Chapter 28
1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt
hearken diligently unto the voice of HaShem thy G-d, to observe to do all His
commandments which I command thee this day, that HaShem thy G-d will set thee on
high above all the nations of the earth.
2 And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake
thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of HaShem thy G-d.
3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou
be in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of
thy land, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the young
of thy flock.
5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough.
6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed
shalt thou be when thou goest out.
7 HaShem will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee
to be smitten before thee; they shall come out against thee one way, and shall
flee before thee seven ways.
8 HaShem will command the blessing with thee in thy barns,
and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto; and He will bless thee in the land
which HaShem thy G-d giveth thee.
9 HaShem will establish thee for a holy people unto Himself,
as He hath sworn unto thee; if thou shalt keep the commandments of HaShem thy
G-d, and walk in His ways.
10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name
of HaShem is called upon thee; and they shall be afraid of thee.
11 And HaShem will make thee over-abundant for good, in the
fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land,
in the land which HaShem swore unto thy fathers to give thee.
12 HaShem will open unto thee His good treasure the heaven to
give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand;
and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow.
13 And HaShem will make thee the head, and not the tail; and
thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken
unto the commandments of HaShem thy G-d, which I command thee this day, to
observe and to do them;
14 and shalt not turn aside from any of the words which I
command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods
to serve them.
15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto
the voice of HaShem thy G-d, 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.
16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be
in the field.
17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough.
18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of
thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the young of thy flock.
19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt
thou be when thou goest out.
20 HaShem will send upon thee cursing, discomfiture, and
rebuke, in all that thou puttest thy hand unto to do, until thou be destroyed,
and until thou perish quickly; because of the evil of thy doings, whereby thou
hast forsaken Me.
21 HaShem will make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until He
have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest in to possess it.
22 HaShem will smite thee with consumption, and with fever,
and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and with drought, and with blasting,
and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and
the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 HaShem will make the rain of thy land powder and dust;
from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
25 HaShem will cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies;
thou shalt go out one way against them, and shalt flee seven ways before them;
and thou shalt be a horror unto all the kingdoms of the earth.
26 And thy carcasses shall be food unto all fowls of the air,
and unto the beasts of the earth, and there shall be none to frighten them away.
27 HaShem will smite thee with the boil of Egypt, and with
the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be
healed.
28 HaShem will smite thee with madness, and with blindness,
and with astonishment of heart.
29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in
darkness, and thou shalt not make thy ways prosperous; and thou shalt be only
oppressed and robbed alway, and there shall be none to save thee.
30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with
her; thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell therein; thou shalt
plant a vineyard, and shalt not use the fruit thereof.
31 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 save thee.
32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another
people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day;
and there shall be nought in the power of thy hand.
33 The 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
away:
34 so that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes
which thou shalt see.
35 HaShem will smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with
a sore boil, whereof thou canst not be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto
the crown of thy head.
36 HaShem will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set
over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers; and
there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a
byword, among all the peoples whither HaShem shall lead thee away.
38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt
gather little in; for the locust shall consume it.
39 Thou shalt plant vineyards and dress them, but thou shalt
neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worm shall eat them.
40 Thou shalt have olive-trees throughout all thy borders,
but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olives shall drop off.
41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be
thine; for they shall go into captivity.
42 All thy trees and the fruit of thy land shall the locust
possess.
43 The stranger that is in the midst of thee shall mount up
above thee higher and higher; and thou shalt come down lower and lower.
44 He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him; he
shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
45 And all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall
pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou didst not
hearken unto the voice of HaShem thy G-d, to keep His commandments and His
statutes which He commanded thee.
46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder,
and upon thy seed for ever;
47 because thou didst not serve HaShem thy G-d with
joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all
things;
48 therefore shalt thou serve thine enemy whom HaShem 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.
49 HaShem will bring a nation against thee from far, from the
end of the earth, as the vulture swoopeth down; a nation whose tongue thou shalt
not understand;
50 a nation of fierce countenance, that shall not regard the
person of the old, nor show favour to the young.
51 And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of
thy ground, until thou be destroyed; that also shall not leave thee corn, wine,
or oil, the increase of thy kine, or the young of thy flock, until he have
caused thee to perish.
52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high
and fortified walls come down, wherein thou didst trust, throughout all thy
land; and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which
HaShem thy G-d hath given thee.
53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh
of thy sons and of thy daughters whom HaShem thy G-d hath given thee; in the
siege and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall straiten thee.
54 The man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his
eye shall be evil against his brother, and against the wife of his bosom, and
against the remnant of his children whom he hath remaining;
55 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 enemy shall straiten thee in all thy
gates.
56 The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not
adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and
tenderness, her eye shall be evil against the husband of her bosom, and against
her son, and against her daughter;
57 and against her afterbirth that cometh out from between
her feet, and against her children whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them
for want of all things secretly; in the siege and in the straitness, wherewith
thine enemy shall straiten thee in thy gates.
58 If 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 awful
Name, HaShem thy G-d;
59 then HaShem 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.
60 And He will bring back upon thee all the diseases of
Egypt, which thou wast in dread of; and they shall cleave unto thee.
61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not
written in the book of this law, them will HaShem bring upon thee, until thou be
destroyed.
62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the
stars of heaven for multitude; because thou didst not hearken unto the voice of
HaShem thy G-d.
63 And it shall come to pass, that as HaShem rejoiced over
you to do you good, and to multiply you; so HaShem will rejoice over you to
cause you to perish, and to destroy you; and ye shall be plucked from off the
land whither thou goest in to possess it.
64 And HaShem shall scatter thee among all peoples, from the
one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; and there thou shalt
serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers, even wood and
stone.
65 And among these nations shalt thou have no repose, and
there shall be no rest for the sole of thy foot; but HaShem shall give thee
there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and languishing of soul.
66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou
shalt fear night and day, and shalt have no assurance of thy life.
67 In the morning thou shalt say: 'Would it were even!' and
at even thou shalt say: 'Would it were morning!' for the fear of thy heart which
thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
68 And HaShem shall bring thee back into Egypt in ships, by
the way whereof I said unto thee: 'Thou shalt see it no more again'; and there
ye shall sell yourselves unto your enemies for bondmen and for bondwoman, and no
man shall buy you.
69 These are the words of the covenant which HaShem commanded
Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the
covenant which He made with them in Horeb.
Sources: Portions copyright © 1997 by Benyamin Pilant, All Rights Reserved
JPS Electronic Edition, based on the 1917 JPS translation, Copyright © 1998 by Larry Nelson, All Rights Reserved
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