Deuteronomy 11:26–28

Anticipation of a Blessing and Cursing Ceremony

11:26 Take note—I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:51 11:27 the blessing if you take to heart52 the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, 11:28 and the curse if you pay no attention53 to his54 commandments and turn from the way I am setting before55 you today to pursue56 other gods you have not known.

51	sn A blessing and a curse. Every extant treaty text of the late Bronze Age attests to a section known as the “blessings and curses,” the former for covenant loyalty and the latter for covenant breach. Blessings were promised rewards for obedience; curses were threatened judgments for disobedience. In the Book of Deuteronomy these are fully developed in 27:1–28:68. Here Moses adumbrates the whole by way of anticipation.
52	tn Heb “listen to,” that is, obey.
53	tn Heb “do not listen to,” that is, do not obey.
54	tn Heb “the commandments of the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
55	tn Heb “am commanding” (so NASB, NRSV).
56	tn Heb “walk after”; NIV “by following”; NLT “by worshiping.” This is a violation of the first commandment, the most serious of the covenant violations (Deut 5:6–7).