22 'Jehovah doth smite thee with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with extreme burning, and with sword, and with blasting, and with mildew, and they have pursued thee till thou perish 23 'And thy heavens which 'are' over thy head have been brass, and the earth which 'is' under thee iron; 24 Jehovah giveth the rain of thy land—dust and ashes; from the heavens it cometh down on thee till thou art destroyed. 25 'Jehovah giveth thee smitten before thine enemies; in one way thou goest out unto them, and in seven ways dost flee before them, and thou hast been for a trembling to all kingdoms of the earth; 26 and thy carcase hath been for food to every fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the earth, and there is none causing trembling. 27 'Jehovah doth smite thee with the ulcer of Egypt, and with emerods, and with scurvy, and with itch, of which thou art not able to be healed. 28 'Jehovah doth smite thee with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart; 29 and 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. 30 'A woman thou dost betroth, and another man doth lie with her; a house thou dost build, and dost not dwell in it; a vineyard thou dost plant, and dost not make it common; 31 thine ox 'is' slaughtered before thine eyes, and thou dost not eat of it; thine ass 'is' taken violently away from before thee, and it is not given back to thee; thy sheep 'are' given to thine enemies, and there is no saviour for thee. 32 'Thy sons and thy daughters 'are' given to another people, and thine eyes are looking and consuming for them all the day, and thy hand is not to God! 33 The fruit of thy ground, and all thy labour, eat up doth a people whom thou hast not known; and thou hast been only oppressed and bruised all the days; 34 and thou hast been mad, because of the sight of thine eyes which thou dost see. 35 'Jehovah doth smite thee with an evil ulcer, on the knees, and on the legs (of which thou art not able to be healed), from the sole of thy foot even unto thy crown. 36 'Jehovah doth cause thee to go, and thy king whom thou raisest up over thee, unto a nation which thou hast not known, thou and thy fathers, and thou hast served there other gods, wood and stone; 37 and thou hast been for an astonishment, for a simile, and for a byword among all the peoples whither Jehovah doth lead thee. 38 'Much seed thou dost take out into the field, and little thou dost gather in, for the locust doth consume it; 39 vineyards thou dost plant, and hast laboured, and wine thou dost not drink nor gather, for the worm doth consume it; 40 olives are to thee in all thy border, and oil thou dost not pour out, for thine olive doth fall off. 41 'Sons and daughters thou dost beget, and they are not with thee, for they go into captivity; 42 all thy trees and the fruit of thy ground doth the locust possess;

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Deuteronomy 28:22-42

Commentary on Deuteronomy 28:15-44

(Read 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 a curse. All his enjoyments are made bitter; he cannot take any true comfort in them, for the wrath of God mixes itself with them. Many judgments are here stated, which would be the fruits of the curse, and with which God would punish the people of the Jews, for their apostacy and disobedience. We may observe the fulfilling of these threatenings in their present state. To complete their misery, it is threatened that by these troubles they should be bereaved of all comfort and hope, and left to utter despair. Those who walk by sight, and not by faith, are in danger of losing reason itself, when every thing about them looks frightful.