Deuteronomy 28:50

Summary

Deuteronomy 28:50 describes a hostile nation characterized as "fierce of face" that will show no deference to the elderly and no mercy to the young. The verse uses two parallel negative clauses built on Hebrew idioms involving "face" and grace.

Key words

• goy ("a nation", H1471A) — masculine singular noun, the subject of the whole verse, introducing the description that follows.
• 'az ("fierce of", H5794) — masculine singular adjective in construct state, meaning it must attach to the following noun panim to form the phrase "fierce of face."
• panim ("face", H6440H / H6440N) — masculine plural noun appearing twice (lines 3 and 7); in Biblical Hebrew this noun is always plural in form regardless of meaning, and it forms two distinct idioms in this verse.
• yissa' ("it will lift up", H5375Q) — Qal imperfect third-person masculine singular; combined with panim it forms the idiom "to lift up the face," meaning to show partiality or deference.
• yachon ("it will show favor to", H2603A) — Qal imperfect third-person masculine singular from the root associated with grace/favor (chanan), used here to describe a lack of compassion toward the young.

What the text says

The verse opens with the noun goy ("nation", H1471A) qualified by the construct phrase 'az panim ("fierce of face", H5794 + H6440H), a Hebrew idiom describing boldness or harshness in demeanor — literally "strong/fierce of face." The relative particle 'asher ("which", H0834A) introduces two coordinated negative clauses describing this nation's behavior.

The first clause, lo'-yissa' panim le-zaqen ("it will not lift up face for an old [person]"), uses the idiom "to lift the face" (nasa' panim, H5375Q + H6440N) — an expression elsewhere in Biblical Hebrew associated with showing favor, respect, or partiality toward someone. Here the negation lo' (H3808) denies that this nation will extend such regard toward the zaqen ("an old [person]", H2205H).

The second clause, ve-na'ar lo' yachon ("and a youth it will not show favor to"), reverses the word order, placing na'ar ("a youth", H5288) before the negated verb yachon (H2603A). This creates a chiastic-like structure across the two clauses: verb-object in the first, object-verb in the second, reinforcing the parallel between disregard for old age and disregard for youth. The verb yachon derives from a root linked to grace or favor, so its negation indicates a total absence of clemency toward the young.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders 'az panim as ἀναιδὲς ("shameless"), differing from the more literal "fierce of face" of the Hebrew construct phrase. For yissa' panim, the LXX uses θαυμάσει ("will regard/admire"), while the Vulgate uses deferat ("show deference"), both interpreting the "lifting the face" idiom differently but toward a similar sense of respect. For yachon, the LXX has ἐλεήσαι ("show mercy") and the Vulgate misereatur ("have pity"), both converging on a sense of compassion absent in the Hebrew's more specific "show favor" (H2603A).