Deuteronomy 28:63
in Deuteronomy 28Just 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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 whither thou goest in to possess it.
KJV
And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.
⋯
This verse in Deuteronomy 28
Commentary
5 notes on this verseTo destroy you - His just indignation against you will be so great, that it will be a pleasure to him to take vengeance on you. For though he doth not delight in the death of a sinner in itself, yet he doth delight in glorifying his justice upon incorrigible sinners, seeing the exercise of all his attributes must needs please him, else he were not perfectly happy.
This 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
And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good,....
Behold here the goodness and severity of God: mercy here shines brightly in the pleasure God takes in doing good--he rejoices in it; yet justice here appears no less illustrious in the pleasure he takes in destroying the impenitent; not as it is the making of his creatures miserable, but as it is the asserting of his own honour and the securing of the ends of his government.
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 words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְ֠הָיָה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁר־ | kaasher- | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שָׂ֨שׂ | sas | he rejoiced | H7797 → | 27 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עֲלֵיכֶ֗ם | ʾaleikhem | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לְהֵיטִ֣יב | leheitiv | to do good to | H3190 → | 117 times |
| אֶתְכֶם֮ | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וּלְהַרְבּ֣וֹת | uleharbot | and to increase | H7235 → | 227 times |
| אֶתְכֶם֒ | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כֵּ֣ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יָשִׂ֤ישׂ | yasis | he will rejoice | H7797 → | 27 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם | ʾaleikhem | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לְהַאֲבִ֥יד | lehaavid | to destroy | H6 → | 184 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֖ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וּלְהַשְׁמִ֣יד | ulehashmid | and to destroy | H8045 → | 90 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֑ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְנִסַּחְתֶּם֙ | venisachtem | and you will be torn away | H5255 → | |
| מֵעַ֣ל | meal | from on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה | haadamah | the land | H127 → | 225 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אַתָּ֥ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| בָא־ | va'- | [are] about to go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| שָׁ֖מָּה | shamah | there towards | H8033 → | 834 times |
| לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ | lerishtah | to take possession of it | H3423 → | 231 times |
וְ֠הָיָהand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
כַּאֲשֶׁר־just as
kaasher-H834 →5497 times
שָׂ֨שׂhe rejoiced
sasH7797 →27 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עֲלֵיכֶ֗םon you
ʾaleikhemH5921 →5755 times
לְהֵיטִ֣יבto do good to
leheitivH3190 →117 times
אֶתְכֶם֮<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
וּלְהַרְבּ֣וֹתand to increase
uleharbotH7235 →227 times
אֶתְכֶם֒<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
כֵּ֣ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
יָשִׂ֤ישׂhe will rejoice
yasisH7797 →27 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עֲלֵיכֶ֔םon you
ʾaleikhemH5921 →5755 times
לְהַאֲבִ֥ידto destroy
lehaavidH6 →184 times
אֶתְכֶ֖ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
וּלְהַשְׁמִ֣ידand to destroy
ulehashmidH8045 →90 times
אֶתְכֶ֑ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
וְנִסַּחְתֶּם֙and you will be torn away
venisachtemH5255 →
מֵעַ֣לfrom on
mealH5921 →5755 times
הָֽאֲדָמָ֔הthe land
haadamahH127 →225 times
אֲשֶׁר־where
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אַתָּ֥הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
בָא־[are] about to go
va'-H935 →2568 times
שָׁ֖מָּהthere towards
shamahH8033 →834 times
לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃to take possession of it
lerishtahH3423 →231 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
Jeremiah 18:7At any time I might announce that a nation or kingdom will be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 1:10
See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 1:10
Through
Proverbs 1:26in turn I will mock your calamity; I will sneer when terror strikes you,
it leads to
- Psalms 37:13
but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.
- Psalms 2:4
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord taunts them.
- Proverbs 10:24
What the wicked man dreads will overtake him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
- Proverbs 6:15
Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in an instant he will be shattered beyond recovery.
- Luke 14:24
For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’”
- Psalms 37:13
Through
Jeremiah 45:4Thus Jeremiah was to say to Baruch: “This is what the LORD says: Throughout the land I will demolish what I have built and uproot what I have planted.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:28
Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 18:7–10
At any time I might announce that a nation or kingdom will be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed.
- Jeremiah 31:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.