Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 28:7
The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab, in the middle of the covenant's blessing clause, as the nation stands at the threshold of the land.
The words — נִגָּפִים (ni.gā.pim, H5062) is a rare verb meaning "struck down," not merely "defeated" — it carries the sense of being knocked down by a blow.
The thread — The same image recurs in Leviticus 26:7 (enemies fall by the sword), 2 Samuel 22:38 (pursued and consumed), and Psalms 89:23 (foes crushed before him), all framing divine victory as the nation's or king's experience.
Why it lands — The promise is a covenant clause conditioned on the obedience that frames the whole chapter, and it asks the reader to hold security as a gift rather than a right.
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
The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 22:38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them; I did not turn back until they were consumed.
- Leviticus 26:7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you.
- Psalms 89:23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.
- 2 Chronicles 32:21 and the LORD sent an angel who annihilated every mighty man of valor and every leader and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons struck him down with the sword.
- Joshua 8:22 Meanwhile, those in the ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces on both sides. So Israel struck them down until no survivor or fugitive remained.
- 2 Chronicles 19:4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and once again he went out among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers.
- Deuteronomy 28:25 The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
- 2 Chronicles 31:20 So this is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the LORD his God.
- 1 Samuel 7:3 Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and Ashtoreths among you, prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only. And He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”
- 1 Samuel 7:10 As the Philistines drew near to fight against Israel, Samuel was offering up the burnt offering. But that day the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines and threw them into such confusion that they fled before Israel.