Deuteronomy 28:21

Summary

The verse states that Yehovah (יְהוָ֛ה, H3068G) will cause ha-Dever ("the pestilence", H1698) to attach itself to the addressed person, continuing until this affliction removes him from the land he is entering to possess. The action is framed as ongoing until a specific point of completion — the destruction of the person "from upon" (מֵעַל, H5921A) the ground.

Key words

• yad.Bek ("he will make cling", H1692) — Hiphil (causative) jussive form of the root meaning "to cling/adhere"; the causative stem shows Yehovah as the agent making the pestilence attach itself, not merely allowing it to occur.
• Dever ("pestilence", H1698) — masculine singular noun, marked with the definite article ha- (H9009), specifying a particular known affliction rather than pestilence in general.
• kaloto ("his destroying/consuming", H3615H) — Piel infinitive construct with 3rd person suffix; the intensive Piel stem conveys thoroughness of the destructive action, and the infinitive with 'ad ("until", H5704) marks the temporal endpoint of the clinging pestilence.
• 'adamah ("land/ground", H0127G) — feminine singular noun; paired with me'al ("from upon", H5921A+H9006), it expresses removal from the surface of the ground, not simply departure from a territory.
• rishtah ("to possess it", H3423H) — Qal infinitive construct with 3rd feminine singular suffix referring back to ha'adamah; expresses the purpose of entering the land.

What the text says

The clause opens with the verb yad.Bek in the Hiphil jussive, placing the causative verb before its subject Yehovah — a common verb-subject order in Biblical Hebrew narrative and legal/curse formulas. This construction attributes direct causation to Yehovah: the pestilence does not simply happen, but is made to cling. The object, ha-Dever, carries the definite article, suggesting a specific, identifiable affliction within the series of curses in this chapter rather than an indefinite illness.

The temporal clause beginning with 'ad ("until") governs the infinitive kaloto, built on the Piel stem of kalah ("to complete/finish/destroy"), with a third-person masculine suffix referring back to Yehovah as the one completing the action ("until his causing-to-cease you"). This construction ties the duration of the pestilence directly to the completion of destruction, rather than presenting the plague and the destruction as separate events. The phrase me'al ha'adamah ("from upon the ground") uses the compound preposition to depict removal from the surface of the land, distinct from mere expulsion from a region. The final infinitive clause, lerishtah ("to possess it"), closes the verse by restating the purpose for which the land was being entered, using the same feminine suffix pattern found on 'adamah.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders Dever ("pestilence", H1698) as θάνατον ("death"), a broader term than the Hebrew's specific word for pestilence/plague. The Vulgate's pestilentiam corresponds more closely to the Hebrew Dever. The English and Spanish translations shown (BSB "plague," RV1909/SBLIBRE "mortandad/peste") follow the Hebrew's more specific sense rather than the LXX's general "death."