The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:

DEUTERONOMY 28:33KJV
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Deuteronomy 28:33 (KJV)

What does Deuteronomy 28:33 mean?

Deuteronomy 28:33 warns that another nation, unknown to the Israelites, will take and consume the results of their hard work and harvests, leaving the Israelites continually oppressed and broken. The verse describes a future time of suffering where the people will lose the benefits of their land and labor to foreign conquerors.

Moses is speaking to the Israelites as they prepare to enter the Promised Land, listing the consequences if they turn away from God’s covenant. This verse is part of a larger section describing curses that will come upon the nation for disobedience, focusing here on the loss of control over their own produce and the ongoing hardship of foreign domination.

The Hebrew behind Deuteronomy 28:33

  • fruit (פְּרִי, peri): This word refers to the produce or yield of the land, not just literal fruit but everything that comes from their agricultural work. It highlights that the loss is total, affecting all their resources.
  • nation (גּוֹי, goy): The word for "nation" here often means a foreign people, emphasizing that the oppressors will be strangers, not neighboring tribes the Israelites might expect.
  • oppressed (עָשַׁק, ashaq) and crushed (רָצַץ, ratsats): These words together paint a picture of ongoing, harsh treatment. "Oppressed" suggests being wronged or exploited, while "crushed" adds the sense of being broken down physically and emotionally.
  • alway (כָּל־הַיָּמִים, kol-hayyamim): This phrase means "all the days" or "continually," stressing that the suffering will not be a one-time event but a constant reality.

Why Deuteronomy 28:33 matters

  • Deuteronomy 28:33 clarifies that the curses for disobedience are not just spiritual or internal but have real, physical consequences affecting daily life and survival.
  • The verse emphasizes the seriousness of losing sovereignty over the land, which was central to Israel’s identity and promise from God.
  • This warning connects to the broader theme of Deuteronomy 28, where blessings and curses are laid out in detail, showing the importance of faithfulness to the covenant in the life of the nation.

Where else these words appear

“labours” Hebrew H3018 · used in 16 verses

  • Genesis 31:42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
  • Psalms 78:46 He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller, and their labour unto the locust.
  • Jeremiah 3:24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

“crushed” Hebrew H7533 · used in 18 verses

  • Genesis 25:22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
  • 2 Kings 18:21 Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
  • Isaiah 42:3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

“oppressed” Hebrew H6231 · used in 35 verses

  • Leviticus 6:2 If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour;
  • Psalms 103:6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
  • Isaiah 52:4 For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

“fruit” Hebrew H6529 · used in 107 verses

  • Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
  • Nehemiah 10:37 And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.
  • Isaiah 37:31 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: