Deuteronomy 28:25

The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab, positioning this curse between the description of agricultural ruin and the exposure of unburied corpses.

The words — נִגָּף (ni.Gaf) means "defeated," and תֵּצֵא (te.Tze') translates to "you will go out."

The thread — The text's theme of routed armies and national disgrace runs through Isaiah 30:17, Ezekiel 23:46, and Jeremiah 24:9.

Why it lands — It demands recognition that covenant disobedience produces irreversible military collapse and public shame, removing any basis for self-reliance.

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

יִתֶּנְךָ֨yi.ten./Khahe will make/ you יְהוָ֥ה׀Yah.wehYahweh נִגָּף֮ni.Gafdefeated לִפְנֵ֣יli/f.Nei<to>/ before אֹיְבֶיךָ֒'o.ye.vei./Khaenemies/ your בְּדֶ֤רֶךְbe./De.rekhin/ a direction אֶחָד֙'e.Chadone תֵּצֵ֣אte.Tze'you will go out אֵלָ֔יו'e.La/vagainst/ him וּבְשִׁבְעָ֥הu./ve./shiv.'Ahand/ in/ seven דְרָכִ֖יםde.ra.Khimdirections תָּנ֣וּסta.Nusyou will flee לְפָנָ֑יוle./fa.Na/v<to>/ before/ him וְהָיִ֣יתָve./ha.Yi.taand/ you will become לְזַעֲוָ֔הle./za.'a.Vah<into>/ a terror לְכֹ֖לle./Kholto/ all מַמְלְכ֥וֹתmam.le.Khot[the] kingdoms of הָאָֽרֶץ׃ha./'A.retzthe/ earth

King James Version

The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

Cross-references

Isaiah 30:17 A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee, until you are left alone like a pole on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.
Ezekiel 23:46 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Bring a mob against them and consign them to terror and plunder.
Jeremiah 24:9 I will make them a horror and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing wherever I have banished them.
Deuteronomy 28:7 The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.
Deuteronomy 32:30 How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
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.
Jeremiah 15:2 If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword; those destined for famine, to famine; and those destined for captivity, to captivity.’
Leviticus 26:36 As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.
Jeremiah 29:18 I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.
Jeremiah 34:17 Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim freedom for you, declares the LORD—freedom to fall by sword, by plague, and by famine! I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.