Blessings for Obedience
Deuteronomy 28:1-14
Deu.28.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- אם: CONJ
- שמוע: VERB,qal,infc
- תשמע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בקול: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- לשמר: VERB,qal,inf
- לעשות: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- מצותיו: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss:3,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- מצוך: VERB,piel,part,1,sg,obj:2,m,sg
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ונתנך: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg+PRON,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- עליון: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- גויי: NOUN,m,pl,const
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Leviticus 26:3-13 (thematic): A covenant‑blessing passage promising prosperity, security, and God’s presence if Israel walks in His statutes — parallel conditional structure and promised elevation/blessing for obedience.
- Deuteronomy 7:12-14 (thematic): Another Deuteronomic promise that if Israel keeps God’s commandments He will bless and prosper them — echoes the same if/then covenantal formula and outcomes.
- Joshua 1:7-8 (thematic): Joshua’s charge to obey the law for success and prosperity mirrors Deut 28:1’s link between faithful obedience to God’s commands and being established/blessed among the nations.
- Deuteronomy 28:2 (structural): Immediate continuation of the verse: the explicit statement that ‘all these blessings shall come upon you’ develops the same conditional promise introduced in 28:1.
- 2 Chronicles 7:14 (thematic): A later formulation of the conditional pattern — if God’s people humble/seek/turn to God, He will respond with healing/blessing — parallels the covenantal cause‑and‑effect of Deut 28:1.
Alternative generated candidates
- And it shall be, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep and to do all his commandments that I command you this day, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
- And it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God to keep and to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
Deu.28.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ובאו: VERB,qal,imp,2,mp
- עליך: PREP+2ms
- כל: DET
- הברכות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- האלה: DEM,pl
- והשיגך: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,pl
- כי: CONJ
- תשמע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בקול: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
Parallels
- Deut.28.1 (structural): Immediate context and parallel conditional: both verses promise blessings that will come upon Israel conditional on heeding the voice of the LORD (same syntactic construction).
- Leviticus 26:3-9 (verbal): Cultic law promise linking obedience to statutes with divine blessing (fruitfulness, peace, presence) — parallels Deut's covenantal reward motif and conditional language.
- Deut.30:16,20 (verbal): Reiterates the same covenant formula: choosing to obey the LORD’s voice brings life, prosperity, and continuance—explicitly connects love/obedience to receiving blessings.
- Joshua 1:8 (thematic): Promises prosperity and success tied to careful observance and meditation on God’s law — echoes Deuteronomy’s link between obedience to God’s word and receiving blessing.
- Psalm 1:1-3 (thematic): Depicts the blessed person who delights in and follows God’s law, flourishing and prospering — a literary/theological parallel to blessings following obedience in Deuteronomy.
Alternative generated candidates
- And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.
- And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.
Deu.28.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ברוך: ADJ,m,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- בעיר: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וברוך: CONJ+ADJ,ptc,pass,NA,m,sg,abs
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- בשדה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:16 (verbal): Directly parallels 28:3 by reversing the blessing formula: 'Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field,' providing the explicit curse-contrast within the same chapter.
- Deuteronomy 28:6 (structural): Uses a parallel two-part blessing formula—'blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out'—mirroring 28:3's twofold blessing (city/field) that covers different spheres of life.
- Deuteronomy 28:4 (verbal): Continues the immediate context of Deut 28's blessings with agricultural and household prosperity ('fruit of your ground, the increase of your herd'), thematically linked to being blessed in the field.
- Leviticus 26:3-5 (thematic): Promises land fertility, rain, and peace as rewards for obedience—parallel thematic material about divine blessing on habitation and productive fields for covenant faithfulness.
Alternative generated candidates
- Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
- Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
Deu.28.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ברוך: ADJ,m,sg
- פרי: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- בטנך: NOUN,m,sg,sfx
- ופרי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אדמתך: NOUN,f,sg,sfx
- ופרי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בהמתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs-2ms
- שגר: NOUN,m,sg,const
- אלפיך: NOUN,m,pl,sfx
- ועשתרות: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- צאנך: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Deut.7.13 (verbal): Uses the same blessing formula—'the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground... the increase of your cattle and the young of your flock'—linking family, land, and livestock as objects of divine blessing.
- Deut.28.11 (verbal): Closely echoes the language of 28:4 within the same covenant-scheme: Yahweh will make you abound 'in the fruit of your body and the fruit of your cattle and the fruit of your ground.'
- Lev.26.4-5 (thematic): Promises agricultural and animal prosperity (rain, land yielding increase, flocks multiplying) as rewards for covenant faithfulness—paralleling Deut.'s cluster of blessings for womb, field, and livestock.
