Add parallel Print Page Options

Gifts at Gathering Time

26 “When you go into the land the Lord your God gives you, it will be yours and you will live in it. You must take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you gather from the land the Lord your God gives you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to have His name. Go to the religious leader who is working at that time, and say to him, ‘I make known this day to the Lord my God that I have come into the land which the Lord promised to our fathers to give us.’ Then the religious leader will take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. And you will say before the Lord your God, ‘My father was a traveling Aramean. He went to Egypt, few in number, and stayed there. But there he became a nation, great, powerful, and with many people. The Egyptians made it hard for us. They brought us much trouble and made us work very hard. Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers. The Lord heard our voice and saw our troubles, our work, and how hard our lives were. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and a long arm, causing much fear by doing powerful works. He has brought us to this place. He has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 Now see, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground that You have given me, O Lord.’ Then you will set it down before the Lord your God, and worship Him. 11 You and the Levite and the stranger who is among you will be full of joy because of all the good the Lord your God has given you and those of your house.

12 “When you have finished paying all the tenth of the food you received in the third year, the year of giving a tenth, then give it to the Levite, the stranger, the child whose parents have died, and the woman whose husband has died. So they may eat it in your towns and be filled. 13 Then say before the Lord your God, ‘I have taken the share for holy use from my house. I have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the child whose parents have died, and the woman whose husband has died. I have done this because of all Your Laws which You have told me to do. I have not sinned or forgotten any of Your Laws. 14 I have not eaten of it while in sorrow, or taken any of it while I was unclean, or given any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done all You have told me to do. 15 Look down from Your holy place in heaven and bring good to Your people Israel. Bring good to the ground You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You promised our fathers.’

The Lord’s Special People

16 “This day the Lord your God tells you to obey these Laws. Be careful to obey them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 Today you have said that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in His ways, keep all His Laws, and listen to His voice. 18 And the Lord today has made it known that you are His own people, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His Laws. 19 He has told you that He will set you high above all the nations He has made. You will be praised, remembered, and honored. You will be a holy nation to the Lord your God, as He has said.”

The Law Written on Stones

27 Then Moses and the leaders of Israel said to the people, “Keep all the Laws which I tell you today. On the day you cross the Jordan to the land the Lord your God gives you, set up large stones and cover them with plaster. Write on them all the words of this Law when you cross the river and go into the land the Lord your God gives you. It is a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you. When you cross the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal and cover them with plaster, as I tell you today. Build an altar of stones there to the Lord your God. Do not work on them with an iron tool. And build the altar of the Lord your God with stones that are not cut. Then give a burnt gift on it to the Lord your God. Give peace gifts and eat there. And be full of joy before the Lord your God. Write all the words of this Law on the stones. Make it easy to read.”

What Happens to Those Who Do Not Obey

Then Moses and the Levite religious leaders said to all Israel, “Be quiet and listen, O Israel! This day you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 So obey the Lord your God. Keep all of His Laws which I tell you today.”

11 Moses told the people that same day, 12 “Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin will stand on Mount Gerizim when you cross the Jordan. They will pray that good will come to the people. 13 And Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali will stand on Mount Ebal to tell of the curses. 14 The Levites will say with a loud voice to all the people of Israel:

15 ‘Cursed is every man who makes a god or something to look like a god, the work of the hands of the able workman, and sets it up in secret. It is hated by the Lord.’ Then all the people will answer, ‘Let it be so.’

16 ‘Cursed is the one who puts his father or mother to shame.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

17 ‘Cursed is the man who moves his neighbor’s land-mark.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

18 ‘Cursed is the one who leads a blind person on the road the wrong way.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

19 ‘Cursed is the one who is not fair to a stranger, a child whose parents have died, and the woman whose husband has died.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

20 ‘Cursed is the man who lies with his father’s wife because he has taken off the clothes of her who belongs to his father.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

21 ‘Cursed is the man who lies with any animal.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

22 ‘Cursed is the man who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or mother.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

23 ‘Cursed is the man who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

24 ‘Cursed is the one who hits his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

25 ‘Cursed is the one who receives pay to kill a person who is not guilty.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

26 ‘Cursed is the one who does not obey the words of this Law.’ And all the people will say, ‘Let it be so.’

