Deuteronomy 28:26
in Deuteronomy 28Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the air and beasts of the earth, with no one to scare them away.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thy dead body shall be food unto all birds of the heavens, and unto the beasts of the earth; and there shall be none to frighten them away.
KJV
And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.
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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 in that world. Jeremiah 7:33 and 34:20 use the same picture of Judah before the exile.
This site's exposition
no one to scare them
Henry fixes on the last clause, where no one drives the birds and beasts away. He reads it as the Israelite losing even the common humanity of strangers, so hateful would the curse make him to all mankind. The dead lie unguarded.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And thy carcass shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth,....
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיְתָ֤ה | vehayetah | and it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| נִבְלָֽתְךָ֙ | nivlatekha | corpse your | H5038 → | 48 times |
| לְמַאֲכָ֔ל | lemaakhal | <into> food | H3978 → | |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | for every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| ע֥וֹף | of | <the> bird of | H5775 → | 71 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וּלְבֶהֱמַ֣ת | ulevehemat | and for [the] animal[s] of | H929 → | 190 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְאֵ֖ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מַחֲרִֽיד׃ | macharid | [will be one who] disturbs [them] | H2729 → |
וְהָיְתָ֤הand it will become
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
נִבְלָֽתְךָ֙corpse your
nivlatekhaH5038 →48 times
לְמַאֲכָ֔ל<into> food
lemaakhalH3978 →
לְכָל־for every
lekholH3605 →5413 times
ע֥וֹף<the> bird of
ofH5775 →71 times
הַשָּׁמַ֖יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
וּלְבֶהֱמַ֣תand for [the] animal[s] of
ulevehematH929 →190 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְאֵ֖יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
מַחֲרִֽיד׃[will be one who] disturbs [them]
macharidH2729 →
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 34:20I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 7:33
The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 16:4
“They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 19:7
And in this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hands of those who seek their lives, and…
- Jeremiah 7:33
Through
Jeremiah 16:4“They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 25:33
Those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying…
- Psalms 83:10
who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground.
- Jeremiah 9:22
Declare that this is what the LORD says: “The corpses of men will fall like dung upon the open field, like newly cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather it.”
- Jeremiah 25:33
Through
Jeremiah 19:7And in this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hands of those who seek their lives, and…
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:17
And I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you.
- Leviticus 26:17
Through
Jeremiah 7:33The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 12:9
Is not My inheritance to Me like a speckled bird of prey with other birds of prey circling against her? Go, gather all the beasts of the field; bring them to devour her.
- Jeremiah 12:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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.