First Fruits and Tithes

26 “When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess and you possess it and settle in it, ² you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.^{(A) 3} You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.’ ⁴ When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, ⁵ you shall make this response before the Lord your God: ‘A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous.^{(B) 6} When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us,^{(C) 7} we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.^{(D) 8} The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders;^{(E) 9} and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.^{(F) 10} So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.’ You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. ¹¹ Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.^(G)

¹² “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year (which is the year of the tithe), giving it to the Levites, the aliens, the orphans, and the widows, so that they may eat their fill within your towns,^{(H) 13} then you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from the house, and I have given it to the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows, in accordance with your entire commandment that you commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor forgotten any of your commandments:^{(I) 14} I have not eaten of it while in mourning; I have not removed any of it while I was unclean; and I have not offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God, doing just as you commanded me.^{(J) 15} Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.’

Concluding Exhortation

¹⁶ “This very day the Lord your God is commanding you to observe these statutes and ordinances, so observe them diligently with all your heart and with all your soul.^{(K) 17} Today you have obtained the Lord’s agreement: to be your God; and for you to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, and his ordinances, and to obey him. ¹⁸ Today the Lord has obtained your agreement: to be his treasured people, as he promised you, and to keep all his commandments;^{(L) 19} for him to set you high above all nations that he has made, in praise and in fame and in honor; and for you to be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.”^(M)

The Inscribed Stones and Altar on Mount Ebal

27 Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged all the people as follows: “Keep the entire commandment that I am commanding you today. ² On the day that you cross over the Jordan into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and cover them with plaster.^{(N) 3} You shall write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over, to enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.^{(O) 4} So when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones about which I am commanding you today on Mount Ebal, and you shall cover them with plaster. ⁵ And you shall build an altar there to the Lord your God, an altar of stones on which you have not used an iron tool.^{(P) 6} You must build the altar of the Lord your God of unhewn^[a] stones. Then offer up burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God; ⁷ make sacrifices of well-being, and eat them there, rejoicing before the Lord your God. ⁸ You shall write on the stones all the words of this law very clearly.”

⁹ Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel! This very day you have become the people of the Lord your God.^{(Q) 10} Therefore obey the Lord your God, observing his commandments and his statutes that I am commanding you today.”

Twelve Curses

¹¹ The same day Moses charged the people as follows: ¹² “When you have crossed over the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.^{(R) 13} And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. ¹⁴ Then the Levites shall declare in a loud voice to all the Israelites,

¹⁵ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who makes an idol or casts an image, anything abhorrent to the Lord, the work of an artisan, and sets it up in secret.’ All the people shall respond, saying, ‘Amen!’^(S)

¹⁶ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors father or mother.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(T)

¹⁷ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who moves a neighbor’s boundary marker.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(U)

¹⁸ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind person on the road.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(V)

¹⁹ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who deprives an alien, an orphan, or a widow of justice.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(W)

²⁰ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his father’s wife, because he has violated his father’s rights.’^[b] All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(X)

²¹ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who lies with any animal.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(Y)

²² “ ‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(Z)

²³ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his mother-in-law.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(AA)

²⁴ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who strikes down a neighbor in secret.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(AB)

²⁵ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(AC)

²⁶ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by observing them.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(AD)

Blessings for Obedience

28 “If you will only obey the Lord your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth;^{(AE) 2} all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God:

³ “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.^(AF)

⁴ “Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your livestock, both the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock.^(AG)

⁵ “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

⁶ “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

⁷ “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.^{(AH) 8} The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you undertake; he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ⁹ The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways.^{(AI) 10} All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you.^{(AJ) 11} The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you.^{(AK) 12} The Lord will open for you his rich storehouse, the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all your undertakings. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.^{(AL) 13} The Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be only at the top and not at the bottom—if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today by diligently observing them, ¹⁴ and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I am commanding you today, either to the right or to the left, following other gods to serve them.^(AM)

Warnings against Disobedience

¹⁵ “But if you will not obey the Lord your God by diligently observing all his commandments and decrees that I am commanding you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you:^(AN)

¹⁶ “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.

¹⁷ “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

¹⁸ “Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock.

¹⁹ “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

²⁰ “The Lord will send upon you disaster, panic, and frustration in everything you attempt to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds with which you have forsaken me.^{(AO) 21} The Lord will make the pestilence cling to you until it has consumed you off the land that you are entering to possess.^{(AP) 22} The Lord will afflict you with consumption, fever, inflammation, with fiery heat and drought,^[c] and with blight and mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.^{(AQ) 23} The sky over your head shall be bronze and the earth under you iron.^{(AR) 24} The Lord will change the rain of your land into powder, and only dust shall come down upon you from the sky until you are destroyed.