Firstfruits and Tithes

26 When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, take some of the firstfruits(A) of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name(B) and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering(C) Aramean,(D) and he went down into Egypt with a few people(E) and lived there and became a great nation,(F) powerful and numerous. But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer,(G) subjecting us to harsh labor.(H) Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice(I) and saw(J) our misery,(K) toil and oppression.(L) So the Lord brought us out of Egypt(M) with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,(N) with great terror and with signs and wonders.(O) He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey;(P) 10 and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.(Q)” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. 11 Then you and the Levites(R) and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice(S) in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.

12 When you have finished setting aside a tenth(T) of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe,(U) you shall 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 say to the Lord your God: “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them.(V) 14 I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean,(W) nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done everything you commanded me. 15 Look down from heaven,(X) your holy dwelling place, and bless(Y) your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Follow the Lord’s Commands

16 The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.(Z) 17 You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws—that you will listen to him.(AA) 18 And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession(AB) as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. 19 He has declared that he will set you in praise,(AC) fame and honor high above all the nations(AD) he has made and that you will be a people holy(AE) to the Lord your God, as he promised.

The Altar on Mount Ebal

27 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Keep all these commands(AF) that I give you today. When you have crossed the Jordan(AG) into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones(AH) and coat them with plaster.(AI) Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey,(AJ) just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal,(AK) as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. Build there an altar(AL) to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool(AM) on them. Build the altar of the Lord your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. Sacrifice fellowship offerings(AN) there, eating them and rejoicing(AO) in the presence of the Lord your God.(AP) And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones(AQ) you have set up.”(AR)

Curses From Mount Ebal

Then Moses and the Levitical(AS) priests said to all Israel, “Be silent, Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the Lord your God.(AT) 10 Obey the Lord your God and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today.”

11 On the same day Moses commanded the people:

12 When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim(AU) to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar,(AV) Joseph and Benjamin.(AW) 13 And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal(AX) to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.

14 The Levites shall recite to all the people of Israel in a loud voice:

15 “Cursed is anyone who makes an idol(AY)—a thing detestable(AZ) to the Lord, the work of skilled hands—and sets it up in secret.”

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”(BA)

16 “Cursed is anyone who dishonors their father or mother.”(BB)

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

17 “Cursed is anyone who moves their neighbor’s boundary stone.”(BC)

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

18 “Cursed is anyone who leads the blind astray on the road.”(BD)

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

19 “Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner,(BE) the fatherless or the widow.”(BF)

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

20 “Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his father’s wife, for he dishonors his father’s bed.”(BG)

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

21 “Cursed is anyone who has sexual relations with any animal.”(BH)

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

22 “Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.”(BI)

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

23 “Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his mother-in-law.”(BJ)

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

24 “Cursed is anyone who kills(BK) their neighbor secretly.”(BL)

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

25 “Cursed is anyone who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.”(BM)

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

26 “Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.”(BN)

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”(BO)

26 And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;

That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there.

And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us.

And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God.

And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:

And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:

And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:

And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:

And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.

10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God:

11 And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.

12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;

13 Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.

14 I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.

15 Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

16 This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

17 Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:

18 And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;

19 And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken.

27 And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.

And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister:

And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee.

Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister.

And there shalt thou build an altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.

Thou shalt build the altar of the Lord thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord thy God:

And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the Lord thy God.

And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.

And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the Lord thy God.

10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the Lord thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.

11 And Moses charged the people the same day, saying,

12 These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:

13 And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

14 And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice,

15 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.

16 Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

17 Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.

18 Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen.

19 Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.

20 Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife; because he uncovereth his father's skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.

21 Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.

22 Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

23 Cursed be he that lieth with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, Amen.

24 Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen.

25 Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.

26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.