Deuteronomy 28:49

⁴⁷ Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance,

⁴⁸ you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,

⁵⁰ a ruthless nation with no respect for the old and no pity for the young.

⁵¹ They will eat the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain or new wine or oil, no calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks, until they have caused you to perish.

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: The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
KJV: The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
WEB: The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies: a nation whose language you will not understand,
ASV: Jehovah will bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
DARBY: Jehovah will bring a nation against thee from afar, from the end of the earth, like as the eagle flieth, a nation whose tongue thou understandest not;
BLB: YHWH will bring against you a nation from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies, a nation whose tongue you have not heard,

ÅB: Herren skal føre et folk over deg langt borte fra, fra jordens ende, et folk som kommer flyvende lik en ørn, et folk hvis tungemål du ikke forstår,
OTB: Herren vil bringe en nasjon mot deg fra et fjernt sted, fra jordens ender, som en ørn som stuper ned, en nasjon hvis språk du ikke vil forstå,
B1930: Herren skal føre et folk over dig langt borte fra, fra jordens ende, et folk som kommer flyvende lik en ørn, et folk hvis tungemål du ikke forstår,

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Lamentations 4:19
Those who chased us were swifter than the eagles in the sky; they pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.
Read in context
Jeremiah 48:40
For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
Read in context
Jeremiah 49:22
Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s mighty men will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
Read in context
Hosea 8:1
Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
Read in context
Jeremiah 5:15–17
Behold, I am bringing a distant nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. “It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know and whose speech you do not understand.
Read in context
Ezekiel 17:12
“Now say to this rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, carried off its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon.
Read in context
Ezekiel 17:3
and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers of many colors, came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar.
Read in context
Jeremiah 6:22–23
This is what the LORD says: “Behold, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is stirred up from the ends of the earth.
Read in context