1 “ Be faithful in obeying the Lord your God. Be careful to keep all His Laws which I tell you today. And the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

“ Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

2 A ll these good things will come upon you if you will obey the Lord your God.

All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God:

3 G ood will come to you in the city, and good will come to you in the country.

“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

4 G ood will come to your children, and the fruit of your ground, and the young of your animals. Your cattle and flock will have many young ones.

“Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.

5 G ood will come to your basket and your bread pan.

“Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

6 G ood will come to you when you come in, and when you go out.

“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 “ The Lord will cause you to win the battles against those who fight against you. They will come against you one way, and run away from you seven ways.

“The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways.

8 T he Lord will send good upon you in your store-houses and in all your work. He will bring good to you in the land the Lord your God gives you.

The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

9 T he Lord will make you a holy nation to Himself, as He promised you. But you must keep the Laws of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.

The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.

10 T hen all the nations of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord and they will be afraid of you.

So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will be afraid of you.

11 T he Lord will give much to you. He will give you many children, and many young ones among your animals, and much food from the ground, in the land the Lord promised to your fathers to give you.

The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.

12 T he Lord will open for you His good store-house, the heavens. He will give rain to your land at the right time. He will bring good to all the work you do. You will give to many nations. But you will not use anything that belongs to them.

The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

13 T he Lord will make you the head and not the tail. If you listen to the Laws of the Lord your God which I tell you today and be careful to obey them, you will only be above and not below.

The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully,

14 D o not turn aside from any of the words I tell you today, to the right or to the left. Do not follow other gods and work for them.

and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. Consequences of Disobedience

15 “ If you will not obey the Lord your God or be careful to do all His Laws which I tell you today, all these curses will come upon you.

“ But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

16 Y ou will be cursed in the city, and in the country.

“ Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.

17 Y our basket and your bread pan will be cursed.

“ Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

18 Y our children will be cursed, and the fruit of your ground, and the young of your cattle and flock.

“ Cursed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.

19 Y ou will be cursed when you come in and when you go out.

“ Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

20 “ The Lord will send upon you curses, trouble and sharp words in all you try to do, until you are destroyed. You will be quick to die, because of the sinful things you do, and because you have turned away from Me.

“ The Lord will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me.

21 T he Lord will make disease to be with you until He has destroyed you from the land you are going in to take.

The Lord will make the pestilence cling to you until He has consumed you from the land where you are entering to possess it.

22 T he Lord will punish you with a wasting disease, a hot sickness, growing pain, heat like fire, the sword, and diseases that destroy your food. They will follow you until you die.

The Lord will smite you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with fiery heat and with the sword and with blight and with mildew, and they will pursue you until you perish.

23 T he heavens above your head will be brass. And the earth under you will be iron.

The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron.

24 T he Lord will change the rain of your land into dust. It will come down on you until you are destroyed.

The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

25 T he Lord will cause you to lose the battle against those who hate you. You will go one way against them, but run seven ways away from them. You will fill all the nations of the earth with fear.

“ The Lord shall cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you will go out one way against them, but you will flee seven ways before them, and you will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

26 Y our dead bodies will be food for all the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth. There will be no one to make them afraid and to send them away.

Your carcasses will be food to all birds of the sky and to the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away.

27 “ The Lord will punish you with the sores of Egypt, growing sores, and skin diseases, that will not be healed.

“ The Lord will smite you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scab and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed.

28 T he Lord will punish you by making you crazy, and blind, and troubled in your mind.

The Lord will smite you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart;

29 Y ou will have to feel for your way at noon, as the blind man feels his way in darkness. And your way will not go well. It will be made hard for you, and you will always be robbed. There will be no one to save you.

and you will grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways; but you shall only be oppressed and robbed continually, with none to save you.

30 Y ou will marry a wife. But another man will lie with her. You will build a house. But you will not live in it. You will plant vines. But you will not eat the fruit.

You shall betroth a wife, but another man will violate her; you shall build a house, but you will not live in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but you will not use its fruit.

31 Y our bull will be killed in front of you. But you will not eat of it. Your donkey will be taken from you, and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to those who hate you. No one will help you.

Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat of it; your donkey shall be torn away from you, and will not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you will have none to save you.

32 Y our sons and daughters will be given to another nation. Your eyes will watch for them always and you will have much desire for them. But there will be nothing you can do.

Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and yearn for them continually; but there will be nothing you can do.

33 A nation you have not known will eat the food of your field and of your work. You will suffer under the power of others always.

A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and crushed continually.

34 Y ou will be driven crazy by what you see.

You shall be driven mad by the sight of what you see.

35 T he Lord will make sores on your knees and legs that you cannot heal, from the bottom of your foot to the top of your head.

The Lord will strike you on the knees and legs with sore boils, from which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

36 T he Lord will bring you and your chosen king to a nation that you and your fathers have not known. There you will work for other gods, of wood and stone.

The Lord will bring you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone.

