The fruit of thy land, and all thy labour, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up,.... The same was prophesied of by Jeremiah, concerning the Babylonish captivity, and was fulfilled in it, Jer 5:17; and has been also verified in the frequent pillage and spoil of this people, in their present state; for though they have no land to till, from whence to gather fruit, yet they are employed in manufactures and merchandise, the fruit and benefit of which they have been frequently stripped of: and thou shall be only oppressed and crushed always; this seems best to agree with their present case; for in their former captivities they were not always oppressed and crushed, but had respite and deliverance; See Gill on Deu 28:29.