Deuteronomy 28:49

⁴⁷ Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;

⁴⁸ Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.

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;

⁵⁰ A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:

⁵¹ And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.

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
Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
Read in context
Jeremiah 48:40
For thus saith the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.
Read in context
Jeremiah 49:22
Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
Read in context
Hosea 8:1
Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.
Read in context
Jeremiah 5:15–17
Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
Read in context
Ezekiel 17:12
Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;
Read in context
Ezekiel 17:3
And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
Read in context
Jeremiah 6:22–23
Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.
Read in context