The Curses of Mount Ebal

27 Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged the people, saying, “Keep all the commandments which I command you today. (A)So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with lime and write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over, so that you may enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, (B)a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, [a]promised you. So it shall be when you cross the Jordan, you shall set up (C)on Mount Ebal, these stones, [b]as I am commanding you today, and you shall coat them with lime. Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you (D)shall not [c]wield an iron tool on them. You shall build the altar of the Lord your God of [d]uncut stones, and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the Lord your God; and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and eat there, and (E)rejoice before the Lord your God. You shall write on the [e]stones all the words of this law very distinctly.”

Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying, “Be silent and listen, O Israel! This day you have become a people for the Lord your God. 10 You shall therefore [f]obey the Lord your God, and do His commandments and His statutes which I command you today.”

11 Moses also charged the people on that day, saying, 12 “When you cross the Jordan, these shall stand on (F)Mount Gerizim to bless the people: (G)Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 For the curse, these shall stand on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 The Levites shall then answer and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice,

15 ‘Cursed is the man who makes [g](H)an idol or a molten image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And (I)all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’

16 (J)Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

17 (K)Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

18 (L)Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

19 (M)Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, [h]orphan, and widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

20 (N)Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s skirt.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

21 (O)Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

22 (P)Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

23 (Q)Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

24 (R)Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

25 (S)Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

26 (T)Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 27:3 Lit spoke to
  2. Deuteronomy 27:4 Lit which
  3. Deuteronomy 27:5 Lit lift up
  4. Deuteronomy 27:6 Lit whole
  5. Deuteronomy 27:8 I.e. stones coated with lime, cf v 4
  6. Deuteronomy 27:10 Lit listen to the voice of
  7. Deuteronomy 27:15 Or a graven image
  8. Deuteronomy 27:19 Or fatherless

A Call to Praise the Lord for His Righteousness.

A Psalm.

98 O sing to the Lord a (A)new song,
For He has done (B)wonderful things,
His (C)right hand and His (D)holy arm have [a]gained the victory for Him.
(E)The Lord has made known His salvation;
He has (F)revealed His [b]righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has (G)remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
(H)All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

(I)Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
(J)Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the (K)lyre,
With the lyre and the [c](L)sound of melody.
With (M)trumpets and the sound of the horn
(N)Shout joyfully before (O)the King, the Lord.

Let the (P)sea roar and [d]all it contains,
The (Q)world and those who dwell in it.
Let the (R)rivers clap their hands,
Let the (S)mountains sing together for joy
Before the Lord, for He is coming to (T)judge the earth;
He will judge the world with righteousness
And (U)the peoples with [e]equity.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 98:1 Or accomplished salvation
  2. Psalm 98:2 I.e. faithfulness to His gracious promises
  3. Psalm 98:5 Or voice of song (accompanied by music)
  4. Psalm 98:7 Lit its fullness
  5. Psalm 98:9 Or uprightness

Things to Avoid

[a]What is the source of quarrels and (A)conflicts among you? [b]Is not the source your pleasures that wage (B)war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you (C)commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and (D)do not receive, because you ask [c]with wrong motives, so that you may spend it [d]on your pleasures. You (E)adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with (F)the world is (G)hostility toward God? (H)Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture (I)speaks to no purpose: “[e]He [f]jealously desires (J)the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? But (K)He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “(L)God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (M)Submit therefore to God. (N)Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (O)Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (P)Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and (Q)purify your hearts, you (R)double-minded. (S)Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 (T)Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

11 (U)Do not speak against one another, (V)brethren. He who speaks against a brother or (W)judges his brother, speaks against (X)the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not (Y)a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one (Z)Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is (AA)able to save and to destroy; but (AB)who are you who judge your neighbor?

13 (AC)Come now, you who say, “(AD)Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 [g]Yet you do not know [h]what your life will be like tomorrow. (AE)You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 [i]Instead, you ought to say, “(AF)If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your [j]arrogance; (AG)all such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, (AH)to one who knows the [k]right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Footnotes

  1. James 4:1 Lit From where wars and from where fightings
  2. James 4:1 Lit Are they not from here, from your
  3. James 4:3 Lit wickedly
  4. James 4:3 Lit in
  5. James 4:5 Or The spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy
  6. James 4:5 Lit desires to jealousy
  7. James 4:14 Lit Who do not
  8. James 4:14 Or what will happen tomorrow. What kind of life is yours?
  9. James 4:15 Lit Instead of your saying
  10. James 4:16 Or pretensions
  11. James 4:17 Or good