Deuteronomy 25-27

Contemporary English Version

Whipping as Punishment for a Crime

Moses said to Israel:

25 ^1-2Suppose you and someone else each accuse the other of doing something wrong, and you go to court, where the judges decide you are guilty. If your punishment is to be beaten with a whip,^[a] one of the judges will order you to lie down, and you will receive the number of lashes you deserve. ³^(A) Forty lashes is the most that you can be given, because more than that might make other Israelites think you are worthless.

Don't Muzzle an Ox

Moses said to Israel:

⁴^(B) Don't muzzle an ox while it is threshing grain.^[b]

A Son for a Dead Brother

Moses said to Israel:

^5-6^(C) Suppose two brothers are living on the same property, when one of them dies without having a son to carry on his name. If this happens, his widow must not marry anyone outside the family. Instead, she must marry her late husband's brother, and their first son will be the legal son of the dead man.

⁷^(D) But suppose the brother refuses to marry the widow. She must go to a meeting of the town leaders at the town gate and say, “My husband died without having a son to carry on his name. And my husband's brother refuses to marry me so I can have a son.”

⁸The leaders will call the living brother to the town gate and try to persuade him to marry the widow. But if he doesn't change his mind and marry her, ⁹she must go over to him while the town leaders watch. She will pull off one of his sandals and spit in his face, while saying, “That's what happens to a man who won't help provide descendants for his dead brother.” ¹⁰From then on, that man's family will be known as “the family of the man whose sandal was pulled off.”

When Two Men Fight

Moses said to Israel:

¹¹If two men are fighting, and the wife of one man tries to rescue her husband by grabbing the other man's private parts, ¹²you must cut off her hand. Don't have any mercy.

Be Honest in Business

Moses said to Israel:

^13-14^(E) Don't try to cheat people by having two sets of weights or measures, one to get more when you are buying, and the other to give less when you are selling. ¹⁵If you weigh and measure things honestly, the Lord your God will let you enjoy a long life in the land he is giving you. ¹⁶But the Lord is disgusted with anyone who cheats or is dishonest.

Wipe Out Amalek

Moses said:

¹⁷^(F) People of Israel, do you remember what the Amalekites did to you after you came out of Egypt? ¹⁸You were tired, and they followed along behind, attacking those who could not keep up with the others. This showed that the Amalekites have no respect for God.

¹⁹The Lord your God will help you capture the land, and he will give you peace. But when that day comes, you must wipe out Amalek so completely that no one will remember they ever lived.

Give the Lord the First Part of Your Harvest

Moses said to Israel:

26 The Lord is giving you the land, and soon you will conquer it, settle down, ²^(G) and plant crops. And when you begin harvesting each of your crops, the very first things you pick must be put in a basket. Take them to the place where the Lord your God chooses to be worshiped, ³and tell the priest, “Long ago the Lord our God promised our ancestors that he would give us this land. And today, I thank him for keeping his promise and giving me a share of the land.”

⁴The priest will take the basket and set it in front of the Lord's altar. ⁵Then, standing there in front of the place of worship, you must pray:

My ancestor was homeless,
an Aramean who went to live
    in Egypt.
There were only a few
    in his family then,
but they became great
and powerful,
    a nation of many people.

⁶The Egyptians were cruel
    and had no pity on us.
They mistreated our people
    and forced us into slavery.
⁷We called out for help
to you, the Lord God
    of our ancestors.
You heard our cries;
you knew we were in trouble
    and abused.
⁸Then you terrified the Egyptians
with your mighty miracles
    and rescued us from Egypt.
⁹You brought us here
and gave us this land
    rich with milk and honey.
¹⁰Now, Lord, I bring to you
the best of the crops
    that you have given me.

After you say these things, place the basket in front of the Lord's altar and bow down to worship him.

¹¹Then you and your family must celebrate by eating a meal at the place of worship to thank the Lord your God for giving you such a good harvest. And remember to invite the Levites and the foreigners who live in your town.

Ten Percent of the Harvest

Moses said to Israel:

¹²^(H) Every year you are to give ten percent of your harvest to the Lord.^[c] But every third year,^[d] this ten percent must be given to the poor who live in your town, including Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows. That way, they will have enough to eat. ¹³Then you must pray:

Our Lord and our God, you have said that ten percent of my harvest is sacred. I have obeyed your command and given this to the poor, including the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows.

