Deuteronomy 28:49

The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab, concluding the covenant curses that will follow their disobedience in the Promised Land.

The words — The Hebrew יִשּׂא (yiśśāʾ, "he will raise up") and גּוֹי (gōy, "a nation") identify the invading force, while מִקְצֵה הָאָרֶץ (miqqeṣeh hāʾāreṣ, "from the end of the earth") denotes its distant, unexpected origin.

The thread — The eagle imagery recurs in Jeremiah 48:40 and Jeremiah 49:22 to describe a sweeping military campaign, and in Lamentations 4:19 as a simile for the speed of pursuing enemies.

Why it lands — The text presents foreign invasion as a direct covenant consequence, using the eagle’s sudden descent to show how quickly geopolitical judgment will arrive and overwhelm the people.

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

יִשָּׂ֣אyi.Sa'he will raise up יְהוָה֩Yah.wehYahweh עָלֶ֨יךָ'a.Lei./khaon/ you גּ֤וֹיGoya nation מֵרָחוֹק֙me./ra.chOkfrom/ a distance מִקְצֵ֣הmi/k.Tzehfrom/ [the] end of הָאָ֔רֶץha./'A.retzthe/ earth כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רka./'a.Sherjust/ as יִדְאֶ֖הyid.'Ehit swoops down הַנָּ֑שֶׁרha./Na.sher<the>/ eagle גּ֕וֹיGoya nation אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich לֹא־lo'-not תִשְׁמַ֖עtish.Ma'you will understand לְשֹׁנֽוֹ׃le.sho.N/olanguage/ its

King James Version

The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;

Cross-references

Lamentations 4:19 Those who chased us were swifter than the eagles in the sky; they pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.
Jeremiah 48:40 For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
Jeremiah 49:22 Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s mighty men will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
Jeremiah 5:15 Behold, I am bringing a distant nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. “It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know and whose speech you do not understand.
Hosea 8:1 Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
Isaiah 5:26 He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
Jeremiah 6:22 This is what the LORD says: “Behold, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is stirred up from the ends of the earth.
Ezekiel 17:3 and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers of many colors, came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar.
Ezekiel 17:12 “Now say to this rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, carried off its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon.
Habakkuk 1:6 For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans—that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.