Deuteronomy 28 · Verse 13

Deuteronomy 28:13

And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:
Deuteronomy 28:13, King James Version

Deuteronomy 28:13 in other translations

BSBThe LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward, if you hear and carefully follow the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am giving you today.
WEBThe LORD will make you the head, and not the tail. You will be above only, and you will not be beneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today, to observe and to do,
ASVAnd Jehovah will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them,
YLT‘And Jehovah hath given thee for head, and not for tail; and thou hast been only above, and art not beneath, for thou dost hearken unto the commands of Jehovah thy God, which I am commanding thee to-day, to keep and to do,
DARBYAnd Jehovah will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah thy God, which I command thee this day, to keep and to do them,
BBEThe Lord will make you the head and not the tail; and you will ever have the highest place, if you give ear to the orders of the Lord your God which I give you today, to keep and to do them;
WebsterAnd the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken to the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

What does Deuteronomy 28:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 28:13-14
13-14. the head, and not the tail--an Oriental form of expression, indicating the possession of independent power and great dignity and acknowledged excellence (Is 9:14; 19:15).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy 28:1-14

This chapter is a very large exposition of two words, the blessing and the curse. They are real things and have real effects. The blessings are here put before the curses. God is slow to anger, but swift to show mercy. It is his delight to bless. It is better that we should be drawn to what is good by a child-like hope of God's favour, than that we be frightened to it by a slavish fear of his wrath. The blessing is…

Read the full comment on Deuteronomy 28:1-14 →

Deuteronomy 28:13 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וּנְתָֽנְךָ֨u.ne.ta.ne.Khaand he will make youH5414
יְהוָ֤הYah.wehYahwehH3068
לְרֹאשׁ֙le.roShinto [the] headH7218
וְלֹ֣אve.Lo'and notH3808
לְזָנָ֔בle.za.Navinto [the] tailH2180
וְהָיִ֙יתָ֙ve.ha.Yi.taand you will beH1961
רַ֣קrakonlyH7535
לְמַ֔עְלָהle.Ma'.lah<to> upwards <towards>H4605
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
תִהְיֶ֖הtih.Yehyou will beH1961
לְמָ֑טָּהle.Ma.tah<to> downwardsH4295
כִּֽי\־ki-ifH3588
תִשְׁמַ֞עtish.Ma'you will listenH8085
אֶל\־'el-toH413
מִצְוֹ֣ת\׀mitz.Vot[the] commandments ofH4687
יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ'e.lo.Hei.khaGod yourH430
אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.SherwhichH834
אָנֹכִ֧י'a.no.KhiIH595
מְצַוְּךָ֛me.tza.ve.Kha[am] commanding youH6680
הַיּ֖וֹםhai.Yomthis dayH3117
לִשְׁמֹ֥רlish.Morto take careH8104
וְלַעֲשֽׂוֹת\׃ve.la.'a.Sotand to doH6213

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Deuteronomy 28:13

  • Deuteronomy 28:1

    And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:

  • Deuteronomy 4:6-9

    Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;

  • Philippians 1:27

    Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

  • Numbers 24:18-19

    And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.

  • Isaiah 9:14-15

    Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the head.
Nu 24:18,19; Isa 9:14,15
if that thou.
1; 4:6-9; Php 1:27

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Deuteronomy 28:12

    The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.

  • Deuteronomy 28:13

    And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

  • Deuteronomy 28:14

    And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Read all of Deuteronomy 28

Deuteronomy 28:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y te pondrá Jehová por cabeza, y no por cola: y estarás encima solamente, y no estarás debajo; cuando obedecieres á los mandamientos de Jehová tu Dios, que yo te ordeno hoy, para que los guardes y cumplas.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et l’ Éternel te mettra à la tête, et non à la queue; et tu ne seras qu’en haut, et tu ne seras pas en bas, si tu écoutes les commandements de l’ Éternel, ton Dieu, que je te commande aujourd’hui, pour les garder et les pratiquer,
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und Jehova wird dich zum Haupte machen und nicht zum Schwanze, und du wirst nur immer höher kommen und nicht abwärts gehen, wenn du den Geboten Jehovas, deines Gottes, gehorchst, die ich dir heute zu beobachten und zu tun gebiete,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Constituet te Dominus in caput, et non in caudam: et eris semper supra, et non subter: si tamen audieris mandata Domini Dei tui quæ ego præcipio tibi hodie, et custodieris et feceris,