¹⁴I have not eaten any of this sacred food while I was in mourning; in fact, I never touched it when I was unclean.^[e] And none of it has been offered as a sacrifice to the spirits of the dead. I have done everything exactly as you commanded.

¹⁵Our Lord, look down from your temple in heaven and bless us and our land. You promised our ancestors that you would give us this land rich with milk and honey, and you have kept your promise.

The Lord Is Your God, and You Are His People

Moses said to Israel:

¹⁶Today the Lord your God has commanded you to obey these laws and teachings with all your heart and soul.

¹⁷In response, you have agreed that the Lord will be your God, that you will obey all his laws and teachings, and that you will listen when he speaks to you.

¹⁸^(I) Since you have agreed to obey the Lord, he has agreed that you will be his people and that you will belong to him, just as he promised. ¹⁹The Lord created all nations, but he will make you more famous than any of them, and you will receive more praise and honor. You will belong only to the Lord your God, just as he promised.

Build an Altar on Mount Ebal

27 Moses stood together with the leaders and told the people of Israel:

Obey all the laws and teachings that I am giving you today. ^2-4^(J) Soon you will enter the land that the Lord your God is giving to you. He is the God your ancestors worshiped, and he has promised that this land is rich with milk and honey.

After you cross the Jordan River, go to Mount Ebal. Set up large slabs of stone, then cover them with white plaster and write on them a copy of these laws.

⁵^(K) At this same place, build an altar for offering sacrifices to the Lord your God. But don't use stones that have been cut with iron tools. ⁶Look for stones that can be used without being cut. Then offer sacrifices to please the Lord,^[f] burning them completely on the altar. ⁷Next, offer sacrifices to ask the Lord's blessing,^[g] and serve the meat at a sacred meal where you will celebrate in honor of the Lord.

⁸Don't forget to write out a copy of these laws on the stone slabs that you are going to set up. Make sure that the writing is easy to read.

Curses on Those Who Disobey

⁹Moses stood together with the priests^[h] and said, “Israel, be quiet and listen to me! Today you have become the people of the Lord your God.^[i] ¹⁰So you must obey his laws and teachings that I am giving you.”

¹¹That same day, Moses gave them the following instructions:

^12-13^(L) After you cross the Jordan River, you will go to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal.^[j] The tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Ephraim, Manasseh,^[k] and Benjamin will go up on Mount Gerizim, where they will bless the people of Israel. The tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali will go up on Mount Ebal where they will agree to the curses.

^14-26^(M) The people of the Levi tribe will speak each curse in a loud voice, then the rest of the people^[l] will agree to that curse by saying, “Amen!” Here are the curses:

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who makes an idol or worships idols, even secretly. The Lord is disgusted with idols.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on all who do not show respect for their father and mother.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who moves the rocks that mark property lines.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who tells blind people to go the wrong way.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who keeps the poor from getting justice, whether these poor are foreigners, widows, or orphans.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on any man who sleeps with his father's wife; that man has shown no respect for his father's marriage.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who has sex with an animal.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on any man who sleeps with his sister or his half sister or his mother-in-law.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who commits murder, even when there are no witnesses to the crime.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who accepts money to murder an innocent victim.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who refuses to obey his laws.

And so, to each of these curses, the people will answer, “Amen!”

Footnotes

25.1,2 whip: Or “rod.”
25.4 threshing grain: Oxen were used at the threshing place to walk on heads of grain, or pull heavy slabs of wood over it, to separate the kernels from the husks.
26.12 Every year … Lord: See 14.22-29.
26.12 every third year: Probably the third and sixth years of the seven-year cycle described in 15.1-11 and Leviticus 25.1-7.
26.14 in mourning … unclean: Touching a dead body made a person unclean and unfit to worship God. Ten percent of the harvest belonged to God, and was not to be touched by an unclean person.
27.6 sacrifices to please the Lord: See the note at 12.5-19.
27.7 sacrifices to ask the Lord's blessing: These sacrifices have traditionally been called “peace offerings” or “offerings of well-being.” A main purpose was to ask for the Lord's blessing, and so in the CEV they are sometimes called “sacrifices to ask the Lord's blessing.”
27.9 priests: See the note at 17.8-12.
27.9 Today you have become the people of the Lord your God: As a result of the agreement that the Lord had made with them, recorded in 26.16-19.
27.12,13 Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal: These mountains were separated by a valley.
27.12,13 Ephraim, Manasseh: The Hebrew text has “Joseph”; the descendants of Joseph formed the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.
27.14-26 the rest of the people: Or “all the people who are standing on Mount Ebal.”

