God’s Word Translation
Deuteronomy 28:29
29You will grope in broad daylight as blind people grope in their blindness. You won’t be successful in anything you do. As long as you live, you will be oppressed and robbed with no one to rescue you.
Deuteronomy 28:29 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.
- New International Version (NIV)At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
- English Standard Version (ESV)and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you.
Context of Deuteronomy 28:29
27The Lord will strike you with the same boils that plagued the Egyptians. He will strike you with hemorrhoids, sores, and itching that won’t go away. 28The Lord will strike you with madness, blindness, and panic. You will grope in broad daylight as blind people grope in their blindness. You won’t be successful in anything you do. As long as you live, you will be oppressed and robbed with no one to rescue you. 30You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will have sex with her. You will build a house, but you won’t live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you won’t enjoy the grapes. 31Your ox will be butchered as you watch, but you won’t eat any of its meat. You will watch as your donkey is stolen from you, but you’ll never get it back. Your flock will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue it.
Read all of Deuteronomy 28Deuteronomy 28:29 word by word
וְהָיִ֜יתָ מְמַשֵּׁ֣שׁ בַּֽצָּהֳרַ֗יִם כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר יְמַשֵּׁ֤שׁ הָעִוֵּר֙ בָּאֲפֵלָ֔ה וְלֹ֥א תַצְלִ֖יחַ אֶת־דְּרָכֶ֑יךָ וְהָיִ֜יתָ אַ֣ךְ עָשׁ֧וּק וְגָז֛וּל כָּל־הַיָּמִ֖ים וְאֵ֥ין מוֹשִֽׁיעַ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And thou shalt gropeמָשַׁשׁmâshash · to feelH4959
- at noondayצֹ֫הַרtsôhar · middayH6672
- as the blindעִוֵּר‛ivvêr · blindH5787
- in darknessאֲפֵלָה'ăphêlâh · darknessH653
- and thou shalt not prosperצָלֵחַtsâlach tsâlêach · to prosperH6743
- in thy waysדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
- and thou shalt be only oppressedעָשַׁק‛âshaq · to oppressH6231
- and spoiledגָּזַלgâzal · to plunderH1497
- evermoreיוֹםyôm · day: dailyH3117
- and no man shall saveיָשַׁעyâsha‛ · to saveH3467
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 28:29
- Job 5:14In the daytime they meet darkness and grope in the sunlight as if it were night.
- Job 12:25They grope in the dark with no light, and he makes them stumble like drunks.
- Psalms 69:23Let their vision become clouded so that they cannot see. Let their thighs continually shake.
- Isaiah 59:10We grope like blind men along a wall. We grope like people without eyes. We stumble at noon as if it were twilight. We are like dead people among healthy people.
- Lamentations 5:17This is why we feel sick. This is why our eyes see less and less.
- Zephaniah 1:17“I will bring such distress on humans that they will walk like they are blind, because they have sinned against the Lord.” Their blood will be poured out like dust and their intestines like manure.
- Romans 11:7So what does all this mean? It means that Israel has never achieved what it has been striving for. However, those whom God has chosen have achieved it. The minds of the rest of Israel were closed,
- 2 Corinthians 4:3So if the Good News that we tell others is covered with a veil, it is hidden from those who are dying.
- Judges 3:14The Israelites served King Eglon of Moab for 18 years.
- Judges 4:2So the Lord used King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled at Hazor, to defeat them. The commander of King Jabin’s army was Sisera, who lived at Harosheth Haggoyim.
- Judges 6:1The people of Israel did what the Lord considered evil. So the Lord handed them over to Midian for seven years.
- Judges 10:8They oppressed and crushed the people of Israel that year. For 18 years they oppressed all who lived east of the Jordan River in the land of the Amorites in Gilead.
- Judges 13:1The people of Israel again did what the Lord considered evil. So the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for 40 years.
- 1 Samuel 13:5The Philistines assembled to fight against Israel. They had 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and as many soldiers as the sand on the seashore. They camped at Michmash, east of Beth Aven.
- Nehemiah 9:26But they were defiant and rebelled against you. They threw your teachings over their shoulders and killed your prophets who warned them to turn back to you. They committed outrageous sins.
- Psalms 106:40The Lord burned with anger against his own people. He was disgusted with those who belonged to him.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 28:29
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 29Thou shalt be only oppressed, etc. - Perhaps no people under the sun have been more oppressed and spoiled than the rebellious Jews. Indeed, this has been their portion, with but little intermission, for nearly 1,800 years. And still they grope at noon day, as the blind gropeth in darkness - they do not yet discover, notwithstanding the effulgence of the light by which they are encompassed, that the rejection of their own Messiah is the cause of all their…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15-68Verses 15-68 The curses correspond in form and number Deuteronomy 28:15-19 to the blessings Deuteronomy 28:3-6, and the special modes in which these threats should be executed are described in five groups of denunciations Deuteronomy 28:20-26 First series of judgments. The curse of God should rest on all they did, and should issue in manifold forms of disease, in famine, and in defeat in war. Deuteronomy 28:20 Vexation - Rather, confusion: the word in the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-44Verses 15-44 If we do not keep God's commandments, we not only come short of the blessing promised, but we lay ourselves under the curse, which includes all misery, as the blessing all happiness. Observe the justice of this curse. It is not a curse causeless, or for some light cause. The extent and power of this curse. Wherever the sinner goes, the curse of God follows; wherever he is, it rests upon him. Whatever he has is under a curse. All his…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-68This section explains the conditions for receiving the covenant blessing, the types of blessings, and the curses that will occur if people ignore or disobey these rules (28:1–14; 28:15–68).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 29-3329-33. thou shalt grope at noonday--a general description of the painful uncertainty in which they would live. During the Middle Ages the Jews were driven from society into hiding-places which they were afraid to leave, not knowing from what quarter they might be assailed and their children dragged into captivity, from which no friend could rescue, and no money ransom them.Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 28:29
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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