Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 28:52
They will besiege all the cities throughout your land, until the high and fortified walls in which you trust have fallen. They will besiege all your cities throughout the land that the LORD your God has given you.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, just before they enter the Promised Land. He pronounces covenant curses that will follow if they violate the law.
The words — The Hebrew root צָר (he.Tsar) means to lay siege or press closely, appearing here as וְהֵצַר (ve.he.Tzar), "and it will lay siege." The noun בְּצוּר (be.tzu.Rot) denotes a fortified stronghold, rendered as וְהַבְּצֻרוֹת (ve.ha.be.tzu.Rot), "and the fortified [cities]."
The thread — This siege pattern recurs in Leviticus 26:25 where God threatens sword and city withdrawal, and is historically enacted in 2 Kings 17:1 and 2 Kings 18:13 during the Assyrian conquests of Israel and Judah.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that physical defenses and national security are ineffective without covenant obedience. It demands acceptance that divine judgment operates through historical conquest when covenant stipulations are broken.
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
King James Version
And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 26:25 And I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
- 2 Kings 17:1 In the twelfth year of the reign of Ahaz over Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria nine years.
- 2 Kings 18:13 In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah.
- 2 Kings 24:10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.
- 2 Kings 25:1 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it.
- Isaiah 1:7 Your land is desolate; your cities are burned with fire. Foreigners devour your fields before you—a desolation demolished by strangers.
- Isaiah 62:8 The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm: “Never again will I give your grain to your enemies for food, nor will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled.
- Jeremiah 10:18 For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, at this time I will sling out the inhabitants of the land and bring distress upon them so that they may be captured.”
- Jeremiah 21:4 this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will turn against you the weapons of war in your hands, with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the wall, and I will assemble their forces in the center of this city.
- Jeremiah 37:8 Then the Chaldeans will return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.