Deuteronomy 28:65

Summary

Deuteronomy 28:65 describes a state of perpetual unrest among the nations, stating that no physical resting place will exist even for the sole of the foot. It continues by describing three afflictions that Yehovah will give: a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despairing being.

Key words

• tar.Gi.a' ("you will rest", H7280B) — hiphil (causative) imperfect, second person masculine; the causative stem suggests not just resting but being granted or caused to rest, negated here.
• ma.No.ach ("a resting place", H4494) — masculine singular noun, paired with the verb yih.Yeh ("it will belong", H1961) to state that no resting place will exist.
• khaf-rag.Le.kha ("sole of your foot", H3709H + H7272 + H9021) — construct chain meaning "palm/sole of your foot," an idiom for the smallest possible space to stand or rest.
• lev ra.Gaz ("a trembling heart", H3820A + H7268) — noun plus adjective, describing an internal psychological state given by Yehovah.
• da.'a.Von Na.fesh ("despair of being", H1671 + H5315G) — construct chain, the final item in a triad of afflictions affecting the Nefesh ("being/soul/life").

What the text says

The verse divides into two parts joined by a narrative vav (H9001) at na.Tan ("he will give", H5414G), which introduces a sequential perfect continuing the action described in the first half. The first half uses two negated verbs — tar.Gi.a' ("you will rest", H7280B, hiphil imperfect) and yih.Yeh ("it will belong", H1961, qal imperfect) — to deny both action (resting) and existence (a resting place existing) for the foot's sole, doubling the emphasis on the absence of any stable place.

The second half shifts grammatical subject to Yehovah (H3068G), who becomes the agent giving three items to the addressee: lev ra.Gaz ("a trembling heart"), khil.Yon 'ei.Na.yim ("failing of eyes", construct chain H3631 + H5869A), and da.'a.Von Na.fesh ("despair of being"). All three are grammatically parallel construct or adjective-noun pairs, listed with simple conjunctions (ve-, H9002), producing a triad structure. The construct forms (khil.Yon, da.'a.Von) function like English "-ing of" or "failing of," binding an abstract state to a body part or the Nefesh (H5315G), a term covering the entire living self rather than a separable "soul."

Differences between versions

The LXX renders lev ra.Gaz ("trembling heart") as καρδίαν ἑτέραν ἀπειθοῦσαν ("another disobeying heart"), diverging from the Hebrew's sense of physical/emotional trembling (ra.Gaz, H7268) toward a notion of disobedience. The Vulgate's cor pavidum ("fearful heart") stays closer to the Hebrew's trembling sense. For khaf-rag.Le.kha ("sole of your foot"), the LXX uses ἴχνει τοῦ ποδός ("track/print of the foot"), a slightly different image than the Hebrew "palm" idiom.