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.

DEUTERONOMY 28:63KJV
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Deuteronomy 28:63 (KJV)

What does Deuteronomy 28:63 mean?

Deuteronomy 28:63 says that just as God once took joy in blessing and increasing the people of Israel, He will also take action to destroy them and remove them from their land if they turn away from Him. This verse warns that God’s response to Israel’s disobedience will be as thorough and certain as His earlier blessings for their obedience.

In this verse, Moses is speaking to the Israelites before they enter the promised land, explaining the consequences of breaking their covenant with God. The verse uses strong language to show that God’s involvement in their fate is not half-hearted—He is fully invested both in blessing and, if necessary, in judgment. The warning is part of a larger section listing the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience.

The Hebrew behind Deuteronomy 28:63

  • "LORD" (יְהוָה, Yahweh): This is the personal name of God, emphasizing that it is Israel’s own covenant God who is acting, not a distant or impersonal force.
  • "Rejoiced" (שָׂשׂ, sās): This word means to take joy or delight. The verse uses it both for God’s joy in blessing and in carrying out judgment, highlighting the seriousness of both outcomes.
  • "Destroy" (שָׁמֵד, shāmad) and "nought" (שָׁמֵד, shāmad): Both words come from the same root, meaning to wipe out or bring to nothing. The repetition stresses the totality of the judgment.
  • "Plucked" (נָתַשׁ, nātash): This word means to uproot or tear away, painting a vivid picture of being forcefully removed from the land, not just leaving voluntarily.

Why Deuteronomy 28:63 matters

  • This verse clears up the idea that God’s blessings and judgments are unequal; it shows that God is just as committed to keeping His warnings as He is to fulfilling His promises.
  • Deuteronomy 28:63 emphasizes the seriousness of Israel’s covenant with God, making clear that their relationship with Him has real consequences.
  • The verse connects to the broader context of Deuteronomy 28, where Moses lays out both blessings and curses, helping the people understand the weight of their choices as they prepare to enter the land.

Where else these words appear

“plucked” Hebrew H5255 · used in 4 verses

  • Psalms 52:5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
  • Proverbs 2:22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
  • Proverbs 15:25 The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.

“rejoiced” Hebrew H7797 · used in 24 verses

  • Deuteronomy 30:9 And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:
  • Psalms 70:4 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.
  • Isaiah 65:19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

“nought” Hebrew H8045 · used in 86 verses

  • Genesis 34:30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
  • Deuteronomy 31:4 And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.
  • Esther 7:4 For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage.

“good” Hebrew H3190 · used in 102 verses

  • Genesis 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
  • Joshua 22:30 And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spake, it pleased them.
  • Psalms 49:18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.