Deuteronomy 28:47

Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance,

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab, concluding the covenant blessings and curses before they enter Canaan.

The words — The verse hinges on עָבַדְתָּ (avadta, "you have served") and בְּשִׂמְחָה (besimchah, "with joy"), framed by תַּחַת (tachath, "because" or "under the condition that") and לֹא (lo, "not").

The thread — The requirement to worship with gladness in times of plenty appears in Deuteronomy 16:11, where Israel is to rejoice before the LORD at the chosen place, and is contrasted with Nehemiah 9:35, which records their failure to respond with gratitude despite His abundant goodness.

Why it lands — The text states that the coming curses originate from a failure to serve Yahweh with gladness during abundance, requiring readers to examine whether their worship reflects genuine delight or mere routine.

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

תַּ֗חַתTa.chatbecause אֲשֶׁ֤ר'a.Sherthat לֹא־lo'-not עָבַ֙דְתָּ֙'a.Vad.tayou have served אֶת־'et-<obj.>יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahweh אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ'e.lo.Hei./khaGod/ your בְּשִׂמְחָ֖הbe./sim.Chahwith/ joy וּבְט֣וּבu./ve./Tuvand/ with/ goodness of לֵבָ֑בle.Vavheart מֵרֹ֖בme./Rofrom/ [the] abundance of כֹּֽל׃Koleverything

King James Version

Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 16:11 and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you.
Deuteronomy 12:7 There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.
Nehemiah 9:35 For even while they were in their kingdom, with the abundant goodness that You had given them, and in the spacious and fertile land that You had set before them, they would not serve You or turn from their wicked ways.
1 Timothy 6:17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.
Deuteronomy 32:13 He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him the produce of the field. He nourished him with honey from the rock and oil from the flinty crag,