Deuteronomy 28:2

And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the voice of the LORD your God:

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Moses speaks to the Israelite assembly on the plains of Moab, concluding the covenant stipulations before the conquest of Canaan. He establishes that national prosperity is contingent upon immediate compliance with the commandments just enumerated.

The words — The Hebrew תִשְׁמַע (tish.ma') literally means "you will listen," while הִשִּׂיגֻךָ (hi.si.gu.kha) means "they will overtake." The syntax treats obedience as the active condition that triggers blessings to pursue the recipient.

The thread — The same linguistic pattern appears in Deuteronomy 28:15, where disobedience causes curses to overtake the people. Zechariah 1:6 recalls how God's statutes historically overtook Israel's ancestors, confirming the recurring biblical motif of divine words actively pursuing human response.

Why it lands — The text states that blessings arrive only when the listener actively obeys God's voice, placing the mechanism of provision on human compliance. Readers must recognize that covenant favor operates as a direct response to concrete obedience rather than as an unmerited gift.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וּבָ֧אוּu./Va.'uand/ they will come עָלֶ֛יךָ'a.Lei./khaon/ you כָּל־kol-all הַבְּרָכ֥וֹתha./be.ra.Khotthe/ blessings הָאֵ֖לֶּהha./'E.leh<the>/ these וְהִשִּׂיגֻ֑ךָve./hi.si.Gu./khaand/ they will overtake/ you כִּ֣יkiif תִשְׁמַ֔עtish.Ma'you will listen בְּק֖וֹלbe./Kolto/ [the] voice of יְהוָ֥הYah.wehYahweh אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃'e.lo.Hei./khaGod/ your

King James Version

And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.

Cross-references

Zechariah 1:6 But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of Hosts purposed to do to us according to our ways and deeds, so He has done to us.’”
Deuteronomy 28:15 If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
1 Timothy 4:8 For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come.
Deuteronomy 28:45 All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, since you did not obey the LORD your God and keep the commandments and statutes He gave you.