Deuteronomy 27–28

THE LAW WRITTEN ON STONES

27Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, “Keep every command I am giving you today. ²When you cross the Jordan into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up large stones and cover them with plaster.^{a 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,^b as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. ⁴When 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. ⁵Build an altar of stones there to the Lord your God—do not use any iron tool on them.^{c 6}Use uncut stones to build the altar of the Lord your God and offer burnt offerings to the Lord your God on it. ⁷There you are to sacrifice fellowship offerings, eat, and rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God. ⁸Write clearly all the words of this law on the plastered stones.”

THE COVENANT CURSES

⁹Moses 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. ¹⁰Obey the Lord your God and follow his commands and statutes I am giving you today.”

¹¹On 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. ¹³And these tribes will stand on Mount Ebal to deliver the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.^{d 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 resident alien, 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!’

BLESSINGS FOR OBEDIENCE

28“Now^e if you faithfully obey the Lord your God^f and are careful to follow all his commands I am giving you today,^g the Lord your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth.^{h 2}All these blessings will come and overtakeⁱ you, because you obey the Lord your God:

³You will be blessed in the city

and blessed in the country.^j

⁴Your offspring 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.^k

⁵Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed.

⁶You will be blessed when you come in

and blessed when you go out.^l

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. ⁸The Lord will grant you a blessing on your barns and on everything you do;^m he will bless you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.^{n 9}The Lord will establish you as his holy people,^o as he swore to you, if you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. ¹⁰Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you bear the Lord’s name,^a and they will stand in awe of you.^{b 11}The Lord will make you prosper abundantly with offspring,^C the offspring of your livestock, and your land’s produce in the land the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you. ¹²The Lord will open for you his abundant storehouse,^c the sky, to give your land rain in its season and to bless all the work of your hands.^d You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. ¹³The Lord will make you the head and not the tail;^e 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. ¹⁴Do not turn aside to the right or the left from all the things I am commanding you today,^f and do not follow 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^g you:^h

¹⁶You will be cursed in the city

and cursed in the country.

¹⁷Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed.

¹⁸Your offspring will be cursed,

and your land’s produce,

the young of your herds,

and the newborn of your flocks.

¹⁹You will be cursed when you come in

and cursed when you go out.

²⁰The Lord will send against you curses, confusion,ⁱ and rebuke in everything you do until you are destroyed and quickly perish,^j because of the wickedness of your actions in abandoning me.^{k 21}The Lord will make pestilence cling to you until he has exterminated you from the land you are entering to possess.^{l 22}The Lord will afflict you with wasting disease, fever, inflammation, burning heat, drought,^A blight, and mildew;^m these will pursue you until you perish. ²³The sky above you will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron. ²⁴The Lord will turn the rain of your land into falling^B dust; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed. ²⁵The 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.ⁿ You will be an object of horror^o to all the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, with no one to scare them away.^p

²⁷“The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt,^q tumors, a festering rash, and scabies, from which you cannot be cured. ²⁸The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness, and mental confusion,^{r 29}so that at noon you will grope as a blind person gropes in the dark.^s You will not be successful in anything you do. You will only be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will help you.^{t 30}You will become engaged to a woman, but another man will rape her. You will build a house but not live in it.^u You will plant a vineyard but not enjoy its fruit. ³¹Your 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. ³²Your 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.^{v 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.^{w 34}You will be driven mad by what you see. ³⁵The 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.^x

³⁶“The Lord will bring you and your king that you have appointed to a nation neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you will worship other gods, of wood and stone.^{y 37}You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you.^z

³⁸“You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because locusts will devour it. ³⁹You will plant and cultivate vineyards but not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. ⁴⁰You will have olive trees throughout your territory but not moisten your skin with oil, because your olives will drop off. ⁴¹You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will be taken prisoner. ⁴²Buzzing insects will take possession of all your trees and your land’s produce. ⁴³The resident alien among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink lower and lower. ⁴⁴He 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. ⁴⁶These curses will be a sign and a wonder^a against you and your descendants forever. ⁴⁷Because you didn’t serve the Lord your God with joy and a cheerful heart,^b even though you had an abundance of everything, ⁴⁸you will serve your enemies that the Lord will send against you, in famine, thirst, nakedness, and a lack of everything. He will place an iron yoke^c on your neck until he has destroyed you. ⁴⁹The Lord will bring a nation from far away, from the ends of the earth,^d to swoop down on you like an eagle,^e a nation whose language you won’t understand,^{f 50}a ruthless nation, showing no respect for the old and not sparing the young. ⁵¹They will eat the offspring of your livestock and your land’s produce until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine, fresh oil, young of your herds, or newborn of your flocks until they cause you to perish. ⁵²They will besiege you within all your city gates until your high and fortified walls, that you trust in, come down throughout your land. They will besiege you within all your city gates throughout the…