Deuteronomy 28:38

³⁶ The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.

³⁷ And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.

Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.

³⁹ Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.

⁴⁰ Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because the locusts will consume it.
KJV: Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.
WEB: You will carry much seed out into the field, and will gather little in, for the locust will consume it.
ASV: Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather little in; for the locust shall consume it.
DARBY: Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather little in; for the locust shall devour it.
BLB: Much Seed you shall carry out into the field, and little gather in, for the locust shall consume it.

ÅB: Mye sæd skal du føre ut på marken, og lite skal du samle inn; for gresshoppen skal spise den av.
OTB: Du vil så mye såkorn i marken, men vil høste lite, fordi gresshopper vil fortære det.
B1930: Megen sæd skal du føre ut på marken, og lite skal du samle inn; for gresshoppen skal ete den av.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Haggai 1:6
Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
Read in context
Micah 6:15
Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.
Read in context
Joel 1:4
That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
Read in context
Amos 4:9
I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
Read in context
Joel 2:25
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
Read in context
Isaiah 5:10
Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.
Read in context
Joel 2:3
A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
Read in context
Exodus 10:14–15
And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.
Read in context