I have to say, first of all: you’re reading these verses and interpreting them literally. Jesus’s coming in the New Testament changed the way the Old Testament should be interpreted. Most of it was literal for the Old Israelites, but now it’s figurative for everyone on the planet. Also, after you read the verses, you are making judgements according to a false foundation. Secondly: what everyone (and I really mean all people, nobody not included) should have when reading the Bible is a willingness to see past the literal. In this example, you first talked about plagues coming down and killing your children and neighbors. At least, your first listed verse did. Yes, this could be interpreted literally. I think it was a legitimate threat to the Israelites so that they didn’t lose their faith again. Last time they did that, they wandered the desert for 40 years, enough time to pass the generation. He’s like a father: when his kids keep disobeying him to the point of making him mad, he needs to sit them down and set them straight. What does this verse mean for us now that Jesus has come and some of the Bible, but not all, should be interpreted figuratively? Well, first: good question. It’s one, or part of one, that theologians have been trying to answer for decades. Second: to understand what this verse might be saying, we need to take a step back and define some terms. “Children,” “plagues,” and “neighbor” don’t only mean “your sires,” a pattern of disease in an area, and “people who live near you.” “Children” could also refer to disciples that spend 24/7 with you or to the children of your children. Personally, I choose to consider every possible way the term “Children” could be defined. “Plagues” is also used other times in the Bible to simply mean “bad stuff happening to you.” It sometimes refers to a sickness or disease, but it tends not to imply that one group of people are affected. As for “neighbor,” that ones a little easier. It means everyone. God means for it to refer to everyone in the world, because He wants everyone to be neighbors. So, now that we have at least opened our definitions up a bit, let’s delve back into the verse. The context (didn’t copy the verse down, so I’m working from memory) basically says that if you don’t believe, all these horrible things will happen to you. In this verse, he specified a plague coming down and killing your children and neighbors. Well, in my definition for plagues earlier, I said that plagues imply that more than one group of people are affected. This is definitely the case here. It is affected the people group “your children” and “your neighbors.” Now, enough with my rambling logic. You probably want me to say how this verse could be interpreted figuratively, right? Don’t answer, I’m typing into a phone. It was a rhetorical question. Anyway, this is how the verse should be interpreted figuratively: If you don’t believe (AKA if you disobey me), then the people that you know, including yourself, will undergo hardships that equate to the level of plagues coming down and killing your livestock and family. Do you see how I did end up changing the verse a little bit, but the overall meaning is still very similar? This interpretation sounds at least a little nicer than the literal one, doesn’t it? Especially if you read it in the tone of a scolding father trying to discipline his children. Of course, this interpretation is likely far from complete. Like I said before, defining and interpreting the Bible is something people do for a living and sometimes their entire lives. It is no easy matter to define and interpret the Bible. I don’t think I have room to do the second verse in detail here, but let me just say this: it’s roughly the same thing. It’s talking about how friends will turn on each other because of the hardships they’re facing. Now, any questions? I want to end this off on a good note, even though this is a morbid topic. Edit: OK, after I got done and posted this, I scrolled back up and read the verse. Sending wild beasts is just like sending a plague - wild beasts is just a type of plague, that’s all.