Deuteronomy 28:68
“Yahweh will bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I told to you that you would never see it again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies for male and female slaves, and nobody will buy you.”
What does Deuteronomy 28:68 mean?
This verse describes one of the consequences Moses warns will come if Israel turns away from God's covenant. The reference to Egypt is particularly striking because Egypt was where they were enslaved before God freed them, so being sent back there represents a reversal of their liberation and a return to bondage. The image of being brought back "by ships" emphasizes how complete and humiliating this exile would be, and the statement that "nobody will buy you" suggests a condition so desperate that even slave traders won't want them, leaving them in a state of utter rejection and abandonment. For those reading this today, it's a sober reminder that walking away from God's ways has real consequences, though it also fits within Moses' larger pattern of calling people to choose life and blessing over curse and death.