Deuteronomy 28:2
in Deuteronomy 28And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the voice of the LORD your God:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God.
KJV
And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
⋯
This verse in Deuteronomy 28
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Now if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God
on Deuteronomy 28:1-2
The blessing is made conditional twice, at the head of verse 1 and the close of verse 2. Both times the condition is hearing.
This site's exposition
blessings will come upon you
Wesley turns the usual chase around: other men pursue blessings and never reach them, and here the blessings pursue the obedient man. Henry adds that the blessing finds those who count themselves unworthy of it, as the surprised righteous do at Matthew 25:37. Obedience makes a man the one pursued.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee,.... After mentioned, which should come upon them from God from heaven, by the direction of his providence, and that freely and plentifully, and beyond their expectations and deserts, and continue with them: if thou shall hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God; obedience to the law being the condition of their coming and continuance; for only temporal blessings in the land of Canaan are here intended, as follow.
Good people sometimes, under the sense of their unworthiness, are ready to fly from the blessing and to conclude that it belongs not to them,; but the blessing shall find them out and follow them notwithstanding. Thus in the great day the blessing will overtake the righteous that say, Lord, when saw we thee hungry and fed thee?
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
All these blessings shall come on thee - God shall pour out his blessing from heaven upon thee. And overtake thee. Upright men are represented as going to the kingdom of God, and God’s blessings as following and overtaking them in their heavenly journey. There are several things in this verse worthy of the most careful observation: - 1. If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. The voice of God must be heard; without a Divine revelation how can the Divine will be known? And if not known, it cannot be fulfilled.
Modern Voices1 voice
So you turn around, towards the sunlight of God's favor. You begin to walk towards it, away from the curses, into the area of blessings.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
This is a general blessing. It states that there will be no nation in the world like you. 1 Vat. Ebr.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבָ֧אוּ | uvau | and they will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָלֶ֛יךָ | ʾaleikha | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַבְּרָכ֥וֹת | haberakhot | the blessings | H1293 → | 69 times |
| הָאֵ֖לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| וְהִשִּׂיגֻ֑ךָ | vehisigukha | and they will overtake you | H5381 → | 50 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תִשְׁמַ֔ע | tishma' | you will listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְּק֖וֹל | bekol | to [the] voice of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
וּבָ֧אוּand they will come
uvauH935 →2568 times
עָלֶ֛יךָon you
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַבְּרָכ֥וֹתthe blessings
haberakhotH1293 →69 times
הָאֵ֖לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
וְהִשִּׂיגֻ֑ךָand they will overtake you
vehisigukhaH5381 →50 times
כִּ֣יif
kiH3588 →4482 times
תִשְׁמַ֔עyou will listen
tishma'H8085 →1159 times
בְּק֖וֹלto [the] voice of
bekolH6963 →506 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃God your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Timothy 4:8For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come.
it leads to
- Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
- 1 Timothy 6:6
Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
- Psalms 37:3–4
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- Proverbs 22:4
The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD are wealth and honor and life.
- Proverbs 19:23
The fear of the LORD leads to life, that one may rest content, without visitation from harm.
- Matthew 6:33
Through
Zechariah 1:6But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of Hosts purposed to do to us according…
it leads to
- Lamentations 2:17
The LORD has done what He planned; He has accomplished His decree, which He ordained in days of old; He has overthrown you without pity. He has let the enemy gloat over you and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 28:15
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:
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Lamentations 2:17
Through
Deuteronomy 28:15If, 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:
it leads to
- Malachi 2:2
If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse…
- Malachi 2:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Derek Prince, From Curse to Blessing (devotional); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.