- Ps.128.3-4 (thematic): Portrays household fruitfulness (a fruitful wife, children like olive shoots) as a sign of blessing on the righteous—echoing Deut.'s association of progeny and domestic prosperity with divine favor.
- Gen.1.28 (thematic): The primordial divine commission/blessing to 'be fruitful and multiply' provides the foundational motif of offspring and increase that underlies later covenantal promises about the fruit of the body and land.
Alternative generated candidates
- Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your cattle—the increase of your herd and the offspring of your flock.
- Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
Deu.28.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ברוך: ADJ,m,sg
- טנאך: NOUN,f,sg,suff-2ms
- ומשארתך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,suff-2ms
Parallels
- Deut.28.4 (structural): Immediate context in the same blessing formula—lists household and agricultural blessings ('the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground') that frame the blessing on your basket and kneading bowl.
- Deut.7.13 (verbal): Earlier covenant promise that God 'will bless the fruit of your body and the produce of your ground,' using similar language of divine blessing on household fertility and produce.
- Psalm 128:2-3 (thematic): Portrays domestic prosperity for the God-fearing—'you shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; your wife like a fruitful vine'—echoing the theme of household abundance (basket and kneading bowl).
- Proverbs 31:15 (thematic): The virtuous wife's domestic provision ('She rises while it is yet night and gives food to her household') parallels the kneading-bowl/basket imagery of sustenance and household well-being.
- Leviticus 26:9 (thematic): Covenantal promise of fertility and abundance ('I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful') parallels the agricultural/household blessings embodied in the basket and kneading bowl.
Alternative generated candidates
- Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough.
- Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough.
Deu.28.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ברוך: ADJ,m,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- בבאך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- וברוך: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg,abs
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- בצאתך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 121:8 (verbal): Explicitly echoes the language of 'coming and going'—the LORD watches over and protects 'your coming and your going' (Hebrew חַיֶּיךָ בְּבֹאֶךָ וּבְצֵאתֶךָ), making it a close verbal and thematic parallel.
- Genesis 28:15 (verbal): God's promise to Jacob—'I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go'—parallels the blessing of protection and well‑being in movement expressed in Deut 28:6.
- Joshua 1:9 (verbal): The command and promise 'for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go' corresponds to the assurance of blessing in coming and going found in Deut 28:6.
- Deuteronomy 31:6 (thematic): Within Deuteronomy itself, the promise that God 'will not leave you or forsake you' and will 'go with you' develops the same theme of divine presence and protection in all movements and circumstances.
- Hebrews 13:5 (allusion): The NT echo 'I will never leave you nor forsake you' (quoting OT assurances) reflects the ongoing interpretive tradition that links divine presence and blessing to one's coming and going, resonating with Deut 28:6's concern for welfare in movement.
Alternative generated candidates
- Blessed shall you be in your coming in, and blessed shall you be in your going out.
- Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
Deu.28.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יתן: VERB,qal,imperf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- איביך: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הקמים: PART,qal,ptcp,m,pl,def
- עליך: PREP+2ms
- נגפים: PART,niphal,ptcp,m,pl,abs
- לפניך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- בדרך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- יצאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- ובשבעה: CONJ+PREP+NUM,card,m,pl
- דרכים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ינוסו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לפניך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 23:27 (thematic): God promises to send terror before Israel and to defeat the peoples they encounter, a similar promise that enemies will be routed by divine action.
- Deuteronomy 32:30 (verbal): Uses the same numerical/overwhelming-victory motif (“one chase a thousand…”) to describe how God enables Israel to rout larger foes, echoing the imagery of enemies fleeing in multiple directions.
- Joshua 23:10 (quotation): Repeats the proverb of one pursuing a thousand and two ten thousand, directly paralleling the Deuteronomic promise of decisive, disproportionate victory over enemies.
- Judges 7:22 (thematic): God causes confusion among the enemy (Midianites) so they turn on one another and flee, illustrating the motif of the LORD delivering foes into Israel’s hand and causing routs.
- 2 Chronicles 20:23 (allusion): In Jehoshaphat’s victory, the enemy nations destroy one another and flee, reflecting the Deuteronomic theme that the LORD will scatter and rout Israel’s adversaries.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD will put to rout your enemies who rise against you; they shall come out against you by one road and flee before you by seven.
- The LORD will put to rout your enemies who rise against you; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
Deu.28.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יצו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אתך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הברכה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- באסמיך: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRS,2,ms
- ובכל: CONJ+PREP
- משלח: VERB,piel,part,3,m,sg
- ידך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,f,sg
- וברכך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- נתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Deut.28.3 (structural): Same blessing section—promises blessing ‘in the city and in the field,’ framing the chapter’s series of blessings parallel to blessing in your storehouses and work.
