Deuteronomy 28:68
in Deuteronomy 28The 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah will bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I said unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall sell yourselves unto your enemies for bondmen and for bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
KJV
And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 28
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again - That is, into another state of slavery and bondage similar to that of Egypt, out of which they had been lately brought. And there ye shall be sold, that is, be exposed to sale, or expose yourself to sale as the word התמכרתם hithmaccartem may be rendered; they were vagrants, and wished to become slaves that they might be provided with the necessaries of life.
This site's exposition
In the morning thou shalt say
on Deuteronomy 28:67-68
Morning and evening each become the wrong hour, and the reason given is the fear of thine heart and the sight of thine eyes, which sends a reader back to verse 34. The last curse is a return to Egypt by ships, and the speaker calls it the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again. Commentators point to Exodus 14:13 and to the king law at Deuteronomy 17:16, which forbids causing the people to return to Egypt, and they differ over which is meant. The chapter ends with the people offered for sale as bondmen and no man buying, so the last word is that the slave market itself has no use for them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships,.... Either into a state of hard bondage and slavery, like that their fathers were in, in Egypt; or rather, strictly and literally, should be brought into Egypt again, since it is said to be "with" or "in ships". This does not respect the going of those Jews into Egypt who were left in the land of Judea, after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; for that was against the express command of God, Jer 42:
I have heard of a wicked man, who, upon reading the threatenings of this chapter, was so enraged that he tore the leaf out of the Bible, as Jehoiakim cut Jeremiah's roll; but to what purpose is it to deface a copy, while the original remains upon record in the divine counsels, by which it is unalterably determined that the wages of sin is death, whether men will hear or whether they will forbear?
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
"Here, then, are instances of prophecies delivered above three thousand years ago; and yet, as we see, being fulfilled in the world at this very time; and what stronger proofs can we desire of the divine legation of Moses?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וֶֽהֱשִֽׁיבְךָ֨ | veheshivekha | and he will make return you | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה׀ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מִצְרַיִם֮ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| בָּאֳנִיּוֹת֒ | booniyot | in ships | H591 → | |
| בַּדֶּ֙רֶךְ֙ | baderekh | by the way | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָמַ֣רְתִּֽי | ʾamarti | I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְךָ֔ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֹסִ֥יף | tosif | you will repeat | H3254 → | 212 times |
| ע֖וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| לִרְאֹתָ֑הּ | lirotah | to see it | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְהִתְמַכַּרְתֶּ֨ם | vehitmakartem | and you will sell yourselves | H4376 → | 80 times |
| שָׁ֧ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| לְאֹיְבֶ֛יךָ | leoyeveikha | to enemies your | H341 → | 282 times |
| לַעֲבָדִ֥ים | laavadim | to [male] slaves | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וְלִשְׁפָח֖וֹת | velishfachot | and to female slaves | H8198 → | |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| קֹנֶֽה׃ ס | koneh | [will be] a buyer | H7069 → |
וֶֽהֱשִֽׁיבְךָ֨and he will make return you
veheshivekhaH7725 →1056 times
יְהוָ֥ה׀Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִצְרַיִם֮Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
בָּאֳנִיּוֹת֒in ships
booniyotH591 →
בַּדֶּ֙רֶךְ֙by the way
baderekhH1870 →707 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אָמַ֣רְתִּֽיI said
ʾamartiH559 →5305 times
לְךָ֔to <the> you
lekha
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תֹסִ֥יףyou will repeat
tosifH3254 →212 times
ע֖וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
לִרְאֹתָ֑הּto see it
lirotahH7200 →1300 times
וְהִתְמַכַּרְתֶּ֨םand you will sell yourselves
vehitmakartemH4376 →80 times
שָׁ֧םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
לְאֹיְבֶ֛יךָto enemies your
leoyeveikhaH341 →282 times
לַעֲבָדִ֥יםto [male] slaves
laavadimH5650 →799 times
וְלִשְׁפָח֖וֹתand to female slaves
velishfachotH8198 →
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
קֹנֶֽה׃ ס[will be] a buyer
konehH7069 →
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 17:16But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way…
it leads to
- Hosea 11:5
Will they not return to the land of Egypt and be ruled by Assyria because they refused to repent?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 31:1–3
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy…
- Ezekiel 17:15
But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break…
- Psalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
- Hosea 11:5
Through
Hosea 9:3They will not remain in the land of the LORD; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 4:13
Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.”
- Hosea 8:13
Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: They will return to…
- Leviticus 25:23
The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.
- Jeremiah 2:7
I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty, but you came and defiled My land, and made My inheritance detestable.
- Ezekiel 4:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.