Deuteronomy 28:25
The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
Study Note
Study Note
The covenant curse that 'the Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them' precisely reverses the blessing of Deuteronomy 28:7 ('they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways'). This structured reversal reveals Deuteronomy's covenant logic: the same God who is Israel's warrior in obedience becomes Israel's adversary in rebellion. The fulfilment in the Assyrian and Babylonian conquests of Israel and Judah gave the Deuteronomistic History (Joshua-2 Kings) its interpretive framework for understanding national catastrophe as covenant consequence. Lamentations' sustained theological wrestling with Jerusalem's fall is the existential counterpart to Deuteronomy's theoretical covenant framework, and Nehemiah's prayer of confession (Nehemiah 1:7) explicitly acknowledges the fulfilment of these Mosaic curses.
Other Translations
Jehovah will cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies; thou shalt go out one way against them, and shalt flee seven ways before them: and thou shalt be tossed to and from among all the kingdoms of the earth.
`Jehovah giveth thee smitten before thine enemies; in one way thou goest out unto them, and in seven ways dost flee before them, and thou hast been for a trembling to all kingdoms of the earth;
The Lord will let you be overcome by your haters: you will go out against them one way, and you will go in flight before them seven ways: you will be the cause of fear among all the kingdoms of the earth.
Cross References
And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you …
And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands …
And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have …
The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come …
How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and …
One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be …
And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell …
She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was …
And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be …
And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to …