- Deut.28.12 (verbal): Closely related promise—God will ‘open his good treasury/heavens’ and ‘bless all the work of your hands,’ echoing blessing on one’s labors and provision.
- Deut.7.13 (thematic): Earlier covenant promise that God will bless the fruit of your womb, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds—theme of divine blessing on land, offspring, and possessions.
- Psalm 128:2 (verbal): Speaks of eating ‘the fruit of your labor/hands’ and being blessed—echoes blessing on the results of one’s work and household well‑being.
- Malachi 3:10 (allusion): Calls to bring tithes into the storehouse and promises God will ‘open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing’—parallels imagery of storehouses and abundant divine blessing.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all to which you set your hand; and he will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
- The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your storehouses and in all that you set your hand to; he will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
Deu.28.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יקימך: VERB,hif,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- לעם: PREP
- קדוש: ADJ,m,sg
- כאשר: CONJ
- נשבע: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- תשמר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- מצות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- והלכת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- בדרכיו: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,suff3ms
Parallels
- Exodus 19:5-6 (thematic): Conditional covenant language: if Israel obeys God they will be his treasured possession/‘a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,’ paralleling the promise that the LORD will make them a holy people if they keep his commandments.
- Leviticus 20:26 (verbal): Direct command to Israel to be holy to the LORD (‘you shall be holy to me’), linking God’s demand for holiness to Israel’s identity—resonates with God establishing them as his holy people.
- Leviticus 11:44-45 (verbal): Call to holiness grounded in God’s identity and deliverance (‘for I am the LORD… who brought you up out of the land of Egypt; be holy’), similar rationale and wording for Israel’s distinctive holiness in Deut 28:9.
- Deuteronomy 7:6 (verbal): Declaration that Israel is a people holy to the LORD and chosen by him—an affirmation of Israel’s holy status that parallels the promise in Deut 28:9 tied to covenant faithfulness.
- 1 Peter 2:9 (allusion): New Testament echo of OT language (‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation’) reflecting the continuity of the theme that God’s people are called and constituted as holy through his covenant dealings.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways.
- The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways.
Deu.28.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כל: DET
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- שם: ADV
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- נקרא: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- עליך: PREP+2ms
- ויראו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ממך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Numbers 6:27 (verbal): The priestly blessing says God’s name will be put on Israel (וְשָׂמוּ אֶת־שְׁמִי עַל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל), closely echoing Deut 28:10’s language about the name of the LORD being called upon you.
- Deuteronomy 4:6 (structural): Moses promises that the nations will observe Israel’s statutes and declare them a wise people—paralleling Deut 28:10’s theme of other peoples seeing Israel as identified with the LORD’s name.
- Ezekiel 36:22-23 (verbal): God acts ‘for my holy name’s sake’ and declares he will sanctify his name before the nations—explicitly linking divine reputation among the peoples to Israel’s restoration, paralleling the motif of the LORD’s name being known among nations in Deut 28:10.
- Zechariah 8:23 (thematic): Foreigners will take hold of a Jew’s garment saying, ‘We have heard that God is with you,’ reflecting the idea that nations recognize God’s presence with Israel, similar to nations seeing the LORD’s name on Israel in Deut 28:10.
- Isaiah 62:2 (thematic): Nations will see your righteousness and your glory, and you will be called by a name given by the LORD—parallel in that other peoples perceive and acknowledge God’s identity and presence with Israel.
Alternative generated candidates
- All the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the LORD is called upon you, and they shall stand in awe of you.
- All the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the LORD is called upon you, and they shall stand in awe of you.
Deu.28.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והותרך: VERB,hif,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לטובה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בפרי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בטנך: NOUN,m,sg,sfx
- ובפרי: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בהמתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs-2ms
- ובפרי: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אדמתך: NOUN,f,sg,sfx
- על: PREP
- האדמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נשבע: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לאבתיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,2,m,sg
- לתת: VERB,qal,inf
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 7:13 (verbal): Promises God will 'bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land' and links blessing to the land God swore to the ancestors—very close verbal and thematic parallel to Deut 28:11.
- Leviticus 26:9–10 (verbal): God vows to make Israel fruitful and to cause the land and its produce to increase (and to provide sustenance), echoing the promise of offspring, livestock and agricultural abundance.
- Psalm 128:2–3 (thematic): Describes the household blessing that follows fear of the LORD: blessed work, a fruitful wife, and children—reflects the domestic and agricultural prosperity envisioned in Deut 28:11.
- Genesis 1:28 (thematic): The primordial divine blessing to 'be fruitful and multiply' supplies the foundational theological background for later promises of fruitfulness of womb, livestock and land in Israelite covenant blessings.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD will make you abound in goods, in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, for the good of the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.
