"But it shall comeabout, ifyou do not obeythe LORDyour God,to observeto doallHis commandmentsand His statuteswith whichI chargeyou today,that allthesecurseswill comeupon you and overtakeyou:
The LORDGodsaidto the serpent,"Becauseyou have donethis,Cursedare you morethanallcattle,And morethaneverybeastof the field;On your bellyyou will go,And dustyou will eatAllthe daysof your life;
"Nowyou are cursedfrom the ground,whichhas openedits mouthto receiveyour brother'sbloodfrom your hand.
"Whenyou cultivatethe ground,it will nolongeryieldits strengthto you; you will be a vagrantand a wandereron the earth."
Then Shemaiahthe prophetcameto Rehoboamand the princesof Judahwhohad gatheredat Jerusalembecauseof Shishak,and he saidto them, "Thussaysthe LORD,You have forsakenMe, so I alsohave forsakenyou to Shishak.'"
thussaysthe LORD,"Behold,I am bringingevilon thisplaceand on its inhabitants,[even] allthe curseswrittenin the bookwhichthey have readin the presenceof the kingof Judah.
"But ifyou turnawayand forsakeMy statutesand My commandmentswhichI have setbeforeyou, and goand serveothergodsand worshipthem,
Woeto the wicked![It will go] badly[with him], For whathe deserveswill be doneto him.
Yet they didnot obeyor inclinetheir ear,but walked,eachone,in the stubbornnessof his evilheart;therefore I broughton them allthe wordsof thiscovenant,whichI commanded[them] to do,but they didnot.'"
"And you will sayto them, 'Thussaysthe LORD,"Ifyou will not listento Me, to walkin My lawwhichI have setbeforeyou,
They camein and tookpossessionof it, but they did not obeyYour voiceor walkin Your law;they have donenothingof allthat You commandedthem to do;therefore You have made allthiscalamitycomeupon them.
"I will also punishhim and his descendantsand his servantsfor their iniquity,and I will bringon them and the inhabitantsof Jerusalemand the menof Judahallthe calamitythat I have declaredto them-- but they did not listen."'"
"Perhapstheir supplicationwill comebeforethe LORD,and everyonewill turnfrom his evilway,for greatis the angerand the wraththat the LORDhas pronouncedagainstthispeople."
Now the captainof the bodyguardhad takenJeremiahand saidto him, "The LORDyour Godpromisedthiscalamityagainstthisplace;
The LORDhas donewhatHe purposed;He has accomplishedHis wordWhichHe commandedfrom daysof old.He has throwndownwithoutsparing,And He has caused the enemyto rejoiceoveryou; He has exaltedthe mightof your adversaries.
Whenthey go,I will spreadMy netoverthem; I will bringthem downlike the birdsof the sky.I will chastisethem in accordance with the proclamationto their assembly.
"Ifyou do not listen,and ifyou do not takeit to heartto givehonorto My name,"saysthe LORDof hosts,"then I will sendthe curseupon you and I will curseyour blessings;and indeed,I have cursedthem [already], becauseyou are not taking[it] to heart.
For as manyas are of the worksof the Laware undera curse;for it is written,"CURSEDIS EVERYONEWHODOES NOT ABIDEBY ALL THINGSWRITTENIN THE BOOKOF THE LAW,TO PERFORMTHEM."
and the curse,ifyou do not listento the commandmentsof the LORDyour God,but turnasidefrom the waywhichI am commandingyou today,by followingothergodswhichyou have not known.
"Alltheseblessingswill comeupon you and overtakeyou ifyou obeythe LORDyour God:
"So allthesecursesshall comeon you and pursueyou and overtakeyou untilyou are destroyed,becauseyou would not obeythe LORDyour Godby keepingHis commandmentsand His statuteswhichHe commandedyou.
"It shall be when he hearsthe wordsof thiscurse,that he will boast,saying,'I havepeacethoughI walkin the stubbornnessof my heartin orderto destroythe watered[land] with the dry.'
"The LORDshall neverbe willingto forgivehim, but ratherthe angerof the LORDand His jealousywill burnagainst that man,and everycursewhich is writtenin thisbookwill reston him, and the LORDwill blotout his namefrom underheaven.
Then MosessummonedallIsraeland saidto them: "Hear,O Israel,the statutesand the ordinanceswhichI am speakingtodayin your hearing,that you may learnthem and observethem carefully.
"It shall comeabout that justas allthe goodwordswhichthe LORDyour Godspoketo you have comeupon you, sothe LORDwill bringupon you allthe threats,untilHe has destroyedyou from offthisgoodlandwhichthe LORDyour Godhas givenyou.
"When you transgressthe covenantof the LORDyour God,whichHe commandedyou, and goand serveothergodsand bowdownto them, then the angerof the LORDwill burnagainst you, and you will perishquicklyfrom offthe goodlandwhichHe has givenyou."
Whereverthey went,the handof the LORDwas against them for evil,as the LORDhad spokenand as the LORDhad swornto them, so that they were severelydistressed.
So the Philistinesfoughtand Israelwas defeated,and everymanfledto his tent;and the slaughterwas verygreat,for there fellof Israelthirtythousandfootsoldiers.
