PART I
Introduction
and Self Check
Curse and
Blessing
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against
you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore
choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Curse Blessing
Death Life
What is Curse?
Cruden’s Complete
Concordance:
Curse
is defined as: “ to call on divine power to send some injury upon the one
cursed, pronounced by a mouth piece of God to man, statement of what would
happen.”
Curse and blessings
are pronouncements made by somebody the effects of which passes through
generations.
Numbers 14:17, 18
17 And
now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast
spoken, saying,
18 The
LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and
transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
Deuteronomy 5:9 Thou shalt not
bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous
God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate me,
Authority
to Pronounce Curse and Blessing
1.
God’s
appointed servants - Spiritual Leaders
2.
Men
with authority - Father, Mother, Husband etc.
3.
Men
with devilish power
4.
Self
imposed curse – one has authority other himself – so he can pronounce curse or
blessing
Self
Imposed Curse
Rebekah
Genesis 27: 5 - 13
5 And
Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to
hunt for venison, and to bring it.
6 And
Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto
Esau thy brother, saying,
7 Bring
me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the
LORD before my death.
8 Now
therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
9 Go
now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I
will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
10 And
thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee
before his death.
11 And
Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I
am a smooth man:
12 My
father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I
shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse,
my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.
Rebekah
was pronouncing a curse on herself
As
a result she died before Jacob returned from Laban
She
could not see the blessings in the life of Jacob.
Jews and Christ
The Jews
pronounced a curse on themselves while they accused Christ
Matthew 27 : 24, 25
24 When
Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he
took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of
the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
25 Then
answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
As
a result in AD 70 Jerusalem was attacked by the enemy and the town and the
Temple was totally destroyed.
Till
to day, the city remains troubled and in unrest.
The History of Jerusalem
From ad
26 to 36 the governor was Pontius Pilate, who sentenced Jesus to be crucified
for treason.
The Jews revolted against
increasingly oppressive Roman rule in ad
66, and they managed to hold on to Jerusalem in the face of siege until ad 70.
In that year, the city was captured
by Titus, son of the Roman emperor Vespasian, who destroyed the temple.
The city suffered almost complete
destruction during the rebellion (132-135) led by Simon Bar Kokhba, following
which the Jews were banished from the city.
Instances
of Blessings and Curse
Abraham
Genesis 22 : 11 -18
11 And
the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham,
Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12 And
he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him:
for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son,
thine only son from me.
15 And
the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
16 And
said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this
thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in
multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the
sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his
enemies; {shore: Heb. lip}
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the
earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Galatians 3:8 And the
scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith,
preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be
blessed.
Abraham gave his
next generation to God
God blessed it,
multiplied it and returned.
Curse on Esau
Isaac blessed
Jacob not keeping any one for Esau
When Esau the
elder son of Isaac came, he pronounced:
Genesis 27:35 - 40
37 And
Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all
his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I
sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? {sustained: or,
supported}
38 And
Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me,
even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto
him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of
heaven from above;
40 And by thy
sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass
when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy
neck.
Esau lived in
Seir
Genesis 36 : 6 - 8
6 And
Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of
his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he
had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his
brother Jacob. {persons: Heb. souls}
7 For
their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land
wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.
8 Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.
The land, or
mountains, of Seir was situated south and east of the Dead Sea; forming a
continuation of the eastern Syrian chain of mountains, beginning with
Antilibanus, and extending from thence to the eastern gulf of the Red Sea.
Country Edom is situated
at the south and south-east of Canaan.
Land of Seir is a
highland country on the east and south of the Dead Sea, inhabited by the
Horites, who were dispossessed by Esau or his posterity (Ge 14:6; De 11:12).
Esau with his
children drove Horites out, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead, De 2:22
Esau went from
the face of his brother Jacob to this land, Ge 36:6,7.
Thus we find he
verified the prediction, By thy sword shalt thou live, Ge 27:40.
This was
divinely assigned as his possession (Jos 24:4; De 2:5).
Joshua 24:1-4
1 And
Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders
of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers;
and they presented themselves before God.
2 And
Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your
fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the
father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
3 And
I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him
throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to
possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
Deuteronomy 2:1-5
1 Then
we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea,
as the LORD spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.
2 And
the LORD spake unto me, saying,
3 Ye
have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.
4 And
command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your
brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of
you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:
5 Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so
much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a
possession. {no...: Heb. even to the treading of the sole of the foot}
Joshua and Jericho
Joshua 6:20 - 27
20
So the people shouted when the priests
blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of
the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down
flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him,
and they took the city. {flat: Heb. under it}
21
And they utterly destroyed all that was
in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass,
with the edge of the sword.
22
But Joshua had said unto the two men
that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out
thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her.
23
And the young men that were spies went
in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren,
and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them
without the camp of Israel. {kindred: Heb. families}
24
And they burnt the city with fire, and
all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass
and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.
25
And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive,
and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel
even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy
out Jericho.
26 And
Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD,
that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation
thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of
it.
27
So the LORD was with Joshua; and his
fame was noised throughout all the country.
