You will then place the container before the
Lord
your God and bow down to Him.
11
You, the Levite, and the foreign resident among you will rejoice in all the good things the
Lord
your God has given you and your household.
The Tenth in the Third Year
12
“When you have finished paying all the tenth of your produce in the third year, the year of the tenth, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.
13
Then you will say in the presence of the
Lord
your God:
I have taken the consecrated portion out of my house; I have also given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all the commands You gave me. I have not violated or forgotten Your commands.
14
I have not eaten any of it while in mourning, or removed any of it while
•unclean
, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the
Lord
my God; I have done all You commanded me.
15
Look down from Your holy dwelling, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land You have given us as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Covenant Summary
16
“The
Lord
your God is commanding you this day to follow these statutes and ordinances. You must be careful to follow them with all your heart and all your soul.
17
Today you have affirmed that the
Lord
is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes, commands, and ordinances, and obey Him.
18
And today the
Lord
has affirmed that you are His special people as He promised you, that you are to keep all His commands,
19
that He will elevate you to praise, fame, and glory above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the
Lord
your God as He promised.”
Deuteronomy
The Law Written on Stones
27
Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, “Keep every command I am giving you today.
2
At the time you cross the Jordan into the land the
Lord
your God is giving you, you must set up large stones and cover them with plaster.
3
Write all the words of this law on the stones after you cross to enter the land the
Lord
your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as
•Yahweh
, the God of your fathers, has promised you.
4
When you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to cover them with plaster.
5
Build an altar of stones there to the
Lord
your God — you must not use any iron tool on them.
6
Use uncut stones to build the altar of the
Lord
your God and offer
•burnt
offerings to the
Lord
your God on it.
7
There you are to sacrifice
•fellowship
offerings, eat, and rejoice in the presence of the
Lord
your God.
8
Write clearly all the words of this law on the plastered stones.”
The Covenant Curses
9
Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, “Be silent, Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of the
Lord
your God.
10
Obey the
Lord
your God and follow His commands and statutes I am giving you today.”
11
On that day Moses commanded the people,
12
“When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.
13
And these tribes will stand on Mount Ebal to deliver the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
14
The Levites will proclaim in a loud voice to every Israelite:
15
‘The person who makes a carved idol or cast image, which is detestable to the
Lord
, the work of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret is cursed.'
And all the people will reply, ‘
•Amen
! '
16
‘The one who dishonors his father or mother is cursed.'
And all the people will say, ‘Amen! '
17
‘The one who moves his neighbor's boundary marker is cursed.'
And all the people will say, ‘Amen! '
18
‘The one who leads a blind person astray on the road is cursed.'
And all the people will say, ‘Amen! '
19
‘The one who denies justice to a foreigner, a fatherless child, or a widow is cursed.'
And all the people will say, ‘Amen! '
20
‘The one who sleeps with his father's wife is cursed, for he has violated his father's marriage bed.'
And all the people will say, ‘Amen! '
21
‘The one who has sexual intercourse with any animal is cursed.'
And all the people will say, ‘Amen! '
22
‘The one who sleeps with his sister, whether his father's daughter or his mother's daughter is cursed.'
And all the people will say, ‘Amen! '
23
‘The one who sleeps with his mother-in-law is cursed.'
And all the people will say, ‘Amen! '
24
‘The one who secretly kills his neighbor is cursed.'
And all the people will say, ‘Amen! '
25
‘The one who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person is cursed.'
And all the people will say, ‘Amen! '
26
‘Anyone who does not put the words of this law into practice is cursed.'
And all the people will say, ‘Amen! '
Deuteronomy
Blessings for Obedience
28
“Now if you faithfully obey the
Lord
your God and are careful to follow all His commands I am giving you today, the
Lord
your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth.
2
All these blessings will come and overtake you, because you obey the
Lord
your God:
3
You will be blessed in the city
and blessed in the country.
4
Your descendants will be blessed,
and your land's produce,
and the offspring of your livestock,
including the young of your herds
and the newborn of your flocks.
