firmly with her foot due to her very great softness and tenderness, will vie with her husband, who lies at her bosom, over the flesh of son and of daughter,
57 and over the filth of the afterbirth, which goes forth from between her thighs, and over the children who are born in the same hour. For they will eat them secretly, due to the scarcity of all things during the siege and the devastation, with which your enemy will oppress you within your gates.
58 If you will not keep and do all the words of this law, which have been written in this volume, and fear his glorious and terrible name, that is, the Lord your God,
59 then the Lord will increase your plagues, and the plagues of your offspring, plagues great and long-lasting, infirmities very grievous and continuous.
60 And he will turn back upon you all the afflictions of Egypt, which you fear, and these will cling to you.
61 In addition, the Lord will lead over you all the diseases and plagues that are not written in the volume of this law, until he crushes you.
62 And you will remain few in number, though you were before like the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God.
63 And just as before, when the Lord rejoiced over you, doing good for you and multiplying you, so shall he rejoice, scattering and overturning you, so as to take you away from the land, which you shall enter in order to possess.
64 The Lord will disperse you among all the peoples, from the heights of the earth to its furthest limits. And there you will serve foreign gods of wood and of stone, which you and your fathers did not know.
65 Similarly, you will not have tranquility, even within those nations, nor will there be any rest for the steps of your feet. For the Lord will give to you in that place a fearful heart, and failing eyes, and a life consumed with grieving.
66 And your life will be as if it were hanging before you. You will be afraid night and day, and you will not have confidence in your own life.
67 In the morning you will say, 'Who will grant evening to me?' and at evening, 'Who will grant morning to me?' because of the dread of your heart, with which you will be terrified, and because of those things that you will see with your eyes.
68 The Lord will lead you back into Egypt with a fleet of ships, along the way, about which he said to you that you would not see it again. In that place, you will be put up for sale as men and women servants to your enemies, but there will be no one willing to buy you."
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Deuteronomy 28: CPDV
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D'varim (Deu) 28
28
1“If you listen closely to what Adonai your God says, observing and obeying all his mitzvot which I am giving you today, Adonai your God will raise you high above all the nations on earth; 2and all the following blessings will be yours in abundance — if you will do what Adonai your God says:
3“A blessing on you in the city, and a blessing on you in the countryside.
4“A blessing on the fruit of your body, the fruit of your land and the fruit of your livestock — the young of your cattle and flocks.
5“A blessing on your grain-basket and kneading-bowl.
6“A blessing on you when you go out, and a blessing on you when you come in.
(vi) 7“Adonai will cause your enemies attacking you to be defeated before you; they will advance on you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8“Adonai will order a blessing to be with you in your barns and in everything you undertake; he will bless you in the land Adonai your God is giving you.
9“Adonai will establish you as a people separated out for himself, as he has sworn to you — if you will observe the mitzvot of Adonai your God and follow his ways. 10Then all the peoples on earth will see that Adonai’s name, his presence, is with you; so that they will be afraid of you.
11“Adonai will give you great abundance of good things — of the fruit of your body, the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your land in the land Adonai swore to your ancestors to give you. 12Adonai will open for you his good treasure, the sky, to give your land its rain at the right seasons and to bless everything you undertake. You will lend to many nations and not borrow; 13Adonai will make you the head and not the tail; and you will be only above, never below — if you will listen to, observe and obey the mitzvot of Adonai your God 14and not turn away from any of the words I am ordering you today, neither to the right nor to the left, to follow after other gods and serve them.
15“But if you refuse to pay attention to what Adonai your God says, and do not observe and obey all his mitzvot and regulations which I am giving you today, then all the following curses will be yours in abundance:
16“A curse on you in the city, and a curse on you in the countryside.
17“A curse on your grain-basket and kneading-bowl.
18“A curse on the fruit of your body, the fruit of your land and the young of your cattle and flocks.
19“A curse on you when you come in, and a curse on you when you go out.
20“Adonai will send on you curses, disasters and frustration in everything you set out to do, until you are destroyed and quickly perish, because of your evil actions in abandoning me.
21“Adonai will bring on you a plague that will stay with you until he has exterminated you from the land you are entering in order to take possession of it. 22Adonai will strike you down with wasting diseases, fever, inflammation, fiery heat, drought, blasting winds and mildew; and they will pursue you until you perish.
23“The sky over your head will be brass and the earth under you iron. 24Adonai will turn the rain your land needs into powder and dust that will fall on you from the sky until you are destroyed.
25“Adonai your God will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you will advance on them one way and flee before them seven. You will become an object of horror to every kingdom on earth. 26Your carcasses will become food for all the birds in the air and the wild animals, and there will be no one to scare them away.
