Deuteronomy 28:33

 Deuteronomy 28:33

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:

a. ASV: The fruit of thy ground, and all thy labors, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway;  [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: The fruit of thy ground, and all thy labour, eat up doth a people whom thou hast not known; and thou hast been only oppressed and bruised all the days;  [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: A nation which you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your land and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually, [Fulfilled in Judg. 6:1-6; 13:1.]  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. NLT: A foreign nation you have never heard about will eat the crops you worked so hard to grow. You will suffer under constant oppression and harsh treatment.  [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: A nation unknown to you will devour the fruit of your ground and all your labor, you will be only cheated and downtrodden all the all the days.  [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE CHUMASH Copyright 1998, 2000 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ldt.]

f. The Israel Bible: A people you do not know shall eat up the produce of your soil and all your gains, you shall be abused and downtrodden continually,  [The English Translation was adapted by Israel 365 from the JPS Tanakh. Copyright Ⓒ 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. All rights reserved.]

1. “The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up…”

a. [The] fruit [Strong: 6529 priy per-ee' from 6509; fruit (literally or figuratively):--bough, ((first-)) fruit((-ful)), reward.]

b. [of thy] land [Strong: 127 'adamah ad-aw-maw' from 119; soil (from its general redness):--country, earth, ground, husband(-man) (-ry), land.]

c. [and] all [Strong: 3605 kol kole or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).]

d. [thy] labors [Strong: 3018 ygiya` yeg-ee'-ah from 3021; toil; hence, a work, produce, property (as the result of labor):--labour, work.]

e. [shall a] nation [Strong: 5971 5971 `am am from 6004; a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock:--folk, men, nation, people.]

f. which [Strong: 834 'aher ash-er' a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number); who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.:--X after, X alike, as (soon as), because, X every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how(-soever), X if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), X though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither(- soever), who(-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.]

g. [thou] knowest [Strong: 3045 yada` yaw-dah' a primitive root; to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.) (as follow):--acknowledge, acquaintance(-ted with), advise, answer, appoint, assuredly, be aware, (un-)awares, can(-not), certainly, comprehend, consider, X could they, cunning, declare, be diligent, (can, cause to) discern, discover, endued with, familiar friend, famous, feel, can have, be (ig-)norant, instruct, kinsfolk, kinsman, (cause to let, make) know, (come to give, have, take) knowledge, have (knowledge), (be, make, make to be, make self) known, + be learned, + lie by man, mark, perceive, privy to, X prognosticator, regard, have respect, skilful, shew, can (man of) skill, be sure, of a surety, teach, (can) tell, understand, have (understanding), X will be, wist, wit, wot.]

h. not [Strong: 3808 lo' lo or lowi {lo}; or loh (Deut. 3:11) {lo}; a primitive particle; not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles (as follows):--X before, + or else, ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (X as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, + of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.]

i. eat up [Strong: 398 'akal aw-kal' a primitive root; to eat (literally or figuratively):--X at all, burn up, consume, devour(-er, up), dine, eat(-er, up), feed (with), food, X freely, X in...wise(-deed, plenty), (lay) meat, X quite.]

2. “...and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:”

a. [and thou shalt] be [Strong: 1961 hayah haw-yaw a primitive root (Compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):--beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-)self, require, X use.]

b. only [Strong: 7535 raq rak the same as 7534 as a noun; properly, leanness, i.e. (figuratively) limitation; only adverbial, merely, or conjunctional, although:--but, even, except, howbeit howsoever, at the least, nevertheless, nothing but, notwithstanding, only, save, so (that), surely, yet (so), in any wise.]

c. oppressed [Strong: 6231 `ashaq aw-shak' a primitive root (Compare 6229); to press upon, i.e. oppress, defraud, violate, overflow:--get deceitfully, deceive, defraud, drink up, (use) oppress((-ion)), -or), do violence (wrong).]

d. [and] crushed [Strong: 3533 kabash kaw-bash' a primitive root; to tread down; hence, negatively, to disregard; positively, to conquer, subjugate, violate:--bring into bondage, force, keep under, subdue, bring into subjection.]

e. alway [Strong: 3605 kol kole or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).]

f. alway [Strong: 3117 yowm yome from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb):--age, + always, + chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, X end, + evening, + (for) ever(-lasting, -more), X full, life, as (so) long as (... live), (even) now, + old, + outlived, + perpetually, presently, + remaineth, X required, season, X since, space, then, (process of) time, + as at other times, + in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), X whole (+ age), (full) year(-ly), + younger.

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 is  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.)