Deuteronomy 28:19 · Bible study
Deuteronomy 28:19 Commentary: Cursed in Every Step
Hebrew · 6 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
What does 'cursed when you come in and go out' mean? Discover the comprehensive nature of the covenant curse and its theological depth.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The entire daily life of the disobedient person, every coming and going, is placed under divine curse.
- Key words: אָר֥וּר (cursed), passive participle denoting a state of being under God's judgment; בּוֹא (come in) and יָצָא (go out), a merism for all human activity.
- Main debate: Whether the curse is strictly temporal (crop failure, sickness) or also includes spiritual alienation, but commentators agree it is comprehensive.
- Theological theme: Covenant consequences, obedience brings blessing, disobedience brings curse, and the two are starkly opposed.
- Best use: Preaching the law to expose sin and drive hearers to Christ, who became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13).
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
WEB World English Bible 2000
You will be cursed when you come in, and you will be cursed when you go out.
KJV King James Version 1769
Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
`Cursed art thou in thy coming in, and cursed art thou in thy going out.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Cursed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and cursed shalt thou be in thy going out.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Cursed shalt thou be coming in, and cursed going out.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Maldito serás en tu entrar, y maldito en tu salir.
Maldito serás em teu entrar, e maldito em teu sair.
Tu seras maudit à ton arrivée, et tu seras maudit à ton départ.
Verflucht wirst du sein, wenn du eingehst, verflucht, wenn du ausgehst.
Vervloekt zult gij zijn in uw ingaan, en vervloekt zult gij zijn in uw uitgaan.
Sarai maledetto al tuo entrare e maledetto al tuo uscire.
Przeklętym będziesz wchodząc, przeklętym i wychodząc.
Проклят ты [будешь] при входе твоем и проклят при выходе твоем.
你 出 也受咒詛， 入 也受咒詛。
You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Deuteronomy 28:19
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across Reformed and Anglican traditions agree that the phrase 'when you come in and go out' (Deuteronomy 28:19) is a merism, a figure of speech covering all of a person's daily activities. John Calvin explains that 'going out and coming in signifies their various actions, and the whole course of their life.' The verse is the negative counterpart to the blessing in Deuteronomy 28:6, where the same language promised God's favor on every undertaking. Here the promise is reversed: each ordinary movement, every beginning and ending of the day, becomes an occasion of curse. The Hebrew word אָר֥וּר (translated 'cursed') is a passive participle, emphasizing a state of being under divine judgment, not a fleeting feeling but a settled condition. William G. Blaikie, quoted in Lange's Commentary, observes that the curse attaches even to the very act of entering or leaving one's home, so that the whole framework of life is poisoned. Matthew Henry notes that the curses 'shall come upon thee, and overtake thee,' implying that they pursue the disobedient relentlessly. There is no escape clause.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse describes a comprehensive reversal of divine blessing on every aspect of life — every coming and going — as a consequence of covenant disobedience.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Comprehensiveness of the curse | All major commentators read 'come in and go out' as covering every daily activity, not just travel or specific tasks. | No substantive disagreement, Calvin, Matthew Henry, and the Cambridge Bible all affirm this merism. |
| Relationship to the blessing passage (Deut 28:6) | Everyone agrees this verse is the exact counterpart of the blessing in 28:6. | Minor differences in ordering (the curse places 'basket and kneading trough' before 'fruit of the body,' the blessing places it after), but no interpretive dispute. |
| Applicability to Christians | Christians view this as showing the severity of sin and the need for a Savior. | Some traditions see the curses as historically fulfilled in Israel's exile; others teach they remain as warnings of God's judgment on persistent unbelief. Both agree Christ bore the ultimate curse on the cross. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Deuteronomy 28 is the covenant ratification ceremony of the ancient nation of Israel, set just before they entered the Promised Land. The blessings and curses mirror the treaty language of ancient Near Eastern suzerainty covenants, the great king (God) sets out terms of loyalty and spells out consequences for rebellion. This chapter was meant to be read aloud on Mount Ebal and Gerizim (Deuteronomy 27:11, 13), making the covenant public and corporate.
The phrase 'come in and go out' echoes the daily patterns of an agrarian people. 'Coming in' could mean entering the house, the village gate, or the sanctuary; 'going out' could mean leaving to work in the field, to travel, or to battle. For a farmer or shepherd, the day began with going out to the land and ended with coming back to the safety of the tent. For a soldier, 'going out' and 'coming in' described the campaigns of war. The curse reverses the natural rhythm: what should bring sustenance and safety instead brings failure and disaster. The parallel in II Chronicles 15:5 describes a time when 'there was no peace to him who went out, nor to him who came in', a historical fulfillment of this curse during the reign of Asa. The pastoral purpose of these verses was never to crush hope but to drive Israel back to covenant faithfulness.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Deuteronomy 28:19. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the parallelism with 28:6 is consistent across translations. Minor variations in English renderings (e.g., 'thou comest in' vs. 'when you come in') reflect stylistic choices, not textual uncertainty.
