If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;
Parallel translations
- WEB If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, YAHWEH YOUR GOD;
- BSB If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God—
- NKJV “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD,
- NASB “If you are not careful to follow all the words of this Law that are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord your God,
- NLT “If you refuse to obey all the words of instruction that are written in this book, and if you do not fear the glorious and awesome name of the Lord your God,
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
All these curses hinge on one condition: failure to obey God's law and revere his glorious name. Reverence for God is the heart of covenant faithfulness.
Overview
After the catalog of curses, Moses states their root cause: refusal to keep the law and to fear the Lord's 'glorious and fearful name.' True obedience flows not from mere rule-keeping but from holy reverence for who God is. This anticipates the gospel call to worship God in spirit and truth, where reverence and love, not dread alone, mark the redeemed heart.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Isa 42:8I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
- Matt 10:28And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Exod 20:2I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
- Ps 72:19And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.
- Jer 5:12They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
- Lev 26:14–15But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
- Ps 83:18That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
- Exod 6:2–3And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:
- Neh 9:5Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
- Exod 34:5–7And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
- Isa 41:10Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
- Mal 1:14But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the LORD a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.
- Heb 10:30–31For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
- Jer 7:26–28Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.
- Jer 7:9–10Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;
- Heb 12:28–29Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
- Deut 6:13Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
- Exod 3:14–15And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
- Deut 28:15But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
- Ps 50:7Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 28:58 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.