Deuteronomy 26-27

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

First Fruits and Tithes

26 “When you come into the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, and have taken possession of it, and live in it, ² you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place which the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. ³ And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, ‘I declare this day to the Lord your God that I have come into the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ ⁴ Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.

⁵ “And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. ⁶ And the Egyptians treated us harshly, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. ⁷ Then we cried to the Lord the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression; ⁸ and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders; ⁹ and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰ And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which thou, O Lord, hast given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God; ¹¹ and you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.

¹² “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within your towns and be filled, ¹³ then you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all thy commandment which thou hast commanded me; I have not transgressed any of thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them; ¹⁴ I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead; I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, I have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. ¹⁵ Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel and the ground which thou hast given us, as thou didst swear to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’

Concluding Exhortation

¹⁶ “This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances; you shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. ¹⁷ You have declared this day concerning the Lord that he is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his ordinances, and will obey his voice; ¹⁸ and the Lord has declared this day concerning you that you are a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, ¹⁹ that he will set you high above all nations that he has made, in praise and in fame and in honor, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he has spoken.”

The Inscribed Stones and Altar on Mount Ebal

27 Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep all the commandment which I command you this day. ² And on the day you pass over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall set up large stones, and plaster them with plaster; ³ and you shall write upon them all the words of this law, when you pass over to enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you. ⁴ And when you have passed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you this day, on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. ⁵ And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall lift up no iron tool upon them. ⁶ You shall build an altar to the Lord your God of unhewn^[a] stones; and you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God; ⁷ and you shall sacrifice peace offerings, and shall eat there; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God. ⁸ And you shall write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”

⁹ And Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: this day you have become the people of the Lord your God. ¹⁰ You shall therefore obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you this day.”

Twelve Curses

¹¹ And Moses charged the people the same day, saying, ¹² “When you have passed over the Jordan, these shall stand upon Mount Geri′zim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Is′sachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. ¹³ And these shall stand upon Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zeb′ulun, Dan, and Naph′tali. ¹⁴ And the Levites shall declare to all the men of Israel with a loud voice:

¹⁵ “‘Cursed be the man who makes a graven or molten image, an abomination to the Lord, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’

¹⁶ “‘Cursed be he who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

¹⁷ “‘Cursed be he who removes his neighbor’s landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

¹⁸ “‘Cursed be he who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

¹⁹ “‘Cursed be he who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²⁰ “‘Cursed be he who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered her who is his father’s.’^[b] And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²¹ “‘Cursed be he who lies with any kind of beast.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²² “‘Cursed be he who lies with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²³ “‘Cursed be he who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²⁴ “‘Cursed be he who slays his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²⁵ “‘Cursed be he who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

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