Blessings for Obeying the Lord

The Lord said:

26 ^(A) I am the Lord your God! So don't make or worship idols or images.

Don't Worship Idols

Moses said to Israel:

¹⁵ When God spoke to you from the fire, he was invisible. So be careful ^16 (A) not to commit the sin of worshiping idols. Don't make idols to be worshiped, whether they are shaped like men, women, ^17 (B) animals, birds, ¹⁸ reptiles, or fish.

^14-26 (A) The people of the Levi tribe will speak each curse in a loud voice, then the rest of the people^[a] will agree to that curse by saying, “Amen!” Here are the curses:

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who makes an idol or worships idols, even secretly. The Lord is disgusted with idols.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on all who do not show respect for their father and mother.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who moves the rocks that mark property lines.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who tells blind people to go the wrong way.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who keeps the poor from getting justice, whether these poor are foreigners, widows, or orphans.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on any man who sleeps with his father's wife; that man has shown no respect for his father's marriage.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who has sex with an animal.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on any man who sleeps with his sister or his half sister or his mother-in-law.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who commits murder, even when there are no witnesses to the crime.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who accepts money to murder an innocent victim.

We ask the Lord to put a curse on anyone who refuses to obey his laws.

And so, to each of these curses, the people will answer, “Amen!”