Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 28:62
You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left few in number, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, just before they cross the Jordan to possess Canaan, as he outlines the covenant curses that follow their blessings. The words — The Hebrew נִשְׁאַרְתֶּם (nish.'ar.Tem) literally means "you will be left," paired with מְעָט (me.'At), meaning "fewness," to describe the reversal of their former multitude. The thread — This reversal of the patriarchal promise echoes Deuteronomy 10:22 and Nehemiah 9:23, where God multiplied Israel like the stars, while Deuteronomy 4:27 warns that disobedience will scatter them until only a few survive. Why it lands — The text states that national survival is directly tied to covenant obedience, demanding that readers recognize the concrete historical consequence of rejecting divine instruction.
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 ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 4:27 Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
- Deuteronomy 10:22 Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.
- Nehemiah 9:23 You multiplied their descendants like the stars of heaven and brought them to the land You had told their fathers to enter and possess.
- 2 Kings 24:14 He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.
- Nehemiah 7:4 Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt.
- Isaiah 24:6 Therefore a curse has consumed the earth, and its inhabitants must bear the guilt; the earth’s dwellers have been burned, and only a few survive.
- Jeremiah 42:2 Jeremiah the prophet and said, “May our petition come before you; pray to the LORD your God on behalf of this entire remnant. For few of us remain of the many, as you can see with your own eyes.
- Mark 13:20 If the Lord had not cut short those days, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom He has chosen, He has cut them short.
- Romans 9:27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites is like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved.
- Leviticus 26:22 I will send wild animals against you to rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and reduce your numbers, until your roads lie desolate.