So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:
Parallel translations
- WEB The man who is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye will be evil toward his brother, toward the wife whom he loves, and toward the remnant of his children whom he has remaining;
- BSB The most gentle and refined man among you will begrudge his brother, the wife he embraces, and the rest of his children who have survived,
- NKJV The sensitive and very refined man among you will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind,
- NASB The man who is refined and very delicate among you will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife he cherishes, and toward the rest of his children who are left,
- NLT The most tenderhearted man among you will have no compassion for his own brother, his beloved wife, and his surviving children.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Even the gentlest, most refined man will become heartless, grudging food to his own brother and family. Famine exposes how desperation can corrode the kindest heart.
Overview
Moses heightens the horror by showing that the curse touches even the tenderhearted, turning their natural compassion into cruelty. The 'evil eye' here means a grudging, selfish refusal to share even with loved ones. The passage reveals the depth to which judgment can drive people, and how only a renewed heart, ultimately given through Christ, can keep love alive under pressure.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Deut 15:9Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee.
- Matt 20:15Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
- Deut 13:6If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
- Prov 28:22He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
- 2 Sam 12:3But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
- Luke 11:11–13If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
- Prov 23:6Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
- Ps 103:13Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
- Mic 7:5Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
- Matt 7:9–11Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
- Isa 49:15Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 28:54 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.