Deuteronomy 27
English Standard Version
The Altar on Mount Ebal
27 Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. 2 And on the day (A)you cross over the Jordan to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. 3 (B)And you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, (C)a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you. 4 And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, (D)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. (E)You shall wield no iron tool on them; 6 you shall build an altar to the Lord your God of uncut[a] stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God, 7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and (F)shall eat there, and you (G)shall rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 And (H)you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”
Curses from Mount Ebal
9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: (I)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 today.”
11 That day Moses charged the people, saying, 12 “When you have crossed over the Jordan, (J)these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 And (K)the Levites shall declare to all the men of Israel in a loud voice:
15 (L)“‘Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the Lord, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ (M)And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’
16 (N)“‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
17 (O)“‘Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor's landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
18 (P)“‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
19 (Q)“‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
20 (R)“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his father's wife, because he has (S)uncovered his father's nakedness.’[b] And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
21 (T)“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with any kind of animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
22 (U)“‘Cursed be anyone 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 (V)“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
24 (W)“‘Cursed be anyone who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
25 (X)“‘Cursed be anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
26 (Y)“‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 27:6 Hebrew whole
- Deuteronomy 27:20 Hebrew uncovered his father's skirt
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.
Habrit Hakhadasha/Haderekh “The Way” (Hebrew Living New Testament)
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