Deuteronomy 27
Legacy Standard Bible
Curses on Mount Ebal
27 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep the entire commandment which I am commanding you today. 2 (A)So it will be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with lime 3 and write on them all the words of this law when you cross over, so that you may enter the land which Yahweh your God gives you, (B)a land flowing with milk and honey, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, [a]promised you. 4 So it will 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. 5 Moreover, you shall build there an altar to Yahweh your God, an altar of stones; you (D)shall not [c]wield an iron tool on them. 6 You shall build the altar of Yahweh your God of [d]uncut stones, and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to Yahweh your God; 7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and eat there and (E)be glad before Yahweh your God. 8 And you shall write on the [e]stones all the words of this law very distinctly.”
9 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 Yahweh your God. 10 You shall therefore listen to the voice of Yahweh your God and do His commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today.”
11 Moses also commanded 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 (H)a graven image or a molten image, an abomination to Yahweh, 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 leads a blind person astray on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
19 ‘(M)Cursed is he who perverts the justice due a sojourner, [f]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 the daughter 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 takes a bribe to strike down [g]innocent blood.’ 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
- Deuteronomy 27:3 Lit spoke to
- Deuteronomy 27:4 Lit which
- Deuteronomy 27:5 Lit lift up
- Deuteronomy 27:6 Lit whole
- Deuteronomy 27:8 Stones coated with lime, cf. 27:4
- Deuteronomy 27:19 Or fatherless
- Deuteronomy 27:25 Lit soul of innocent blood
Deuteronomy 27
New King James Version
The Law Inscribed on Stones
27 Now Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying: “Keep all the commandments which I command you today. 2 And it shall be, on the day (A)when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, that (B)you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. 3 You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, (C)‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ just as the Lord God of your fathers promised you. 4 Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that (D)on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. 5 And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; (E)you shall not use an iron tool on them. 6 You shall build with [a]whole stones the altar of the Lord your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 7 You shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and (F)rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 And you shall (G)write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.”
9 Then Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, “Take heed and listen, O Israel: (H)This day you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 Therefore you shall obey the voice of the Lord your God, and observe His commandments and His statutes which I command you today.”
Curses Pronounced from Mount Ebal
11 And Moses commanded the people on the same day, saying, 12 “These shall stand (I)on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have crossed over the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin; 13 and (J)these shall stand on Mount Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
14 “And (K)the Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel: 15 (L)‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, [b]an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’
(M)“And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen!’
16 (N)‘Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
17 (O)‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
18 (P)‘Cursed is the one who makes the blind to wander off the road.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
19 (Q)‘Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
20 (R)‘Cursed is the one who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s bed.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
21 (S)‘Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of animal.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
22 (T)‘Cursed is the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
23 (U)‘Cursed is the one who lies with his mother-in-law.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
24 (V)‘Cursed is the one who attacks his neighbor secretly.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
25 (W)‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
26 (X)‘Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ ”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 27:6 uncut
- Deuteronomy 27:15 a detestable thing
Deuteronomy 27
Easy-to-Read Version
Stone Memorials for the People
27 Moses and the elders of Israel spoke to the people. Moses said, “Obey all the commands that I give you today. 2 You will soon go across the Jordan River into the land that the Lord your God is giving you. On that day you must put up large stones. Cover them with plaster. 3 Then write on the stones all these commands and teachings. You must do this when you go across the Jordan River. Then you may go into the land that the Lord your God is giving you—a land filled with many good things.[a] The Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised to give you this land.
4 “After you go across the Jordan River, you must do what I command you today. You must set up the stones on Mount Ebal. You must cover these stones with plaster. 5 Also, use some stones there to build an altar to the Lord your God. Don’t use iron tools to cut the stones. 6 You must not use cut stones to build the altar for the Lord your God. Offer burnt offerings on this altar to the Lord your God. 7 And you must sacrifice and eat fellowship offerings there. Eat and enjoy yourselves there together with the Lord your God. 8 You must write all these teachings on the stones that you set up. Write clearly so that they are easy to read.”
The People Must Agree to God’s Rules
9 Moses and the Levite priests spoke to all the Israelites. Moses said, “Be quiet and listen, Israel! Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 So you must do everything that the Lord your God tells you. You must obey his commands and his laws that I am giving you today.”
11 That day Moses also told the people, 12 “After you have gone across the Jordan River, these tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim to read the blessings to the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 And these tribes will stand on Mount Ebal to read the curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
14 “And the Levites will say to all the Israelites in a loud voice:
15 “‘Cursed is the one who makes a false god and puts it in its secret place. These false gods are only statues that some worker makes from wood, stone or metal. The Lord hates these things!’
“Then all the people will answer, ‘Amen!’
16 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who does not show respect to their father or their mother!’
“Then all the people will answer, ‘Amen!’
17 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who moves a neighbor’s landmark[b]!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
18 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who tricks a blind man into going the wrong way!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
19 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who does not give fair judgment for the foreigners, orphans, and widows!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
20 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who shames his father by having sexual relations with his father’s wife.’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
21 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with any kind of animal!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
22 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his sister or half sister!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
23 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his mother-in-law!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
24 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who kills anyone, even if he is not caught!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
25 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who takes money to kill an innocent person!’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
26 “The Levites will say, ‘Cursed is the one who does not support this law and agree to obey it.’
“Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 27:3 land … things Literally, “land flowing with milk and honey.”
- Deuteronomy 27:17 landmark A stone or sign that showed where the limits of a person’s property were.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International