Reception History
This verse was central to the Reformed and Puritan preaching of the moral law. John Calvin used it to argue that human efforts are 'useless and vain unless they seek for success from God.' Matthew Henry applied it as a warning that 'the curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee' if Israel forsook God. In liturgical use, the verse has been read on penitential occasions and during covenant renewal services. The broader Christian tradition has heard in it an echo of the fall, every human endeavor is poisoned apart from grace. Hymnody and prayers have often referenced 'coming in and going out' as a plea for God's protection (Psalm 121:8). The verse stands as a sober reminder that covenant loyalty touches every corner of life.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The curse is comprehensive, 'come in and go out' covers every routine activity. No area of life is exempt.
- The curse is the reversal of blessing, Exactly what was promised for obedience (Deut 28:6) is withdrawn for disobedience.
- The curse is active, not passive, The Hebrew participle indicates a state of being under divine judgment; God 'sends' cursing (v.20), making it an ongoing reality.
Five-point outline
- Context: the covenant setting at the threshold of Canaan.
- The merism 'come in / go out' as language of total life.
- The contrast with the blessing in 28:6, same words, opposite outcome.
- The nature of the curse: not magical but covenantal, a broken relationship with God.
- Pastoral application: the law's severity points to our need for a mediator.
Illustration hooks
- A farmer who plants seed but watches each crop fail, every effort turns to dust.
- A job seeker who gets interviews but never an offer, every door seems to close.
- A parent whose child's disobedience touches every part of home life, no moment feels safe.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God curse people for sin today, or is this only for ancient Israel?
- How can I know if I am under a curse?
- What hope is there in a passage that only threatens?
Leading a Discussion
This verse sits in the heart of the covenant curses, a sobering list meant to show the seriousness of turning away from God. But remember: these words were given to a community, not to crush individuals, but to call them back. As you talk through this passage, let the weight of the curse drive you toward the grace that makes obedience possible.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think the curse is repeated in such detailed terms? What does that tell us about God's view of disobedience?
- What does the phrase 'when you come in and when you go out' cover that a simple statement like 'everything will go wrong' might miss?
- Compare this verse with the blessing in Deuteronomy 28:6. Why does the Bible use the same language for both outcomes?
- The curse is presented as something that 'overtakes' the disobedient (v.15). Does that feel like punishment or like natural consequence?
- In what ways might Christians feel the effects of covenant curses today, even though Christ has taken the ultimate curse (Galatians 3:13)?
- Why does the Bible spend so much time describing curses instead of quickly moving to the gospel?
- If someone in your group feels the weight of this passage, how would you point them to hope without minimizing the seriousness of sin?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 28:6 | You shall be blessed when you come in, and you shall be blessed when you go out. |
| Judges 5:6 | “In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied. The travelers walked through byways. |
| Judges 5:7 | The rulers ceased in Israel. They ceased until I, Deborah, arose; Until I arose a mother in Israel. |
| II Chronicles 15:5 | In those times there was no peace to him who went out, nor to him who came in; but great troubles were on all the inhabitants of the lands. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
5 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin takes "coming in and going out" to cover every action and the whole course of life. The curse means God actively opposes and frustrates all their plans and labors. This teaches that without seeking success from God, all human efforts are useless and vain.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible commentary observes that the curses here do not simply reverse the earlier blessings but expand into far greater detail, covering diseases, crop failure and exile. Some verses appear to be later additions that elaborate beyond the original contrast pattern, and the section may originally have ended earlier.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note stresses that the curse covers every part of daily life—both coming in and going out. No movement or activity escapes the judgment pronounced on disobedience; the curse follows the offender wherever they go.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill points out that this curse on coming in and going out echoes and reverses the blessing given earlier in the same chapter. He sees the two verses as deliberately paired, so that the same pattern of blessing or curse follows the people in every aspect of daily movement and life.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange sees the exhaustive listing of every blessing and curse as deliberate—it proves that nothing in life is accident or human achievement, but God directly rules every particular. For him religion here is not knowledge or worship but daily experience, one day teaching another. This moral framing strips earthly prosperity of its attraction and gives suffering its purpose toward repentance.