Deuteronomy 28:47

  Deuteronomy 28:47

Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;

a. ASV: Because thou servedst not Jehovah thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things;  [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: 'Because that thou hast not served Jehovah thy God with joy, and with gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things --  [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: Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness of [mind and] heart [in gratitude] for the abundance of all [with which He had blessed you],  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Stone Edition THE CHUMASH, Rabbinic Commentary: Because you did not serve HASHEM, your God, amid gladness and goodness of heart, when everything was abundant.  [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE CHUMASH Copyright 1998, 2000 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ldt.]

e. NLT: If you do not serve the LORD your God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits you have received,  [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.]

1. “Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;”

a. [Strong: 8478 tachath, takh'-ath; from the same as H8430; the bottom (as depressed); only adverbially, below (often with prepositional prefix underneath), in lieu of, etc.:—as, beneath, × flat, in(-stead), (same) place (where...is), room, for...sake, stead of, under, × unto, × when...was mine, whereas, (where-) fore, with.]

b. Because [Strong: 834 ʼăsher, 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.:—× after, × alike, as (soon as), because, × every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how(-soever), × if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), × 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.

c. [thou] servedst [Strong: ʻâbad, aw-bad'; a primitive root; to work (in any sense); by implication, to serve, till, (causatively) enslave, etc.:—× be, keep in bondage, be bondmen, bond-service, compel, do, dress, ear, execute, husbandman, keep, labour(-ing man, bring to pass, (cause to, make to) serve(-ing, self), (be, become) servant(-s), do (use) service, till(-er), transgress (from margin), (set a) work, be wrought, worshipper,]

d. not [Strong: 3808 lôʼ, lo; or לוֹא lôwʼ; or לֹה lôh; (Deuteronomy 3:11), a primitive particle; + not (the simple or abstract negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles:—× before, + or else, ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (× as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, + of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.]

e. [the] LORD [Strong: Yᵉhôvâh, yeh-ho-vaw'; from H1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God:—Jehovah, the Lord.]

f. [thy] God [Strong: 430 ʼĕlôhîym, el-o-heem'; plural of H433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:—angels, × exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), × (very) great, judges, × mighty.]

g. [with] joyfulness [Strong: 8057 simchâh, sim-khaw'; from H8056; blithesomeness or glee, (religious or festival):—× exceeding(-ly), gladness, joy(-fulness), mirth, pleasure, rejoice(-ing).]

h. [and with] gladness [Strong: 2898 ṭûwb, toob; from H2895; good (as a noun), in the widest sense, especially goodness (superlative concretely, the best), beauty, gladness, welfare:—fair, gladness, good(-ness, thing, -s), joy, go well with.]

i. [of] heart [Strong: 3824 lêbâb, lay-bawb'; from H3823; used also like H3820 the heart (as the most interior organ);:— bethink themselves, breast, comfortably, courage, (faint), (tender-) heart(-ed), midst, mind, × unawares, understanding.]

j. [for the] abundance [Strong: 7230 rôb, robe; from H7231; abundance (in any respect):—abundance(-antly), all, × common (sort), excellent, great(-ly, -ness, number), huge, be increased, long, many, more in number, most, much, multitude, plenty(-ifully), × very (age).]

k. [of] all [things] [Strong: 3605 kôl, kole; or (Jeremiah 33:8) כּוֹל kôwl; from H3634; 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).]

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.)

3). Thomas Jackson: “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 man from doing, that this may be justly regarded as an idiom of eastern speech.” (The Hebrew Idiom of Permission.]