45 "So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed , because you would not obey e the Lord your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. 46 "They shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever e . 47 " Because e you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart , for the abundance of all things ; 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger , in thirst , in nakedness , and in the lack of all things ; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 " The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar , from the end of the earth , as the eagle swoops down , a nation whose language you shall not understand , 50 a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old , nor show favor to the young . 51 "Moreover, it shall eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed , who also leaves you no grain , new wine , or oil , nor the increase of your herd or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish . 52 " It shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land , and it shall besiege you in all your towns throughout your land which the Lord your God has given you. 53 " Then you shall eat the offspring of your own body , the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you. 54 "The man who is refined and very delicate among you shall be hostile toward his brother and toward the wife he cherishes and toward the rest of his children who remain , 55 so that he will not give even one of them any of the flesh of his children which he will eat , since he has nothing e else left , during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in all your towns . 56 " The refined and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and refinement , shall be hostile toward the husband she cherishes and toward her son and daughter , 57 and toward her afterbirth which issues from between her legs and toward her children whom she bears ; for she will eat them secretly for lack of anything else, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in your towns . 58 "If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book , to fear this honored and awesome name , the Lord your God , 59 then the Lord will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants , even severe and lasting plagues , and miserable and chronic sicknesses . 60 " He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid , and they will cling to you. 61 "Also every sickness and every plague which , not written in the book of this law , the Lord will bring on you until you are destroyed . 62 "Then you shall be left few in number , whereas e you were as numerous as the stars of heaven , because you did not obey e the Lord your God . 63 "It shall come about that as the Lord delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the Lord will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where e you are entering to possess it. 64 "Moreover, the Lord will scatter you among all peoples , from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth ; and there you shall serve other gods , wood and stone , which you or your fathers have not known . 65 " Among those nations you shall find no rest , and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot ; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart , failing of eyes , and despair of soul . 66 "So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day , and shall have no assurance of your life . 67 " In the morning you shall say , 'Would e that it were evening !' And at evening you shall say , 'Would e that it were morning !' because of the dread of your heart which you dread , and for the sight of your eyes which you will see . 68 "The Lord will bring you back to Egypt in ships , by the way about which I spoke to you, 'You will never see it again !' And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves e , but there will be no buyer ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Deuteronomy 28:45-68
Commentary on Deuteronomy 28:45-68
(Read Deuteronomy 28:45-68)
If God inflicts vengeance, what miseries his curse can bring upon mankind, even in this present world! Yet these are but the beginning of sorrows to those under the curse of God. What then will be the misery of that world where their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched! Observe what is here said of the wrath of God, which should come and remain upon the Israelites for their sins. It is amazing to think that a people so long the favourites of Heaven, should be so cast off; and yet that a people so scattered in all nations should be kept distinct, and not mixed with others. If they would not serve God with cheerfulness, they should be compelled to serve their enemies. We may justly expect from God, that if we do not fear his fearful name, we shall feel his fearful plagues; for one way or other God will be feared. The destruction threatened is described. They have, indeed, been plucked from off the land, verse 63. Not only by the Babylonish captivity, and when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans; but afterwards, when they were forbidden to set foot in Jerusalem. They should have no rest; no rest of body, ver. 65, but be continually on the remove, either in hope of gain, or fear of persecution. No rest of the mind, which is much worse. They have been banished from city to city, from country to country; recalled, and banished again. These events, compared with the favour shown to Israel in ancient times, and with the prophecies about them, should not only excite astonishment, but turn unto us for a testimony, assuring us of the truth of Scripture. And when the other prophecies of their conversion to Christ shall come to pass, the whole will be a sign and a wonder to all the nations of the earth, and the forerunner of a general spread of true christianity. The fulfilling of these prophecies upon the Jewish nation, delivered more than three thousand years ago, shows that Moses spake by the Spirit of God; who not only foresees the ruin of sinners, but warns of it, that they may prevent it by a true and timely repentance, or else be left without excuse. And let us be thankful that Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, by being made a curse for us, and bearing in his own person all that punishment which our sins merit, and which we must otherwise have endured for ever. To this Refuge and salvation let sinners flee; therein let believers rejoice, and serve their reconciled God with gladness of heart, for the abundance of his spiritual blessings.