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
New American Standard Bible
The Curses at Mount Ebal
27 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep all the commandments which I am commanding you today. 2 (A)So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving 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 the Lord your God is giving you, (B)a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, [a]promised you. 4 So it shall be when you cross the Jordan, you shall set up these stones (C)on Mount Ebal, [b]as I am commanding you today, and you shall coat them with lime. 5 Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you (D)shall not wield an iron tool on them. 6 You shall build the altar of the Lord your God of [c]uncut stones, and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the Lord your God; 7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and eat there, and (E)rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 You shall write on the [d]stones all the words of this Law very clearly.”
9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying, “Be silent and listen, Israel! This day you have become a people for the Lord your God. 10 So you shall [e]obey the Lord 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 tribes shall stand on (F)Mount Gerizim to bless the people: (G)Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 For the curse, these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 The Levites shall then respond and say to all the people of Israel with a loud voice,
15 ‘Cursed is the person who makes (H)a carved image or cast metal image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And (I)all the people shall reply and say, ‘Amen.’
16 ‘(J)Cursed is one who treats his father or mother contemptuously.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
17 ‘(K)Cursed is one who displaces his neighbor’s boundary marker.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
18 ‘(L)Cursed is one who misleads a person who is blind on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
19 ‘(M)Cursed is one who distorts the justice due a stranger, an [f]orphan, or a widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
20 ‘(N)Cursed is he who sleeps with his father’s wife, because he has [g]uncovered his father’s garment.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
21 ‘(O)Cursed is one who has sexual intercourse with any animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
22 ‘(P)Cursed is he who sleeps 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 sleeps with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
24 ‘(R)Cursed is he who attacks his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
25 ‘(S)Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to attack an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
26 ‘(T)Cursed is anyone who does not fulfill 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 27:6 Lit intact
- Deuteronomy 27:8 I.e., stones coated with lime, cf. v 4
- Deuteronomy 27:10 Lit listen to the voice of
- Deuteronomy 27:19 Or fatherless
- Deuteronomy 27:20 Idiom for violated his father’s marriage
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
