Deuteronomy 28:51
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The verse emphasizes the completeness of the destruction by listing specific, essential provisions—grain, wine, and oil—and reiterating the loss of both livestock and their young. This detailed enumeration highlights not just the conqueror's gain, but the utter devastation of Israel's ability to sustain itself, leaving nothing behind until its complete ruin.
It shall eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; it also shall not leave you grain, wine, or oil, the increase of your herds or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse describes a devastating consequence of disobedience: a foreign nation will invade and consume all of Israel's agricultural and animal produce, leaving them with nothing. This is part of a larger section detailing the severe curses that will fall upon Israel if they fail to uphold God's covenant, contrasting sharply with the blessings promised for obedience. The immediate context emphasizes the totality of this destruction, leading to their complete ruin and perishing.
Imagine working tirelessly, only to have everything you've produced systematically stripped away. This verse paints a grim picture of total consumption.
The curse described in Deuteronomy 28:51 isn't a minor setback; it's an absolute annihilation of a nation's sustenance. The language used, 'eat the fruit of your cattle and the fruit of your land,' signifies a complete plundering. It's not just about losing crops or livestock; it's about losing the very means of survival – the grain for bread, the wine for celebration, the oil for daily life, and the young of herds and flocks. This relentless 'eating' continues until 'you are destroyed' and 'perish.' This isn't a temporary hardship; it's a total consumption that leads to utter ruin, leaving nothing behind.
Why would God bring such devastating curses? This verse is rooted in a deep covenant relationship with specific consequences for breaking it.
Deuteronomy 28 lays out the conditional nature of God's covenant with Israel. Blessings were promised for obedience, and curses for disobedience. This verse, therefore, isn't an arbitrary act of destruction but the direct, though severe, consequence of breaking faith with God. The 'he' who devours is understood as the enemy nation or force that God allows to act as His instrument of judgment. The complete destruction signifies that their disobedience led them to forfeit the very land and provisions God had given them. It underscores that the relationship with God was the source of their prosperity, and its abandonment meant the loss of all that prosperity.
Understand the original words
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shegar · Hebrew Noun
Offspring refers to descendants or progeny. In a biblical context, it often represents the continuity of a family line or the blessing of fruitfulness, which is here being threatened by divine judgment.
peri · Hebrew Noun
In the Bible, the fruit of the ground represents the produce of the land, which is presented as a sign of God's blessing and provision under the covenant. Its removal signifies the removal of divine favor due to disobedience.
hishmid / abad · Hebrew Verb
To destroy or perish in the biblical sense often implies complete ruin, devastation, or the loss of existence in the context of covenantal curses. It signifies the consequence of breaking the relationship with God.
Deuteronomy 28 vividly describes the consequences of disobedience to God's covenant, including devastating invasions and the destruction of the land and its produce. This verse, in particular, speaks to the utter devastation of an enemy force consuming all sustenance. Its historical fulfillment is seen most dramatically in the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC, and later by the Roman destruction in AD 70, where the land and its resources were indeed ravaged by foreign armies.
c. 722 BC
Fall of the Northern Kingdom
The Assyrian Empire conquers the Northern Kingdom of Israel, exiling many of its inhabitants. This event serves as a stark warning of the consequences of disobedience.
605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army conquer Judah, taking captives and tribute, including members of the royal family and skilled workers. This marks the beginning of the Babylonian exile.
586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and the First Temple, exiling most of the remaining population to Babylon. This fulfills many of the curses in Deuteronomy 28.
c. 539 BC
Persian Conquest of Babylon
Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon, allowing the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and begin rebuilding the Temple. This marks the end of the Babylonian exile.
c. AD 70
Destruction of Jerusalem by Rome
The Roman Empire, under Titus, destroys Jerusalem and the Second Temple after a Jewish revolt. This event fulfills the prophetic warnings of Deuteronomy 28 in a new historical context.
This passage describes a similar consequence of disobedience, where enemies will oppress and rule over Israel, highlighting the theme of national destruction due to sin.
Jeremiah 5:15-17This prophecy details the coming of a foreign nation to devour the land and its produce, echoing the language and severe judgment found in Deuteronomy 28:51.
Lamentations 1:14This verse speaks of the yoke of Israel's transgressions being bound together and sent upon their necks, which resonates with the idea of complete consumption and destruction by an enemy.
Joel 1:4This passage describes the complete destruction of crops by various swarming insects, serving as a vivid picture of the agricultural devastation prophesied in Deuteronomy, where nothing is left.
Matthew 23:37-38Jesus laments over Jerusalem, predicting its destruction and desolation, which fulfills the curses of Deuteronomy and shows the ultimate consequence of rejecting God's messengers and warnings.
calvinDeuteronomy 28:15-68: "But 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:"
- But 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 th…
gillDeuteronomy 28:51: "And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee."
And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle,.... Larger and lesser, oxen and sheep, as their calves and lambs, and kids of the goat: and the fruit of thy land; their wheat, barley, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives, and dates: until thou be des…
The verse emphasizes the completeness of the destruction by listing specific, essential provisions—grain, wine, and oil—and reiterating the loss of both livestock and their young. This detailed enumeration highlights not just the conqueror's gain, but the utter devastation of Israel's ability to sustain itself, leaving nothing behind until its complete ruin.
This verse describes a devastating consequence of disobedience: a foreign nation will invade and consume all of Israel's agricultural and animal produce, leaving them with nothing. This is part of a larger section detailing the severe curses that will fall upon Israel if they fail to uphold God's covenant, contrasting sharply with the blessings promised for obedience. The immediate context emphasizes the totality of this destruction, leading to their complete ruin and perishing.
This verse describes a devastating consequence of disobedience: a foreign nation will invade and consume all of Israel's agricultural and animal produce, leaving them with nothing. This is part of a larger section detailing the severe curses that will fall upon Israel if they fail to uphold God's covenant, contrasting sharply with the blessings promised for obedience. The immediate context emphasizes the totality of this destruction, leading to their complete ruin and perishing.
"It shall eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; it also shall not leave you grain, wine, or oil, the increase of your herds or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish." — The verse emphasizes the completeness of the destruction by listing specific, essential provisions—grain, wine, and oil—and reiterating the loss of both livestock and their young. This detailed enume…
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Last reviewed October 2026
