Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8
Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes
26 “And it shall be, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, 2 athat you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and bgo to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. 3 And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord 1your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’
4 “Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was ca 2Syrian, dabout to perish, and ehe went down to Egypt and 3dwelt there, ffew in number; and there he became a nation, ggreat, mighty, and populous. 6 But the hEgyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. 7 iThen we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. 8 So jthe Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, kwith great terror and with signs and wonders. 9 He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, l“a land flowing with milk and honey”; 10 and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’
“Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God. 11 So myou shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.
12 “When you have finished laying aside all the ntithe of your increase in the third year—othe year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the Lord your God: ‘I have removed the 4holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, pnor have I forgotten them. 14 qI have not eaten any of it 5when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it 6for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 rLook down from Your holy 7habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, s“a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’
16 “This day the Lord your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 Today you have tproclaimed the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will uobey His voice. 18 Also today vthe Lord has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, 19 and that He will set you whigh above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be xa 8holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”
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 awhen you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, that byou 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 don 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; eyou shall not use an iron tool on them. 6 You shall build with 1whole 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 frejoice before the Lord your God. 8 And you shall gwrite 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: hThis 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 ion Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have crossed over the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin; 13 and jthese shall stand on Mount Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
14 “And kthe 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, 2an 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!’ ”
28 “Now it shall come to pass, aif you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God bwill set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and covertake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
3 d“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be ein the country.
4 “Blessed shall be fthe 1fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 g“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 “The Lord hwill cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8 “The Lord will icommand the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you jset your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
9 k“The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are lcalled by the name of the Lord, and they shall be mafraid of you. 11 And nthe Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord 2swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you His good 3treasure, the heavens, oto give the rain to your land in its season, and pto bless all the work of your hand. qYou shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make ryou the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you 4heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 sSo you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
15 “But it shall come to pass, tif you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.
17 “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
18 “Cursed shall be the 5fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
19 “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 “The Lord will send on you ucursing, vconfusion, and wrebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me. 21 The Lord will make the 6plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. 22 xThe Lord will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe