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:

If you listen closely and follow God's commands that I'm sharing with you today, God will elevate you above all the people on earth.

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

If you listen to God's voice, blessings will follow you and fill your life.

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

You'll be blessed whether you're in the hustle of the city or the calm of the countryside.

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.

May your children, your land, and your livestock thrive and multiply, bringing you abundant blessings.

Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.

Your basket and your store will overflow with blessings.

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

You'll be showered with blessings when you arrive, and equally blessed when you depart.

The 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.

God will ensure that those who oppose you will be defeated. They may approach you with hostility, but they will scatter in fear before you.

The 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.

God will bless all your efforts and endeavors, filling your life with abundance. He will shower you with blessings in the land He has given you.

The 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.

God promises to make you His special people, just as He vowed, if you follow His rules and walk in His path.

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

Everyone around the world will recognize you as chosen by God, and this will fill them with awe and respect for you.

And 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.

God will bless you abundantly, with healthy children, thriving livestock, and fertile lands, in the promised land He swore to give your ancestors.

The 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.

God will generously share His heavenly blessings with you, providing rain for your land when needed, and prospering all your efforts. You will be in a position to help many, without needing help yourself.

And 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:

God promises to elevate you, not belittle you. You'll stand tall, never be looked down upon, if you follow His commands that I'm sharing with you today and live by them.

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, to go after other gods to serve them.

Never stray from my teachings, not even an inch, to chase after false idols.

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 shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

If you choose not to listen to God's voice and follow all His rules that I'm telling you today, all these curses will come upon you and overwhelm you.

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

You'll be cursed in the bustling city, and cursed in the open fields.

Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.

Your basket and your storage will be cursed.

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.

The children you bear and the crops you grow will be doomed. Your cattle and sheep will not prosper.

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

You'll be cursed when you arrive, and equally cursed when you leave.

The 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.

God will send curses, confusion, and rebuke on everything you do, until you're destroyed and quickly perish, all because of your wicked actions in abandoning Him.

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

God will make disease cling to you, until He has completely wiped you out from the land you're entering to claim.

The 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.

God will afflict you with illness, fever, inflammation, severe burns, war, devastation, and decay. These troubles will chase you until you're no more.

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

The sky above you will feel as unyielding as brass, and the ground beneath you as hard as iron.

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

God will turn your land's rain into dust and ashes, falling from the sky, relentlessly, until you are left in ruins.

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: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

God will make you suffer defeat at the hands of your enemies. You will go out against them in one direction, but flee from them in seven. You will be scattered among all the kingdoms of the earth.

And 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.

Your body will become food for the birds and wild animals, and no one will be there to scare them away.

The 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.

God will afflict you with severe illnesses, similar to those of Egypt, including painful sores and relentless itching, from which you cannot recover.

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

The Lord will strike you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind.

And 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.

You'll stumble in broad daylight, just like a blind person in the dark. You won't succeed in anything you do. Day after day you'll be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.

Thou 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.

You'll be engaged to a woman, but another man will sleep with her. You'll build a home, but never live in it. You'll plant a vineyard, but never taste its fruit.

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.

You'll watch helplessly as your ox is killed, unable to taste its meat. Your donkey will be stolen right from under your nose, never to be returned. Your sheep will be handed over to your enemies, with no one to save them.

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 long; and there shall be no might in thine hand.

Your children will be taken away by strangers, and you'll be left yearning for them every day, feeling powerless to bring them back.

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 alway:

The rewards of your hard work and the bounty of your land will be consumed by a foreign nation you don't know. You will be left feeling oppressed and perpetually crushed.

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

You'll be driven to insanity by the horrors your eyes will witness.

The 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.

The Lord will afflict you with incurable pain, from your knees and legs to every part of your body, from your feet to your head.

The 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.

God will lead you and your chosen leader to a foreign land, unknown to you or your ancestors. There, you'll be forced to worship unfamiliar gods, represented by wood and stone.

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

You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations where God drives you.

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

You'll plant many seeds in your field, but your harvest will be small because locusts will eat it.

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

You'll cultivate vineyards, caring for them diligently, but you won't enjoy the fruits of your labor. Neither the taste of wine nor the sweetness of grapes will be yours, for pests will consume them.

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.

You'll be surrounded by olive trees everywhere you go, but you won't use their oil on yourself. Your olives will drop their fruit before it's ripe.

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

You will have children, but your heart will ache, for they will be taken away from you.

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

Every tree you cherish and every fruit your land bears will be devoured by swarms of locusts.

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

The outsider among you will rise high above, while you'll be brought down to a humble low.

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

He will lend to you, but you won't have anything to lend him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.

Moreover 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:

If you ignore God's commands, these punishments will relentlessly follow and consume you until you're ruined.

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

These curses will mark you as a sign and a dreadful warning, and this will continue in your descendants forever.

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

Because you didn't serve God with a joyful and grateful heart, despite all the blessings you received.

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

You will find yourself serving the enemies God sends against you, hungry, thirsty, naked, and lacking everything. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

The 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;

God will summon a distant nation to rise against you, as fast as an eagle soars. This nation will speak a language you won't comprehend.

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

A ruthless nation, showing no respect for the elderly, nor compassion for the young.

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.

He will consume all you have, your livestock and crops, until you're left with nothing. Not a single grain, drop of wine or oil, nor any of your cattle or sheep will be spared until you're completely ruined.

And 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.

He will besiege all your cities until the high, fortified walls you placed your faith in come down, across your entire land. He will besiege every city in the land that the Lord your God has gifted you.

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

In the siege, in the terrible distress your enemies bring on you, you will eat your own children, the flesh of the sons and daughters God gave you.

So 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:

Even the gentlest and most sensitive man may harbor ill feelings towards his brother, his wife, and the children he leaves behind.

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.

In his desperation during the siege, he won't share even a morsel of his child's flesh, which he's forced to consume. His enemies have left him with nothing, cornering him at every turn.

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, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,

The gentle and sensitive woman among you, who wouldn't dare to step on the ground due to her fragility, will harbor resentment towards her husband and her children.

And 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.

In her desperation and despair, she will secretly consume her newborn and her children, born of her own body. This will happen during the harsh siege, when your enemy traps you within your city walls, leaving you with nothing.

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 fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;

If you don't follow all the rules written in this holy book, you won't truly respect and honor the awe-inspiring name of your God, the Lord.

Then 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.

God will bring extraordinary disasters on you and your descendants: severe and lasting plagues, and terrible illnesses that will persist.

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

He will inflict you with all the terrifying illnesses you remember from Egypt, and they will stick to you.

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.

Even illnesses and diseases not mentioned in these scriptures, God will bring upon you until you are destroyed.

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.

Your numbers will dwindle, from countless as the stars to mere few, all because you chose not to listen to God's voice.

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

Just as God once delighted in blessing and increasing you, He will take equal joy in tearing you down and erasing you if you stray. You will be removed from the land you sought to claim.

And 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.

God will disperse you among all nations, from one corner of the world to the other. There, you'll find yourself worshipping unfamiliar gods, made of wood and stone, unknown to you and your ancestors.

And 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:

In these foreign lands, you won't find comfort or rest. But God will fill your heart with fear, your eyes with tears, and your mind with sorrow.

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

Your life will be shrouded in uncertainty, filled with fear both day and night, with no guarantee of tomorrow.

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.

In the morning, you'll long for the night, and in the evening, you'll yearn for the dawn. Your heart will be filled with fear and your eyes will witness things that terrify you.

And 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.

God will bring you back to Egypt by ship, by the route I told you you would never see again. There you'll offer yourselves to your enemies as slaves, but no one will want to buy you.