5
Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed.
6
You will be blessed when you come in
and blessed when you go out.
7
“The
Lord
will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you from one direction but flee from you in seven directions.
8
The
Lord
will grant you a blessing on your storehouses and on everything you do; He will bless you in the land the
Lord
your God is giving you.
9
The
Lord
will establish you as His holy people, as He swore to you, if you obey the commands of the
Lord
your God and walk in His ways.
10
Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by
•Yahweh
's name, and they will stand in awe of you.
11
The
Lord
will make you prosper abundantly with children, the offspring of your livestock, and your land's produce in the land the
Lord
swore to your fathers to give you.
12
The
Lord
will open for you His abundant storehouse, the sky, to give your land rain in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.
13
The
Lord
will make you the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward if you listen to the
Lord
your God's commands I am giving you today and are careful to follow them.
14
Do not turn aside to the right or the left from all the things I am commanding you today, and do not go after other gods to worship them.
Curses for Disobedience
15
“But if you do not obey the
Lord
your God by carefully following all His commands and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overtake you:
16
You will be cursed in the city
and cursed in the country.
17
Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed.
18
Your descendants will be cursed,
and your land's produce,
the young of your herds,
and the newborn of your flocks.
19
You will be cursed when you come in
and cursed when you go out.
20
The
Lord
will send against you curses, confusion, and rebuke in everything you do until you are destroyed and quickly perish, because of the wickedness of your actions in abandoning Me.
21
The
Lord
will make pestilence cling to you until He has exterminated you from the land you are entering to possess.
22
The
Lord
will afflict you with wasting disease, fever, inflammation, burning heat, drought, blight, and mildew; these will pursue you until you perish.
23
The sky above you will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.
24
The
Lord
will turn the rain of your land into falling dust; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed.
25
The
Lord
will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
26
Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land, with no one to scare them away.
27
“The
Lord
will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, tumors, a festering rash, and scabies, from which you cannot be cured.
28
The
Lord
will afflict you with madness, blindness, and mental confusion,
29
so that at noon you will grope as a blind man gropes in the dark. You will not be successful in anything you do. You will only be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will help you.
30
You will become
•engaged
to a woman, but another man will rape her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not enjoy its fruit.
31
Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away from you and not returned to you. Your flock will be given to your enemies, and no one will help you.
32
Your sons and daughters will be given to another people, while your eyes grow weary looking for them every day. But you will be powerless to do anything.
33
A people you don't know will eat your land's produce and everything you have labored for. You will only be oppressed and crushed continually.
34
You will be driven mad by what you see.
35
The
Lord
will afflict you with painful and incurable boils on your knees and thighs — from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.
36
“The
Lord
will bring you and your king that you have appointed to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods, of wood and stone.
37
You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the peoples where the
Lord
will drive you.
38
“You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because locusts will devour it.
39
You will plant and cultivate vineyards but not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them.
40
You will have olive trees throughout your territory but not anoint yourself with oil, because your olives will drop off.
41
You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will be taken prisoner.
42
Whirring insects will take possession of all your trees and your land's produce.
43
The foreign resident among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink lower and lower.
44
He will lend to you, but you won't lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.
45
“All these curses will come, pursue, and overtake you until you are destroyed, since you did not obey the
Lord
your God and keep the commands and statutes He gave you.
46
These curses will be a sign and a wonder against you and your descendants forever.
47
Because you didn't serve the
Lord
your God with joy and a cheerful heart, even though you had an abundance of everything,
48
you will serve your enemies the
Lord
will send against you, in famine, thirst, nakedness, and a lack of everything. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.
49
The
Lord
will bring a nation from far away, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you don't understand,
50
a ruthless nation, showing no respect for the old and not sparing the young.
51
They will eat the offspring of your livestock and your land's produce until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine, oil, young of your herds, or newborn of your flocks until they cause you to perish.
52
They will besiege you within all your gates until your high and fortified walls, that you trust in, come down throughout your land. They will besiege you within all your gates throughout the land the
Lord
your God has given you.