The Blessings of Obedience (Leviticus 25:18–22)
1 DBY And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to take heed to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that Jehovah thy God will set thee supreme above all nations of the earth; BSB BSB: “Now if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commandments I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
2 DBY and all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God. BSB BSB: And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the voice of the LORD your God:
3 DBY Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. BSB BSB: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 DBY Blessed shall be the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the offspring of thy kine, and the increase of thy sheep. BSB BSB: The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
5 DBY Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough. BSB BSB: Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed.
6 DBY Blessed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and blessed shalt thou be in thy going out. BSB BSB: You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
7 DBY Jehovah will give up, smitten before thee, thine enemies that rise up against thee; they shall come out against thee one way, and by seven ways shall they flee before thee. BSB BSB: The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.
8 DBY Jehovah will command blessing on thee in thy granaries, and in all the business of thy hand; and he will bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee. BSB BSB: The LORD will decree a blessing on your barns and on everything to which you put your hand; the LORD your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.
9 DBY Jehovah will establish thee unto himself a holy people as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, and walk in his ways. BSB BSB: The LORD will establish you as His holy people, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.
10 DBY And all peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of Jehovah, and they shall be afraid of thee. BSB BSB: Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will stand in awe of you.
11 DBY And Jehovah will give thee abundance of good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land that Jehovah swore unto thy fathers to give thee. BSB BSB: The LORD will make you prosper abundantly—in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land—in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.
12 DBY Jehovah will open to thee his good treasure, the heavens, to give rain unto 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. BSB BSB: The LORD will open the heavens, His abundant storehouse, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but borrow from none.
13 DBY And Jehovah will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah thy God, which I command thee this day, to keep and to do them, BSB BSB: The LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward, if you hear and carefully follow the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am giving you today.
14 DBY and if thou turn not aside from any of the words that I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. BSB BSB: Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from any of the words I command you today, and do not go after other gods to serve them.
The Curses of Disobedience (Leviticus 20:1–9; Leviticus 26:14–39)
15 DBY But it shall come to pass if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to take heed 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. BSB BSB: If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 DBY Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. BSB BSB: You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17 DBY Cursed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough. BSB BSB: Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed.
18 DBY Cursed shall be the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, the offspring of thy kine, and the increase of thy sheep. BSB BSB: The fruit of your womb will be cursed, as well as the produce of your land, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.
19 DBY Cursed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and cursed shalt thou be in thy going out. BSB BSB: You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
20 DBY Jehovah will send upon thee cursing, confusion, and rebuke, in all the business of thy hand which thou doest, until thou be destroyed and until thou perish quickly, because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. BSB BSB: The LORD will send curses upon you, confusion and reproof in all to which you put your hand, until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the wickedness you have committed in forsaking Him.
21 DBY Jehovah will make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. BSB BSB: The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has exterminated you from the land that you are entering to possess.
22 DBY Jehovah will smite thee with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with burning ague, and with drought, and with blight, and with mildew, and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. BSB BSB: The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew; these will pursue you until you perish.
23 DBY And thy heavens which are over thy head shall be brass, and the earth which is under thee, iron. BSB BSB: The sky over your head will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.
24 DBY Jehovah will give as the rain of thy land powder and dust; from the heavens shall it come down upon thee until thou be destroyed. BSB BSB: The LORD will turn the rain of your land into dust and powder; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed.
25 DBY Jehovah will give thee up smitten before thine enemies; thou shalt go out against them one way, and by seven ways shalt thou flee before them; and thou shalt be driven hither and thither into all the kingdoms of the earth. BSB BSB: The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
26 DBY And thy carcase shall be meat unto all the fowl of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no man to scare them away. BSB BSB: Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the air and beasts of the earth, with no one to scare them away.
27 DBY Jehovah will smite thee with the ulcers of Egypt, and with boils, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. BSB BSB: The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors and scabs and itch from which you cannot be cured.
28 DBY Jehovah will smite thee with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart; BSB BSB: The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind,
29 DBY 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 continually, and there shall be none to save. BSB BSB: and at noon you will grope about like a blind man in the darkness. You will not prosper in your ways. Day after day you will be oppressed and plundered, with no one to save you.
30 DBY 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 eat of it. BSB BSB: You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not enjoy its fruit.
31 DBY Thine ox shall be slaughtered before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof; thine ass shall be snatched away from before thy face, and shall not return to thee; thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to recover them. BSB BSB: Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away and not returned to you. Your flock will be given to your enemies, and no one will save you.
32 DBY Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and languish for them all the day long; and there shall be no power in thy hand to help it . BSB BSB: Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, while your eyes grow weary looking for them day after day, with no power in your hand.
33 DBY The fruit of thy ground and all thy labour, shall a people that thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed continually. BSB BSB: A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.
34 DBY And thou shalt be mad through the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. BSB BSB: You will be driven mad by the sights you see.
35 DBY Jehovah will smite thee in the knees and in the legs with evil ulcers, whereof thou canst not be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head. BSB BSB: The LORD will afflict you with painful, incurable boils on your knees and thighs, from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.
36 DBY Jehovah will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that neither thou nor thy fathers have known, and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. BSB BSB: The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.
37 DBY And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples whither Jehovah shall lead thee. BSB BSB: You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
38 DBY Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather little in; for the locust shall devour it. BSB BSB: You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because the locusts will consume it.
39 DBY Thou shalt plant and till vineyards, but shalt drink no wine, nor gather the fruit ; for the worms shall eat it. BSB BSB: You will plant and cultivate vineyards, but will neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, because worms will eat them.