1 Kings 16:33, 34
33
And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more
to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that
were before him.
34
In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build
Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the
gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD,
which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.
This
prediction was delivered five hundred years before the event.
It
is thought that when he laid the foundation of the city, his eldest son, the
hope of his family, died by the hand and judgment of God
All
his children died in succession; so that when the doors were ready to be hung,
his youngest and last child died.
Thus,
instead of securing himself a name, his whole family became extinct.
This
was 550 years after Joshua pronounced the curse.
A
curse seems to rest still upon Jericho
It
is not yet blotted out of the map of Palestine
But
it is reduced to a miserable village, consisting of about thirty wretched
cottages, and the governor's dilapidated castle
Nor
is there any ruin there to indicate its former splendour.
At
present, Jericho is almost entirely deserted, having but thirty or forty
miserable cabins in it, which serve for a place of refuge to some wretched
Moors and Arabs, who live there like beasts.
The
plain of Jericho, formerly so celebrated for its fertility, is at present
uncultivated, producing nothing but a few wild trees, and some very indifferent
fruits.
Self Check
Blessed people
Genesis 12:1 - 3
1 Now
the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred,
and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And
I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name
great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And
I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee
shall all families of the earth be blessed.
1.
I
will make you a great nation
2.
I
will bless you
3.
I
will make your name great
4.
You
will be a blessing
5.
I
will bless them that bless you
6.
I
will curse them that curse you
7.
In
you all the families of the earth shall be blessed
Are we blessed like this?
Cursed People
Jeremiah 17: 5, 6
5 Thus
saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his
arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
6 For
he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh;
but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not
inhabited.
The man who
trust in man and his flesh and departs from the Lord:
1.
He
shall be like the heath in the desert
2.
Shall
not see when good cometh
3.
Shall
inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited
Curse and
Blessing in Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
28: 15 – 68
Deuteronomy 28:1-14
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Deuteronomy 28:15-68
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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:
2
And all these blessings shall come on
thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy
God.
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15
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:
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3
Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
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16
Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
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4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and
the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy
kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
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18
Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the
increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
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5
Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. {store: or, dough, or,
kneadingtroughs}
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17
Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
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6
Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when
thou goest out.
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19
Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou
goest out.
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7
The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten
before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before
thee seven ways.
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25
The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go
out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be
removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. {removed: Heb. for a removing}
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8
The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all
that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which
the LORD thy God giveth thee. {storehouses: or, barns}
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20
The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou
settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou
perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast
forsaken me. {for...: Heb. which thou wouldest do}
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9
The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself.
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21
The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed
thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.
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10
And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the
LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
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37
And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all
nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
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11
And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body,
and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land
which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee. {in goods: or, for good}
{body: Heb. belly}
Exodus 23: 25,26
25
And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy
water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
26
There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.
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22
The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an
inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with
blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
{sword: or, drought}
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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: …….
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23
And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is
under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land
powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be
destroyed.
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12
…… thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
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44
He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him …….
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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;
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44
….. he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
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63
And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good,
and to multiply you; ……
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63
…… so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to
nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to
possess it.
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Deuteronomy 28
26 And
thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the
earth, and no man shall fray them away.
27 The
LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with
the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.
28 The LORD shall smite thee with
madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:
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.
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. {gather...: Heb. profane, or, use it as common
meat}
31 Thine
ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass
shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored
to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none
to rescue them. {shall not...: Heb. shall not return to thee}
32 Thy
sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall
look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no
might in thine hand.
33 The
fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not
eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:
34 So
that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
35 The
LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that
cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.
36 The
LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a
nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou
serve other gods, wood and stone.
38 Thou
shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for
the locust shall consume it.
39 Thou
shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor
gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
40 Thou
shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint
thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.
41 Thou
shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall
go into captivity. {thou shalt not...: Heb. they shall not be thine}
42 All
thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume. {consume: or,
possess}
45 Moreover
all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake
thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of
the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded
thee:
46 And
they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for
ever.
47 Because
thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart,
for the abundance of all things;
48 Therefore
shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in
hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he
shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.
49 The
LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as
swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
{understand: Heb. hear}
50 A
nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor
shew favour to the young: {of fierce...: Heb. strong of face}
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.
52 And
he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come
down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege
thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath
given thee.
53 And
thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy
daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the
straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: {body: Heb. belly}
54 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:
55 So
that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall
eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness,
wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.
56 The
tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole
of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be
evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her
daughter,
57 And
toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her
children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things
secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee
in thy gates. {young one: Heb. afterbirth}
58 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;
59 Then
the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even
great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long
continuance.
60 Moreover
he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of;
and they shall cleave unto thee.
61 Also
every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law,
them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. {bring: Heb. cause
to ascend}
62 And
ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for
multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.
64 And the LORD shall
scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the
other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy
fathers have known, even wood and stone.
65 And
among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot
have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of
eyes, and sorrow of mind:
66 And
thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night,
and shalt have none assurance of thy life:
67 In
the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say,
Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt
fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
68
And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt
again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no
more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and
bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
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