Deuteronomy 28:18

 Deuteronomy 28:18

Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

a. ASV: Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.  [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: 'Cursed art thou in thy coming in, and cursed art thou in thy going out.  [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, of your land, of the increase of your cattle and the young of your sheep. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. NLT: Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be cursed.  [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

e. Stone Edition THE CHUMASH, Rabbinic Commentary: Accursed will be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the offspring of your cattle and the flocks of your sheep and goats.  [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE CHUMASH Copyright 1998, 2000 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ldt.]

f. The Israel Bible: Cursed shall be the issue of your womb and the produce of your soil, the calving of your herd and the lambing of your flock.   [The English Translation was adapted by Israel 365 from the JPS Tanakh. Copyright Ⓒ 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. All rights reserved.]

1. “Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.”

a. Cursed [Strong: 779 ʼârar, aw-rar'; a primitive root; to execrate:—× bitterly curse.]

b. [shall be the] fruit [Strong: 6529 pᵉrîy, per-ee'; from H6509; fruit (literally or figuratively):—bough, (first-)fruit(-ful), reward.]

c. [of thy] body [Strong: 990 beṭen, beh'-ten; from an unused root probably meaning to be hollow; the belly, especially the womb; also the bosom or body of anything:—belly, body, as they be born, within, womb.]

d. [and the] fruit [Strong: 6529 pᵉrîy, per-ee'; from H6509; fruit (literally or figuratively):—bough, (first-)fruit(-ful), reward.]

e. [of thy] land [Strong: 127 ʼădâmâh, ad-aw-maw'; from H119; soil (from its general redness):—country, earth, ground, husband(-man) (-ry), land.]

f. [the] increase [Strong: 7698 [Strong: sheger, sheh'-ger; from an unused root probably meaning to eject; the fœtus (as finally expelled):—that cometh of, increase.]

g. [of thy] kine [Strong: 504 ʼeleph, eh'-lef; from H502; a family; also (from the sense of yoking or taming) an ox or cow:—family, kine, oxen.]

h. And the] flocks [Strong: 6251 ʻashtᵉrâh, ash-ter-aw'; probably from H6238; increase:—flock.]

i. [of thy] sheep [Strong: 6629 tsôʼn, tsone; or צאוֹן tsʼôwn; (Psalm 144:13), from an unused root meaning to migrate; a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats); also figuratively (of men):—(small) cattle, flock (+ -s), lamb (+ -s), sheep(-cote, -fold, -shearer, -herds).]

1 ). Troy Edwards, The Permissive Sense: Most people have read this list (Deuteronomy 28:16-68) with the erroneous idea that God will use His divine creative power to bring about these curses. Nevertheless, when we use the principle of interpreting the Bible with the Bible, we learn that these curses will come because God forsaking His people and withdrawing His protection. 

a). Deuteronomy 31:16-18 And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.

31:17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?

31:18 And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.

2). Edward Williams, Predestination and Election Considered: explaining to his listeners how the Hebrew idiom of permission will keep us away from an erroneous interpretation of Scripture that would otherwise cast aspersions on God’s character. After all, it may be objected, that the Scriptures ascribe to God the causation of moral evil; as hardening the heart of Pharaoh, hardening whom he will, making the wicked for the day of evil, appointing to destruction, determining the death of Christ, delivering him by determinate counsel, doing all evil in a city, making, making vessels to dishonor, fitting them for destruction, &c. In reply to this objection it must be considered, that whatever the import of such representations may be, no interpretation which is unworthy of God can be the true meaning, at the idioms of the sacred languages ascribing cause or operation to God must be understood according to the nature of the subject, and, what is particularly to our purpose, that active verbs which denote making, bring, causing, and the like, often denote a declaration of the thing done, or that shall take place; or a permission of it. (Taken from Troy J. Edwards, The Hebrew Idiom of Permission.) 

3). Thomas Jackson, The Providence of God, Viewed in the Light of Holy Scriptures: “It is then so common in Holy Scripture to speak of God as actually doing that which He simply permits, and does not absolutely hinder men from doing, that this may be justly regarded as an idiom of eastern speech.”