Deuteronomy 28:25
in Deuteronomy 28The 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah will cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies; thou shalt go out one way against them, and shalt flee seven ways before them: and thou shalt be tossed to and from among all the kingdoms of the earth.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 28
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies
on Deuteronomy 28:25-26
Verse 7 is reversed exactly here, one way out and seven ways in flight, with Israel in the place the enemy held. The unburied corpse of verse 26 was a horror on its own terms in that world. Jeremiah 7:33 and 34:20 use the same picture of Judah before the exile.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten fore thine enemies,....
It would make their flight the more shameful, and the more grievous, that they might have triumphed over their enemies if they had but been faithful to their God.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יִתֶּנְךָ֨ | yitenkha | he will make you | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה׀ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| נִגָּף֮ | nigaf | defeated | H5062 → | 49 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֹיְבֶיךָ֒ | ʾoyeveikha | enemies your | H341 → | 282 times |
| בְּדֶ֤רֶךְ | bederekh | in a direction | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אֶחָד֙ | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| תֵּצֵ֣א | tetze' | you will go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֵלָ֔יו | ʾelav | against him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וּבְשִׁבְעָ֥ה | uveshivah | and in seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| דְרָכִ֖ים | derakhim | directions | H1870 → | 707 times |
| תָּנ֣וּס | tanus | you will flee | H5127 → | 159 times |
| לְפָנָ֑יו | lefanav | <to> before him | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וְהָיִ֣יתָ | vehayita | and you will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְזַעֲוָ֔ה | lezaavah | <into> a terror | H2189 → | |
| לְכֹ֖ל | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַמְלְכ֥וֹת | mamlekhot | [the] kingdoms of | H4467 → | 117 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
יִתֶּנְךָ֨he will make you
yitenkhaH5414 →2011 times
יְהוָ֥ה׀Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
נִגָּף֮defeated
nigafH5062 →49 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
אֹיְבֶיךָ֒enemies your
ʾoyeveikhaH341 →282 times
בְּדֶ֤רֶךְin a direction
bederekhH1870 →707 times
אֶחָד֙one
ʾechadH259 →971 times
תֵּצֵ֣אyou will go out
tetze'H3318 →1067 times
אֵלָ֔יוagainst him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
וּבְשִׁבְעָ֥הand in seven
uveshivahH7651 →394 times
דְרָכִ֖יםdirections
derakhimH1870 →707 times
תָּנ֣וּסyou will flee
tanusH5127 →159 times
לְפָנָ֑יו<to> before him
lefanavH6440 →2123 times
וְהָיִ֣יתָand you will become
vehayitaH1961 →3559 times
לְזַעֲוָ֔ה<into> a terror
lezaavahH2189 →
לְכֹ֖לto all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
מַמְלְכ֥וֹת[the] kingdoms of
mamlekhotH4467 →117 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 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
Deuteronomy 32:30How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:8
Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 23:10
One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 30:17
A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee, until you are left alone like a pole on a mountaintop, like a banner on a…
- Leviticus 26:8
Through
Deuteronomy 28:7The 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.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 22:38–41
I pursued my enemies and destroyed them; I did not turn back until they were consumed.
- Leviticus 26:7–8
You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you.
- Psalms 89:23
I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.
- 2 Chronicles 32:21–22
and the LORD sent an angel who annihilated every mighty man of valor and every leader and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he withdrew to his own land in…
- Joshua 8:22
Meanwhile, those in the ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces on both sides. So Israel struck them down until no survivor…
- 2 Samuel 22:38–41
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.