27Adonai will strike you down with the boils that broke out on the Egyptians, tumors, skin lesions and itching, all incurable. 28Adonai will strike you with insanity, blindness and utter confusion. 29You will grope about at noon like a blind person groping in the dark, unable to find your way.
“You will be continually oppressed and robbed, and there will be no one to save you. 30You will get engaged to a woman, but another man will marry her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not use its fruit. 31Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you won’t eat any of its meat. Your donkey will be taken away from you by force as you watch, and you won’t get it back. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and there will be no one to help you. 32Your sons and daughters will be handed over to another people; you will watch for them longingly all day but not see them; and there will be nothing you can do about it. 33A nation unknown to you will eat the fruit of your land and labor. Yes, you will be continually oppressed and crushed, 34till you go crazy from what your eyes have to see. 35Adonai will strike you down in the knees and legs with painful and incurable boils; they will spread from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head. 36Adonai will bring you and your king whom you have put over yourselves to a nation you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors; and there you will serve other gods made of wood and stone. 37You will be so devastated as to become a proverb and a laughingstock among all the peoples to which Adonai will drive you.
38“You will carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, because locusts will devour it. 39You will plant vineyards and dress them but neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. 40You will have olive trees throughout your territory but not anoint yourself with the oil, because your olives will fall off unripe. 41You will father sons and daughters, but they won’t belong to you, because they will go into captivity. 42The bugs will inherit all your trees and the produce of your land.
43“The foreigner living with you will rise higher and higher while you sink lower and lower. 44He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he will be the head and you the tail.
45“All these curses will come on you, pursuing you and overtaking you until you are destroyed, because you didn’t pay attention to what Adonai your God said, observing his mitzvot and regulations that he gave you. 46These curses will be on you and your descendants as a sign and a wonder forever. 47Because you didn’t serve Adonai your God with joy and gladness in your heart when you had such an abundance of everything; 48Adonai will send your enemy against you; and you will serve him when you are hungry, thirsty, poorly clothed and lacking everything; he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he destroys you. 49Yes, Adonai will bring against you a nation from far away that will swoop down on you from the end of the earth like a vulture, a nation whose language you don’t understand, 50a nation grim in appearance, whose people neither respect the old nor pity the young. 51They will devour the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your soil, until you have been destroyed. They will leave you without grain, wine, olive oil, or your young cattle and sheep — until they have caused you to perish. 52They will besiege all your towns until your high, fortified walls, in which you trusted, collapse everywhere in your land, which Adonai your God gave you. 53Then, because of the severity of the siege and distress that your enemies are inflicting on you, you will eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your own sons and daughters, whom Adonai your God has given you. 54Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will be without pity for his brother, his beloved wife or his surviving children, 55to the degree that he will refuse to share with any of them the flesh of his children whom he is eating; because if he did, he would have nothing left for himself — in the severity of the siege and distress your enemies are inflicting on you in all your towns. 56The most delicate and sensitive woman among you, so sensitive and delicate that she wouldn’t think of touching the sole of her foot to the ground, will so begrudge her own beloved husband, son and daughter 57that she will secretly eat the afterbirth that comes out of her and even her own children as she bears them — so desperately hungry will she be in the severity of the siege and distress your enemies are inflicting on you in your towns.
58“If you will not observe and obey all the words of this Torah that are written in this book, so that you will fear this glorious and awesome name, Adonai your God; 59then Adonai will strike down you and your descendants with extraordinary plagues and severe sicknesses that go on and on. 60He will bring back upon you all the diseases the Egyptians had, which you were in dread of; and they will cling to you. 61Not only that, but Adonai will bring upon you all the sicknesses and plagues that are not written in this book of the Torah — until you are destroyed. 62You will be left few in number, whereas you were once as numerous as the stars in the sky — because you did not pay attention to the voice of Adonai your God.
63“Thus it will come about that just as once Adonai took joy in seeking to do you good and increase your numbers, so now Adonai will take joy in causing you to perish and be destroyed, and you will be plucked off the land you are entering in order to take possession of it. 64Adonai will scatter you among all peoples from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will serve other gods, made of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known. 65Among these nations you will not find repose, and there will be no rest for the sole of your foot; rather Adonai will give you there anguish of heart, dimness of eyes and apathy of spirit. 66Your life will hang in doubt before you; you will be afraid night and day and have no assurance that you will stay alive. 67In the morning you will say, ‘Oh, how I wish it were evening!’ and in the evening you will say, ‘Oh, how I wish it were morning!’ — because of the fear overwhelming your heart and the sights your eyes will see. 68Finally, Adonai will bring you back in ships to Egypt, the place of which I said to you, ‘You will never ever see it again’; and there you will try to sell yourselves as slaves to your enemies, but no one will buy you.”
69These are the words of the covenant which Adonai ordered Moshe to make with the people of Isra’el in the land of Mo’av, in addition to the covenant which he made with them in Horev.
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