40 DBY Olive-trees shalt thou have throughout all thy borders, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with oil; for thine olive-tree shall cast its fruit. BSB BSB: You will have olive trees throughout your territory but will never anoint yourself with oil, because the olives will drop off.
41 DBY Sons and daughters shalt thou beget, but thou shalt not have them to be with thee ; for they shall go into captivity. BSB BSB: You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will go into captivity.
42 DBY All thy trees and the fruit of thy ground shall the locust possess. BSB BSB: Swarms of locusts will consume all your trees and the produce of your land.
43 DBY The sojourner that is in thy midst shall rise above thee higher and higher, and thou shalt sink down lower and lower. BSB BSB: The foreigner living among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink down lower and lower.
44 DBY He shall lend to thee, but thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. BSB BSB: He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.
45 DBY And all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, until thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee. BSB BSB: All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, since you did not obey the LORD your God and keep the commandments and statutes He gave you.
46 DBY And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. BSB BSB: These curses will be a sign and a wonder upon you and your descendants forever.
47 DBY Because thou servedst not Jehovah thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, BSB BSB: Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance,
48 DBY thou shalt serve thine enemies whom Jehovah will send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of everything; and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. BSB BSB: you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.
49 DBY Jehovah will bring a nation against thee from afar, from the end of the earth, like as the eagle flieth, a nation whose tongue thou understandest not; BSB BSB: The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
50 DBY a nation of fierce countenance, which regardeth not the person of the old, nor is kind to the young; BSB BSB: a ruthless nation with no respect for the old and no pity for the young.
51 DBY and he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy ground, until thou be destroyed; for he shall not leave thee corn, new wine, or oil, offspring of thy kine, or increase of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. BSB BSB: They will eat the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain or new wine or oil, no calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks, until they have caused you to perish.
52 DBY And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and strong walls wherein thou trustedst come down, throughout all thy land; and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates in all thy land, which Jehovah thy God hath given thee. BSB BSB: They will besiege all the cities throughout your land, until the high and fortified walls in which you trust have fallen. They will besiege all your cities throughout the land that the LORD your God has given you.
53 DBY And in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee, thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters whom Jehovah thy God hath given thee. BSB BSB: Then you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you.
54 DBY The eye of the man in thy midst that is tender and very luxurious shall be evil towards his brother, and the wife of his bosom, and the residue of his children which he hath left; BSB BSB: The most gentle and refined man among you will begrudge his brother, the wife he embraces, and the rest of his children who have survived,
55 DBY so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children that he eateth, because he hath nothing left him in the siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. BSB BSB: refusing to share with any of them the flesh of his children he will eat because he has nothing left in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you within all your gates.
56 DBY The eye of the tender and luxurious woman in thy midst who would not attempt to set the sole of her foot upon the ground from luxuriousness and from tenderness, shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and her son, and her daughter, BSB BSB: The most gentle and refined woman among you, so gentle and refined she would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge the husband she embraces and her son and daughter
57 DBY because of her afterbirth which hath come out between her feet, and her children whom she shall bear; for she shall secretly eat them for want of everything in the siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates. BSB BSB: the afterbirth that comes from between her legs and the children she bears, because she will secretly eat them for lack of anything else in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you within your gates.
58 DBY If thou wilt not take heed to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, to fear this glorious and fearful name, JEHOVAH THY GOD; BSB BSB: If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God—
59 DBY then Jehovah will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, great and persistent plagues and evil and persistent sicknesses; BSB BSB: He will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary disasters, severe and lasting plagues, and terrible and chronic sicknesses.
60 DBY and he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt which thou art afraid of, and they shall cleave unto thee. BSB BSB: He will afflict you again with all the diseases you dreaded in Egypt, and they will cling to you.
61 DBY Also every sickness and every plague which is not written in the book of this law, them will Jehovah bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. BSB BSB: The LORD will also bring upon you every sickness and plague not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed.
62 DBY And ye shall be left a small company, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah thy God. BSB BSB: You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left few in number, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
63 DBY And it shall come to pass, that as Jehovah rejoiced over you to do you good and to multiply you, so Jehovah will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whereunto thou goest to possess it. BSB BSB: Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and multiply, so also it will please Him to annihilate you and destroy you. And you will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.
64 DBY And Jehovah will scatter thee among all peoples, from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; and thou shalt there serve other gods, whom thou hast not known, neither thou nor thy fathers, wood and stone. BSB BSB: Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
65 DBY And among these nations shalt thou have no rest, neither shall the sole of thy foot have a resting-place, and Jehovah shall give thee there a trembling heart, languishing of the eyes, and pining of the soul. BSB BSB: Among those nations you will find no repose, not even a resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despairing soul.
66 DBY And thy life shall hang in suspense before thee; and thou shalt be in terror day and night and shalt be afraid of thy life. BSB BSB: So your life will hang in doubt before you, and you will be afraid night and day, never certain of survival.
67 DBY In the morning thou shalt say, Would that it were even! and in the evening thou shalt say, Would that it were morning! through the fright of thy heart wherewith thou shalt be in terror, and through the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. BSB BSB: In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’—because of the dread in your hearts of the terrifying sights you will see.
68 DBY And Jehovah will bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I said unto thee, Thou shalt see it again no more; and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and there shall be no man to buy you . BSB BSB: The LORD will return you to Egypt in ships by a route that I said you should never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.