Deuteronomy 28:62
in Deuteronomy 28You 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou didst not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God.
KJV
And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 28
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
And ye shall be left few in number
on Deuteronomy 28:62-63
Few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude, reverses the promise sworn to Abraham at Genesis 15:5 and 22:17 and repeated to this generation at Deuteronomy 10:22. Verse 63 is the hardest sentence in the chapter, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, so he will rejoice over you to destroy you. Calvin and Gill both read the rejoicing as speech after the manner of men, describing the certainty and readiness of the act rather than pleasure taken in it, while other readers let the plain force of the word stand. Ezekiel 33:11 says God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and the two verses are commonly read together.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It is computed that in the destruction of the Jewish nation by the Romans, as appears by the account Josephus gives of it, above two millions fell by the sword at several places, besides what perished by famine and pestilence; so that the whole country was laid waste and turned into a wilderness. That is a terrible word (
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And ye shall be left few in number,....
The blessings are here put before the curses, to intimate, 1. That God is slow to anger, but swift to show mercy: he has said it, and sworn, that he would much rather we would obey and live than sin and die. It is his delight to bless.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
ye shall be left few in number--There has been, ever since the destruction of Jerusalem, only an inconsiderable remnant of Jews existing in that land--aliens in the land of their fathers; and of all classes of the inhabitants they are the most degraded and miserable beings, dependent for their support on contributions from other lands.
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The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנִשְׁאַרְתֶּם֙ | venishartem | and you will be left | H7604 → | 133 times |
| בִּמְתֵ֣י | bimtei | <in> men of | H4962 → | 22 times |
| מְעָ֔ט | meat | fewness | H4592 → | 101 times |
| תַּ֚חַת | tachat | in place of | H8478 → | 505 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֱיִיתֶ֔ם | heyitem | you were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְּכוֹכְבֵ֥י | kechokhvei | like [the] stars of | H3556 → | 37 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| לָרֹ֑ב | laro | for multitude | H7230 → | 149 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמַ֔עְתָּ | shama'ta | you have listened | 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 |
וְנִשְׁאַרְתֶּם֙and you will be left
venishartemH7604 →133 times
בִּמְתֵ֣י<in> men of
bimteiH4962 →22 times
מְעָ֔טfewness
meatH4592 →101 times
תַּ֚חַתin place of
tachatH8478 →505 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הֱיִיתֶ֔םyou were
heyitemH1961 →3559 times
כְּכוֹכְבֵ֥יlike [the] stars of
kechokhveiH3556 →37 times
הַשָּׁמַ֖יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
לָרֹ֑בfor multitude
laroH7230 →149 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמַ֔עְתָּyou have listened
shama'taH8085 →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
Deuteronomy 4:27Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:62–64
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.
- Leviticus 26:33
But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
- Deuteronomy 28:62–64
Through
Deuteronomy 10:22Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.
it leads to
- Genesis 15:5
And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 46:27
And with the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family who went to Egypt were seventy in all.
- Exodus 1:5
The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all, including Joseph, who was already in Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 1:10
The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.
- Genesis 15:5
Through
Isaiah 24:6Therefore a curse has consumed the earth, and its inhabitants must bear the guilt; the earth’s dwellers have been burned, and only a few survive.
it leads to
- Malachi 4:1
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of…
- Malachi 4:1
Through
Nehemiah 9:23You multiplied their descendants like the stars of heaven and brought them to the land You had told their fathers to enter and possess.
it leads to
- Genesis 22:17
I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
- Genesis 22:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy

This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
