Deuteronomy 26-28

English Standard Version

Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes

26 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, ²^(A)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 is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall ^(B)go to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. ³And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come into the land ^(C)that the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ ⁴Then 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 ^(D)wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, ^(E)few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. ⁶And ^(F)the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. ⁷Then ^(G)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. ⁸And ^(H)the Lord brought us out of Egypt ^(I)with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror,^[a] with signs and wonders. ⁹And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, ^(J)a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God. ¹¹And ^(K)you shall rejoice in all the good that 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 ^(L)the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is ^(M)the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, ¹³then 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 your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, ^(N)nor have I forgotten them. ¹⁴^(O)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 ^(P)to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. ¹⁵^(Q)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 fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’

¹⁶“This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. ¹⁷^(R)You have declared today that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. ¹⁸And the Lord has declared today that you are ^(S)a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, ¹⁹and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor ^(T)high above all nations ^(U)that he has made, and that you shall be ^(V)a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.”

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. ²And on the day ^(W)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^(X)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, ^(Y)a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you. ⁴And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, ^(Z)on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. ⁵And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. ^(AA)You shall wield no iron tool on them; ⁶you shall build an altar to the Lord your God of uncut^[b] stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God, ⁷and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and ^(AB)shall eat there, and you ^(AC)shall rejoice before the Lord your God. ⁸And ^(AD)you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”

Curses from Mount Ebal

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

¹¹That day Moses charged the people, saying, ¹²“When you have crossed over the Jordan, ^(AF)these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. ¹³And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. ¹⁴And ^(AG)the Levites shall declare to all the men of Israel in a loud voice:

¹⁵^(AH)“‘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.’ ^(AI)And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’

¹⁶^(AJ)“‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

¹⁷^(AK)“‘Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor's landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

¹⁸^(AL)“‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

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

²⁰^(AN)“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his father's wife, because he has ^(AO)uncovered his father's nakedness.’^[c] And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²¹^(AP)“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with any kind of animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²²^(AQ)“‘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^(AR)“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

²⁴^(AS)“‘Cursed be anyone who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

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

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

Blessings for Obedience

28 “And ^(AV)if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you ^(AW)high above all the nations of the earth. ²And all these blessings shall come upon you and ^(AX)overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. ³Blessed shall you be in the city, and ^(AY)blessed shall you be in the field. ⁴Blessed shall be ^(AZ)the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. ⁵Blessed shall be your basket and your ^(BA)kneading bowl. ⁶Blessed shall you be ^(BB)when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

⁷“The Lord ^(BC)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. ⁸The Lord ^(BD)will command the blessing on you in your barns and ^(BE)in all that you undertake. ^(BF)And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ⁹^(BG)The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. ¹⁰And ^(BH)all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are ^(BI)called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be ^(BJ)afraid of you. ¹¹And ^(BK)the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in ^(BL)the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. ¹²The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, ^(BM)to give the rain to your land in its season and ^(BN)to bless all the work of your hands. And ^(BO)you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. ¹³And the Lord will make you ^(BP)the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, ¹⁴^(BQ)and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Curses for Disobedience

¹⁵“But ^(BR)if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and ^(BS)overtake you. ¹⁶Cursed shall you be ^(BT)in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. ¹⁷Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. ¹⁸Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. ¹⁹Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

²⁰“The Lord ^(BU)will send on you curses, confusion, and ^(BV)frustration in all that you undertake to do, ^(BW)until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. ²¹The Lord will make ^(BX)the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. ²²^(BY)The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought^[d] and with ^(BZ)blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. ²³And ^(CA)the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. ²⁴The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

²⁵^(CB)“The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you ^(CC)shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶And ^(CD)your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and ^(CE)there shall be no one to frighten them away. ²⁷The Lord will strike you ^(CF)with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and ^(CG)scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. ²⁸The Lord will strike you with ^(CH)madness and blindness and confusion of mind, ²⁹and you shall ^(CI)grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways.^[e] And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. ³⁰^(CJ)You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. ^(CK)You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. ^(CL)You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit. ³¹Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat any of it. Your donkey shall be seized before your face, but shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies, but there shall be no one to help you. ³²^(CM)Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, ^(CN)but you shall be helpless. ³³A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually, ³⁴so that you are driven mad ^(CO)by the sights that your eyes see. ³⁵The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs ^(CP)with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

³⁶“The Lord will ^(CQ)bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you ^(CR)nor your fathers have known. And ^(CS)there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. ³⁷And you shall become ^(CT)a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the Lord will lead you away. ³⁸^(CU)You shall carry much seed into the field and shall gather in little, for ^(CV)the locust shall consume it. ³⁹^(CW)You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them. ⁴⁰You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you ^(CX)shall not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives shall drop off. ⁴¹You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for ^(CY)they shall go into captivity. ⁴²^(CZ)The cricket^[f] shall possess all your trees and the fruit of your ground. ⁴³^(DA)The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. ⁴⁴^(DB)He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him. ^(DC)He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.

⁴⁵^(DD)“All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. ⁴⁶They shall be ^(DE)a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. ⁴⁷^(DF)Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, ⁴⁸therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he ^(DG)will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. ⁴⁹^(DH)The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, ^(DI)swooping down like the eagle, a nation ^(DJ)whose language you do not understand, ⁵⁰a hard-faced nation ^(DK)who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young. ⁵¹It shall ^(DL)eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; it also shall not leave you grain, wine, or oil, the increase of your herds or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.

⁵²“They shall ^(DM)besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land. And they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which the Lord your God has given you. ⁵³And ^(DN)you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you, ^(DO)in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you. ⁵⁴The man who is the most tender and refined among you will ^(DP)begrudge food to his brother, to ^(DQ)the wife he embraces,^[g] and to the last of the children whom he has left, ⁵⁵so that he will not give to any of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because he has nothing else left, ^(DR)in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your towns. ⁵⁶^(DS)The most tender and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because she is so delicate and tender, will begrudge to the husband she embraces,^[h] to her son and to her daughter, ⁵⁷her afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears, because lacking everything she will eat them secretly, ^(DT)in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your towns.

⁵⁸“If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, ^(DU)the Lord your God, ⁵⁹then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting. ⁶⁰And he will bring upon you again all ^(DV)the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. ⁶¹Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the Lord will bring upon you, until you are destroyed. ⁶²Whereas ^(DW)you were as numerous ^(DX)as the stars of heaven, you shall be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God. ⁶³And as the Lord ^(DY)took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will ^(DZ)take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

⁶⁴“And the Lord ^(EA)will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and ^(EB)there you shall serve other gods ^(EC)of wood and stone, ^(ED)which neither you nor your fathers have known. ⁶⁵And ^(EE)among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but ^(EF)the Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and ^(EG)a languishing soul. ⁶⁶Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life. ⁶⁷^(EH)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 ^(EI)the sights that your eyes shall see. ⁶⁸And the Lord ^(EJ)will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that ^(EK)you should never make again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”