- And the LORD will make you abound in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.
Deu.28.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יפתח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אוצרו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- הטוב: ADJ,m,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- לתת: VERB,qal,inf
- מטר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ארצך: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בעתו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+3ms
- ולברך: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- מעשה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ידך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,f,sg
- והלוית: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- גוים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- רבים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- תלוה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Deut.28.13 (structural): Direct continuation of the same blessing cluster — explicitly states the result that you will 'lend to many nations and not borrow,' completing the promise begun in 28:12.
- Deut.11.14 (verbal): Parallel promise that God will 'give the rain of your land in its season' if Israel obeys — shares the same covenantal cause-and-effect and rain imagery.
- Lev.26.4-5 (thematic): Part of another covenantal blessings passage promising seasonal rain, fruitful soil, and victory over enemies for obedience — echoes Deut.'s covenantal blessing framework.
- Mal.3.10 (allusion): Uses the imagery of God 'opening the windows (or storehouse) of heaven' to pour out blessing in response to faithfulness — echoes the 'open his good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain' language of Deut 28:12.
- Ps.147.8 (verbal): Speaks of God 'covering the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth' — a poetic parallel focusing on God as the one who opens the heavens and provides rain and blessing.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands; and you will lend to many nations, and you shall not borrow.
- The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands; and you shall lend to many nations, and you shall not borrow.
Deu.28.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונתנך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לראש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- לזנב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והיית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- רק: PRT
- למעלה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- תהיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- למטה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- תשמע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- מצות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- מצוך: VERB,piel,part,1,sg,obj:2,m,sg
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לשמר: VERB,qal,inf
- ולעשות: CONJ+VERB,qal,inf
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:1-2 (thematic): Immediate context: the opening promise that obedience will bring exaltation and blessing—Deut 28:13 is the culmination of the blessing formula begun in 28:1–2.
- Deuteronomy 28:12 (structural): Direct adjacent promise: God will open the heavens, provide prosperity and make Israel prosperous—28:12 leads directly into the image of being 'the head' in v.13.
- Leviticus 26:8 (thematic): Part of an earlier covenant-blessing sequence: God promises military and numerical superiority ('five of you shall chase a hundred'), echoing the theme of Israel's exalted status under obedience.
- Leviticus 26:12 (thematic): Another covenantal blessing: 'I will walk among you; I will be your God'—this assurance of divine presence underlies the social and political elevation promised in Deut 28:13.
- 1 Samuel 2:8 (thematic): Hannah's song: Yahweh 'raises the poor from the dust' and 'sets them with princes'—a similar motif of God reversing fortunes and exalting his people to positions of prominence.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be only above, never beneath, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you this day to keep and to do them.
- And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be only above, and you shall not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you this day to keep and to do.
Deu.28.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולא: CONJ
- תסור: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- מכל: PREP
- הדברים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- מצוה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ימין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושמאול: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ללכת: VERB,qal,inf
- אחרי: PREP
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אחרים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- לעבדם: VERB,qal,inf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Deut.5:32-33 (verbal): Repeats the exhortation to be careful to obey all God’s commands and not to turn to the right or left—closely parallels the wording and intent of Deut 28:14.
- Joshua 1:7-8 (verbal): Joshua’s charge to observe the law and not turn to the right or left echoes the same phrasing and command to faithful obedience found in Deut 28:14.
- Deut.4:2 (thematic): Prohibits adding to or taking away from God’s word, reinforcing the theme of strict fidelity to the commandments expressed in Deut 28:14.
- Deut.6:17-18 (thematic): Commands Israel to keep and do the LORD’s commandments and not follow other gods—theme of exclusive loyalty and obedience that underlies Deut 28:14.
- Joshua 23:6-8 (allusion): Joshua’s farewell exhortation to be careful to obey what is written and not turn to foreign gods alludes to the Deuteronomic injunction against turning aside to serve other gods.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall not turn aside from any of the words that I command you this day, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
- You shall not turn aside from any of the words that I command you this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
And it shall come to pass, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God to keep and to do all his commandments that I command you this day, that the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.
Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your land, the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds, and the young of your flocks.
Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough.
Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
The LORD will put your enemies who rise up against you to rout before you; they shall come out against you one way and flee from you seven ways.
The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand; and he will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the LORD is called upon you, and they shall stand in awe of you.
The LORD will grant you abundant good—in the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your cattle, and the fruit of your land—on the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.
The LORD will open for you his good treasury, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands; and you shall lend to many nations, and you shall not borrow.
The LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be only above, and not beneath—if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you this day, to keep and to do them.
You shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.