Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.

DEUTERONOMY 28:41KJV
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Deuteronomy 28:41 (KJV)

What does Deuteronomy 28:41 mean?

Deuteronomy 28:41 warns that Israelite parents would bear children but lose their company when those children were taken away as captives. The loss described is not a failure to have a family, but the breaking apart of a family that already exists.

Moses addresses the Israelites as they prepare to enter the land. The KJV phrase “thou shalt not enjoy them” pictures parents being unable to have their sons and daughters with them, because the children are taken away.

The Hebrew behind Deuteronomy 28:41

  • “beget” — יָלַד (yalad): This word means to bear or bring forth children. Here it points to the beginning of family life, which is then set against the children’s removal.
  • “captivity” — שְׁבִי (shevi): This word refers to being held as a captive. It gives the reason the parents cannot enjoy their children’s company: the children have been taken away.

Why Deuteronomy 28:41 matters

  • The warning concerns children who have already been born. The words “sons and daughters” make the loss personal and show its effect on both parts of the family.
  • The verse belongs to a series of warnings about what would happen if Israel did not obey God. Deuteronomy 28:15 introduces these consequences, and verse 41 shows their reach into family life.
  • Captivity is presented as a loss of freedom as well as separation. The children do not simply leave home; the verse says they “shall go into captivity.”

Where else these words appear

“captivity” Hebrew H7628 · used in 47 verses

  • Exodus 12:29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
  • Ezra 9:7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.
  • Jeremiah 30:10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.