Deuteronomy 28 · Verse 29

Deuteronomy 28:29

And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.
Deuteronomy 28:29, King James Version

Deuteronomy 28:29 in other translations

BSBand at noon you will grope about like a blind man in the darkness. You will not prosper in your ways. Day after day you will be oppressed and plundered, with no one to save you.
WEBYou will grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. You will only be oppressed and robbed always, and there will be no one to save you.
ASVand thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and robbed alway, and there shall be none to save thee.
YLTand thou hast been gropling at noon, as the blind gropeth in darkness; and thou dost not cause thy ways to prosper; and thou hast been only oppressed and plundered all the days, and there is no saviour.
DARBYand thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways; and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled continually, and there shall be none to save.
BBEYou will go feeling your way when the sun is high, like a blind man for whom all is dark, and nothing will go well for you: you will be crushed and made poor for ever, and you will have no saviour.
WebsterAnd thou shalt grope at noon-day, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.

What does Deuteronomy 28:29 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 28:29-33
29-33. thou shalt grope at noonday--a general description of the painful uncertainty in which they would live. During the Middle Ages the Jews were driven from society into hiding-places which they were afraid to leave, not knowing from what quarter they might be assailed and their children dragged into captivity, from which no friend could rescue, and no money ransom them.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 29 Thou shalt be only oppressed, etc. - Perhaps no people under the sun have been more oppressed and spoiled than the rebellious Jews. Indeed, this has been their portion, with but little intermission, for nearly 1,800 years. And still they grope at noon day, as the blind gropeth in darkness - they do not yet discover, notwithstanding the effulgence of the light by which they are encompassed, that the rejection of their own Messiah is the cause of all their calamities.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy 28:15-44

If we do not keep God's commandments, we not only come short of the blessing promised, but we lay ourselves under the curse, which includes all misery, as the blessing all happiness. Observe the justice of this curse. It is not a curse causeless, or for some light cause. The extent and power of this curse. Wherever the sinner goes, the curse of God follows; wherever he is, it rests upon him. Whatever he has is under…

Read the full comment on Deuteronomy 28:15-44 →

Deuteronomy 28:29 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.

וְהָיִ֜יתָve.ha.Yi.taand you will beH1961
מְמַשֵּׁ֣שׁme.ma.SheshgropingH4959
בַּֽצָּהֳרַ֗יִםba.tzo.ho.Ra.yimin the noontide<s>H6672
כַּאֲשֶׁ֨רka.'a.Sherjust asH834
יְמַשֵּׁ֤שׁye.ma.Sheshhe gropesH4959
הָעִוֵּר֙ha.'i.Ver<the> blind [person]H5787
בָּאֲפֵלָ֔הba.'a.fe.Lahin the darknessH653
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
תַצְלִ֖יחַtatz.Li.achyou will make successfulH6743
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
דְּרָכֶ֑יךָde.ra.Khei.khaways yourH1870
וְהָיִ֜יתָve.ha.Yi.taand you will beH1961
אַ֣ךְ'akhonlyH389
עָשׁ֧וּק'a.ShukoppressedH6231
וְגָז֛וּלve.ga.Zuland robbedH1497
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
הַיָּמִ֖יםhai.ya.Mimthe daysH3117
וְאֵ֥יןve.'Einand there notH369
מוֹשִֽׁיעַ\׃mo.Shi.a'[will be] a delivererH3467

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

Cross references for Deuteronomy 28:29

  • Isaiah 59:10

    We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.

  • Job 5:14

    They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.

  • Judges 6:1-6

    And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. …

  • Judges 10:8

    And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.

  • Psalms 106:40-42

    Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.

  • Judges 4:2-3

    And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles. And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

  • Judges 13:1

    And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

  • Judges 3:14

    So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

  • Job 12:25

    They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

  • Nehemiah 9:37

    And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

  • Psalms 69:23-24

    Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.

  • Romans 11:7-10

    What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
grope.
Job 5:14; 12:25; Ps 69:23,24; Isa 59:10; La 5:17; Zep 1:17
Ro 11:7-10,25; 2Co 4:3,4
thou shalt be.
Jud 3:14; 4:2,3; 6:1-6; 10:8; 13:1; 1Sa 13:5-7,19-22; Ne 9:26-29,37
Ps 106:40-42; La 5:8; Ac 21:24

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

Context

  • Deuteronomy 28:28

    The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:

  • Deuteronomy 28:29

    And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.

  • Deuteronomy 28:30

    Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.

Read all of Deuteronomy 28

Deuteronomy 28:29 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y palparás al mediodía, como palpa el ciego en la oscuridad, y no serás prosperado en tus caminos: y nunca serás sino oprimido y robado todos los días, y no habrá quien te salve.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et tu iras tâtonnant en plein midi, comme l’aveugle tâtonne dans les ténèbres; et tu ne feras pas réussir tes voies; et tu ne seras qu’opprimé et pillé tous les jours, et il n’y aura personne qui sauve.
German
Elberfelder 1871
und du wirst am Mittag umhertappen, wie der Blinde im Finstern tappt, und du wirst kein Gelingen haben auf deinen Wegen; und du wirst nur bedrückt und beraubt sein alle Tage, und niemand wird retten.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
et palpes in meridie sicut palpare solet cæcus in tenebris, et non dirigas vias tuas. Omnique tempore calumniam sustineas, et opprimaris violentia, nec habeas qui liberet te.