Curses for Disobedience

¹⁵ “But if you do not obey the Lord your God by carefully following all his commands and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overtake^(A) you:^(B)

²⁰ The Lord will send against you curses, confusion,^(C) and rebuke in everything you do until you are destroyed and quickly perish,^(D) because of the wickedness of your actions in abandoning me.^{(E) 21} The Lord will make pestilence cling to you until he has exterminated you from the land you are entering to possess.^{(F) 22} The Lord will afflict you with wasting disease, fever, inflammation, burning heat, drought,^[a] blight, and mildew;^(G) these will pursue you until you perish. ²³ The sky above you will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron. ²⁴ The Lord will turn the rain of your land into falling^[b] dust; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed. ²⁵ The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions.^(H) You will be an object of horror^(I) to all the kingdoms of the earth.

³⁸ “You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because locusts will devour it. ³⁹ You will plant and cultivate vineyards but not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. ⁴⁰ You will have olive trees throughout your territory but not moisten your skin with oil, because your olives will drop off. ⁴¹ You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will be taken prisoner. ⁴² Buzzing insects will take possession of all your trees and your land’s produce. ⁴³ The resident alien among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink lower and lower. ⁴⁴ He will lend to you, but you won’t lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.