37 Y ou will become a people who are hated, who are made fun of, and a shame among the people where the Lord will send you.

You shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the Lord drives you.

38 “ You will sow much seed in the field, but gather little, for the locust will eat it.

“ You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it.

39 Y ou will plant and take care of vines, but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, for worms will eat them.

You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them.

40 Y ou will have olive trees everywhere. But you will not pour the oil upon yourself, for your olives will fall off.

You shall have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off.

41 Y ou will have sons and daughters, but you will not keep them, for they will be taken away.

You shall have sons and daughters but they will not be yours, for they will go into captivity.

42 T he locust will own all your trees and the food of your field.

The cricket shall possess all your trees and the produce of your ground.

43 T he stranger among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will become less and less.

The alien who is among you shall rise above you higher and higher, but you will go down lower and lower.

44 H e will give to you. But you will not give to him. He will be the head and you will be the tail.

He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you will be the tail.

45 A ll these curses will come upon you. They will follow you and come upon you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping all the Laws He gave you.

“So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.

46 T hey will be something special to see, and a powerful work upon you and your children forever.

They shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever.

47 B ecause you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart because of all He has given you,

“ Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things;

48 y ou will serve those who hate you, whom the Lord will send against you. You will be hungry, thirsty, without clothing, and needing all things. He will put a heavy load on your neck until He has destroyed you.

therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

49 “ The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, as fast as an eagle flies. It will be a nation whose language you will not understand,

“ The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand,

50 a nation that shows a hard face. It will have no respect for the old, or show favor to the young.

a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young.

51 I t will eat the young ones of your cattle and the food of your field until you are destroyed. It will leave you no grain, new wine, oil, or the young of your cattle or flock, until it has caused you to die.

Moreover, it shall eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed, who also leaves you no grain, new wine, or oil, nor the increase of your herd or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish.

52 Y our towns will be taken over by its armies until your high strong walls that you have trusted in come down everywhere in your land. Its armies will take over all your towns everywhere in the land the Lord your God has given you.

It shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land, and it shall besiege you in all your towns throughout your land which the Lord your God has given you.

53 D uring this time and because of the trouble caused by those who hate you, you will eat your own children, the flesh of your sons and daughters whom the Lord your God has given you.

Then you shall eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you.

54 T he most gentle man among you will be against his brother, the wife he loves, and the children he still has.

The man who is refined and very delicate among you shall be hostile toward his brother and toward the wife he cherishes and toward the rest of his children who remain,

55 H e will not give them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because it is all he has left for himself. This is how bad the trouble will be that those who hate you will bring to all your towns.

so that he will not give even one of them any of the flesh of his children which he will eat, since he has nothing else left, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in all your towns.

56 T he most gentle woman among you may be careful not to set the bottom of her foot on the ground. But she will be hard to the husband she loves, to her son and daughter,

The refined and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and refinement, shall be hostile toward the husband she cherishes and toward her son and daughter,

57 t o the afterbirth which comes out of her body, and to the children who are born from her. She will eat them in secret because she has nothing else. This is how bad the trouble will be that those who hate you will bring to all your towns.

and toward her afterbirth which issues from between her legs and toward her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of anything else, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in your towns.

58 “ If you are not careful to obey all the words of the Law which are written in this book, to fear this honored name of the Lord your God,

“If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord your God,

59 t hen the Lord will bring bad diseases on you and your children, hard and lasting diseases and sicknesses.

then the Lord will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses.

60 H e will bring all the diseases upon you that you were afraid of in Egypt. And they will stay with you.

He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you.

61 T he Lord will bring upon you every sickness and every trouble which is not written in the book of this Law also, until you are destroyed.

Also every sickness and every plague which, not written in the book of this law, the Lord will bring on you until you are destroyed.

62 Y ou will have been as many as the stars of heaven but there will be few of you left, because you did not obey the Lord your God.

Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the Lord your God.

63 A s the Lord was happy with you and caused good to come to you and you were many, He will be happy to bring trouble upon you and destroy you. And you will be taken from the land you are going in to take.

It shall come about that as the Lord delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the Lord will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it.

64 T he Lord will spread you out among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will serve other gods, of wood and stone, which you and your fathers have not known.

Moreover, the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known.

65 Y ou will find no rest among those nations. There will be no place of rest for the bottom of your foot. But there the Lord will give you fear in your heart, eyes that become weak, and sorrow in your soul.

Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul.

66 Y our life will be full of doubts. You will be afraid night and day. And you will not be sure of anything in your life.

So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life.

67 I n the morning you will say, ‘If it were only evening!’ In the evening you will say, ‘If it were only morning!’ because of the fear of your heart, and the things your eyes see.

In the morning you shall say, ‘Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see.

68 T he Lord will bring you back to Egypt in ships, in the way I said, ‘You will never see it again.’ There you will try to sell yourselves as men and women servants to those who hate you. But no one will buy you.”

The Lord will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, ‘You will never see it again!’ And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”