²⁵ “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out against them one way and flee before them seven ways. You shall become an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.^{(AS) 26} Your corpses shall be food for every bird of the air and animal of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away.^{(AT) 27} The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, scurvy, and itch, of which you cannot be healed.^{(AU) 28} The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind; ²⁹ you shall grope about at noon as blind people grope in darkness, but you shall be unable to find your way, and you shall be continually abused and robbed, without anyone to help.^{(AV) 30} You shall become engaged to a woman, but another man shall lie with her. You shall build a house but not live in it. You shall plant a vineyard but not enjoy its fruit.^{(AW) 31} Your ox shall be butchered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it. Your donkey shall be stolen in front of you and shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies without anyone to help you. ³² Your sons and daughters shall be given to another people while you look on; you will strain your eyes looking for them all day but be powerless to do anything.^{(AX) 33} A people whom you do not know shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors; you shall be continually abused and crushed^{(AY) 34} and driven mad by the sight that your eyes shall see. ³⁵ The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.^{(AZ) 36} The Lord will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your ancestors have known, where you shall serve other gods, of wood and stone.^{(BA) 37} You shall become an object of horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the Lord will lead you.^(BB)

³⁸ “You shall carry much seed into the field but shall gather little in, for the locust shall consume it.^{(BC) 39} You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them. ⁴⁰ You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives shall drop off. ⁴¹ You shall have sons and daughters, but they shall not remain yours, for they shall go into captivity.^{(BD) 42} All your trees and the fruit of your ground the cicada shall take over.^{(BE) 43} Aliens residing among you shall ascend above you higher and higher, while you shall descend lower and lower.^{(BF) 44} They shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to them; they shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.^(BG)

⁴⁵ “All these curses shall come upon you, pursuing and overtaking you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God by observing the commandments and the decrees that he commanded you.^{(BH) 46} They shall be among you and your descendants as a sign and a portent forever.

⁴⁷ “Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and with gladness of heart for the abundance of everything,^{(BI) 48} therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and lack of everything. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.^{(BJ) 49} The Lord will bring a nation from far away, from the end of the earth, to swoop down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand,^{(BK) 50} a grim-faced nation showing no respect to the old or favor to the young. ⁵¹ It shall consume the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your ground until you are destroyed, leaving you neither grain, wine, and oil nor the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock, until it has made you perish.^{(BL) 52} It shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout your land; it shall besiege you in all your towns throughout the land that the Lord your God has given you.^{(BM) 53} In the desperate straits to which the enemy siege reduces you, you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your own sons and daughters whom the Lord your God has given you.^{(BN) 54} Even the most refined and gentle of men among you will begrudge food to his own brother, to the wife whom he embraces, and to the last of his remaining children, ⁵⁵ giving to none of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because nothing else remains to him, in the desperate straits to which the enemy siege will reduce you in all your towns. ⁵⁶ She who is the most refined and gentle among you, so gentle and refined that she does not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge food to the husband whom she embraces, to her own son, and to her own daughter,^{(BO) 57} begrudging even the afterbirth that comes out from between her thighs and the children that she bears, because she is eating them in secret for lack of anything else, in the desperate straits to which the enemy siege will reduce you in your towns.

⁵⁸ “If you do not diligently observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, fearing this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God,^{(BP) 59} then the Lord will overwhelm both you and your offspring with severe and lasting afflictions and grievous and lasting maladies. ⁶⁰ He will bring back upon you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were in dread, and they shall cling to you.^{(BQ) 61} Every other malady and affliction, even though not recorded in the book of this law, the Lord will inflict on you until you are destroyed.^{(BR) 62} Although once you were as numerous as the stars in heaven, you shall be left few in number because you did not obey the Lord your God.^{(BS) 63} And just as the Lord took delight in making you prosperous and numerous, so the Lord will take delight in bringing you to ruin and destruction; you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to possess.^{(BT) 64} The Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.^{(BU) 65} Among those nations you shall find no ease, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a languishing spirit.^{(BV) 66} Your life shall hang in doubt before you; night and day you shall be in dread, with no assurance of your life. ⁶⁷ In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and at evening you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’—because of the dread that your heart shall feel and the sights that your eyes shall see.^{(BW) 68} The Lord will bring you back in ships to Egypt, by a route that I promised you would never see again, and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”

29 ^[d]These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.^(BX)

The Covenant Renewed in Moab

^2 [e]Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land,^{(BY) 3} the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. ⁴ But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.^{(BZ) 5} I have led you forty years in the wilderness. The clothes on your back have not worn out, and the sandals on your feet have not worn out;^{(CA) 6} you have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink—so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.^{(CB) 7} When you came to this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out against us for battle, but we defeated them.^{(CC) 8} We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.^(CD)