Deuteronomy 28:63

Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and multiply, so also it will please Him to annihilate you and destroy you. And you will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD addresses Israel on the threshold of the Promised Land, declaring the conditional outcome of their obedience or disobedience.

The words — The Hebrew verb שָׂשׂ (sas) literally means "he rejoiced," paired with לְהֵיטִיב (lĕhêṭîḇ), "to do good." The text explicitly states that just as Yahweh previously took pleasure in prospering and multiplying them, He will take equal pleasure in annihilating and destroying them.

The thread — This pattern of divine pleasure turning to judgment or wrath is echoed in Proverbs 1:26, Isaiah 1:24, and Ezekiel 5:13.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to acknowledge that covenant blessing is contingent on obedience, demanding immediate submission to God's commands before the promised inheritance is secured.

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

וְ֠הָיָהVe./ha.yahand/ it will be כַּאֲשֶׁר־ka./'a.Sher-just/ as שָׂ֨שׂsashe rejoiced יְהוָ֜הYah.wehYahweh עֲלֵיכֶ֗ם'a.lei./Khemon/ you לְהֵיטִ֣יבle./hei.Tivto/ do good to אֶתְכֶם֮'et./Khem<obj.>/ you וּלְהַרְבּ֣וֹתu./le./har.Botand/ to/ increase אֶתְכֶם֒'et./Khem<obj.>/ you כֵּ֣ןkenso יָשִׂ֤ישׂya.Sishe will rejoice יְהוָה֙Yah.wehYahweh עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם'a.lei./Khemon/ you לְהַאֲבִ֥ידle./ha.'a.Vidto/ destroy אֶתְכֶ֖ם'et./Khem<obj.>/ you וּלְהַשְׁמִ֣ידu./le./hash.Midand/ to/ destroy אֶתְכֶ֑ם'et./Khem<obj.>/ you וְנִסַּחְתֶּם֙ve./ni.sach.Temand/ you will be torn away מֵעַ֣לme./'Alfrom/ on הָֽאֲדָמָ֔הha./'a.da.Mahthe/ land אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-where אַתָּ֥ה'a.Tahyou בָא־va'-[are] about to go שָׁ֖מָּהSha.ma/hthere/ towards לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃le./rish.Ta/hto/ take possession of/ it

King James Version

And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.

Cross-references

Proverbs 1:26 in turn I will mock your calamity; I will sneer when terror strikes you,
Isaiah 1:24 Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah, I will be relieved of My foes and avenge Myself on My enemies.
Ezekiel 5:13 And when My anger is spent and I have vented My wrath against them, I will be appeased. And when I have spent My wrath on them, they will know that I, the LORD, in My zeal have spoken.
Jeremiah 18:7 At any time I might announce that a nation or kingdom will be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed.
Jeremiah 45:4 Thus Jeremiah was to say to Baruch: “This is what the LORD says: Throughout the land I will demolish what I have built and uproot what I have planted.
Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
Jeremiah 31:40 The whole valley of the dead bodies and ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley, to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east, will be holy to the LORD. It will never again be uprooted or demolished.”
Jeremiah 32:41 Yes, I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.
Deuteronomy 30:9 So the LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the LORD will again delight in your prosperity, as He delighted in that of your fathers,
Deuteronomy 7:22 The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be enabled to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals would multiply around you.