The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

DEUTERONOMY 28:22KJV
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Deuteronomy 28:22 (KJV)

What does Deuteronomy 28:22 mean?

Deuteronomy 28:22 warns that the LORD will strike the people with a series of severe troubles, including wasting diseases, fevers, inflammation, intense heat, the sword, crop failure, and mildew, and these disasters will relentlessly pursue them until they are destroyed. This verse is part of a list of curses that Moses says will come upon Israel if they do not obey God's commandments.

Moses is speaking to the Israelites as they prepare to enter the Promised Land, explaining the consequences of disobedience to God’s covenant. The verse uses vivid language to describe a range of physical, agricultural, and military calamities, showing that every area of life could be affected if the people turn away from God. The overall sense is that these troubles are not random but will be persistent and overwhelming as a direct result of breaking the covenant.

The Hebrew behind Deuteronomy 28:22

  • The word "smite" (נָכָה, nakah) means to strike or hit, often with the sense of causing harm or judgment. Here, it emphasizes that these troubles are direct actions from the LORD (יְהוָה, YHWH).
  • "Consumption" (שַׁחֶפֶת, shachefet) refers to a wasting disease, often understood as something like tuberculosis or another illness that slowly destroys the body, highlighting the severity and lingering nature of the affliction.
  • "Blasting" (שִׁדָּפוֹן, shiddafon) and "mildew" (יֵרָקוֹן, yerakon) refer to plant diseases or blights that ruin crops, stressing that even the land’s productivity will be struck, not just the people.
  • The word "pursue" (רָדַף, radaph) means to chase relentlessly, showing that these troubles will not be one-time events but will follow and overtake the people until they are completely ruined.

Why Deuteronomy 28:22 matters

  • This verse clarifies that the curses for disobedience are not just spiritual or symbolic but include specific, tangible disasters affecting health, agriculture, and security.
  • Deuteronomy 28:22 connects to the larger context of blessings and curses in this chapter, underlining the seriousness of Israel’s covenant relationship with God.
  • The detailed list of afflictions shows that the consequences of turning away from God are comprehensive, touching every part of life and leaving no area untouched.

Where else these words appear

“consumption” Hebrew H7829 · used in 2 verses

  • Leviticus 26:16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

“fever” Hebrew H6920 · used in 2 verses

  • Leviticus 26:16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

“blasting” Hebrew H7711 · used in 6 verses

  • 1 Kings 8:37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;
  • 2 Kings 19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.
  • Amos 4:9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

“mildew” Hebrew H3420 · used in 6 verses

  • 1 Kings 8:37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;
  • 2 Chronicles 6:28 If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:
  • Amos 4:9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.