Deuteronomy 28:60

He will afflict you again with all the diseases you dreaded in Egypt, and they will cling to you.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, outlining the covenant curses that will follow their disobedience. The speaker declares that God will reverse His prior protection by reinflicting the illnesses of Egyptian bondage.

The words — The Hebrew verb הֵשִׁיב (he.shiv) literally means "to bring back" or "restore," indicating a deliberate reversal of prior mercy. The phrase יָגַרְתָּ מִפְּנֵיהֶם (ya.gar.ta mi.pe.nei.hem) translates to "you were afraid of them," specifying the dread the people previously felt toward these afflictions.

The thread — This reversal motif appears in Deuteronomy 7:15, where God promises to remove those same diseases, and is echoed in Deuteronomy 28:27 with the specific afflictions of Egypt. The pattern extends to Exodus 15:26, which ties the prevention of such illnesses to covenant obedience.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that covenant blessings are conditional and that divine discipline will actively reinstate the very terrors the people fled. It requires the reader to account for the concrete consequences of breaking the agreement rather than assuming permanent protection.

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

וְהֵשִׁ֣יבve./he.Shivand/ he will bring backבְּךָ֗be./Khaon <the>/ youאֵ֚ת'et<obj.>כָּל־kol-every מַדְוֵ֣הmad.Veh<the> disease of מִצְרַ֔יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgypt אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich יָגֹ֖רְתָּya.Go.re.tayou were afraid מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑םmi./pe.nei./Hemof/ <before>/ them וְדָבְק֖וּve./da.ve.Kuand/ they will clingבָּֽךְ׃Ba/khto/ you

King James Version

Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 7:15 And the LORD will remove from you all sickness. He will not lay upon you any of the terrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but He will inflict them on all who hate you.
Exodus 15:26 saying, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then I will not bring on you any of the diseases I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”
Deuteronomy 28:27 The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors and scabs and itch from which you cannot be cured.