Deuteronomy 28:61

Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, delivering covenant warnings before they cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. He outlines the specific consequences of disobeying the statutes he has just recorded.

The words — כָּל (kol) means "every," and מַכָּה (makah) means "plague" or "striking." Together with כָּתוּב (katuv, "written"), they emphasize that the coming judgments will extend beyond the catalog already inscribed in the text.

The thread — This warning extends the curse sequence begun in Deuteronomy 28:60, where known Egyptian diseases reappear, and anticipates the total destruction that follows covenant abandonment. It echoes the pattern in Deuteronomy 4:25, where long-term settlement precedes corruption and subsequent divine judgment.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that covenant obedience is not optional, as God will enact judgments not explicitly listed in the law. It requires readers to treat the written statutes as the complete boundary for avoiding divine destruction.

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.