Deuteronomy 25-27

New International Version

25 When people have a dispute, they are to take it to court and the judges^(A) will decide the case,^(B) acquitting^(C) the innocent and condemning the guilty.^(D) ²If the guilty person deserves to be beaten,^(E) the judge shall make them lie down and have them flogged in his presence with the number of lashes the crime deserves, ³but the judge must not impose more than forty lashes.^(F) If the guilty party is flogged more than that, your fellow Israelite will be degraded in your eyes.^(G)

⁴Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.^(H)

⁵If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.^(I) ⁶The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.^(J)

⁷However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife,^(K) she shall go to the elders at the town gate^(L) and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.”^(M) ⁸Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” ⁹his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals,^(N) spit in his face^(O) and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” ¹⁰That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.

¹¹If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, ¹²you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity.^(P)

¹³Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy, one light.^(Q) ¹⁴Do not have two differing measures in your house—one large, one small. ¹⁵You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long^(R) in the land the Lord your God is giving you. ¹⁶For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly.^(S)

¹⁷Remember what the Amalekites^(T) did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. ¹⁸When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God.^(U) ¹⁹When the Lord your God gives you rest^(V) from all the enemies^(W) around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek^(X) from under heaven. Do not forget!

Firstfruits and Tithes

26 When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, ²take some of the firstfruits^(Y) of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name^(Z) ³and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” ⁴The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering^(AA) Aramean,^(AB) and he went down into Egypt with a few people^(AC) and lived there and became a great nation,^(AD) powerful and numerous. ⁶But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer,^(AE) subjecting us to harsh labor.^(AF) ⁷Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice^(AG) and saw^(AH) our misery,^(AI) toil and oppression.^(AJ) ⁸So the Lord brought us out of Egypt^(AK) with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,^(AL) with great terror and with signs and wonders.^(AM) ⁹He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey;^(AN) ¹⁰and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.^(AO)” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. ¹¹Then you and the Levites^(AP) and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice^(AQ) in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.

¹²When you have finished setting aside a tenth^(AR) of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe,^(AS) you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. ¹³Then say to the Lord your God: “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them.^(AT) ¹⁴I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean,^(AU) nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done everything you commanded me. ¹⁵Look down from heaven,^(AV) your holy dwelling place, and bless^(AW) your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Follow the Lord’s Commands

¹⁶The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.^(AX) ¹⁷You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws—that you will listen to him.^(AY) ¹⁸And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession^(AZ) as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. ¹⁹He has declared that he will set you in praise,^(BA) fame and honor high above all the nations^(BB) he has made and that you will be a people holy^(BC) to the Lord your God, as he promised.

The Altar on Mount Ebal

27 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Keep all these commands^(BD) that I give you today. ²When you have crossed the Jordan^(BE) into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones^(BF) and coat them with plaster.^(BG) ³Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey,^(BH) just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. ⁴And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal,^(BI) as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. ⁵Build there an altar^(BJ) to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool^(BK) on them. ⁶Build the altar of the Lord your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. ⁷Sacrifice fellowship offerings^(BL) there, eating them and rejoicing^(BM) in the presence of the Lord your God.^(BN) ⁸And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones^(BO) you have set up.”^(BP)

Curses From Mount Ebal

⁹Then Moses and the Levitical^(BQ) priests said to all Israel, “Be silent, Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the Lord your God.^(BR) ¹⁰Obey the Lord your God and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today.”

¹¹On the same day Moses commanded the people:

¹²When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim^(BS) to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar,^(BT) Joseph and Benjamin.^(BU) ¹³And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal^(BV) to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.

¹⁴The Levites shall recite to all the people of Israel in a loud voice:

¹⁵“Cursed is anyone who makes an idol^(BW)—a thing detestable^(BX) to the Lord, the work of skilled hands—and sets it up in secret.”

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”^(BY)

¹⁶“Cursed is anyone who dishonors their father or mother.”^(BZ)